Half an hour later, outside the Academy's walls, after exchanging all the gems and drakes on hand for foreign gold…
The rune-covered gate is almost continuously open today, as a steady outflow of students with varying sizes of luggage walk out of the Academy's perimeter, and down the hill. Straf and Cycelia are among the flow, dressed in their usual clothing, with Straf having his sheath and potion belt slung over his hip in a crossing fashion once again. They notice a blonde woman in fancy, fur-trimmed clothes sitting on her baggage, staring off into the distance down the hill with her chin propped up on her hands, and her back turned towards them.
「That must be…」
Cycelia narrows her eyes at the woman and jogs towards, leaving Straf behind as he lazily follows behind her.
「Hey! Tisha!」
She exclaims, waving her arm high as she runs towards her with a large smile on her face.
「Ah, Lia… Finally. I was getting bored.」
Tisha looks over her shoulder and smiles as she stands up, taking a few steps towards her as well.
「Sorry… I had to turn the uniform and the room key in.」
「It's fine, forget it… I'm still waiting for Neela to show up.」
Tisha dismissively waves her hand in front of herself, and places her hands on her thick hide coat. While it is heavily focused on function, it's far from plain or simple. It has many decorative patterns sewed into it, interweaving everywhere. Aside from being trimmed with it, the coat is visibly lined with fur on the inside as well, almost guaranteeing constant warmth even through bitter cold. Tisha raises her brows while looking at Cycelia's expensive, yet plain-looking shirt and skirt.
「…Aren't you cold in that?」
She asks, tilting her golden, diagonal braid above her brow.
「Eheheh… A little…」
Cycelia returns an awkward grin with a little and equally awkward chuckle.
「Well, c'mere!」「Wah!?」
Fwap!
Like a bear swinging its massive paw onto its prey, Tisha grabs onto Cycelia's shoulder and pulls her in towards herself with a large grin on her face.
「Tisha!?…」
Cycelia exclaims while she's being squeezed against her hide coat. Tisha's arm is wrapped around her tight. Straf joins beside them, looking at the scene with his brows raised.
「Better?」
The northern princess asks, grinning smugly as she looks into Cycelia's wide-open emerald eyes.
「…A little, actually… But this is too awkward!」
「It's fiiiine! I don't want you to freeze into an icicle while you wait for your carriage!… Ah, there's Neela.」
Tisha replies, completely nonchalant about the impromptu one-armed hug. She spots Neela's face amidst the students flowing past them.
「Good afternoon…」
Neela nods her head, sets her baggage down, pinches the sides of her skirt, and performs a little curtsy towards the two. Cycelia blinks at her rapidly, tilting her head in confusion.
「Already reverted to being a prim and proper lady, huh?…」
Tisha grins at Neela, exchanging a knowing gaze with her while Neela's face remains perfectly neutral.
「Huh?… Neela? Did something happen?…」
Cycelia asks, looking at the woman standing before them. Unlike Neela's natural yet tidy hairstyle, she has her hair tied at the back with two bands of hair leading towards it. At her neck, just below the collar of her fine white shirt, there is a large ruby-gemmed brooch tying her collar snug to her neck. Her cerulean knee-length skirt appears to be cut from velvet. The demeanor on her face is neither that of smug superiority, nor deferential submission… It is indeed the perfect expression for a noble lady from a royal house, and completely unlike normal Neela that Cycelia knows.
「Hahah… You don't know? Neela has to act like a proper princess with good etiquette for her daddy, so the Academy is the only chance for her to relax.」
「I have no idea what you are talking about…」
Tisha laughs in Neela's face, grinning, while Neela calmly denies the allegation, perhaps as a practice for a return to her usual persona.
「Lost your memory, huh? C'mere!」
Fwap!
「Tisha!? Stop! Enough!- I said enough, idiot!」
「Hahaha! Where did the princess go!? Have you seen her, Lia!?」
Tisha swings her other bear paw down onto Neela and pulls her in as well, now tightly hugging both of them into her chest and cackling loudly while Neela attempts to pull away.
「I don't think that's the kind of language a princess would use, your highness.」
She lets them both go, mocking Neela further while she's readjusting and tiding up her ruffled clothes and hair.
「Hmpf… Have you seen Damian? Is he coming with you?」
Neela asks, crossing her arms as she turns her eyes away.
「Tsk… I don't care. It's his loss if he's stupid…」
Tisha replies, likewise crossing her arms and looking the other way.
「…So you don't care if stay?」「Geh!…」
Damian asks from behind them, standing beside his relatively small-sized baggage with Straf. Tisha jumps up in surprise at the sound of his voice.
As she turns her head towards him, her face very briefly gains a happy smile before forcing her face back into appearing frigid and disinterested. She lets out a huff from her nose.
「I said it's your choice… Well? What will you do?… Join me in the north and earn a living as a tutor, or meander about as a nobody in eternal poverty?」
Tisha asks, staring into Damian's eyes with a cold glare and crossed arms.
「Tsk… Aren't you just nice, huh?…」
Damian rolls his eyes, scrunching his mouth to the side in response.
「Most peasants like you would be kissing my feet for the opportunity!」
She shouts at him with brows angrily furrowed, causing some passing students to look at them as they walk by.
「Yeah, you're right…」
Damian sighs out as he shrugs, avoiding her frigid gaze.
「I am!-」
「I said that you are! Quiet down!… Good grief…」
She raises her voice again, and Damian shouts back. Her head recoils back in surprise, and she goes silent as he shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck with another sigh.
「…You actually mean it?」
She asks, sounding almost confused.
「Yeah… Honestly, I still have my reservations… I'm fairly sure it will end badly for me, but this really is my best chance, and I wouldn't even have it if not for you…」
Damian shrugs, nodding his head, then hopelessly spreads his hands with a tight-lipped grimace on his face.
「So then?…」
Tisha says, blinking her ice-blue eyes at him with her brows furrowed.
「Yeah… I'll come along, if your offer is still available-」
Thud!
「Ouf!…」
Without a slightest warning, Tisha delivers a jab into Damian's ribs, causing him to lose his breath, heave forward, and clutch at the struck spot.
「What is actually wrong with you!? What was that for!? I agreed!…」
Damian yells, still hunched over forward, wincing in pain.
「Well, you should have just said so right away!…」
Tisha declares loudly, crossing her arms. She lets out a loud huff from her nose, turning her golden head away while keeping it high.
「Am I just going to be abused like this up north all the time?… I already regret signing up for this…」
Damian grumbles, massaging his sore spot as he straightens out with a fatigued face. Neela and Cycelia exchange their usual troubled gazes, despite Neela's new appearance.
「And who's this? Is this one of your friends?」
He asks, looking straight at Neela's face.
「It's Neela.」
Cycelia casually replies while they both look at him with completely neutral expressions. Tisha refuses to even as much as turn her head in Damian's direction.
「Huh?… No, but seriously, who is this? She does kind of look like-」「It's Neela.」
He asks again, pointing at Neela. Cycelia repeats herself, nodding her head for the emphasis.
「What? But- What? Huh?」
His eyes jump between Neela and Cycelia while he continues pointing at her. Neela decides to perform another curtsy for Damian. He blinks at Cycelia rapidly, completely shocked.
「…Tisha, Neela… I have something important to tell you… I suppose you too, Damian.」「Why am I an afterthought?…」
Cycelia declares, briefly glancing at Straf's bored face. He shrugs back in response, which Cycelia takes as a cue to do whatever she wants. Tisha turns her serious face towards her, and Neela gently tilts her brown head, blinking expectantly and waiting for her to speak. Cycelia takes a large breath, and exhales as her face grows very serious.
「You're my friends, so I suppose you deserve to know…」
She says, glancing at the two girls for a few seconds each. They listen attentively along with Damian, waiting for her to continue.
「…I've been hiding my identity. I am not Lia Vindict, but-」
「Lia, that's old news.」
Tisha chimes in, cutting Cycelia off. Shocked, she turns her emerald eyes to Neela, who simply gently nods her head in response.
「Huh? What? How much do you know?…」
She asks as her gaze jumps between the two.
「Well… We know your real name is not Lia Vindict, at least.」
「Yeah, that wasn't hard to figure out… No offense, Lia, but you are really bad at this. Everyone was just playing along.」
Neela and Tisha reply, both nodding in agreement with each other. Only Damian appears surprised by this development.
「Then… Do you know my real name?」
「Nope… But it's fine, isn't it? It's not like we're not friends because you hid your name for some reason.」
Cycelia asks, and Tisha nonchalantly shrugs her shoulders then spreads her hands. The girls' reactions give Cycelia a significant pause, and she glances at Straf for help.
He simply looks at her with his usual bored gaze, and shrugs back, grimacing lightly.
「But… But even if that's so, I don't want to hide things from you any longer! If you can call yourself my friends, then you deserve to know my real name!」
Cycelia declares with a determined look in her emerald eyes, glancing briefly at everyone except Straf.
「Well, feel free to tell us if it's a big deal to you.」
「Yes… I'm honestly a little curious.」
Tisha and Neela side-glance at each other, then shrug their shoulders. Cycelia takes yet another deep breath.
「…My real name is Cycelia Redwing. It was Straf who came up with a false identity for me, due to certain circumstances-」
「Wait, that Redwing?…」
Tisha asks, interrupting Cycelia's confession. She quickly nods her chestnut head in reply with an awkward, tight-lipped grimace on her face.
「Like Redwing, of this kingdom?…」
「Yes, I rule the Redwing throne.」
Cycelia replies with another nod of her head. While both Neela and Tisha are surprised, their reactions are rather mild, only exchanging glances at each other.
「Huh… Honestly, I'd never guess-」「You're not a princess? You're a queen!?」
Tisha replies with a little smirk on her pale face, but is quickly interrupted by Damian while his face turns pale as well.
「Yes, Damian. I rule this kingdom ever since the murder of my father-」
Fwap.
Damian abruptly drops down to the ground, pressing his forehead into the paved path in front of Cycelia's shoes.
「Aaaaaaaaa! My sincerest apologies for my previous rudeness your highness! Please forgive me!」「Eh?」
He shouts low on the floor with his palms and forehead on the ground. Straf's face gains a look of sheer disdain along with Tisha, while Cycelia blinks in utter stunned shock at him.
「Seriously, dude?…」
Straf asks, shaking his head in disapproval.
「N- No, Damian, it's okay, stand up-」
「I would have never acted so familiar if I knew, your highness!」
「No, it's fine, really!」
Damian continues begging for forgiveness, while Cycelia stands there, greatly discomforted and unsure what to do.
「Good grief… What are you, a worm? She didn't treat you any different before you knew.」
「Yes, I'm a lowly worm! I'm sorry! Please spare my sister from any punishment!…」
He continues begging. Neela and Cycelia both exchange greatly discomforted glances, and Neela gestures pulling him up by his collar. Cycelia seems to understand her meaning.
「Ahem… Damian! Stand up!」「Yes your majesty!」
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Cycelia says with a raised voice in a commanding tone. He shoots up to his feet at attention.
「Now listen closely!…」
She demands with her index finger extended. He nods rapidly with a tight-lipped grimace.
「…There will be no punishments, retributions, or even hard feelings. We're friends. More than that, I don't elevate myself above the peasants just because they're of low birth.」
She says, and Damian blinks at her face in deep confusion, unsure what to say.
「I just wanted to share this with you, because I don't want to pretend to be someone that I'm not. I want to be able to be Cycelia Redwing around you, not Lia Vindict…」
Cycelia adds, turning her emerald eyes to Tisha and Neela with a smile.
「…But you can still call me Lia if you'd like. Straf does that.」
She shrugs, and smiles at Straf as well. He quickly turns his eyes back to Damian, and his face gains a greatly displeased, tight-lipped grimace.
「Ah, Ms. Lia, you still haven't left… Good…」
Corvus emerges from the flow of students, approaching the girls with his hands behind his back, a smile on his face.
「Headmaster? Did something happen?」
She asks, blinking at him. He quickly returns a calm shake of his head, still smiling.
「No, no… I just wanted to tell you something regarding you and the Federation, but…」
He says, then turns his eyes to Damian, Tisha and Neela.
「…It may not be the best time with your friends around?」
The headmaster adds, gently furrowing his bushy brows at her.
「Um… Headmaster, it's okay. They already know.」
Cycelia nods her chestnut head at him, narrowing her lips slightly as she presses them together.
「…You've told them about yourself?」
The old man calmly asks, and his brows raise in mild surprise.
「Yes. They know, it's fine. I don't mind if they hear it.」
Cycelia nods again. Tisha and Neela exchange lightly surprised glances, and turn their attention to the headmaster.
「Well… Your highness, I only wanted to tell you… Regardless of what the Federation thinks of you, I would like you to return for the next term. I will not permit them to interfere.」
「Headmaster… You mean you will stand in my defense?」
「As much as I am able to, yes.」
Corvus nods his head, smiling at Cycelia.
「Why would the Federation interfere? Did Cycelia do something, headmaster?」
Tisha asks, tilting her golden head at the old mage.
「Err… Well…」
The headmaster adjusts his glasses, pinching them, and turns his eyes to Cycelia as if to silently ask a question she understands with no words necessary.
「You can just call me Lia, Tisha...」
Cycelia turns her chestnut head over her shoulder and smiles at the northern princess.
「Right… But is there something wrong? You can probably count on us to help as well.」
Tisha nods, then furrows her brows gently as she asks again, directly.
「Well… It's a long story, but to sum it up, I walked myself into a promise, and it resulted in me hiring a criminal as my court mage. He's on very bad terms with the Federation…」
「So criminals can find steady jobs?…」
Damian grumbles quietly in a dejected tone.
「…As a part of the promise, I had to restore his guild membership. This was done forcibly on my authority as the queen, and understandably, the Federation didn't like it.」
Cycelia explains, shrugging her shoulders with a feeble smile on her beautiful face.
「…So now you're both on bad terms with the Federation? And that's why you had to hide your identity? To be able to attend?」
Tisha asks, glancing at both her and the headmaster.
「That is correct, Ms. Tisha… Her majesty had initially tricked me, but then a lot of things happened… Well, let's just say that she has more than earned her place here.」
Corvus chimes in, nodding his head before he turns his smiling face back to Cycelia, and shrugs his robed shoulders.
「…But I still don't understand why, headmaster. I'm sure you've seen the exam scores… I'm not really any better than most students.」
Cycelia replies, lowering her emerald eyes towards the ground.
「That may be so, your majesty… For now. I've seen your aptitude for magic, or lack thereof at the beginning of the term. The progress that you've made…」
Corvus partially agrees, nodding his head again, before briefly lowering his head and adjusting his glasses again as he pauses.
「…Let me be perfectly clear, your highness… These two months have been nothing short of amazing. Your intelligence aside, it takes a special drive to accomplish that much.」
「Well, I made a promise-」
Cycelia nods back, but the headmaster holds his wrinkly hand up, halting her.
「Certainly, Albus largely contributed to your drive, but do not take away the credit from yourself. You've learned far much more than anyone else could have in this time.」
He adds, placing his hands behind his back once more, smiling warmly at her.
「That's right… I thought Lia was completely clueless by the start of the term, but now she scored higher than Tisha.」
Neela remarks, nodding her head while her gaze jumps between Cycelia and the headmaster.
「Tsk… I wasn't giving it my all… But she has learned a lot, I have to give her that.」
Tisha clicks her tongue, turning her gaze away with her arms crossed.
「Your majesty… Were you not learning magic since your early childhood?」
Damian asks, furrowing his brows at Cycelia in deep confusion.
「Damian, you can just call me Lia… I was not. I regret it now, but I neglected learning magic despite the hardest efforts of my court mage.」
She replies, smiling softly back at Damian and the two girls with her head lightly tilted.
「Wait. So… When did you really start?」
His head perks up, and his brows furrow harder. Neela and Tisha glance at each other, then turn their eyes to Cycelia.
「Well, aside from the basics years ago…」
She thinks, turning her eyes up to the pale gray clouds above.
「…A little over two months ago? I skimmed through the tomes before-」
「What!?」「What!?」「What!?」
All three shout out in shock, causing the students passing by to look at their group again. Corvus adjusts his glasses, appearing mostly unfazed, though he exchanges a glance with Straf.
Three carriages cross the crest of the hill as they roll up the road. The first two are strikingly similar, albeit the one at the front is markedly smaller, and for a lack of more apt word, poorer. Aside from its size and notable lack of extraneous decorations, it appears almost like Cycelia's carriage right behind it, with two familiar faces sitting at the front.
Behind it, the carriage following Cycelia's is completely coated in furs and hides, the drivers are covered by a little enclosing made of furs to keep the wind out. The horses at the yokes have their manes cover most of their backs, and while short and small, they are clearly powerful enough to not only lift their stout bodies, but also drag the carriage behind them with ease.
「Well… My carriage is here. I don't believe you didn't know anything until we started studying together… Damian, carry my luggage.」
Tisha replies, and slowly begins making her way towards the fur-covered carriage while all three stop beside the road, and one right behind the other.
「What!? Why do I have to-!? Tsk. Ah…」
Damian shouts, spreading his arms, but Tisha is already walking away with her golden head held high, completely ignoring him. He clicks his tongue and shakes his head, reaching for it.
「Hmpf!? Why is it so heaavy!? What did you pack into this!? Rocks!?」
「Essentials. I'm traveling light.」
Tisha nonchalantly replies as her carriage drivers open the door for her.
「Hmpf… Hnnnfgh… See you next term… Hnngh…」
Damian turns his head to Neela and Cycelia, and skitters away in tiny steps as he struggles to carry Tisha's baggage to her carriage.
「It's time for me as well, your highness…」
Neela says as one of the men on her carriage hops off and runs up, holding his hands out to receive her much smaller baggage. She does a curtsy again, and turns away.
「Neela, you can just-」
Cycelia sighs, smiling lightly at her with a tilted head, but Neela winks at her, with her index finger in front of her teasing smirk as she's walking away.
Her emerald eyes widen briefly, and she lets out an amused huff from her nose, glancing briefly at Straf's bored face.
「I likewise bid you farewell, your highness. Please remember my words. I will anxiously await your return.」
「Thank you, headmaster.」
Corvus lightly bows his head towards Cycelia, and she nods hers back. The mustached driver and his younger counterpart approach Straf and Cycelia.
「Your majesty, the carriage is ready. How was your stay?」
The mustached man asks, bowing his head towards Cycelia, and politely nodding towards the old, long-bearded mage standing nearby.
「It was great. Shall we go, Straf?」
「Yeah, let's get out of here.」
Holding Cycelia's large, book-filled baggage, Straf shrugs and follows her and the two men back to their carriage.
「What are you doing, kid?…」「…You'll break your back, hand that here.」
Tisha's golden-haired drivers hop out of their fur mini-tent, and jog up to Damian as he huffs and puffs, carrying her luggage to the carriage a few steps at a time.
「Oh? You actually carried it this far? Impressive.」
Tisha turns around, watching the man with a braided beard and his colleague both scoop her large baggage off the ground and carry it on their shoulders, straining loudly.
「Hnnff… Hufff… You mean… You mean I wasn't meant to carry it?…」
Damian asks as he's gasping for air with his hands on his knees.
「…No? It was a practical joke. I'm genuinely impressed. Get in.」「It was a-!?… Haah… Haaah…」
Tisha approaches the open door, and places her foot on the step.
「Lia! You might have outdone me this term!…」
Pat!
Tisha shouts, pointing one hand at Cycelia, and placing the other on top of Damian's head with significant force as he draws near.
「…But with this guy here helping me, you'll be left in the dust! Mark my words!」
She yells at Cycelia and Straf as he effortlessly slides the baggage on top of their own carriage. Cycelia replies with a warm smile, nodding back.
「…Don't just smile at me! I'm serious! You'll see!… Or else this dummy is losing his job!」「Eh!?」
She continues shouting, and Damian looks at her with a stunned gaze.
「I said get in, stupid.」
Tisha turns her blue eyes to him and climbs inside, taking a seat with her arms crossed. Damian lets out a large sigh and shuts the door behind him, joining her.
「See you next term, Neela!」
Cycelia waves her hand at Neela. She nods back with a light smile and decorum fitting for a princess, climbing into her small carriage with the help of one of her men.
The headmaster is watching the students leave by the gate, chuckling softly with a large, contented smile on his old face.
「Ahhh… Interesting term… Interesting term.」
Corvus sighs, watching the carriages roll around and depart down the hill. He turns, walking back to the Academy in a leisurely step, shaking his head and still smiling.
…
A few minutes later, on a crossroads near the Academy town…
Cycelia waves to Neela and Tisha through her window as her own carriage takes a turn, splitting away from the two. She lets out a quiet, sullen little sigh, but a smile remains on her face.
「You know you can probably send them letters, right?… Would the internet be overdoing it?」
Straf asks, looking at Cycelia with his brows raised and arms crossed.
「Ah! That's right! Though letters to Tisha would take a while… But there's also King Rankor!…」
Her chestnut head perks up with energy, and her smile grows.
「Ah! I sent him a letter and then left for the Academy!… I hope he's not upset about me not responding!」
Her emerald eyes open wider in realization, and she briefly covers her mouth in shock with her dainty hands. Straf lets out a large sigh.
「Man… I'm glad you had fun, but I'm not doing this again if it can be helped. I hate Academies, I hate magic, I hate murder mysteries…」
He grumbles, rolling his eyes to the window and the trees passing by the carriage.
「I'll think of a treat for you while we're on the way, Straf. Meanwhile…」
Pat pat pat.
Cycelia pats her thighs with her hand, smiling at him.
「…Why don't you lie down and relax a little? It must have been hard on you.」
「…On your thighs?」
「Well, there's no pillow here, so-」
「Thank you for the treat.」
Straf replies, quickly hopping to the seats across and plopping the side of his face on her thighs, covered by her skirt.
「Huh?」
Cycelia tilts her head, blinking at Straf's handsome face barely peeking out from below her chest.
「That's a same-day delivery, Lia. This is enough for me.」
He replies, turning his eyes up to hers.
「…No, Straf, I think you earned a reward-」
「I'm not greedy, this is fine.」
Straf shakes his head with a tight-lipped grimace on his face, looking into Cycelia's confused, emerald eyes staring at him.
《…That's a nice view.》
He thinks, lowering his eyes and brushing his face against her skirt.
「Straf… Don't wiggle so much.」
Cycelia says, petting Straf's head as she turns her lightly blushed face away to the window, pouting a little…
…
A few hours later…
An Academy janitor is rolling around a utility cart in the halls of the auxiliary building, looking carefully at the floor, with a mop sticking out of a bucket on the cart. He stops by an open door, and looks closer at the door frame. There is a heart-shaped outline carved into it, and within it, smiling faces right next to each other. The wood of the frame is horribly weathered, warped, damaged by time, moisture, and temperature. However, a giant gash across the carving is visibly recent, and there even are wood chippings further suggesting that to be the case, right on the floor beneath it.
The janitor kneels down and sweeps them into his hand, then drops them into a mostly empty box lightly littered with miscellaneous trash. He stands back up and looks at the carving again. There are letters above the faces, and though they are badly warped along with the wood, they're clear enough to be mostly readable. The letter above the first smiling face says L, or E, but the next one is damaged by the gash. Perhaps it was a C, D, or maybe an O, and there are signs of another smiling face beneath it, but that too was damaged beyond recognition. Right next to it is another face, with a distinct V carved above it.
「Hm… Wonder what's that about…」
The man hums, and gently pushes the door open, peeking inside. The room is mostly dark, but the sunlight pouring in through the window bounces just enough for everything to be visible.
「Good grief!… Look at all that mold!」
With his brows heavily furrowed, he scoops the three mold-filled teacups and quickly deposits them on the middle shelf of his cart. They clatter softly together as he lets go of them.
「…Has anyone ever cleaned this place? Mercia's grace!」
The aging janitor remarks, shaking his head as he grabs a broom from the cart and begins sweeping the floor. Very quickly, a heavy cloud of dust rises, disturbed by his brooming.
Swish. Swish.
「Khakh! Khhhahk!… Ahum!… Good grief!…」
The man coughs a few times as he draws in some of the dust floating around into his lungs. He loudly clears his throat, then pulls the door further open, letting some of the air in.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
He continues sweeping the dust towards the door. A large portion of of it is blown outside by the noisy wind current coming from somewhere. It swirls, hanging about outside the door for a few moments. Though he is too occupied with his work to see it, the dust cloud continues swirling, briefly taking on a shape vaguely resembling three people standing next to each other, right outside the door, before another gust promptly sweeps it away…