“Senior—oh, no, I mean... you’re a boy?”

Margaret stared at the Moon Elf girl before her in surprise. There was not the slightest trace of a masculine feature anywhere on Shicodale’s body. She truly had not expected this.

“I’m sorry. I misread you.”

Shicodale shook his head, his gaze lowered. He had no energy to blame anyone right now.

“So, you’re Upperclassman Vinny’s roommate?”

“I am.”

“Ferdi, could you tell us when you last saw Vinny?” Aesphyra asked before Shicodale could say anything.

“Oh, the last time I saw him?” Ferdi scratched his head. “Let me think. It was probably several days ago. Nothing unusual happened then. Brother Vinny told us that he might be busy for a while preparing for the Chosen Leader Tournament, so he probably wouldn’t come around the club much. We agreed, and that was all.”

“We haven’t gone looking for him these past few days, either. He said he’d be busy, after all. Everyone wants him to get the result he wants and leave no regrets, so we didn’t disturb him or call him over to play cards. Nobody in the card-player-soul club has seen him lately.”

“I see. I’m sorry for troubling you all,” Aesphyra said politely.

“It’s nothing. Still, I don’t think you should worry too much. This is the Academy, after all. Nothing should happen here. Maybe Brother Vinny has already gone back to the dorm and is waiting for you there.” Ferdi scratched his head again.

“Mm. We won’t keep you any longer, then. We’ll be going.”

With that, Aesphyra gently tugged Shicodale away.

“What happened to Brother Vinny?” Ferdi watched their departing backs with a puzzled expression. “Who knows where he ran off to, making Dale and the others worry so much.”

“Upperclassman Ferdi, I have something to take care of. I’ll be leaving first,” Margaret said.

“Huh? Oh, all right. Go ahead.” Ferdi was a little bewildered that she was leaving so soon after arriving, but he nodded anyway.

“Mm. Excuse me.”

Margaret hurried after Aesphyra and Shicodale.

“Upperclassman Aesphyra.”

“Is there something else, Margaret?” Aesphyra had naturally noticed Margaret following them. She turned around.

“Upperclassman Aesphyra... is something wrong with Upperclassman Vinny?” Margaret had clearly sensed that something was off.

“Nothing at all.” Shicodale had been about to ask Margaret to join them in looking for Vinny, but Aesphyra spoke first, smiling brightly. “Didn’t Ferdi just say so? Perhaps the moment we return to the dorm, Vinny will be waiting there for us.”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with this, Margaret.”

“Is that so? I only meant that, if there’s anything I can help with, I’d be happy to.”

“Is that right? That’s very thoughtful of you, Miss Margaret.” Aesphyra smiled faintly.

The response was so ambiguous that Margaret could not tell what Aesphyra truly wanted at all.

“I’m sorry, but unless there’s something else, we have matters to attend to. Please excuse us, Miss Margaret.”

Aesphyra turned away with Shicodale in tow.

Margaret stood where she was, watching their figures gradually disappear with lingering confusion.

It seemed that Upperclassman Aesphyra did not want to continue speaking with her.

“Upperclassman Aesphyra,” Shicodale said cautiously after they had walked for a while, “this doesn’t seem to be the way back to the dormitory.”

“Hmm? Back to the dormitory? Who said we were going back to the dormitory?”

The faintly polite smile had vanished from Aesphyra’s face.

“Huh? But didn’t you just tell Margaret—”

Aesphyra merely smiled without answering.

Meanwhile, Margaret remained standing where she was, her gaze lowered as though deep in thought.

It was strange. It really was strange.

Why had she felt so strange the moment she said that?

No matter how she thought about it, Margaret could not make sense of it.

She wandered down the street without any destination in mind. Only when she looked up again did she realize that, without thinking, she had been walking toward her own dormitory. By then, she was already in her dorm area.

“Lady Margaret, you’re here? Thank goodness. I finally found you.”

A boy with spiky hair hurried over after spotting Margaret, visibly relieved.

“Mason?” Margaret looked at the familiar boy in surprise. “Were you looking for me? Is something wrong?”

“Yes. Lady Margaret, for the next while, please do not leave our sight. At the very least, you must not be alone anywhere. One of us—or another student or mentor—needs to be with you.”

“What does that mean?” Margaret’s expression shifted slightly.

“I... can’t really explain it to you, Lady Margaret.” Mason looked deeply troubled.

“What is there to explain? If this is an order from His Eminence the Pope, then simply say so and tell me the reason. Why are you unwilling to tell me even something like this?”

Margaret frowned.

“I’ve always felt that you’re hiding many things from me. Everyone in the Church says it is for my own good and that I should not know. I understand that. But I am still a descendant of the Facilis Family. Haven’t you all said that I am the future Dawn Saintess? I want to take responsibility for the things that are mine to bear.”

“Lady Margaret...” Mason was left speechless by her words, unsure how to respond.

“Even now, you still won’t tell me?” Margaret raised her brows. “Even when this matter directly concerns me, you still don’t want me to know?”

“Then what am I allowed to know? Tell me, Mason. As the future Saintess, what am I actually allowed to know?”

“...”

Mason stayed silent for a long time before finally letting out a heavy sigh.

“Lady Margaret, in any case, we are about to enter a very unusual period. Please do not leave our sight.”

“An unusual period? And when will this unusual period end? When will the next one begin?” Margaret pressed.

“I don’t know. That is simply what His Eminence the Pope instructed. We are to protect you at all costs.”

“I understand. But even if it is His Eminence the Pope, can you at least give me a reason?”

“The Church’s astrologers say their divination predicts that you will encounter trouble in the near future.” After hesitating for a long while, Mason finally gave in and explained.

“Trouble?”

“Yes. And not a small amount of it.”

Mason’s expression was grave.

“Even Carillian Academy itself may face serious trouble.”

“What?” Margaret was stunned. “Have you informed the Academy?”

“We have. You needn’t worry, Lady Margaret. Our priority now is ensuring your safety.”

Still, Mason found the matter strange as well.

If something this serious was expected to happen, why had His Eminence the Pope not simply dispatched the Radiant Cross Knights to Carillian Academy and brought Lady Margaret back to the Church of the Dawn for a time?

But Mason did not dare to ask.

His family had been personally elevated by the Pope. For generations, they had stood closer to the Pope than anyone else. How could he presume to question a decision like that?

He believed that His Eminence the Pope must have his own considerations. Perhaps the matter involved countless complicated issues. Perhaps this truly was the best possible outcome.

As for notifying the Academy, Mongel and the others had already gone to handle it. Mason himself had only come to notify Margaret.

Besides, astrological divinations were not always perfectly accurate. Astrology itself was an elusive discipline. No one truly knew its principles or how divinations were carried out.

Before the previous Pope’s time, astrology had not been used to predict specific events such as these. It was only under the previous Pope that the Church had obtained the secrets of astrology.

Everyone believed that, since it was the Pope’s will, the decision must be correct. No matter what occurred in the end, danger would surely be averted.

“All right. I understand.” Margaret pondered for a moment before finally nodding.

“Oh, Mason. Could you let everyone know about something and help me with a matter?”

“What is it, Lady Margaret? Please tell me.”

Seeing that Margaret was no longer questioning him, Mason finally relaxed.

“I have a friend. He didn’t go home last night, and it seems he still hasn’t returned. I don’t know where he went. Could you help me look for him?”

“Your friend? You mean...”

“Yes. Upperclassman Vinny.”

“Vinny?”

Mason instantly fell silent, as though there were something difficult for him to say.

“Why him?”

“What is it, Mason? Is there a problem? Or have you seen Upperclassman Vinny these past few days?”

“Lady Margaret, it would be best if you stayed away from that person for now.” Mason wore an odd expression.

“Stay away from him? Why?” Margaret was even more confused. “What happened to Upperclassman Vinny? Why are you suddenly telling me not to have contact with him?”

“This isn’t sudden, Lady Margaret. We’ve always told you not to have anything to do with him.” Mason could not help speaking more sharply. “He is an impostor who has been using the Facilis name to deceive people for all this time. Do you truly believe he could be a person of noble character?”

“Maybe he is even part of the ominous sign the astrologers predicted! He could be plotting behind the scenes, trying to figure out how to harm you. That person cannot be good. When his family broke their word and tried to use a Saintess title they had picked up to impersonate Facilis descendants and gain profit, they had already chosen their own path to ruin. We only refrained from settling accounts with them because the old Pope had once felt indebted to their family. Yet they pushed their luck, exploited the situation, and even tried to usurp the place of the true line!”

“In any case, you should not have contact with him anymore. That is for the best.”

“A person of noble character? A good person?”

Margaret went still.

“Lady Margaret? Are you all right?” Mason hesitated when he saw something wrong with her expression.

“I... I...”

Margaret lowered her gaze and pressed a hand to her head, her face twisting with pain.

“Lady Margaret? What is it? Are you okay?” Mason panicked.

“No. I’m... I’m fine.” Sweat covered Margaret’s forehead.

What had just happened to her?

Why had she suddenly become like this?

“Please, pull yourself together. Is something hurting? Your head? Should I take you to the Academy church?”

“No. I don’t need that.” Margaret’s breathing was uneven.

It was strange.

Why?

Why had the mention of those words caused a strange memory—one she had never possessed—to surface in her mind?

It was so strange.

“Lady Margaret, if you are unwell today, please return and rest. I’ll have Agnes come look after you.”

“I understand.” Margaret held her forehead, thinking for a moment.

Yet after taking only two steps, she turned back toward the road she had come from with a baffled expression.

Before she went to the card-player-soul club today, she had seemed to make plans to do something afterward.

What had it been?

The impression was blurred. She could not remember.

*****

That night.

CRASH!

With the sound of glass and other fragile objects breaking apart, the scene before him dissolved into an illusion, as though it had all been reduced to scattered fragments of a dream.

Like the lingering colors left behind before a rainbow faded, the neatly arranged mirrors shattered across the floor, like bright paints spilled everywhere.

The cloaked figure staggered to his feet in silence and looked around at the scattered shards of mirror and the wrecked shop.

After slowly sorting through his thoughts, he raised his head and examined his surroundings.

An unfamiliar place.

A heap of glaring trash littered the floor.

Every piece of it seemed intent on reflecting the face hidden beneath his hood.

Annoying.

Revolting.

His fist tightened slightly.

The temperature inside the shop plummeted. The mirror fragments scattered across the ground condensed into chunks of dark violet ice, then burst apart with a soft crack, turning into a pool of black water.

A moment later, the black water evaporated as well.

Someone was coming.

The cloaked figure heard footsteps approaching from a distance.

He lowered the brim of his hood slightly. His entire body liquefied like water and sank into the ground. The puddle then turned transparent, becoming invisible as it swiftly fled.

“What happened here?”

There were few people on the commercial street that night, but it was not entirely deserted. In the distance, a student heard the commotion. After staring blankly for a moment, the student curiously approached.

Upon seeing the inside of the shop, the student froze in shock.

“Huh? There was a mirror shop here?”

After walking inside and seeing the scattered mirror frames and broken shards all over the floor, the student could not help muttering to himself.

The place was so remote that most people never wandered as far as this mirror shop.

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