Chapter 27

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Translated by Sylph

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net.
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The cafeteria of the Gifted Center was crowded with students who had come to eat late.

They were excited as they talked about the stories of the Imperial Palace they had seen during the day, but fatigue was visible on everyone’s faces since they had walked all day.

Students who were leaving their seats earlier than usual said, as if they suddenly remembered while talking about what they had seen during the day.

“By the way, did they say they found the missing student?”

“It seems they haven’t found her yet. Seeing that many of the dormitory staff are also missing, maybe they went to look for her.”

“What if they can’t find her like this… or what if she’s found in a bad state…”

At those words, another student was startled.

“Hey, it’s inside the Imperial Palace, so that can’t be. She’s probably sobbing in a corner somewhere by now. They said she’s the youngest among the new students.”

“But if that were the case, wouldn’t she have been found already? A child who entered the Gifted Center isn’t a fool; if she got lost, she would have asked the nearby guards for help. But the fact that they haven’t found her until now means she hasn’t appeared.”

“That’s true too.”

There were students whose expressions grew darker and darker at the conversation of the passing students.

They were the students who hung out with Rimora.

Sitting in a corner, they looked at each other and spoke in low voices.

“What do we do?”

“I don’t know either. I didn’t know things would get this big…”

Rimora’s friends recalled the expressions of the staff that had hardened terrifyingly at the mention that a student had disappeared.

“Honestly, I thought they would just find her after fussing for an hour or two.”

“Right. To think they haven’t been able to find her until this late…”

Even if they were much larger than Evi, they were ultimately just young students as well.

At first, they had giggled along with Rimora’s prank.

They had thought she was a child who subtly acted superior because she had been chosen by the Emperor.

So, Rimora, who had uncovered the lie, looked amazing and smart.

Therefore, they had thought it didn’t matter if the annoying brat went through a bit of trouble, but…

In the meantime, the chirping of night birds was heard from the outside, which had grown darker. The sound of the wind was also becoming stronger.

On a night like this, it would be scary to be alone in a deserted place in the Imperial Palace.

‘What if she gets hurt or something bigger happens?’

They hadn’t wished for it to go that far.

Rimora’s friends were having belated regrets.

At that moment, Rimora suddenly cut in among them.

“What are you all doing? Aren’t you going back to the dormitory?”

They had thought she would be struggling and anxious, not knowing what to do about the situation that had grown as they had.

Rimora was smiling with a peaceful face, as if absolutely nothing had happened.

One friend, who was dumbfounded by that composure, cautiously opened her mouth.

“Aren’t you worried…? I heard they still haven’t found her.”

At those words, Rimora blinked and looked at her with a face that seemed to ask what on earth she was talking about.

Then, she took on an expression of late realization.

“Ah, that kid. What are you worried about? Everyone went to look for her, so she’ll be found soon.”

Having spoken lightly as if asking why they were worried about such a thing, Rimora stood up from her seat.

“Then I’m going first. I walked too much today, so I’m tired and need to wash up and go to sleep quickly.”

Then she called another friend and went back to the dormitory together.

The faces of the remaining friends grew even darker at the sight of her having absolutely no worry at all.

“Should we tell?”

Everyone had a guess as to where Evi might be.

Since Rimora had said the place she had successfully finished and come out from was the museum, it was certain she was trapped in one of the many rooms inside it.

But saying that was not an easy task.

Saying where Evi was and why she became that way was the same as telling on Rimora for doing such a thing.

Even if they were commoners, Rimora’s family was a prestigious one.

Furthermore, since she had been close with other commoner students since before entering, telling on Rimora meant they might become enemies with Rimora and other students if things went wrong.

Also, if the staff asked why they had pretended not to know when they already knew, they would have nothing to say for themselves either.

Even if they didn’t do it directly, those who turned a blind eye were also accomplices.

The students were at a loss, unable to return to the dormitory.

“Let’s just go back and pretend we don’t know. They went to look for her, and they said even the Director has arrived. So she’ll be back soon.”

“But what if they still can’t find her?”

It was when the students were still unable to make a decision on what to do.

“You guys.”

Suddenly, there was a male student who thrust himself among the female students.

“You know where that child is, don’t you?”

At the words filled with conviction, the faces of the female students turned pale.

They had thought they were talking quietly in a corner so that others couldn’t hear, but to think there was someone listening!

Even the person who appeared was someone everyone knew well.

“Ru, Ruska-nim…!”

The smile that always seemed like that of a good person was nowhere to be found.

Ruska, who was glaring at them with a cold expression they had never seen before, took another step closer.

Everyone winced and stepped back at his actions.

Somehow, Ruska’s atmosphere was so grim that it felt like they might get hit if they didn’t.

The moment everyone was terrified and kept their mouths shut, another voice was heard.

“Stop it, Ruska.”

The person who grabbed and stopped Ruska was Arcel.

He subtly pushed the fierce Ruska behind him and, unlike Ruska, smiled brightly.

Usually, Arcel was close to expressionless. When he smiled softly, the female students who had stepped back in tension relaxed their expressions a little.

“I know it’s a difficult situation. You know where Evi Alden is, but it’s hard to say, right?”

Behind Arcel, who spoke in a gentle manner, Ruska looked at him with an expression that asked, ‘Did he eat something wrong?’

“But you’re worried about the child and want to let us know.”

At Arcel’s words, the female students nodded their heads.

“I’ll make sure no harm comes to you, so won’t you tell us where she is? I’ll promise on the name of the Kaylan family.”

At Arcel’s words, the female students, as well as Ruska, wore surprised expressions.

In the first place, Arcel was not of a personality to get involved in such matters.

So even asking the students about Evi’s whereabouts together like this was surprising, but he was participating even more actively than expected.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen this guy do something while staking his family name.’

Arcel hated handling matters by borrowing the power of his family, the Duke of Kaylan’s household.

So even though everyone knew who he was, he had never mentioned the family name.

But now, to stake his family name just to find one young female student.

‘Why is this guy so desperate?’

Ruska looked at Arcel with an inquisitive gaze.

In the meantime, when Arcel promised while even bringing up his family name, one female student cautiously opened her mouth, perhaps having gained courage.

“We didn’t do anything. Re, Rimora…”

“Rimora? By any chance, that girl with brown hair tied in pigtails?”

When Ruska cut in and asked again, the female students nodded their heads.

“I knew she was a bit strange earlier. Then, did she do something when you were at the museum?”

“When, when that child was looking at a portrait, she said she had closed the door from the outside and come back…”

Even before the female student’s words were finished, Ruska turned his body and ran away.

Seeing that, Arcel also smiled at the female students and gave a short greeting.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Um, about us saying it…”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Unlike his smiling mouth, Arcel’s eyes grew cold.

“Because there’s no big problem in resolving it even without your testimony.”

Having said that, Arcel also ran after Ruska.

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Evi grabbed the approaching cluster of light. In that instant, a flash of light so bright it was blinding erupted, then vanished in an instant.

“Huh?”

As if nothing had happened, the space was silent.

Evi blinked her eyes, which still had afterimages of the light, and raised her head.

The light that had been visible through the window had also disappeared at some point.

‘I definitely saw light.’

It couldn’t have been a dream—her eyes, startled by the bright light, still couldn’t see properly.

But with the situation unchanged, just as Evi was about to look at the portrait again—

Thud thud thud thud!

The sound of something running approached from outside.

At the first sound she’d heard since being trapped, Evi hurriedly moved toward the door.

Just as she was about to cry out that someone was here, to save her—

“Evi Alden!”

“Evi! Are you in there?”

The voices of two male students shouting simultaneously reached her.