Chapter 29

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Translated by Sylph

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net.
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While returning to the Gifted Center, Evi continued to be held in Seraphina’s arms.

“I can walk.”

“No. Stay still until we go and properly examine you. More than that, you don’t have any other places that hurt?”

“I don’t.”

At that moment, Arcel, who was following behind, suddenly said.

“No, her hand must be hurt.”

At those words, Evi looked at her hand.

Was it because she had knocked hard to call someone during the day? Even to her eyes, she could see her hand, which was more swollen than usual along with red marks.

Seraphina also looked at Evi’s hand and asked Arcel.

“You’re right. Arcel, how did you know?”

“Since she was trapped, I thought she would have knocked.”

Ruska, who was standing next to him, also cut in.

“And there were many marks of impact on the door latch part. It means she shook it a lot from the inside.”

“My word…”

Seraphina’s face hardened after hearing the words of the two.

After entering the staff building, she sat Evi on a chair and examined her hand.

“You’re right. It’s very swollen. Fortunately, it’s not torn. Still, it’ll be a bit uncomfortable to grab things or write for a few days.”

Seraphina instructed the staff to bring medicine and bandages.

When the staff left, she looked at Arcel and Ruska.

“Now, then. Before everyone returns, I want to hear how you two found this child even before I did.”

Then Ruska immediately stepped forward.

“Because we heard from other students that they might know where she is.”

“Then how did those students know? And why didn’t they tell other staff or professors until things became like this?”

“That is…”

Ruska hurriedly shut his mouth. Then he sent a desperate look to Arcel, as if asking what he was doing and to help quickly.

Arcel let out a light sigh and said in a calm voice.

“I cannot tell you in detail. Because we also heard it under such conditions. We even promised by staking our family names.”

“I see.”

If that was the case, Seraphina couldn’t force them to say who it was either.

At that moment, Arcel opened his mouth again while wearing the same bright smile he had given the female students earlier.

“However, I promised not to say who those students are; I didn’t make a promise not to say who the person who caused this work is.”

* * *

“Ah, I’m full…”

Rimora sat on the sofa and leaned her body.

Even while just lying still, the corners of her mouth went up on their own.

‘They still haven’t found her, right?’

There was no way she would die. It’s just that since it’s a museum before the official opening, she would only be found after the staff there went to work tomorrow.

Even during the day, the museum was quite eerie.

In particular, the portrait gallery only had high windows where minimal natural light came in for the protection of the paintings, and there were no other windows on the walls.

To have to stay in such a place all night with unpleasant portraits.

‘She must be sobbing because she’s scared.’

She’s a young child. If she returns after crying like that for a whole day, she’ll surely pester that she doesn’t want to be here and wants to go back to where she lived.

At least, that’s what would happen.

‘Then it’s only good for me.’

Rimora thought again of the pleasant things she had been thinking about all day.

Participating in the Gifted Center’s events together with Arcel as the runner-up.

Naturally building a friendship with Ruska, and if things go well, getting close to Irene Terence and borrowing jewelry from her when she becomes the Empress someday…

It was when Rimora was smirking as if the things in her imagination had already happened.

Knock, knock.

At the sound of knocking on the door, she raised her body.

Is it my roommate? While she was thinking, a voice was heard from outside.

“Miss Rimora Isel? Are you inside?”

“Who is…”

When Rimora opened the door at the unfamiliar voice, a dormitory staff member was standing outside.

The student who used the room across from Rimora’s also opened the door, wondering if something was happening, and looked at the two.

In an instant, Rimora’s body hardened with tension.

Why? Why did the staff come looking for me at this time?

At that moment, the staff said with a smile.

“Some lost items came in, so would you come downstairs, check them, write the documents, and take them?”

* * *

The roommate, who had been watching to see what was going on, also returned to her room.

“Yes, thank you.”

Rimora also let out a silent sigh of relief and followed the staff member out.

‘I was startled for nothing.’

She had been worried about Evi Alden’s situation, so she wondered if somehow she had been found out.

Then suddenly she wondered what she had lost.

“So what kind of item is it?”

“Well, I’m not quite sure about that either.”

Strangely, the staff member’s tone had turned cold compared to just moments ago.

‘What’s going on? Why is she acting like this?’

She had seemed quite friendly in the room, so Rimora couldn’t understand why her demeanor had changed.

‘So the staff really do discriminate after all.’

At the Gifted Center, they claimed everyone was equal regardless of noble or commoner status, but how could that be true?

Even the students would flatter and fawn before the high nobles.

‘Just you wait and see.’

Rimora glared at the staff member’s back as she followed her.

She thought they were heading to the staff room in the lobby, but the staff member led her deeper inside instead.

“Ask the people inside.”

The staff member said this and immediately turned to leave.

‘What on earth is this about?’

Rimora knocked on the door. When she heard a voice from inside telling her to come in, she opened the door and stepped inside.

At that moment.

“……!”

Suddenly, as if someone had shoved her from behind, Rimora’s body was pushed forcefully inside.

Slam!

Then the door slammed shut and the lights went out.

“What the—!”

The startled Rimora scrambled up and tried to open the door, but it was so dark that it took her a while just to find the handle.

Moreover, the door that had opened so easily before wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she tried.

“Wh-why is this like this! Hello! Is anyone out there?”

The frightened Rimora pounded on the door.

She shook it so hard it rattled, but no voices came from outside.

This only made Rimora more anxious. Wasn’t she now trapped in darkness?

Bang! Bang!

In the darkness, she pounded on the door with all her might. Her hands hurt from hitting the thick door, but now was not the time to worry about that.

Cold sweat dripped down from the fear of being trapped alone in the dark.

Eventually, she couldn’t hold on any longer and screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Help!”

Snap!

At that moment, as if by magic, the darkness vanished and light flooded the space.

Startled by the sudden change, Rimora turned around.

When she had entered, the room had clearly been empty, but now Evi was standing there.

The moment she saw Evi, Rimora’s eyes went wild.

“You! You did this, didn’t you!”

Rimora strode forward and grabbed Evi.

“You— are you getting revenge on me because I locked you up? How ridiculous!”

Thinking that just moments ago she had been trembling and begging for her life because of this child, all she could feel was rage.

Even though Rimora shouted, Evi wasn’t startled at all and simply looked at her quietly.

“Answer me! This is……!”

When Evi didn’t answer, Rimora reached out her hand.

“Alright, that’s enough.”

At that moment, Seraphina appeared from the side and grabbed Rimora’s wrist.

“I listened and had my hopes, but… to think a student would deliberately trap another student.”

Seraphina shook her head with a sigh, as if she couldn’t believe it.

Rimora stared blankly at the stranger before coming to her senses.

‘Oh no!’

She finally realized what mistake she had made.

‘I said it myself.’

In a moment of anger, she had blurted out what she had done.

She gritted her teeth at her own stupidity.

Her mind went numb and her hands trembled. Rimora bit her lip and desperately racked her brain.

‘If only I could make this person keep quiet.’

Anyway, no one would believe Evi’s word regardless of who said it. And there were no witnesses.

So if only this staff member would look the other way…

At that moment, Seraphina sighed and spoke.

“You seem to think that if you can just shut me up, you’ll get away with this. My name is Seraphina Reedum. I’m the headmistress of this Gifted Center.”

“……!”

Rimora’s jaw dropped at Seraphina’s introduction.

Rimora’s family was one that had produced many scholars.

As such, they had many connections with not only Gifted Center alumni but also prominent figures at the Academy.

And the person Rimora’s family had desperately wanted to establish ties with was Seraphina Reedum.

Seraphina Reedum was a once-in-a-century genius, truly.

Her grades and papers during her time at the Gifted Center and Academy were beyond question, and as one of the few mages, she was the current Emperor’s most loyal confidant.

However, she loved traveling so much that she rarely came to the capital, and it was said she had no close acquaintances.

And the person standing before her was that very Seraphina.

Rimora’s face turned ashen as she realized this was someone she could not touch.

Then her gaze fell on Evi, who was still standing there looking at her.

Now there was only one way left.

Rimora gritted her teeth, walked up to Evi, and spoke.

“I-I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

She was an orphan, and no matter how smart, only seven years old.

She recalled how the child had been happy just because she talked to her.

‘So if I bow my head and apologize first, she’ll accept it.’

Because she was the kind of foolish child who never once made a frown even when she received hostile glances from other students all day, couldn’t fit in anywhere, and was pushed aside.

‘So she’ll definitely forgive me.’

Since it had come to this, she decided to do it properly, receive forgiveness for certain, and make sure no more words came out about it.

And she had to make Seraphina, the headmistress, understand that what she had done was a ‘mistake.’

Without much effort, tears welled up in Rimora’s eyes from the humiliation.

“I was just trying to play a little prank… I didn’t know it would blow up like this.”

Her shoulders shaking as tears streamed down her face—anyone watching would have felt pity.

“I should have said something… but I was so scared too…”

Rimora wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Then she bowed deeply to Evi.

“I’m truly sorry! I was really wrong. This will absolutely never happen again. So please forgive me!”

Rimora now looked ready to collapse onto her knees.

‘This should be enough.’

To anyone watching, this was more than an excessive apology.

Enough that if other students were present, they would be saying, ‘Does she really need to go that far?’

‘And if she says she forgives me, the headmistress won’t be able to say anything either.’

It was while Rimora was thinking this.

“No.”

“What, what?”

Rimora lifted her head in surprise at Evi’s completely unexpected answer.

She was so shocked that even her tears vanished.

Evi wasn’t angry, nor did she look satisfied at seeing Rimora in this state. Her face was somehow sad.

“That place was cold and dark. If it had been another student trapped there instead of me, they would have been terrified. And they would have cried a lot.”

“That may be true, but… you didn’t cry either…”

At Rimora’s words, Seraphina looked at Evi’s face.

‘Come to think of it, she didn’t cry at all.’

She had been trapped alone there, knocking until her hands swelled up. No one came, and she spent the night there, shivering in the cold.

A normal seven-year-old would have already cried themselves to exhaustion by then.

Even if not, the moment she saw the person coming to rescue her, she would have felt relieved, her tension would have eased, and she would have cried.

But there wasn’t a single tear stain on Evi’s face.

In that moment, Seraphina inwardly sighed.

She had seen children like this during the war.

Children who, after witnessing something truly horrific, wouldn’t cry anymore unless it was something even more terrifying or sorrowful.

‘I heard she’s only seven.’

She had lived a life where being alone in the dark for a long time was nothing out of the ordinary.

A wave of pity washed over her.

“I was scared too. If not for the portrait there, I might have been curled up, unable to move.”

Evi recalled the portrait that had been watching her.

Unlike the other paintings, that portrait hadn’t been scary at all.

The portrait that somehow made her want to keep talking to it and give it the good things she had.

“And if you knew you were wrong, you should have said so right away. You said you were afraid of being punished, but the person who was trapped would have been even more afraid.”

Evi leaned down and met Rimora’s eyes.

“You knew and said nothing. The director told me that then it’s not a mistake. So I won’t forgive you.”

At the firm answer, Rimora couldn’t say a word.

Seraphina, who was watching, felt the same.

Honestly, when Rimora had bowed her head and asked for forgiveness, she thought Evi would easily forgive her.

But contrary to her innocent appearance, she was now showing a surprisingly resolute demeanor.

Clap!

Seraphina clapped her hands once. It was about time she wrapped this up.

“Since the victim Evi says she won’t forgive you, there’s nothing to be done.”

“Th-then…”

Rimora trembled as she looked at her.

“Don’t look at me with that face. What? Are you afraid I’ll expel you?”

“……!”

At the words she feared most, Rimora flinched.

“Expulsion from the Gifted Center isn’t decided so easily. For that, you’d need a meeting of at least five professors… and more importantly, since no physical harm was inflicted, the punishment is ambiguous. The Gifted Center rules don’t have specific provisions for psychological issues yet.”

With that, Seraphina looked at Evi’s hand.

It was swollen, but not quite at the level where you could call it an injury.

“But that doesn’t mean there can be no punishment at all. So I’ll give you a light disciplinary action with no point deduction.”

At those words, Rimora’s face brightened. It was called punishment, but with no point deduction, it was nothing serious.

‘As expected, Seraphina Reedum ultimately doesn’t care much about fights between commoner kids.’

To Rimora, who thought she had finally been saved, Seraphina spoke.

“Starting tomorrow, until you receive forgiveness, you will apologize to Evi Alden sincerely at least once a day.”

In that instant, Rimora’s face turned white.