CICN 27

Chapter 27

The dining hall at the academy for gifted students bustled with late diners.

Though everyone chatted excitedly about their visit to the imperial palace earlier that day, fatigue from a full day of walking was written across their faces.

Students were leaving earlier than usual and, while discussing the day’s events, suddenly remembered something.

“Come to think of it, did they find the missing student?”

“I don’t think so. Some of the dorm staff are missing too—maybe they went out to look for her?”

“What if they don’t find her…? What if something bad happened…?”

One student recoiled at the suggestion.

“No way, this is the imperial palace! That’s not going to happen. She’s probably hiding in a corner somewhere, crying. Isn’t she the youngest among the new students?”

“But if that’s the case, wouldn’t they have found her already? A kid smart enough to get into the academy wouldn’t just wander aimlessly. If she was lost, she would’ve asked a nearby guard for help. The fact that they still haven’t found her means… she hasn’t reappeared.”

“Yeah, you’re right…”

Among the stream of passing students, some wore increasingly grim expressions.

They were the students who usually hung around with Rimora.

Sitting quietly in a corner, they exchanged hushed whispers.

“What should we do?”

“I don’t know… I didn’t think it would get this serious…”

Rimora’s friends recalled the terrifying expressions of the staff when they first heard that a student had gone missing.

“Honestly, I thought they’d find her after a couple of hours of panicked searching.”

“Exactly. I didn’t think it’d go on this late…”

Even though they were older than Ibi, they were still just children.

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

They thought Ibi was a show-off, going on about how she’d been picked by the emperor.

So when Rimora exposed her lie, it felt clever and satisfying.

Their thoughts were something like, “So what if the annoying little brat goes through a rough patch?”

But now, outside had grown darker, and the chirping of night birds could be heard. The wind had picked up too.

Being alone in the vast, empty imperial palace at night would be terrifying.

“What if she got hurt or something even worse happened?”

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

Rimora’s friends were now filled with belated regret.

Just then, Rimora suddenly appeared between them.

“What are you all doing? Not going back to the dorm?”

They had assumed she’d be just as flustered and anxious about the situation growing out of control.

But Rimora looked perfectly calm, as if absolutely nothing was wrong.

Her composure was so jarring that one of the friends cautiously spoke up.

“Aren’t you… worried? They still haven’t found her.”

Rimora blinked, her expression blank as though she didn’t understand the question.

Then, as if realizing what they meant, she smiled.

“Oh, her. Why are you so worried? They’re all out looking, so they’ll find her soon enough.”

She brushed it off like it was nothing and stood up from her seat.

“Well, I’m heading back. I’m exhausted from all the walking today—I need a shower and some sleep.”

Calling over another friend, she left the dining hall.

The students left behind looked even more uneasy at Rimora’s complete lack of concern.

“Should we say something?”

They all had a pretty good idea where Ibi might be.

Since Rimora claimed to have “handled things” at the museum, she was probably trapped in one of the many rooms inside.

But saying something wasn’t easy.

To tell them where Ibi was and how she ended up there meant snitching on Rimora.

Even if she was a commoner, Rimora’s family was a respected one.

Plus, she was close with many of the other commoner students, so turning her in might turn everyone against them.

And if the staff found out and asked why they hadn’t spoken up sooner, they’d have no excuse.

Even if they hadn’t physically locked Ibi in, looking the other way made them complicit.

None of the students could bring themselves to return to the dorms.

“Let’s just act like we don’t know anything. They said the headmaster came too, right? She’ll probably turn up soon.”

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

Just as the students remained frozen in indecision—

“You guys.”

A male student suddenly inserted himself into their huddle.

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

His confident tone turned all their faces pale.

They thought they’d been whispering quietly enough in the corner not to be overheard.

But someone had heard.

And not just anyone.

“L-Lusca!”

The boy who always wore a warm, easygoing smile now glared at them with a cold expression none of them had ever seen before.

He took a step closer.

His presence was so intense it felt like he might strike someone if they didn’t back away.

Everyone recoiled in fear, too scared to even speak—

“Stop it, Lusca.”

It was Arcel who grabbed Lusca and pulled him back.

While Lusca glowered, Arcel stepped forward with a soft smile.

Normally nearly expressionless, Arcel’s gentle smile helped the girls relax a little.

“I know it’s a difficult situation. You know where Ibi Elden is, but it’s hard to talk about, isn’t it?”

From behind him, Lusca shot him a look like, “What did he eat to suddenly act like this?”

“But you’re still worried about her and want to help.”

The girls nodded.

“I promise no harm will come to you if you tell us where she is. I swear on the name of the House of Kaelan.”

His words shocked not only the girls but Lusca as well.

Arcel was never the type to involve himself in this sort of matter.

Even the fact that he was joining in to ask about Ibi’s whereabouts was surprising—but now he was going even further.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen this guy invoke his own house’s name for anything.”

Arcel hated relying on the influence of his powerful family, the Ducal House of Kaelan.

Even though everyone knew who he was, he’d never once flaunted it.

But now, here he was, using that name just to find one young girl.

“Why’s he so desperate?”

Lusca looked at Arcel, puzzled.

Finally, one of the girls, encouraged by Arcel’s promise, timidly spoke.

“We… we didn’t do anything. R-Rimora…”

“Rimora? That girl with brown hair in two braids?”

Lusca butted in, and the girls nodded.

“I knew something was off about her earlier. So she did something when we were at the museum?”

“She… she closed the door and left while Ibi was looking at a portrait…”

Before the girl could even finish her sentence, Lusca turned and sprinted away.

Arcel gave the girls a quick bow and a soft smile.

“Thank you for telling us.”

“Wait, please… don’t say we were the ones who told you—”

“Don’t worry.”

Despite the smile on his lips, Arcel’s eyes had gone cold.

“We won’t need your testimony to deal with this.”

With that, Arcel also took off after Lusca.

Ibi reached for the approaching ball of light.

The moment her fingers touched it, a blinding flash burst forth—only to vanish instantly.

“…Huh?”

Everything was calm again, as if nothing had happened.

Blinking against the lingering glare, Ibi slowly looked up.

Even the glow from outside the window was gone.

“But I definitely saw something.”

It couldn’t have been a dream—the light had been so bright it still hurt her eyes.

Yet the room remained unchanged.

She was about to look back at the portrait—

Thudthudthudthud!

Suddenly, the sound of someone running echoed from outside.

It was the first noise she’d heard since being locked in.

Heart pounding, Ibi scrambled toward the door, ready to shout for help—

“Ibi Elden!”

“Ibi! Are you in there?”

Two boys’ voices called out at the same time.