CICN 61

Chapter 61

Evie hugged the toy tightly and looked around.

“Professor?”

Because she was holding the toy with both hands, she couldn’t grab his clothes.

So, when people passed by in a crowd, she was swept along and ended up in a side alley.

Fortunately, it wasn’t far, so she thought that if she returned to the spot she had been standing earlier, she could meet Professor Xian again.

But when she returned to that place, he was nowhere to be seen.

Startled, Evi looked around.

No matter how much she scanned the passing people, she couldn’t spot him anywhere.

“Professor!”

She called out loudly.

The people passing by looked at her, puzzled, as if wondering what was going on.

Where did he go?

It had really happened in an instant. She had only stepped aside for a moment, surely less than thirty seconds…

He must be nearby.

Evi took a step back, standing between the shops, watching the people pass.

Until a moment ago, she had been happy to have gotten a toy.

The shops decorated for the festival sparkled, and it had been fun to watch the people.

But now, the shining shops and smiling people, completely indifferent to her unease, felt frightening.

It’s okay.

Biting her lip tightly, Evi thought,

Director taught me what to do if I get lost or lose my companions.

She had been told not to move from the spot where she lost her group.

Even if she felt anxious and scared, she was to endure and wait there. Then she could be found again.

By now, the professor must have realized that she couldn’t see him. So he would return soon.

So…

I just need to endure the scary part a little.

Evi hugged the toy to her chest and waited there, standing.

“Already going back?”

Hearing Arcel say he wanted to leave earlier than planned, Duke Kellen looked slightly disappointed.

“Do you have unfinished business?”

Duke Kellen knew his son’s character well.

Arcel was surprisingly calm and rational for his young age.

He always followed his plans, and rarely did things go off course.

“No, neither of us seems to have inherited that trait. Where did our son pick it up?”

“He looks exactly like you, what nonsense are you talking about?”

Recalling the time he had been lightly nudged by his wife for talking nonsense, Duke Kellen looked at Arcel with a worried expression.

“If you intend to go back early to study, then we won’t call you for dinner tonight. You can be comfortable in your room…”

“That’s not it. I already have enough study material, so there’s no need to rush.”

How did his thirteen-year-old son end up with such a dull personality?

Duke Kellen clicked his tongue inwardly.

Now I see, his temperament is exactly like His Majesty’s when he was a child.

That might be why he’s always the first considered when the emperor’s adoption stories come up.

“Then why are you in such a hurry?”

“Well…”

Arcel hesitated, and the duke looked at him as if everything strange was happening at once.

It was the first time Arcel had hesitated like this in answering.

“If it’s hard to answer, you don’t have to. At your age, it’s normal to have one or two secrets you can’t tell your parents.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

Arcel’s expression showed his strong objection, and the duke laughed heartily, calling a servant to prepare the carriage.

“Your mind is already there; what can I do to stop you? We’ll wait for the next outing day.”

Arcel thanked his father silently, packed his things into his bag, and got into the carriage.

As the carriage departed, he looked at the bag beside him.

The academy already had all the necessary supplies.

The only things he brought were books from his personal study.

Books he had already read, and some that no one else had even touched.

He seems to like travelogues. And also the basic textbooks for subjects.

Books at opposite extremes, yet Arcel liked both.

Evi seems to like both as well.

Evi Alden.

He recalled the little girl who had waved to him, wishing him a good trip.

At first, he had only paid attention because she was chosen by the emperor.

So, when he met her again after failing to resist Lusca’s nagging, he had found it a bit bothersome.

Still, he couldn’t ignore her. She stayed in his mind.

When he learned that she was being ostracized by Irene Terrins and the other girls, he said nothing even though he knew he and Lusca were being used.

He thought that attending classes and sharing meals would suffice to improve the situation.

Then a doubt arose: would he have gone this far for anyone else?

Arcel looked at the bag again.

Upon returning home, he went straight to his study and spent the day selecting books.

The most enjoyable, the most worthwhile of the ones he had seen.

I wonder if she’ll like them.

He remembered Evi’s delight when Professor Malis showed her new books.

Since she liked even dry math books, she would surely be even happier with the ones he had brought.

Her round green eyes would soften, her small face would fill with a bright smile.

He hoped she would always smile like that…

“…!”

At that moment, Arcel, gazing at the festival crowd-filled street, suddenly stood up.

Just now…

He thought he saw Evi.

By a food stall, wearing the old clothes she had on the first day—not the academy uniform—looking glum.

He hurried to stop the carriage and leaned out to look again.

But the carriage had already passed that spot, and the place where he saw her was now hidden by the crowd.

Did I see it wrong?

Come to think of it, Evi shouldn’t be outside. She had chosen to stay at the academy. And students under ten couldn’t go out without a guardian.

Who would have brought her out?

Professor Malis said she’d be going home too, so there’s no one else to accompany her.

So what he saw must have been an illusion.

Still, Arcel kept leaning out, looking back.

He couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

“Mom… sniffle…”

Evi saw a child sitting on the chair next to her, crying while looking for his mother.

A boy of about her age had been crying non-stop since arriving.

Evi looked at the cloth attached to the chair.

[MIA Shelter]

After losing sight of Professor Xian, Evi had stood in place for thirty minutes. But he didn’t appear.

She considered returning to the academy alone, when some people lingering nearby approached.

Evi was wary of them.

She had heard of people abducting orphaned children after the war to sell them.

Even at the orphanage, the director would worry and search all day if the children were missing.

“Did you lose your parents?”

“No, I…”

“Well, you’ve been alone all this time.”

The rough-looking man spoke and grabbed Evi’s hand.

Just as Evi was about to cry out for help, the man shouted first:

“Hey, guards! Here’s a MIA!”

Upon hearing this, the nearby guards immediately ran over. The man waved to Evi, saying, “Make sure to find your parents and go home safely.”

That’s how she ended up here.

The guards offered warm cocoa to the children as they arrived, reassuring them that they would soon be reunited with their families.

As promised, children were soon collected by their parents.

They would throw down the cocoa and run to cling to their parents, crying.

Evi quietly watched this scene.

A short while later, the boy sitting next to her was found by his family.

Watching him take his parents’ hands and leave, Evi curled up.

All the children are picked up by their parents.

But she had no parents. Who would come for her?

Evi buried her face in her knees. No tears came.

Even if she cried, it only made her feel worse.

No one would comfort her when she cried. It would only be lucky if she wasn’t scolded or hit.

She had known this truth since she was very young.

I’ll go back alone.

Professor Xian must have returned first.

So she just needed to tell the guards she was an academy student and ask to be escorted back.

They would take her back immediately. So…

I’ll stay here just a little longer…

Clutching the wooden doll and curling up further, Evi braced herself.

“Evie!”

Suddenly, she was lifted up.

Looking up, she saw Cloyce, drenched in sweat, standing before her.