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Chapter 14 — A Secret Passage That Isn’t Really a Secret (1)
“Anyway, being talented must be exhausting. Noel probably ended up in your class because your homeroom teacher is a mage. If it were me, how would I even deal with him? I heard he already blew up another door today.”
“I’m a mage, sure, but only within Noctua.”
Throughout the Empire, there were always fewer mages than the demand for them, and they could practically name their own salary wherever they went.
That, however, only applied to combat mages. Non-combat mages—or publicly known invalids like Lucien—were far less welcome.
Even though there were more research positions than field assignments for mages, no one would hire someone like her, whose magic—and even daily life—was only manageable in the unique environment of Noctua.
Her parents, who had nearly lost not only their son but almost their daughter to the state as well, had actually been relieved.
After all, combat mages were the first to be conscripted whenever an emergency arose.
Children are no exception.
Recalling Noel’s extraordinary mana reserves and his reckless competitive streak that made him ignore even his own injuries, which she had witnessed earlier that morning, Lucien quickened her pace.
No matter how much of a troublemaker he is, surely he’s learned his lesson by now.
He can’t seriously be trying to dismantle the barrier… can he?
About thirty minutes earlier, Northern Tower of Noctua.
“The top floor is off-limits to students. Get back downstairs at once!”
“Judging by your ribbon, you’re an Advanced Division student. You should know perfectly well this area is restricted. Return to your classroom while we’re still asking nicely.”
The moment the boy dispelled the magic sealing the staircase to the top floor and appeared, stern warnings rained down upon him.
Of course, if he were the sort to heed warnings, he never would have broken in to begin with.
Dodging the blades that swept toward him, the boy took a few leisurely steps backward and smiled brightly as he raised both hands in surrender.
“You know something?”
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion echoed through the tower, and a massive hole opened in the wall behind the guards with remarkable precision, avoiding them completely.
“I’m better at destroying things than undoing them.”
If the door won’t open, then just open the wall instead.
—Noel Ephron
With one last casual wave from the monstrous prodigy, the guards collapsed into magical sleep.
After carefully propping them up against the opposite wall—the only one that hadn’t been blown apart—Noel turned around.
“Now you’re accomplices too.”
The two witnesses—or rather, the two newly appointed accomplices—either clutched their heads or covered their mouths in horror.
They were Estelle and Beatrice.
During their unexpected free period, they had tried to stop Noel after he announced that he was “going to teach the homeroom teacher a lesson,” but somehow they’d ended up following him all the way here.
Beatrice spoke first, trying to persuade him.
“Noel, I really think you should stop while you still can. If something goes wrong, or if someone comes—”
“Are people from the Temple taught to stick their noses into everything? Did you think I’d come here without considering that? I already made sure nobody outside could hear us.”
Noel cheerfully stepped through the hole in the wall.
He fully intended to get back at the homeroom teacher who had dared challenge him with magic.
Lucien Filonia.
He’d assumed she was just another noble lady who had landed a teaching position through the Headmaster’s connections.
But she had turned out to be nothing like he expected.
The barrier she’d constructed was beyond the level of most ordinary mages.
Figures. That sly old fox wouldn’t have hired just anyone.
Her personality was no joke either.
She hadn’t raised her voice even once, yet somehow managed to threaten people with remedial classes.
Her specialty is barrier magic, wasn’t it?
Dispeling magic wasn’t Noel’s forte, but provoking his new homeroom teacher was reason enough to give it a shot.
As she followed him, Estelle snapped,
“Are people from the Mage Tower taught that breaking the law is a virtue? Do you even know how many school rules you’re violating right now?”
“Your Highness, save the lectures for the guy who’s always glued to your side. Besides, you’re accomplices now too, so who are you calling a rule-breaker? If you love school regulations that much, go turn yourself in.”
Noel replied with a smirk before approaching the barrier core standing in the center of the room and beginning to analyze the magic woven around it.
Estelle rubbed the back of her neck in disbelief.
This brat hasn’t even dried behind the ears.
True, “Estelle Daria Rudvier” was technically a year younger than Noel Ephron.
But the person inside that body was a twenty-six-year-old woman.
Ten years had passed since she’d transmigrated.
Living as a member of the imperial family—the highest status imaginable—meant it had been a long time since she’d encountered someone this outrageously rude.
The Master of the Mage Tower had certainly been famous for his terrible personality in the original novel, but she’d assumed that reputation belonged to his adult self.
She never imagined he’d been like this as a child too.
Well… I skipped all the Academy chapters because they were boring!
Besides, reality had already diverged far too much from the original story.
Turning to Beatrice, Estelle studied her carefully.
She hadn’t appeared in the novel, but she certainly didn’t look like someone hiding some sinister agenda.
“Bea, why don’t we just leave this idiot here and go? My older brother always says not to get involved with those Mage Tower lunatics who are obsessed with magic.”
Such crude language sounded surprisingly clear coming from the young princess, but there was no one present who would dare correct her.
The Duke’s children, Klein Münster and Cordelia Arce, had already gone to their mercilessly scheduled swordsmanship class on the very first day of school.
That left only students from the Temple and the Mage Tower here—none of whom cared much about imperial etiquette.
Still awkward about speaking casually to the princess, Beatrice answered hesitantly.
“But… I’m worried something might happen.”
“It already has.”
Beatrice could hardly argue with that.
She merely smiled awkwardly.
Estelle was right.
Breaking into a student-restricted area, knocking out the guards, and standing here doing all this already counted as a major incident.
“Were you two acquainted before today?”
“N-No.”
“For people who just met, you seem awfully concerned about him. Come to think of it… weren’t you crying when you saw our homeroom teacher earlier?”
Curiosity gleamed in Estelle’s crimson eyes.
Avoiding that surprisingly perceptive gaze, Beatrice looked away.
I never expected to return to the past.
At seventeen, during her fourth year at the Academy, Beatrice had been exposed as a fake Saint and executed.
Then she had awakened in the body of her fourteen-year-old self, three years earlier.
At least… that’s what she’d believed.
Did I really return to the past?
Too many things had changed.
In her previous life, the princess had supposedly died only a few years after birth.
And Beatrice herself wasn’t even supposed to become a Saint Candidate yet.
And I definitely died.
She unconsciously touched her neck.
There was no trace of the blade that had severed it on the execution platform.
More than anything else, however, what Beatrice found hardest to bear was the existence of the teacher she’d met today.
Teacher Lucien.
She…
“Ugh, this is seriously pissing me off!! Who the hell puts a trap in a place like this?!”
Noel suddenly sprang to his feet in frustration, interrupting Beatrice’s thoughts.
Just as he had been about to unravel a crucial section, he’d triggered a hidden trap, causing the spell to backfire, and had hurriedly withdrawn his hand.
Judging by the structure, it’s the same technique as the magic in the classroom earlier.
Which means the one who set this trap is that sweet-looking but incredibly nasty homeroom teacher.
Grinding his teeth, Noel muttered,
“No. I can’t back down here. You’re a genius, Noel Ephron.”
“Did he just call himself a genius?”
Estelle stared at him in disbelief, but Noel quickly regained his composure.
If I can’t even beat the barrier magic of some noble young lady, then my name isn’t worth anything!
With the solemn determination of someone carrying out a mission no one had assigned him, the boy resumed his work.
Watching his stubborn expression, Beatrice could see his irritation, anger, fierce competitiveness…
…and, at the same time, an unavoidable sense of admiration and reluctant acceptance of defeat.
For some reason, she smiled.
“What?”
Noel instantly noticed the silent smile and narrowed his eyes at her.
“I was just thinking… even if you hate the Mage Tower, you really do love magic.”
“You’re stating the obv—”
Noel caught himself just before the rude words escaped his mouth.
Beatrice looked as though she’d burst into tears if anyone spoke harshly to her.
Wait… did I ever tell her I hated the Mage Tower?
