Two days had gone by since I had this conversation with Ava, and we hadn’t spoken once since then. In fact, I hadn’t talked to anyone except my students. I also hadn’t been able to find out anything about the hooded person who had entered my class and corrupted the Cyclops.
I had focused on Derek quite a bit, but he never did anything strange. He was clean.
In the meantime, I had managed to give most of my students a curriculum, which they were now following to the dot. Every time they had a question, I helped them as best as possible, and things went quite well. I was quite sure that if things kept going at the same pace, then there would be no problem continuing with this strategy.
Still, I was quite nervous tonight.
Why, you may ask?
Because all the teachers had to attend a banquet.
What kind of banquet?
A banquet where the parents of most of the students would gather and meet us…
I had never been the type of person to go to those events, and when I tried to convince the director…well, it didn’t work out. Her answer had been categoric.
Before heading out for the banquet, I took a good look at myself and put on the best smile I could muster.
“Ah…it’s only a few hours. It’s not like anything bad will happen, right?” I laughed. “I’m only meeting the parents of the most influential families in the world. Meh, let’s just hope that they aren’t dicks.”
I said that, but I knew they would be talking to me as if they were ten times as good as me. But still, it didn’t matter. Over the years of attending those events, I had gotten used to it.
Ever since my family died when the war started, I was confronted with all sorts of people more strange than the last.
Either way, I needed to hurry up. It was about to start, and I still hadn’t arrived.
I opened my window and flew right through it. In midair, I glanced at the clock to judge how fast I needed to go.
“5 minutes left, huh?”
The banquet was being hosted quite far away from the Royal Academy. In fact, it was a place everyone knew within the Royal Capital, the Emperor’s Manor. Yes, for some reason, the Emperor was the one hosting the annual banquet for the new students of the Royal Academy.
There were a few rumors that he would be showing up at the banquet, but I didn’t believe them at all. There was no real reason for him to appear in front of us.
Still, if he was present than I would male sure to talk to him about my job and my situation. I’m sure he would also try to do the same.
Either way, I flew as fast as I could, and even from kilometers away, I spotted the Emperor’s Manor.
It was beautifully lightened up, making sure that anyone would be able to see it from far away. I could hear the party starting even if I was a fair bit away. People were celebrating, and right as I was about to reach the banquet, traditional music started playing.
Trumpets, drums, all the instruments you could think of started playing at the same time. It seemed the party was about to start, which meant that…I was late.
Fuck.
I knew that I had left too late.
People started walking on a huge red carpet that led all the way inside the Emperor’s Manor.
“What should I do?” I murmured in the skies.
I couldn’t fly down, or else someone would spot me. I needed to find a way to get inside the Manor before all the students entered. I looked around, trying to find a place where I would be able to enter. I glanced from above and spotted what seemed to be a door that led inside from the garden. However, the garden clearly wasn’t open for the party. All the lights were off, clearly showing that it hadn’t been planned to be used.
Either way, it was the best option, and it was the one I chose as I flew downward toward the garden.
In a few seconds, I landed as I made sure no one from the crowd on the other side of the Manor could spot me. I had made it; now, all that was left was to reach the other side without anyone finding me.
I shrugged. ‘Shouldn’t be too hard.’
I took one step forward before hearing footsteps on my right. Someone else was here, but who?
Quickly hiding behind one of the nearby bushes, I looked at the person walking all alone in the garden.
The figure of that person was slender. It was a girl. She wore a long, white dress that flew in the night breeze. Her long golden hair also flew in the wind. My eyes widened as I continued looking at her…she looked amazing. I had never seen such beauty before.
J-Just who was this person?
In an instant, I was fully captivated by her beauty as my eyes simply followed her body. I stared and stared, unable to take my eyes away from her. She seemed to be murmuring something, but it didn’t reach my ears.
Seconds passed by, and she was already at the Manor’s door. She opened it and entered it, probably heading for the banquet.
I shook my head the moment she left my field of view. Realizing that I also needed to get a move on. Discreetly, I headed for the same door she had gone through, and I was inside the Manor. It was dark. I could barely see where I was heading. The only thing guiding me was the white dress that shone through the darkness of the Emperor’s Manor.
My feet moved on their own, and I continued to follow her, trusting that she was going in the right direction. It had never happened to me in the past, but I was totally under that person’s charm. However, as I was about to continue following her, I heard murmurs on my right.
That voice…I recognized it.
It was Alexandra’s.
