I came out of my reverie upon hearing Alexandra’s distinct voice. However, she wasn’t alone. She was talking to someone else right at this moment. I recognized her voice, but the other person was unfamiliar. Given we were in the Emperor’s castle, the chances of her talking to the Emperor himself were quite high. Their discussion seemed serious, with no playfulness in their tones.
I took a quick look around and decided to get closer. I wanted to hear their discussion—who knows, maybe I was the subject of their discussion?
If that were to be the case, then I wanted to hear every last thing coming out of their mouth, which is why I got as close as possible.
Hiding behind a wall a few meters away, I glanced at them subtly. I managed to confirm one thing: one of the voices was Alexandra’s, but I still couldn’t identify the other person. He was dressed in luxurious clothing, but that was common at the party. At least one thing was clear—he was rich and powerful.
I dismissed those thoughts and focused on their conversation.
“Do you think they’ll show up?” Alexandra asked.
“It’s too dangerous, and if they do…the whole world will know about them.”
I frowned. I wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but it felt related to the demons still roaming the world. I thought I had been the only one aware of that information, but it seemed the director and whoever he was talking to also knew too.
“Should we announce it tonight?”
The other man waved his hands dismissively. “No, especially not here. They will all start to panic.”
The director nodded. It seemed the person she was talking to had even more influence than her. Despite his well-built physique suggesting a history of training, I couldn’t sense his strength from where I stood. I would have to get closer to sense it.
“Shouldn’t we talk about this with Caedrel?”
The man’s answer was immediate. “I’ll talk to him about it tonight. There’s a good chance he already knows anyway. He might act like an idiot but he’s anything but one.”
She nodded. “I know, don’t worry. To be frank, he’s the best for the job. No one can buy him, and he hates them with a burning passion.”
The constant reference to “them” was starting to get on my nerves. I had a good idea of who they were talking about, but I wanted to be 100% sure. ‘Fuck, why couldn’t they just go ahead and say it out loud for me to hear?’
“I know, there’s a reason I chose him. We already know that the war was only a distraction for them. We have to make our move soon, or else, we might as well be doomed.”
The man started walking in my direction. My instincts told me he was the Emperor, but once again, I couldn’t be 100% sure. As they got closer, I moved away from the wall, maintaining a good distance between us, and followed them to the banquet.
Arriving late to the party had made me learn a thing or two about the director. There was now only one question weighing on my mind: Should I confront the director about who ‘them’ were?
I was 99% sure that they were talking about Demons, which is why I decided to let it go for the time being. After all, the man had just said he would talk to me later.
After a few moments, they reached another door, and on the other side, there was a lot of noise. It seemed I had finally arrived at the party. I sighed. A bunch of people who thought too highly of themselves—that was what awaited me on the other side of that door.
I waited for a few moments after the director and the man went through the door before following them. However, just as I was about to open it, cheers erupted from the banquet.
“It’s the Emperor?!”
“The Emperor showed up?”
Exclamations from all ages filled the room, and they were so loud that even I heard them. I smiled, realizing that I had guessed right. However, that smile quickly disappeared because I was now stuck on the other side of the door. If I came out now, everyone would see me, and that was the last thing I wanted. But if someone noticed that I hadn’t arrived at the party, I’d get in even more trouble back at the Royal Academy. The professors had probably all arrived by now. I was the only one stupid enough to arrive late to a party organized by the Emperor.
I released a sigh. ‘Just how long can I stay here…?’
Luckily for me, I noticed their shadows slowly moving away from the door, meaning that most people’s attention should be shifting away. It was my only option. I grabbed the door and quietly opened it, sliding across it, trying to be as discreet as possible. And it worked—I was on the other side.
I rubbed my pants and straightened my back. But just as I did that, someone bumped into me, making me fall. However, I didn’t fall alone as the person who had bumped into me had also fallen on top of me.
‘What a great start to being discreet…’ I sarcastically thought as I opened my eyes again.
“Sorry—” No words were coming out of my mouth as I saw who was on top of me. It was the same woman I saw earlier—the golden-haired woman.
She was right there, a few centimeters away from my face. Her entire body against mine, I could feel every last bit of it. However, if you thought that was bad, you hadn’t seen anything yet.
“Is that the new professor of the Apex Class?”
“I-I think it is.” Another person said. “Where’d he come from?”
“Wait, who’s on top of him?”
“Is that…?” Another man hesitated. “Is that the Empress?”
‘Of fucking course.’ I sighed. ‘This just had to happen to me…’
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