Chapter 16 (1/2)

Chapter 16

Celestia kept studying with all her might. There were numerous fun events before the midterm examination, but she didn’t bother to show up. If she had appeared in a place where students from the same class were hanging out, it was obvious that she wouldn’t have much fun. Now, her only goal was to get promoted.

No matter how well she was treated by the head of the academy, she could only beat the nobility by getting promoted.

What she needed was to memorize all the history of the Burg Empire. It wasn’t easy for her to learn all of the knowledge built by the famous philosophers and researchers, which was completely different from that of Goldina’s.

She worked hard day and night.

In the meantime, whenever she treated the Emperor, he kept asking her about her academy life. She even heard from the head of the academy that Van was interested in the beauty of the Academy, and he really was.

At first, she was forced to speak about the behavior of her classmates towards her, but later, she tried her best not to mention it. Although the Emperor had the ambition to nurture talented people regardless of their status, he himself was the one who stood on a new branch. Even so, it didn’t sound good for her to serve the sins of the aristocrats, even if she was from another country.

Knock, Knock, Knock-

Two days before the exam, she heard someone knocking on her door. She raised her head from her book, her arms piled up. She had fallen asleep and her eyes were sore from reading the book.

Lately, she had been reading all day long, so the maid Luana often came to cheer on her. Luana was an orphan like her, so both of them made the perfect pair.

She thought it might have been Luana who was before her door. This was because she didn’t meet Serena lately, who was one of her other frequent visitors aside from the person who’d inform her to meet the Emperor.

But she was wrong.

She stood up from her desk and ran out to open the door. She stepped back almost reflexively, bowing to him, while Van walked inside and closed the door behind him. She knew he had to attend a couple of important meetings these past few days, which is most likely the reason why his face always showed tiredness and annoyance. It was the same today.

“You don’t look well, Your Majesty.”

Van usually sat on the chair, but today, he just stood there as his eyes roamed over the books she was reading. Following his gaze, she looked at her bed. Her face turned red, seemingly embarrassed about her scattered notes.

“Hmm, you’re reading a difficult book. You’re from Class B, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Is it necessary to read that much in Class B? You could’ve just read the modern political introductory books. They’re much easier.”

“The examination is near…..Besides, I needed to look for more information.”

“I see.”

‘I bet he knows all about these books.’

She glanced at the political introductory book, which only contained the recent theories.

She thought she could easily talk about any topic with him.

“What brings you here, Your Majesty?”

“To inform you that I’m preparing to travel to a distant land.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s been a recent debate on the issue of a coalesce.”

“…..Coalesce?”

“Yes, see you in three days.”

“Uhm….you’re not going to use magic, are you?”

“We’re planning to develop a friendship bond, and there’s no reason for me to use magic. If we face any signs of an armed conflict, the other country would not be far from extinction.”

“……I see, but if you were just going to tell me this, why didn’t you call me instead, Your Majesty? You must be very tired.”

“I wanted to give you something.”

“I beg your pardon?”

She stared down at the badge he held out to her.

It was a small ornament. The crystal in it was colored in yellow on one half and purple on the other. This badge, which featured a hand-crafted pedestal, could only be owned by a secretary of the Emperor.

She lifted it up and flipped it over.

The inscribed lion pattern, which indicated that it was presented by the Emperor himself, was glittering in silver.

Although she had seen this badge over someone else’s chest a few times, it was her first time touching it. Surprised, she raised her eyes at him.

“This is…..”

“I’m giving it to you now.”