To one side of the reception hall, a staircase of light brown stone steps spiraled upward. Several nobles in formal attire were descending slowly, their sashes and hemlines swaying gently with each step.
As they descended, their low, rhythmic footsteps and quiet conversation rippled downward. Though their voices were not loud, in an open space like the reception hall, every word seemed to carry a distinct echo.
In contrast, the sofa area in the center of the hall was extraordinarily quiet. Candlelight flickered atop golden candelabras. Apart from the crackling of firewood in the hearth, the three youths sat on the sofa without a word, simply waiting in silence—as if set apart in another world.
"Protos Royal Magic Academy... hasn't the vicious competition already been eliminated?"
Sitting on the sofa in the ground-floor hall, Xiaya asked Lanqi and Side in a puzzled whisper.
From listening to the two upperclassmen chatting along the way, he had gathered that Protos Royal Magic Academy had undergone massive reforms recently, and the atmosphere was now completely different.
"This gentleman is an executive of Protos Royal Magic Academy! There is no room for your insolence!"
From the stairs in the distance, Viscount Blake Bourne, the lord of Bourne City, suddenly seemed to notice something. Turning, he berated the three youths sitting on the central sofa.
"S-sorry."
Xiaya flinched in fright, hurriedly lowering his head and averting his gaze.
He had not expected his whisper to be picked up so sharply by that middle-aged nobleman, Viscount Blake Bourne—as if the man had already been paying close attention to this corner of the ground floor all along.
Behind the two middle-aged viscounts on the stairs, Lilith lingered her gaze on Xiaya for a moment. That brief look only made Xiaya feel all the more humiliated.
"...How do you feel about this?"
Side was unfazed, meeting Lanqi's eyes with heightened interest.
To think someone was actually exploiting the information lag of this time window to come swaggering into Snowfield Province as an impostor.
"...How would you feel if someone impersonated the Bishop of Domination?"
Lanqi looked into Side's purple eyes as well, his hands kneading Boss Cat as usual.
The two had long grown accustomed to conspiring loudly along the journey; even if they openly brought up Sigrid, the Bishop of Domination, no one would ever believe they had any ties to her.
Then again, ordinary people truly would not be able to expose a Protos Royal Magic Academy fraud. After all, even students knew little of the academy's internal affairs, and lowerclassmen hardly ever had the chance to interact with senior professors—unlike Side, who could explain all reason with her fists.
Beside them, Xiaya's mind was in turmoil; hearing their exchange, he could not make heads or tails of what they meant.
The party in the distance was still chatting as they strolled slowly toward the ground floor.
"Viscount Bourne, these two are friends of my son-in-law. They're both students at Protos Royal Magic Academy, so they likely know something about the school's situation as well,"
Viscount Laiwen Chinston smoothed things over, trying to ease the awkwardness for Xiaya.
"Lately, there have been quite a few people sneaking into Snowfield Province under false identities. I suggest we have Professor Meiqi verify this young pair's identities, lest we invite wolves into our midst!"
Viscount Blake Bourne stroked his mustache with a sneer, sizing up the two extra figures who had inexplicably appeared beside Xiaya, before casting a meaningful glance at Professor Meiqi beside him.
When it came to anyone who might threaten the authority of their words, they would rather eliminate an innocent than let a threat slip through.
"There is no need. Our city-state has already verified their identities. The magic seal of Protos Royal Magic Academy on their credentials cannot be forged,"
Viscount Laiwen Chinston raised a hand in firm objection.
Mana itself was a form of information, inherently unique to each individual. The seal of Protos Royal Magic Academy originated from a magic apparatus seal left behind by Emperor Franklin when the academy was founded a century ago. Even Isis, the Grand Sage of the Empire, could not duplicate it.
"I, on the other hand, believe an inspection is necessary. Reviewing students' coursework and identification is, after all, part of my duties."
However...
Professor Meiqi finally spoke.
His voice was deep and resonant, brimming with the majesty and sense of duty befitting an institutional leader.
"..."
Hearing this, Viscount Laiwen Chinston could only relax his shoulders in resignation and hold his tongue.
Even if he wished to remain on good terms with the two youths and defend them, his support was limited to counterbalancing Viscount Blake Bourne; he could hardly interfere with Professor Meiqi's personal prerogative.
After all, this was an internal matter of Protos Royal Magic Academy.
Meiqi's pace remained unhurried. He descended the stairs to the ground floor, a trace of melancholy between his brows—or perhaps the loneliness typical of the powerful—until he came to a stop not far from the three.
"Present your student identification."
"Here."
Side did not mind at all and produced hers.
She was just an ordinary second-year student, completely oblivious to any internal intrigue involving real or fake headmasters.
Lanqi smiled faintly, took the credential from Side's hand, and handed both hers and his own over together.
Meiqi took them indifferently, glancing sideways to skim over the information.
"How many credits do you have...?"
Side asked Lanqi in an ultra-low whisper.
"Forty. What about you?"
Lanqi replied in a hushed tone as well.
His own credits were given to him daily by Associate Professor Sido—four days in total, from Tuesday to Friday.
"I've still got sixty left. Way better than you."
Side was, after all, a master of score control.
Their exchange made Xiaya's eye twitch, while Professor Meiqi's expression darkened swiftly.
One had to realize that even preparatory students who had just enrolled at Protos Royal Magic Academy could easily amass over a hundred credits with a bit of effort.
Yet these two, combined, barely scraped together a hundred points, and somehow seemed quite proud of it. Moreover, neither of them looked like fresh enrollments.
Had Xiaya not witnessed Side's combat prowess firsthand, he probably would have suspected they were the absolute dregs of their entire class by now.
"Professor Meiqi, did you commit our names to memory? Especially his."
Side pointed at Lanqi beside her and asked Meiqi.
"I do not commit the names of failing students to memory."
Meiqi scoffed, tossing their credentials back into their hands, feeling that these two students were mocking him and wasting his time.
With that, Meiqi turned and walked away.
Standing in the distance, Blake Bourne merely sneered and shook his head upon hearing that.
They were beings of completely different strata; naturally, there was no need for further exchange.
In that academy—the most brutal in the empire, yet the one blessed with the richest educational resources—failing students ranked lower than dogs. Even if their identities were genuine, they possessed neither threat nor value.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Anyone keeping company with an incompetent, fallen aristocrat like Xiaya was bound to be an underachieving student. To think Viscount Laiwen Chinston had nearly treated them like treasures just moments ago.
"My dear Laiwen, your eye for talent is really deteriorating. It truly makes one worry about the husband you've picked for Lilith... You must know that once Lilith goes to the academy, a useless fellow won't just fail to help her—he'll cling to her like trash, impossible to shake off,"
Viscount Blake Bourne patted Viscount Laiwen Chinston on the shoulder, sighing with feigned concern.
One could hardly tell whether he was mocking the shabby Xiaya or the two guards Xiaya had picked up.
"If you truly want what is best for Lilith, you should give my words more thought. My son Dean isn't half bad, and we ought to let these two promising young people spend more time together. Who knows, she might even take the opportunity to earn Professor Meiqi's favor,"
Viscount Blake Bourne continued speaking to Viscount Laiwen Chinston, no longer making any attempt to hide his intentions.
Chapter 313