Chapter 11
Magic student Serina, in her fourth year at the Imperial Academy, could hardly contain herself after hearing the news at the imperial palace. After staying up all night, she rushed straight to somewhere as soon as morning came. Her destination was Ayla’s room.
“Ayla. Ayla. Are you awake?”
Serina knocked on the door and barged in without waiting for a response. Ayla, who had clearly double-locked the door, looked at Serina with eyes that seemed to ask how she got in. Then she remembered that Serina was an exceptional magic student. Ayla became quite worried about the academy’s security. If everything could be unlocked with magic, what was the point of locking doors?
“Ayla. Ayla. What’s going on? Huh? Is what I heard true?”
Serina asked Ayla with sparkling eyes full of curiosity. The news she had accidentally overheard at the imperial palace yesterday was about Damian and Ayla’s engagement. This is how she came to hear it:
The reason Serina went to the imperial palace was simple. Her father worked at the magic tower and was currently dispatched to the magic department. Serina had dinner plans with her father yesterday, and after her classes ended, she headed to the imperial palace to meet him. She would have liked to teleport there directly, but unlike the genius crown prince, she wasn’t a prodigy, so her magical power was precious.
Upon arriving at the palace, Serina walked through the beautiful imperial garden, admiring the spring flowers. Although the distance from the main gate to the magic department building wasn’t far, magic couldn’t be used within the palace grounds except when authorized, so she had to walk. And as she walked, Serina overheard an incredible conversation. The palace maids were talking as they passed by.
“I’m telling you, it’s true! I heard it myself.”
“They say if you knock on a tree ten times, it will eventually fall. I guess His Highness finally succeeded.”
“Maybe Lady Ayla was secretly happy about it too?”
The names were very familiar to Serina’s ears. Ayla. And His Highness. Since Ayla’s name was mentioned, ‘His Highness’ could only refer to one person. Our esteemed Crown Prince, Damian. But why were these two the topic of conversation, and what was this about knocking on a tree ten times? What could that mean?
Serina, who had witnessed Ayla’s embarrassing history and the long, drawn-out dance between the two, perked up her ears. Dying of curiosity, she eventually intervened in the passing maids’ conversation.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh my goodness! You startled me!”
The maids turned around in surprise. An academy girl in uniform was looking at them with bright, curious eyes. The girl’s eyes were full of intrigue. The maids cautiously asked.
“Um… Who are…?”
“I’m Lady Ayla’s one and only friend,” Serina declared proudly.
At Serina’s confident words, the maids looked at her skeptically, but then one maid seemed to recall something and asked,
“Oh, could you be Lady Serina?”
The maid had occasionally seen Serina accompanying Ayla around the palace. Although it was from a few years ago, traces of her childhood face remained.
Serina smiled brightly, confirming it was her. She then gestured to the maids, and as if plotting something, they huddled together and whispered.
“So. From what I’ve just heard, it seems like something happened between Ayla and His Highness. Is that right? You were saying things like ‘knocking on a tree ten times’ and wondering if Ayla was secretly happy about it.”
After Serina finished speaking, there was a silent exchange of glances among the maids. Some looked dismayed. They had been warned to be careful with their words since there were many eyes and ears in the palace. They had carelessly gossiped and now found themselves in an awkward situation.
But thinking about it differently, wouldn’t it be announced soon anyway? So perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to tell her friend in advance?
One maid, seemingly having made up her mind, swallowed hard. She was the one who had first overheard this news and shared it with the others. The maid looked around cautiously and whispered.
“Actually…”
“Actually?”
“His Highness…”
“His Highness?”
Serina was getting impatient. It seemed like it would be a very interesting story, and she wished the maid would hurry up and tell her. Serina urged her on with her eyes. Meeting Serina’s gaze, the maid looked at her with determined eyes and said,
“His Highness has decided to get engaged to Lady Ayla.”
“What?! Eng- mmph!”
Serina’s voice, which was about to burst out loudly, was muffled by the maid’s hand. The maid who had made the decision, Giusy, put her finger to her lips, signaling to be quiet.
“You can’t! Everyone will hear. Did anyone hear us?”
Giusy asked the other maids. The other maids looked around and shook their heads. Only then did Giusy remove her hand from Serina’s mouth. Serina was looking at Giusy with an expression of disbelief. Her eyes were as wide as they could possibly be.
“Oh my…”
Is this long dance finally coming to an end! Serina was even feeling moved. It felt like the frustration might finally be cleared.
Serina wanted to rush to Ayla and spill everything. However, she couldn’t postpone her appointment with her father. It was because she was going to get an expensive and delicious meal from him.
Clearing her throat softly, Serina smiled brightly and greeted the maids.
“Thank you for telling me. I’ll be going now. Goodbye, everyone!”
The maids nodded reflexively at her cheerful farewell. Watching Serina walk away, Giusy muttered,
“…I wonder if it was okay to tell her…”
That was what happened yesterday.
Serina couldn’t wait for the sun to rise. So as soon as she opened her eyes, she came straight here. But somehow, her lovely friend Ayla didn’t seem inclined to talk about it. Moreover, why was she sitting at her desk so early in the morning? Serina had never seen Ayla at her desk in the morning except for the first class. There was even a book open on the desk.
“By the way, Ayla. What are you doing now?”
“Preparing for class. I went to sleep without doing it yesterday.”
“…”
Serina was at a loss for words. Was this how one maintained the second-highest rank in the entire academy for four years straight? She could vaguely understand why her father told her to be at least half like Ayla. But she didn’t want to live like this. Her magic theory scores were rock bottom, and she was barely hanging on with her practical skills.
Serina thought, is this truly what it means to be an academy student?
“Ayla. I don’t think preparing for class is the most important thing right now.”
“Then what is?”
“Come on, I just asked you. Is what I heard true, Ayla? Huh?”
“What did you hear?”
“That you and Damian are getting engaged!”
At Serina’s exclamation, Ayla tumbled down from her chair and rushed to cover Serina’s mouth.
“What? Where did you hear that?”
“Mmph mmph mmph.”
“What are you saying?”
At Ayla’s cold words, Serina pointed at her hand with her own. It meant she couldn’t speak because Ayla was covering her mouth.
Ayla looked at Serina suspiciously and removed her hand.
“So where did you hear it?”
“Where else? The imperial palace, of course. Wow, I really get to see you two finally get together before I die. I thought this would drag on forever.”
“It’s not like that.”
“What do you mean it’s not? What, are you embarrassed?”
Serina poked Ayla teasingly with a mischievous look on her face. Ayla caught the finger poking her and looked at Serina with narrowed eyes, as if measuring something.
“Serina. You don’t…”
“Hm?”
Ayla, trailing off, remembered that Serina was also one of the people who knew about her embarrassing history.
“You don’t still think I like Damian, do you?”
At Ayla’s question, Serina looked at her as if she was speaking nonsense.
“What kind of bullshit is this?”
“I don’t like him anymore.”
“Who?”
“Damian.”
“Who doesn’t?”
“I don’t.”
The ensuing back-and-forth ended with Serina’s final words.
“You’re full of shit.”
The words, mocking Ayla, were quite crude and unladylike. If the professor from their first-year Speech and Writing class knew, he would have fainted, but there were only two of them here. Besides, it wasn’t something that could be easily corrected. If it could have been, it would have been fixed when she was receiving etiquette lessons from her tutor.
“Come on, you’re so obvious and you’re saying you don’t?”
“When did I ever make it obvious?”
“Oh, please. What kind of childhood friends act like that? Have you ever seen childhood friends like that?”
“What? What about me and Damian?”
In Ayla’s mind, Damian was nothing more than a troublesome friend. Of course, there were times when her heart wavered, and she often found herself falling for him. Although Damian was the only man who caught her eye, she was confident that she didn’t like him now. At least, that’s what she told herself.
While this was Ayla’s stance, Serina’s perspective was different. She was well aware of the numerous rumors circulating in the academy. Above all, Serina had witnessed things firsthand. The most ridiculous part was this: Holding hands, sure. Friends could do that. But which childhood friends intertwined their fingers and used each other’s laps as pillows?
The place where Ayla and Damian were often alone was a bench behind Caelum. Behind Caelum was a beautiful lake sparkling in the sunlight, and in front of it was a single bench. Though it wasn’t reserved, only the two of them ever sat there. Serina had seen it often. Ayla would be reading a book, and Damian would be lying down with his head on Ayla’s lap. At those times, Damian’s eyes were fixed only on Ayla.
And yet they claimed to be just friends. Serina placed her hand on Ayla’s shoulder and said with a serious face,
“Ayla. If that’s friendship, then I have no friends.”
