Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Entrance Ceremony
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It was early dawn, and the sun had yet to rise.
In room 201 of the faculty dorms, where a faint bluish hue was just beginning to spread, inside the so-called storage room stacked with boxes all the way to the ceiling.
Elysia, who had been curled up asleep amid the luggage, suddenly snapped her eyes open.
“......!”
‘If I sleep any longer here, I’ll really oversleep!’
She bolted upright.
Thud!
“Ow!”
Her forehead smacked right into the box overhead.
Rubbing her aching forehead, Elysia panted roughly as she scanned her surroundings.
It was far too shabby to call a princess’s bedroom, but it was familiar to her.
Besides, she had shown up out of the blue in the dead of night and begged them to let her stay, so she wasn’t in any position to complain.
The world outside the window was growing faintly brighter.
‘Oh no. The sun’s about to come up.’
Elysia’s heart pounded.
Last night, before her brother Prince Radiance returned from the laboratory building, she had hurriedly closed the bedroom door and slipped out.
She had laid a pillow lengthwise on the bed, covered it with the blanket to make it look like someone was sleeping there.
‘If I don’t swap places before Brother wakes up...’
Radiance was sharp. If he realized his sister had vanished all night, he’d tear the entire academy apart looking for her.
And more than that...
‘Even if he is my brother... sleeping in the same room just feels... weird.’
The dorm was spacious enough for separate rooms, but living under one roof with her brother was still plenty embarrassing and awkward.
Especially with someone as overprotective as Radiance.
Elysia carefully rose to her feet.
She tiptoed silently into the living room like a cat.
Glancing toward the master bedroom, she saw the door firmly shut, silence emanating from beyond.
‘Looks like they’re still asleep.’
She debated saying goodbye but decided against waking the newlyweds.
Elysia placed the note she had prepared earlier on top of the shoe cabinet.
『Thanks for everything! I’ll have breakfast with Brother at the dorm! -Eli-』
‘Phew... that should do it.’
With that, she quietly opened the front door like a thief and slipped out.
Cold dawn air brushed against her cheek.
Elysia pulled her outer coat tight and broke into a full sprint.
“Huff... huff...”
Her breath rose to her throat.
She arrived at the Grade 1 married dorms—the building that had now become the imperial siblings’ special quarters.
Fortunately, no one was around.
She carefully turned the key and opened the door.
Click.
“Phew... safe.”
Elysia let out a sigh of relief as she slipped off her shoes.
The living room lights were still off, so Radiance was surely asleep.
‘Good. Didn’t get caught.’
She crept toward Radiance’s bedroom.
Just to check if he was awake.
Squeak.
She peeked through the crack in the door.
But...
“......Huh?”
The bed was empty.
The blankets were pulled back, and when she touched them, they were stone cold.
‘Where’d he go?’
The bathroom?
Or the kitchen?
Elysia searched every corner of the house, but there was no sign of Radiance anywhere.
‘No way... did he spend the whole night looking for me?’
Or had he already headed to the laboratory building to prepare for the ceremony?
Her brother was so unpredictable she couldn’t guess.
But she spotted a single memo on the dining table and relaxed.
『Heading out first. See you at the ceremony. Don’t be late. -Your World’s Handsomest Brother-』
“......Pfft.”
Elysia couldn’t help but giggle.
Seeing that self-aggrandizing note told her everything was fine.
“Yeah. Time for me to get ready.”
She headed to the bathroom.
Today was a make-or-break day for her.
The Eterna Academy entrance ceremony.
The first step toward forging her own destiny through her own strength, casting off the stigma of being a bastard.
Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, Elysia clenched her fist.
“I can do this. Elysia Spencer.”
The bastard princess’s golden eyes gleamed with resolve.
At the same time, next to the medical center in the staff dorms, morning was breaking.
“Brother... I can’t get this tie right...”
Kairun von Northguard fumbled in front of the mirror, grunting with effort.
He was sweating bullets, wrestling with the necktie around his collar while wearing the crisply ironed academy uniform.
“Come here.”
Karl, seated in his wheelchair, smiled and beckoned him over.
Kairun shuffled closer hesitantly and bent at the waist.
With practiced hands, Karl untied his brother’s necktie and retied it neatly.
“If it’s too tight, it’ll choke you. Loose enough to breathe, but still tidy.”
His brother’s touch was gentle.
“......Sorry.”
Kairun bowed his head.
“I’m all grown up, and I can’t even do this myself.”
“No. I’m grateful you still need me for it.”
Karl finished the knot and patted his brother’s shoulder.
“Kairun.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Today, you stand there as the representative of Northguard.”
Karl’s voice carried firm resolve.
“Bearing the family’s honor is a heavy burden. But...”
He looked straight into his brother’s eyes.
“Don’t try to shoulder all the responsibility alone.”
“......”
“There’s no need to feel small because you’re young, nor to try solving everything by yourself. True strength is knowing how to stand together, not alone.”
Karl gazed out the window toward the faculty dorms.
“You have good friends by your side, don’t you? Sir Barg, Lady Kara... and the people you must protect.”
Trust and rely on one another.
That’s true strength.
His brother’s advice stirred Kairun’s heart.
In the past, the mere mention of family prestige would have crushed him.
He had to be perfect.
No mistakes allowed.
He had to replace his brother.
That obsession.
But things were different now.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Brother.”
Kairun lifted his head.
His red eyes burned with unwavering conviction.
“Just as you said... I won’t walk alone. I won’t forget that you and my comrades have my back.”
“Good. Go on, then.”
Karl smiled warmly as he saw his brother off.
Kairun clenched his fist as he stepped out the door.
The boy shattered his shell and took his first step as the warrior he dreamed of becoming.
My wife and I were busy with our own preparations for the ceremony.
“Look at this. ‘Thanks for everything’? Geez.”
I let out a dry chuckle at Elysia’s note on the table.
“Can’t tell if she really wants to impose or if she’s just being polite.”
“She’s cute, though. At least make sure she eats breakfast.”
Kara smacked her lips regretfully.
I opened the closet door.
The Behemoth leather dress uniform.
The only garment the artisans in the border city had poured their souls into crafting—one sturdy enough to handle my massive muscles.
“Let’s try it on.”
I pulled it out and slipped it on.
Swoosh.
The moment the leather touched my skin, a bizarre sensation—cold yet hot—enveloped my entire body.
Like the living hide of a creature, the uniform contracted and relaxed along the grain of my muscles, fitting perfectly.
I checked the mirror.
Matte black leather wrapped my body like armor.
Every movement made the muscles in my back and shoulders bulge vividly against it, exuding an intimidating yet strangely seductive aura.
On the boundary between barbarian and noble.
A savage ruler standing somewhere in between.
“Wow...”
Kara approached, eyes wide with admiration.
She was wearing the women’s version in the same color.
The form-fitting uniform accentuated her tall, slender frame and toned physique even more.
“Looking sharp, hubby. Think the students’ll all run away?”
Kara teased with a grin as she tied my necktie.
“Wouldn’t mind if they did. Less hassle.”
I wrapped an arm around Kara’s waist and looked at our reflections.
Not a bad picture.
Honestly...
It was killer.
The North’s strongest couple.
Even admitting it myself was a bit embarrassing, but objectively speaking, anyone who had a problem with our looks would have to be insane.
“But... feels kinda empty.”
I patted my back.
“The weapons, maybe?”
Weapons were banned from the ceremony hall.
Without First Snow Fang strapped to my back like always, I felt naked.
Kara kept fiddling with her empty waist too.
“Missing Frostwind feels weird for me too.”
“It’s fine. My body is the weapon.”
I flexed my fist.
The Behemoth leather stretched taut with a creak.
“If anything happens, I’ll handle it all. You stay behind me.”
“Pfft, who’s protecting who? I can throw a punch too, you know.”
We locked eyes and rubbed noses.
Excitement outweighed any tension.
“Let’s go.”
We clasped hands and headed out the front door.
Hundreds of freshmen filled the Eterna Academy grand hall, buzzing with chatter.
Under the domed ceiling, the seats were divided into four main sections by region of origin.
The east held students from the Isteria Kingdom, hub of commerce and trade.
Noble heirs decked out in flashy jewelry over their standardized uniforms flaunted their wealth.
Notably, plenty of rich commoners mixed in.
Most were incoming students to the lucrative medicine or magic engineering departments.
A calculating, noisy vibe hung in the air.
The west was dominated by nobles from the Slokina Kingdom.
A closed-off, sharp atmosphere prevailed.
They huddled in cliques, shooting wary or sneering glances at the other sections.
Especially unkind toward the north.
The south, thanks to its mild climate, sported light and flashy attire.
In a free-spirited mood, boys and girls mingled, chatting as if dancing.
They seemed far more interested in where tonight’s party would be than in politics or factions.
And then...
The north had the fewest numbers, but the air weighed heaviest there.
The average height towered a full head above the other sections, and they were all stoic.
More practical coats over uniforms than flashy decorations.
At the front and center of that northern section.
Kairun sat with his legs crossed.
Arms folded, taking in the surrounding murmur.
Pricking up his ears, the loudest voices came from the west.
“Hey, you hear the rumor? The bastard princess is coming.”
“For real? That lowblood dares show up at the academy?”
“Wonder where she’ll sit. Would suck to get tangled up. Keep her off our side.”
The biggest topic by far was Princess Elysia.
Everywhere, clear signs of wanting to avoid the bastard.
Being young undergrads, their prejudices and discrimination over bloodlines were blatant.
And the next target...
“Look over there. That’s the Northguard young lord.”
“Whoa... he’s hot. Skipped three years ahead, right?”
“His brother’s that legendary top graduate, Karl? Friends with Crown Prince Radiance too. Must be different genes.”
Amid the flood of attention, Kairun feigned indifference, but he couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth twitching up.
He couldn’t contain that childish swell of pride.
But the words that followed flew like daggers.
“His brother’s legs got crippled though, right? Think he’s got some genetic defect too?”
“Gotta be. Probably burns out from pushing the skip too hard.”
“All northerners like that. All brawn, no brains.”
Praise laced with pity and mockery for his brother.
Kairun’s hand trembled on his knee.
‘...I have to endure.’
He bit his lip.
His brother had told him.
Don’t walk alone.
Only by withstanding these heavy gazes could he become the true lord of Northguard.
Kairun suppressed his boiling rage and stared straight ahead.
Creeeak—
At that moment, the grand hall doors swung open.
The room fell silent in an instant.
There at the entrance stood the bastard.
The emperor’s bastard, with red hair and golden eyes that couldn’t be hidden.