Chapter 292: Suspicion(2)
Chapter 292: Suspicion(2)
Until just a few days ago, the place had been buzzing with talk of impersonators and whatnot, but things had quieted down before I knew it. In other words, life had returned to its peaceful routine.
And when a mundane routine repeats, time tends to fly like an arrow. Thanks to the existence of the typewriter, I was already working on the final touches for Volume 22 of the Xenon Biography.
Once I finished the revisions and mailed the manuscript to the publisher, the writing for Volume 22 would be complete. Since I finished so quickly, I debated whether to start Volume 23 immediately, but I decided to take a short break.
Of course, "resting" mostly just meant hanging out with my friends. For the record, Cecile wasn't here yet.
She was still busy managing the internal affairs of Helium and hadn't returned to the Academy; there was even a chance she might have to skip this entire semester.
Fortunately, Halo Academy was understanding of the situation. There was a policy that allowed students to avoid repeating a grade for one semester if unavoidable circumstances arose.
In a unique case like Helium’s, they might even grant an exemption for an entire year depending on the situation.
The Academy felt a bit empty without Cecile, but we were keeping in touch through Gartz.
I, too, was enjoying the leisurely pace of Academy life, welcoming a weekend where I could truly relax.
"198… 199… 200! Stop!"
In a corner of the common training grounds, where the humid heat of summer still lingered.
As soon as Adelia’s shout reached my ears, I released the tension in my arms.
The sensation of the hard stone floor pressed against my chest, and a wave of comfort washed over my body. I felt like I could close my eyes and fall asleep right then and there.
"Rest for thirty seconds, then another 200 reps."
However, Adelia’s cruel words from behind my back snapped me awake.
Without even turning my head, I grumbled to Adelia, who was still sitting on my back.
"Can't I rest just a little longer?"
"No. Don't be a baby."
Adelia replied in a stern voice, completely unmoved by my plea. She refused to yield even an inch when it came to my physical conditioning.
Even now, these weren't just ordinary push-ups. I had to do them with her sitting on my back.
As a trained knight, Adelia was packed with muscle, making her weight higher than average. By her own estimate, she weighed around 75kg.
Considering she was exactly 173cm tall and the average weight for that height is around 60kg, it meant her muscle mass was staggering.
Even for simple push-ups, having Adelia on my back made the intensity no joke. This was something even Divine Power couldn't help with.
Divine Power was suited for a supportive role at best; it didn't directly improve physical strength. My growth depended entirely on my own efforts.
"Noona."
"Yes?"
"You built your body through pure effort without Divine Power, right?"
"Of course."
As her confident answer suggested, Adelia’s true talent lay in effort and reflection.
She didn't just blindly charge ahead; she used her head to figure out which methods were effective, implemented them, and produced results.
If the results weren't satisfactory, she would revise the theory and practice again. The person known as Adelia was born from this infinite cycle.
"As you know, unlike my other siblings, I didn't have proper support. I had to do this much just to catch up."
Still perched on my back, Adelia spoke with a slightly bitter tone. I held my tongue for a moment.
Just as she said, the Ters Royal Family only provided her with basic necessities; Adelia had to handle everything else herself.
Even her swordsmanship was something a certain knight had taught her in secret. However, they were eventually discovered, and that knight was demoted to a different post.
The more I heard about the hardships Adelia endured, the more I questioned how the Ters Republic—or rather, the Kingdom—governed, but it’s common for competence and character to be inversely proportional.
Perhaps they possessed a sense of "chosen people consciousness," believing they were superior to the subjects they were supposed to look after. Honestly, that was the most likely scenario.
'Well, it's good for me.'
Thanks to Adelia, I could feel myself growing lately. Just a month ago, doing push-ups with her on my back would have been impossible.
But thanks to Adelia’s passionate teaching and support, I was able to achieve rapid growth.
Furthermore, she acted as a "brake" to pull me out of my hyper-focus when I was doing my maid duties, which was perfect.
To the Ters Royal Family, she might be nothing more than an unsightly illegitimate child, but to me, Adelia was a godsend.
"Wait, are you trying to slack off? Do it quickly before I add another set."
Of course, the fact that she was a strict teacher hadn't changed. Since one set consisted of 200 push-ups, it was in my best interest to finish quickly.
Since we were training in the common training grounds, we should have stood out, but no one spared us a glance.
At first, a few people had peeked, but since we looked like a trainer and a client, they quickly lost interest.
Besides, they were all busy with their own training; who had the leisure to stare?
The place was crawling with fit, handsome, and beautiful people, so there was no reason to single us out.
"Isaac."
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever thought about learning martial arts?"
Adelia tossed the question at me casually in the middle of my push-ups.
Judging by her dead-serious tone, she wasn't joking. She was in earnest.
I pondered the question while keeping my rhythm.
"Hmm... not really? My father taught me basic self-defense techniques, so I'm fine, but martial arts don't really appeal to me. I don't have the time to learn them, either."
"Is that so?"
"Is my physique that good?"
It was a bit of an ambiguous phrasing, but Adelia would understand. I felt her flinch for a split second.
She then brushed off the awkwardness with a dry laugh before answering my question.
"It’s not just 'good.' Even with Divine Power, it’s difficult for a body to improve this much in such a short time. You definitely have talent."
Adelia praised me, but I still wasn't interested. As I said before, writing the Xenon Biography was hard enough; I didn't have the luxury to learn martial arts.
In a way, it was like planting only potatoes in fertile soil. Still, my mind was made up.
"Sorry. I'm not interested for now. And even if my body is good, we don't know if I have any talent for swordsmanship, right?"
"You don't necessarily have to pick up a sword or a spear. There are things like axes or maces where you just have to swing. I can teach you basic grips and forms. You could call it a type of self-defense."
"I'll consider it. Let's just finish this first."
Martial arts or whatever, the workout was the priority right now. Adelia seemed to realize that and quietly helped me finish.
"That's it for today. You can go back and rest now."
"Good work. Oh, by the way, Noona."
"Yes?"
"Mari said she's conceding her turn today."
"... ..."
When I spoke with a smirk, Adelia blinked a few times.
Soon, however, her face flushed visibly. She hurriedly turned her head away, cleared her throat, and answered quietly.
"...I will be waiting."
Unlike a moment ago, Adelia used formal speech. It was the attitude of an exclusive maid, not a guard knight.
I gave her cheek a light stroke before preparing to head back to the dormitory. I could just shower at the dorm.
I’d probably be breaking a sweat again shortly after my shower, but cleanliness is always important.
It was much better to deal with the hassle than to stay in a sticky state. Keeping that thought in mind, I returned to the dorm.
Unlike Mari or Cecile, Adelia didn't express herself outwardly, so she must have a lot built up.
Since I had just pushed my body to the limit, I predicted that waking up tomorrow might be difficult.
"Huh?"
It was right after I had finished a refreshing shower, waiting for the other battle that would take place tonight.
An envelope, which hadn't been there when I first arrived, was lying lonely in the entryway.
There was a mail slot at the bottom of the dormitory door, so letters or mail were occasionally left like this.
Most were letters from the mansion or manuscripts for the Xenon Biography, and occasionally, official notices were sent out.
'Did Mother send it?'
Lately, I had been exchanging letters with Cecile as well, so there was a high possibility it was from her. There was no reason to send a letter from the mansion unless something had happened.
I dried my unnecessarily long hair with a towel until it was fluffy and picked up the letter.
The stationery was a plain, common white envelope you could find anywhere. It was a stark contrast to the very ornate stationery used by Cecile or my mother.
'Who is this from?'
Could it be a love letter? With that useless thought, I carefully opened the envelope.
Inside the opened envelope was a single sheet of paper. Feeling increasingly puzzled, I unfolded the letter.
And then...
[Are you Xenon?]
I couldn't help but blink at the neatly written words.
'...Is it Hiriya?'
Though I lacked evidence, there was only one person who would do something like this.
'But what does she expect me to do?'
I didn't know how I was supposed to react.
*
'This should do it.'
Rewinding time a bit to when Isaac was washing up.
Hiriya slipped the letter into the mail slot of the dormitory where Isaac lived and quickly left the area.
Since she was in disguise, she wasn't worried about being recognized, and she was even wearing glasses that obscured her features just in case.
'Why is that guy so diligent?'
As she moved away from the dormitory, she recalled Isaac’s lifestyle patterns, which she had been tracking for several days.
From what she had gathered, Isaac’s life was that of a model student. Except for the occasional meeting with Mari or Adelia, he spent his time holed up in his laboratory.
Even when he did come out of the lab, his destination was always the library. Then, he would return to the lab.
He was the textbook definition of a scholar, but that wasn't what Hiriya wanted. What she wanted was his exact relationship with Cecile.
However, Cecile was currently absent due to internal affairs in Helium. According to the rumors, she might even take a leave of absence for the entire semester.
This only made Hiriya more anxious. She had to figure out whether he was Xenon or not, but obstacles were already cropping up.
What she wanted wasn't to prove Isaac was Xenon. She just wanted to confirm whether he was or wasn't.
'If he sees the letter, he'll react.'
If he wasn't Xenon, he would act as usual; if he truly was Xenon, there would be a slight change.
Seeing through that was her primary goal. She could take her time establishing a plan for after that.
If Isaac wasn't Xenon, she could just take him as originally planned, and if he really was Xenon...
'No. That can't happen.'
Hiriya shook her head vigorously. If he really was Xenon, she would literally fall into the abyss.
While stalking him, she had discovered one fact: his relationship with Adelia had grown deeper than before.
If he wasn't Xenon, this wouldn't matter as long as he had the permission of Mari, the daughter of Duke Rekilis.
The opposite was the problem. Isaac surely knew the circumstances between Adelia and the Ters Royal Family, so what if he really was Xenon?
'The Ters Kingdom will be completely isolated.'
The moment they touched Xenon, Helium and the Church of Light would step in directly, and perhaps even Albenheim would take action.
She had to prevent that at all costs. No matter how reckless Hiriya was, she possessed a minimum level of common sense and awareness.
Although she had become a knight because she hated being sold off in marriage, she knew a fair amount about diplomacy.
'I could make up for it to some extent by using Adelia, but...'
Hiriya was walking with long strides, sorting through her complicated thoughts one by one.
Thump—
"Ah!"
"Huh?"
Perhaps it was because she was walking with her eyes cast down. A passerby collided with Hiriya.
Despite the impact, Hiriya remained standing, while the person she hit fell to the ground.
Judging by the groans as she rubbed her backside, she had fallen quite hard.
'Pink?'
Strangely enough, the woman who had collided with Hiriya and fallen had pink hair.
The cherry blossom color that was famous for being rare in the world, much like Isaac’s red hair.
Normally, she would have tried to deduce which family she belonged to based on the pink hair, but in her current state of urgency, she didn't have the mental capacity to think.
"Tsk. Get up."
Hiriya clicked her tongue and reached out a hand to help the woman up.
Since she had bumped into her while lost in thought, it was only right to help.
The pink-haired woman took her hand and slowly stood up.
"Th-thank you."
"Watch where you're going."
Hiriya was hardly one to talk, but she said it anyway for the sake of her pride.
Even though her words lacked even a shred of politeness, the passerby said nothing and hurried past her.
Hiriya’s eyes twitched at that, but she only grumbled internally and moved on without delay.
Once they were a good distance apart.
'She really was a stalker.'
Cherry, the pink-haired woman, muttered to herself as she watched Hiriya’s retreating back.
Last time, a series of coincidences had prevented her from being caught, but this time, Cherry had been watching from a distance just in case.
Fortunately, the stalker seemed completely unaware that she was being followed and hadn't noticed her presence.
'I should tell him right away.'
As soon as she identified the stalker, Cherry moved without a moment's hesitation. Her destination was exactly the dormitory where Isaac stayed.
Arriving at the dormitory door, she raised her hand and knocked lightly.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Senior Isaac. It's me, Cherry. I have something to tell you for a moment..."