Well Done, Bellize
"By the way."
Adrian, having finished buttoning up, asked in a low voice.
"What exactly happened in the underground sewers?"
Her tone sank even calmer.
The crown prince's voice, back to business mode.
"What do you mean, what happened? Didn't Esilla tell you everything?"
"I got the report. You captured one remnant of the Black Moon cult alive and found traces of a large-scale summoning circle."
Adrian matched my gaze as she draped the ribbon around my neck.
"What I want to know is why you went down there."
"Just... you know."
I dodged her eyes and mumbled vaguely.
"I got lost by accident and ended up there, then luckily stumbled on it."
"Liar."
Adrian tightened the ribbon sharply.
"Kgh."
"You expect me to believe you 'accidentally got lost' all the way into the depths? And you had a first-year magic department student with you, no less?"
She pressed right up against me. The distance between us shrank even further.
"Don't think you can brush this off. There's plenty of circumstantial evidence that you knew about that magic circle in advance."
"Haa."
I let out a short sigh.
I hadn't really expected to gloss over it that easily anyway.
"Don't you remember?"
I met Adrian's blue eyes head-on and asked.
"The documents I handled in your office yesterday."
"Documents?"
Adrian's brows furrowed slightly.
"Which one out of all those stacks?"
"Facility maintenance request. The underground sewer repair and expansion."
As I recited the exact title, Adrian fell into thought.
Her brilliant mind seemed to rapidly scan through all the documents I'd rejected yesterday.
"The materials list in there was suspicious."
I continued.
"No way a simple sewer repair would need that many magic stones."
"..."
Adrian's lips pressed into a thin line.
"So I went to check it out. I was just curious what they were really up to."
"Why didn't you report it to me?"
Adrian asked through gritted teeth.
"If you'd told me, I could've mobilized the knights right away to stop it. Why take the risk and go in alone?"
Her point was perfectly reasonable.
But I let out a hollow chuckle in response.
"You think you would've believed me if I told you?"
"What?"
"Be honest. If I'd reported yesterday that the sewers seemed fishy, would you have moved the knights on the spot?"
At my blunt counterquestion, Adrian's lips twitched.
Her fingers, gripping my ribbon, froze.
"No, right?"
I stared straight into her blue eyes.
"You would've suspected me of pulling some scheme first. Thought it was a trap, obviously."
"That's..."
"Proving it to you would've been a huge hassle. 'Bring evidence,' 'submit to interrogation,' all that."
I shrugged.
"Faster and surer to just go smash it myself. That's all."
A suffocating silence filled the infirmary. Adrian couldn't rebut.
Because my words were the unerring truth.
Her hostility toward me had only recently softened a bit, but she still despised and distrusted Elise de Bellaph.
If I'd made that report yesterday, her first instinct would've been to question my motives.
Her eyes wavered.
The realization that her own arrogance and prejudice had nearly turned the academy to ashes.
And that the one who stopped it was me—the person she'd scorned so much.
The weight of her crown prince responsibilities clashed with her personal feelings, gnawing at her pride.
"..."
Adrian parted her tightly sealed lips, then closed them again.
Her hands started moving once more.
—Rustle.
The sound of the ribbon knotting at my chest.
Unlike the roughness from moments ago, her touch was strangely gentle, almost limp.
"Fine. You might be right."
She admitted softly.
Her voice was thick with bitterness.
"I wouldn't have trusted you. My shallow suspicions would've made me miss the timing, and the academy would've burned as the price."
She straightened the knot at my chest, making it neat and pretty.
Then she took a step back.
The citrus scent that had tickled my nose drifted a step away.
"But, Bellize."
Her gaze lingered on my right shoulder.
Thanks to Lilliana's healing, it was smooth without a scar now, but she knew from Esilla's report that red blood had poured from there last night.
"That doesn't justify your actions."
"Why not? The results were good, weren't they?"
"Good results? What if you'd died down there?"
A faint heat crept into Adrian's voice.
"I heard from Esilla. You collapsed covered in blood. A little later, and your life would've been in danger."
I'd collapsed not from mortal danger but from leveling up as a black magician.
Couldn't exactly explain that system detail to Adrian, though.
"I didn't die, did I?"
"You just got lucky."
She clicked her tongue and continued.
"The Bellaph duke's eldest daughter getting mauled to death by beasts in the academy basement? The fallout lands squarely on the imperial family. And you think the duke would just sit still?"
"The duke wouldn't care much."
"You clearly don't know your father's temperament."
Adrian shot back firmly.
"Either way, I won't allow any more reckless solo acts. From now on, report to me first, even if it means getting doubted."
"What's the point? You won't believe me anyway."
At my snide retort, Adrian replied instantly.
"I will."
A firm declaration.
"I won't doubt you anymore. So stop doing that crap."
Her eyes were sincere.
A pure promise, setting aside her crown prince authority and long-held loathing.
I could see various emotions swirling in those blue depths.
Suspicion, wariness, and just a sliver of trust.
I stared at her blankly for a moment, then couldn't help but smirk.
Her seriousness made it almost awkward to tease her now.
"Alright, got it. I'll report on time from now on."
She gazed at me steadily, then suddenly called my name.
"Bellize."
She called my name out of the blue.
"Are you really the old you?"
That question again.
She'd asked it in her office yesterday too.
"I told you, yeah. Who else would I be if not Bellize?"
"Yeah, I guess. Souls don't just swap bodies."
Adrian shook her head with a hollow laugh.
She knew her question was pointless even to herself.
She turned toward the infirmary door.
"Head back to the dorm and rest today. I'll excuse you from office duty tomorrow too. I'll cover your special reeducation hours appropriately."
"For real?"
That was pretty welcome news.
"I'm not so swamped I'd work an injured person to the bone."
She replied curtly, grabbing the doorknob.
But before opening it, her hand paused.
"Today's work..."
She half-turned, glancing back at me, and bit her lower lip slightly.
"...you did well, Bellize."
A tiny, quick voice.
But the quiet room carried it crystal clear to my ears.
I didn't miss it and flashed a mischievous grin.
"Huh? What was that?"
"......"
"Couldn't hear you. What'd you say just now?"
At my obnoxious prodding, Adrian's shoulders jerked up.
Even from behind, I could see her white nape and ears flushing red in an instant.
"I didn't say anything!"
She shrieked, yanking the doorknob roughly.
"You heard me just fine! Go rest properly already!"
—Slam!
She bolted out without waiting for a reply.
"Heh."
Hearing the frantic clack of her heels fading down the hall, I finally burst out laughing.
Knowing she's a girl made her prickly reactions all the more fun to poke at.
'Anyway, tomorrow's a full day off.'
With a lighter heart, I got out of bed and slipped on my shoes.
"Time to head back."
My steps leaving the infirmary felt as light as feathers.
The pain in my shoulder was gone, the headache-inducing magic circle mess was resolved.
And tomorrow was a holiday.
Even the red sunset outside the window looked beautiful.
Heading from the VIP ward to C Dorm.
A cool evening breeze brushed my cheek.
'Wonder if Aria's in the room.'
She'd cried her eyes out earlier before leaving, so she might be crashed out with puffy eyes.
I debated grabbing takeout dinner from the cafeteria or vending machines on the way, but drawing stares in my current state sounded exhausting. Best to just crash at the dorm.
—Creak, creak.
I climbed the rickety dorm stairs to the third floor.
In front of familiar room 305.
As I reached for my key, I noticed faint light leaking from the door crack.
'Aria's still up.'
I turned the knob carefully.
—Click.
"Aria, I'm ba—"
My greeting died in my throat at the sight inside.
On my bed, buried under my blanket up to her chin, slept a girl with orange hair.
Why the hell is this kid sleeping here?