Chapter 43: The First Letter (43)
Chapter 43: The First Letter (43)
Night had fallen, yet the Academy remained ablaze with light and heat.
The Research Building, where the lights never went out regardless of the season, stood like a lighthouse. Within its walls, countless scholars were surely racking their brains, devoted to their studies.
It wasn't just the Research Building; the Academy’s nights were always bright. With a resident population reaching tens of thousands, the campus itself more than met the criteria to be considered a bustling downtown district.
The magnificent building I now stood before was no exception. Soft lighting radiated from the structure, asserting its presence.
This was one of the Academy's dormitories—a place rumored to be accessible only to those high-ranking nobles who could afford the exorbitant fees and possessed the exceptional skill to match.
The 'Idalos Hall,' named after the great Conqueror Emperor, maintained its antique elegance even in the dark. It was said that the servants attending to the students outnumbered the residents several times over.
I stayed in a noble dormitory myself, but Idalos Hall was on an entirely different level.
My room was merely a single-occupancy space, just large enough for one person to live comfortably. However, I had heard that every single room here was reminiscent of a private mansion in size.
Knowing that only a few dozen people lived in such a vast building made its luxury easy to imagine. Standing before Idalos Hall, I swallowed hard. My fingertips felt stiff from a sudden, inexplicable tension.
I had only one reason to visit Idalos Hall, a place I had no prior connection to: Delphine Yurdina had invited me.
She was the successor to one of the Empire's Five Great Noble Families and one of the most powerful individuals in the Academy. She was more than qualified to stay at Idalos Hall, and no noble in the Empire would ever refuse such a privilege.
She was also the only person who would call me to such a luxurious dormitory. In other words, I had been invited into the private space of the one and only Delphine Yurdina.
A man and a woman meeting alone at night, and the location being the woman’s room... No matter how I looked at it, the situation felt strange, but the appointment had already been made.
Despite my lingering hesitation, I tried to step forward without further delay, as a proud noble of the Empire should.
If only it weren't for the person trailing behind me.
Tug. Someone gripped my sleeve firmly just as I was about to take a step. My eyes naturally turned toward my back.
There stood a beautiful girl with gray hair and deep blue eyes, staring at me with slightly watery eyes.
It was Seria. A sigh escaped my lips involuntarily.
"Seria, I told you not to worry."
"B-but still..."
Seria bowed her head and began to hesitate. Even so, she didn't loosen her grip on my sleeve.
She had been like this ever since she heard I had an appointment with Senior Delphine. Even after our evening training ended, she had followed me, repeating the words "be careful" over and over again.
It wasn't as if I were going to face some high-ranking demonic beast. Senior Delphine was supposed to be a refined and educated noble lady, so I couldn't understand why she was acting this way.
When I asked Seria for the reason out of frustration, she replied:
"My sister... once she takes a liking to something, she has to have it, no matter what. Even if she has to steal it from someone else."
Did she mean she liked my hand axe?
If that were the case, I didn't mind selling it for a fair price. The successor of the Yurdina family wouldn't be short on funds, so I might even get a good deal.
Despite my attempt at self-consolation, Seria only looked more miserable. I felt awkward because she had never looked at me with such desperate eyes before.
As a noble, I couldn't break my promise, and since we were supposed to meet alone, it was impossible to bring Seria along.
There was no other choice. I spoke to Seria in a firm tone.
"Seria, it's time for me to go. Surely you don't want me to suffer the dishonor of breaking a promise?"
"I... I suppose not..."
At my stern voice, Seria found it difficult to hold onto me any longer. With a dejected expression, she slowly loosened her grip on my sleeve.
She looked quite cute. When we first met, she had shown me nothing but a face as cold as a block of ice, but somewhere along the way, she had begun to show quite a range of emotions.
And the fact that I was the only one she showed those emotions to gave me a faint sense of satisfaction. I shouldn't feel this way, though.
I suppressed the dark desires lurking in my heart. Then, as I always did to reassure her, I took Seria's hand firmly in both of mine.
Though this had happened several times already, Seria’s eyes still widened in surprise every time I took her hand. I spoke to her with total sincerity.
"I also have something I want to confirm with Senior Delphine. I won't let her take anything from me, so don't worry, Seria."
"...Yes. Since you say so, Senior Ian, I'll believe you."
Only then did Seria seem somewhat relieved, nodding her head with a slight blush on her cheeks. Her beauty shone even brighter in the night. It was a great stroke of luck to be respected by such a lovely junior.
With that thought, I turned and walked away. The interior of Idalos Hall was indeed so magnificent and antique that it made me gasp in admiration.
Even though it was just the lobby, dozens of servants were moving about, attending to their duties. The caretaker who met me at the entrance was one of them.
He bowed politely, saying he had already heard the news from Senior Delphine. He took the lead and began to guide me as if he were used to this.
His work was seamless. I admired the interior of Idalos Hall, looking around like a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time.
How often would I get to see the inside of Idalos Hall in the future? Perhaps today was my last chance. So, I made sure to engrave the scenery of the dormitory's interior into my memory.
I intended to brag about it to Reto and Celine later. It was a story about the secret interior of Idalos Hall. It would surely be an interesting topic for the two of them, who, along with me, formed the Empire's Trio of Lower Nobles.
Lost in these thoughts, I soon found myself in front of a door. It was far too large to be the entrance to a single person's room.
Knock, knock. The caretaker who guided me knocked on the door. Then, he spoke in a low voice.
"Lady Delphine Yurdina, Lord Ian Percus, whom you mentioned previously, has arrived."
There was no answer from inside. Instead, the door opened on its own. My eyes widened in surprise, but the caretaker seemed unfazed, as if he had seen this sight thousands of times before.
He bowed to me and gestured inside with his arm. It was a sign for me to enter.
I took a deep breath. Beyond this door was Delphine Yurdina's private room. A momentary sense of transgression—the feeling of stepping into a secret space she wouldn't show to just anyone—made me hesitate.
But I soon shook my head to clear my thoughts. She was a woman bold enough to invite a man she had only recently met. She likely didn't think of me as anything special; perhaps her private room was just another social venue to her.
As I calmed my heart and stepped into Senior Delphine's room, what greeted me was...
"...It's been a while, 'Hand Axe Young Master'."
It was Senior Delphine, sitting in a disheveled posture, wearing nothing but a robe over her naked body.
The soft orange light of the room illuminated her pale skin. Her crimson eyes were filled with a thick, honey-like boredom, and her lips were captivating.
Her brilliant blonde hair did not lose its luster even in the shadows. The clinging robe revealed the feminine curves of her body.
For a moment, my head spun. A heavy fragrance filled her room. I couldn't even tell what kind of scent it was. The only thought that crossed my mind was that it was the scent of a woman.
It took me quite a while to regain my senses. I had been staring blankly at the cleavage revealed between the folds of her robe, but as soon as I snapped out of it, I jumped back and shouted.
"Wait, wait, wait... No matter what, you should at least put something on!"
I immediately averted my gaze, but Senior Delphine's expression didn't change in the slightest. She sipped the wine in her glass and asked me in a puzzled voice.
"......Why?"
She tilted her head as she asked the question.
My mind went blank for a moment. Why? There were plenty of reasons. Even in my panic, I began to stammer them out.
"I mean, well... I'm a man who isn't family, and as the successor of the Yurdina family, you need to value your noble body a bit more..."
"Is it unsightly to look at?"
"No! I mean, it's beautiful, but..."
As my voice trailed off while I was trying to emphasize the importance of chastity, Senior Delphine let out a chuckle.
Her blood-red eyes quietly observed me. A satisfied smile played on her lips as she watched me steal glances at her while trying to look away in embarrassment.
"Then feel free to look as much as you want. It is likely a rare work of art... As the old saying goes, a 'pearl lost in the vast sea,' perhaps?"
Then, she slowly stood up. I heard the soft rustle of the robe's fabric. I felt as if her white, naked body was being revealed even more.
As Senior Delphine approached, I backed away restlessly. But it was no use.
She walked soundlessly and was soon standing right in front of me. A faint smile touched her lips.
"Welcome to my room, Ian Percus."
Only then did I begin to understand Seria's warning, even if only a little.
The warning to be careful of Senior Delphine.
I felt as if something was about to be stolen from me. A cold sweat trickled down my back.