Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Ignition (1)
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‘That said, it’s hard to gauge this guy’s condition.’
His gait, speech, and expressions were all pretty much the same as usual.
Coincidentally, I’d seen Theodore seriously ill multiple times, to the point where he could barely stand, and only then did he show any signs of being unwell.
‘Not that I’m one to talk.’
It wasn’t like I could complain about him not showing his pain, given my own personality of hating to let it show.
On top of that, unlike me—a rising star who’d only recently caught attention on the cusp of graduation—Theodore was the third son of a ducal house who’d drawn the eyes of high society almost from the moment he enrolled.
His tendency to isolate himself and avoid relying on others might have been necessary for existing as ‘Theodore White.’
“Left, left.”
“……”
“Straight ahead—want me to carry you?”
“I’m fine.”
His reactions were a bit slower than usual, but he didn’t seem totally out of it.
I watched Theodore stumble for a moment before belatedly realizing why Judith and Shirley had been watching me so intensely.
Talk about putting myself in their shoes.
“Ah, the staff.”
As we followed Theodore’s heels out of the Crown of Thorns Class’s main building, two staff members guarding the entrance stepped aside and looked at us.
It was a complete shift from the hostile blockade they’d formed just moments ago.
“Can we go now?”
“Yes. The alert has been lifted. You’re free to leave.”
“……”
The alert being lifted meant someone who’d tried to escape had been caught.
From the circumstances, one of those escapees was probably Professor Melberry, who taught Aegis Ancient Language.
It left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I hurried Theodore along and slipped out of the Crown of Thorns Class building.
-Creak.
A short while later, after what felt like a longer walk than usual, we arrived at Theodore’s room.
“Should I call a staff member for you?”
“No.”
“Head, head head—”
-Thud.
Theodore seemed to be spiking a fever as time passed; he wobbled and finally smashed his head hard.
“A little harder and I’d be dragging you to the infirmary.”
“I’m okay now.”
He didn’t look okay at all, but Theodore seemed uncomfortable with me there.
If he fell asleep like this, would the sleepwalking symptoms start up again?
That made me want to stay close to him even more.
I had no idea when or where the lid on Theodore’s broken memories might fly off completely.
‘The guardian angel is probably banking on that.’
Why was Theodore fighting his own memories so fiercely?
What was this promise he’d made with Shirley?
My insides burned, but I kept a straight face as I leaned against the wall by the door, planning to watch until he crawled into bed.
“You can go.”
“I’ll leave after I see you sleep.”
“It’s burdensome.”
“Are you going through puberty or something?”
“……”
At my words, Theodore burrowed into the covers like it was on purpose.
Lately, it felt like everyone around me was getting fed up with me…
A few provocations and they fell for it easily—it was subtly addictive.
“-Ugh…”
Theodore took off his eyepatch and set it on the bedside table, then rubbed his eye socket.
It looked like phantom pain from the scarred eye I’d seen before.
Just in case it might help, I boiled some water, soaked a towel, made a warm compress, and handed it over. Then I drew the curtains so he could rest and stepped out of the room.
“……”
I pressed my ear to the door, listening to make sure those horrific sleepwalking symptoms—what a strange way to put it, but a desperate reminiscence of a future only he remembered—didn’t start.
‘I need to call Arthur.’
After what happened earlier, Arthur was surely hurt.
I scribbled a quick summary of events on the paper and pen at the dormitory’s first-floor entrance and sent it off with a staff member.
.
.
.
Just like the uproar in the Crown of Thorns House, the Wooden Cross and Silver Chalice had their own commotion too, apparently.
The only class that passed quietly without major clashes with the staff was, predictably, the Black Lily with Makina in it.
Makina had snapped her fingers a few times with practiced ease to sort out the situation, then communicated with the staff to calm the Black Lily cadets.
“Guess Makina’s just lacking that in-person charisma…”
With that thought, I headed to the Crown of Thorns House, where I’d be lecturing for the entire spring semester.
My leg muscles weren’t perfect, but they were functional enough, and the burn scars had faded to the point where they’d lighten further with time.
Thanks to the academy’s healing mages and the infirmary staff, the skin where the burns had been hadn’t puckered up—small mercies.
‘Has the guardian angel given up now?’
It seemed the guardian angel wanted to drive me mad enough to kill myself.
The fact that it didn’t self-harm or jump off cliffs while controlling my consciousness suggested it couldn’t outright kill me directly.
Either way, as long as my reason could stand against the guardian angel, I had to suppress this gloomy, insular academy from spiraling into total chaos—
Truth be told, after seeing the Crown of Thorns Class’s ferocity yesterday, I was a bit intimidated.
The Wooden Cross did have powerhouses like Judith and Shirley, who output beyond human levels as aspiring knights.
But the Crown of Thorns was different at its core, somehow.
‘Feels kinda feral.’
Most of them were oddballs burning with excessive academic passion, but beneath that lurked terrifying power.
If not for the royal decree banning all violence and the ethics education everyone had to follow as humans, who knows what would’ve happened yesterday…
Stubborn temperaments, eccentricity, immersion tendencies. The creepiness of studying the supernatural—death, spirits, curses—and violence beyond reason bubbling under the surface.
Those were the elements making up the Crown of Thorns cadets as I’d pieced them together so far.
“Sigh. This is getting too paranoid.”
I raked my fingers through my neatly combed hair and scrubbed hard.
Even though things were improving bit by bit, an inexplicable anxiety threatened to swallow me whole.
“Cadet Arma Cruise.”
Just then, a husky voice I’d grown familiar with called out.
“Hello, Izmel.”
Today, Izmel had her long hair pinned up with a barrette-like clip and waved at me.
She was leaning against the wall connecting the dormitory to the main building, as if waiting for someone.
“You’re really guest lecturing here the whole spring semester?”
“If a merchant spends money, they’ve gotta milk the stage for all it’s worth.”
“Hahaha, strict family tradition.”
She laughed like it was a genuine joke and fell in step beside me.
But something about Izmel’s demeanor felt off.
She bantered casually, yet there was an undercurrent of nervousness.
I was flustered by her closer proximity for a moment, then got distracted by an unfamiliar scent brushing my nose.
‘Herbal scent and… specimen room smell?’
That’s when I realized Izmel didn’t smell like her usual perfume.
Yesterday’s specimen room experience had been so vivid that the odor was etched in my nose.
“Were you in the specimen room yesterday by any chance?”
“Oh, yeah. Even with all the chaos, I heard there was an open-book test, so I stopped by to check something. Guess the smell stuck. Speaking of, how’d Theodore handle it?”
Izmel asked a strange question. Had she overheard us in the specimen room, thinking it was empty?
It wasn’t anything we couldn’t be heard saying, but it was personal enough that I didn’t want to share lightly.
“I haven’t convinced him properly yet.”
“Huh? Convinced? N-no, I meant yesterday’s Aegis Ancient Language class—”
Why was this happening?
I’d thought we’d just exchange greetings and part, but Izmel started following me.
Sorry as I was to Izmel, with Theodore on my mind after not seeing him since yesterday, I wasn’t in the mood for chit-chat.
“Sorry, can we talk later? Or say it while we walk.”
“It’s important. I need to check one thing right now.”
Even after I said that, Izmel was persistent.
Unless it was something that couldn’t wait, it bordered on odd.
‘Something’s up.’
At this point, I had to stop walking.
My nerves were elsewhere, but Izmel wouldn’t act like this for no reason.
“What is it?”
“Yesterday’s Aegis Ancient Language open-book test! It went ahead as scheduled, right? Theodore turned in his answer sheet?”
“……What?”
A test? I hadn’t heard anything about that.
I instantly understood Izmel’s impatience and froze in place.
“Is there a pass determination for this open-book test?”
Please say no.
I looked at her pleadingly.
Izmel’s face stiffened.
I didn’t even need to hear it—I knew what she’d say.
“……Yes.”
“Damn it.”
Almost simultaneously, I recalled the scene right as we’d entered yesterday’s Aegis Ancient Language class.
“The other cadets each had a single blank sheet of paper face-down on their desks.”
My teeth ground together involuntarily.
Theodore had one secret.
It was the restriction placed on him by the White family.
-He would not fall behind at Aegis Academy.
If that blank sheet face-down was the test paper?
We’d never heard about an open-book test, never even touched the test paper.
As if meticulously planned, just the two of us hadn’t participated in the open-book test.
“These idiots are finally crossing the line!”
Izmel looked furious too, right down to her scalp.
Judging by her fidgeting earlier and her anger now, she knew about Theodore’s restriction.
“What exactly triggers the restriction?”
“The moment Theodore realizes he’s fallen behind.”
“What if he doesn’t confirm that fact?”
“It’s just a temporary measure. It activates the instant it’s announced publicly.”
The water was already spilled.
My heart sank.
Even amid this, one question lingered.
“But Izmel, how do you know so much about Theodore’s restriction?”
“Because it was the Carol family who placed the restrictions on Arthur Usher and Theodore White! Damn it!”