NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21
Seeing her again suddenly reminded him of something that had happened recently.
The time she had ignored his invitation for a walk in the garden and left as if she hadn’t heard him…
It was the same today.
Even though he had come to the academy, he hadn’t seen Camilla once.
If he hadn’t happened to pass by the training grounds, he might not have run into her at all.
In the past, she was always the one to approach him first. He never had to look for her.
‘She’s like a completely different person.’
Petro smirked faintly.
“Let’s go.”
After briefly glancing at Camilla, he started walking again.
“But doesn’t Lady Camilla seem a bit different these days?”
“She does.”
“She’s not the type to sleep so nonchalantly during class—Ow!”
“Hey, what the—!”
Roy, one of Petro’s friends, stumbled backward after bumping shoulders with someone.
He instinctively frowned and started to yell, but the words froze on his lips.
“Hey?”
The moment he saw the person standing before him, his whole body went rigid.
“Were you talking to me?”
“Ah… no! I mean, uh, that’s not what I meant…!”
Through the long bangs partially covering his face, a pair of piercing black eyes gleamed, and Roy felt his heart drop.
“I-I’m sorry! Arsion!”
Arsion Sephra.
The heir of the Sephra family, one of the three great ducal houses alongside the Sorpel and Jabilon families.
His frame was slimmer than that of an average adult man, almost delicate in appearance.
However—
“Don’t apologize.”
“A-Arsion…”
“Because I’m not going to.”
Roy trembled as Arsion gave him a crooked smile. He knew all too well how cruel Arsion could be.
As the heir of the Sephra family, known for producing countless grand mages, Arsion wielded immense magical power.
And unlike most mages, he also had exceptional physical abilities.
But no one is perfect.
The one glaring flaw of Arsion Sephra was his
personality
.
Just last year, there had been a widely known incident. A transfer student, ignorant of Arsion’s reputation, had provoked him and ended up beaten to within an inch of his life.
Using his vast magical power, Arsion healed the student with restoration magic, only to resume beating him again.
Healing and assault.
The cycle repeated countless times, leaving both the victim and onlookers utterly devastated.
Even when teachers rushed to the scene, they were too intimidated by Arsion’s oppressive presence to intervene.
“I’m really sorry!”
So it was only natural for Roy to react like this after bumping into him.
“Come on, let’s stop this. There’s no need to fight over something so trivial.”
At that moment, Petro stepped between them with his usual friendly smile.
“It’s just a misunderstanding. Arsion, you’ve already received an apology. Why not let it go?”
“Are you a clown?”
But Arsion’s gaze only grew colder.
“A clown?”
“I wonder.”
“……”
“Will you still be smiling like that while getting beaten?”
“…I’m curious about that myself.”
Petro’s smile deepened.
“Still, let’s end it here.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Arsion.”
Whoosh!
Thud!
“……”
“……”
In an instant, Arsion’s fist flew toward Petro, who quickly blocked it.
The two stood with their fists pressed against each other, staring silently.
“Don’t call my name so casually.”
Arsion’s voice was icy, sharp enough to freeze anyone in place.
“I don’t like hearing it.”
Even his tone alone was enough to send chills through the air.
“What’s going on here?!”
The commotion had drawn the attention of professors, who came running from a distance.
“Too bad.”
Click.
Arsion clicked his tongue, as if genuinely disappointed, and stepped back.
It amused him that professors, who usually turned a blind eye to such incidents, would only step in when someone like Petro, a duke’s son, was involved.
“Don’t show yourself in front of me again.”
With those parting words, Arsion turned and walked away as though nothing had happened.
“Fast.”
Petro looked down at his hand, which still tingled from the impact.
From that single exchange, he could clearly sense the gap between them.
Despite Petro’s years of wielding a sword and training his body, Arsion’s movements were faster. And beyond that, he possessed far greater strength.
Strength that wasn’t even aided by magic.
The pressure he’d exerted on Petro had been purely physical.
Step.
“……”
Meanwhile, Arsion’s footsteps came to a halt as he passed the training grounds.
His gaze landed on Camilla, lying under the shade of a tree.
She squirmed as if uncomfortable, flinching when she noticed him and quickly averting her eyes. She didn’t look in his direction again.
“Hmmm.”
Arsion stared at her intently.
“Could it be… she can see?”
****
“This place isn’t an academy; it’s a ghost haven.”
After finishing her swordsmanship class, Camilla entered the classroom for her general lecture with a weary laugh.
In the back of the classroom sat a ghost occupying an empty seat.
Why is there even an extra desk here without an owner?
It was obvious no one had moved the desk because of the ghost attached to it. People unconsciously avoided and ignored areas haunted by spirits.
Sigh.
If the ghost had been the only one, Camilla might have been able to shrug it off.
But what is that over there, even conducting a lecture?
Next to the professor energetically teaching the class, a ghost was equally enthusiastically mimicking the lesson. The overlapping voices made her head spin.
Your academic zeal is incredible. Really.
Do you still want to stay at the academy even after death? Is studying that enjoyable?
Camilla avoided making eye contact with the ghosts as much as possible, opting to bury her head on the desk. It seemed she’d be spending this class napping as well.
“Lady Camilla.”
But unlike her swordsmanship instructor, the professor teaching this math class wasn’t going to let her behavior slide.
There were two types of professors at the academy:
The first were those who ignored her completely, treating her as if she didn’t exist.
The second were those, like Professor Velet, who actively sought to belittle her at every opportunity.
“Lady Camilla, are you protesting that my lecture isn’t worth your time?”
“Not at all.”
“Or should I take your behavior as a sign of confidence, that you can solve these problems without even listening?”
What a dramatic conclusion. Camilla stifled a laugh.
“Then come solve these problems for us, would you?”
Professor Velet’s lips curved into a faint smile. Other students, sensing a spectacle, perked up with similar expressions.
How childish.
Camilla chuckled softly. Glancing at the equations on the board, she strode forward confidently.
I graduated from S University with perfect scores.
Her entrance to S University, along with her status as a celebrity, had made national headlines.
I hated hearing it.
That an orphan with no parents couldn’t possibly be good at academics.
So, she had studied relentlessly, never giving up on her education despite her grueling life in the entertainment industry.
She solved the problems with ease, leaving the professor speechless.
“Can I go back to sleeping now?”
Velet’s stunned silence, mirrored by the class, was all the answer she needed.
Here is the translation of the additional text with proper formatting and tone preserved:
“Ha…”
I’m tired.
After all the classes had ended, Camilla climbed into the carriage and let out a long sigh.
She had only spent half a day at the academy, but her entire body felt as heavy as a ton of bricks. It was like she had filmed three different dramas back-to-back.
Math class was no exception, but none of the other classes were particularly challenging. The material was so familiar it was almost boring.
She didn’t care much about being bullied. In fact, it felt rather pleasant not having anyone around to bother her.
The real issue was something else entirely.
“They’re ghosts.”
What was up with all the ghosts? They were everywhere in the academy.
Watching the ghosts enjoying their own version of academy life, Camilla couldn’t help but sigh again.