It had been exactly one day since the Transmutation Garden of Veyhart Academy was attacked.
No one knew exactly how, but dark mages had managed to breach the outer areas of the academy. They struck precisely where the barrier was weakest. The shock hit everyone hard. A direct invasion, right at the beginning of the semester.
Initial investigations confirmed that dark mages were behind the attack. However, a silent consensus formed among the instructors: someone from inside had helped make the invasion possible. The suspicion wasn’t about who attacked—but about who left the door open.
When it was discovered that the real target of the attack seemed to be the alchemy teacher of Class S, Maelis, the atmosphere at the academy grew even heavier.
No one knew exactly why. But the fact that a commoner had earned such an important position had never sat well with everyone. And now... it seemed like someone wanted to fix that by force.
The Academy’s Internal Council decided to wait for the return of the headmaster and vice-headmaster, who were away handling other matters, before making any definitive decisions.
Despite the chaos, there were no recorded deaths. No student was seriously injured.
But one of them... was still missing.
SHHRRCH!
Marco crumpled the newspaper and tossed it in the trash as he walked through the halls.
"They didn’t mention anything about Yenne or Kaen?? About what happened?"
Not a single line. Not a single word. It was as if Yenne and everything that had happened that day had been erased from existence.
But Marco had been there. He had seen it all with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears.
Three dark mages had appeared out of nowhere, and they weren’t interested in destroying the academy. They were there for Yenne. They said it out loud.
And it was Kaen who stayed behind to hold off the three while he and Yenne escaped.
Marco couldn’t understand why that part of the story had been completely erased. But he figured Yenne’s family must’ve covered it up, even if she didn’t want that.
He’d seen her clearly, explaining everything to the instructors. But, as always, powerful names had the power to distort truths. Even as a noble, Yenne was still a hostage to her family’s decisions.
Sigh...
"Where the hell did you go, man...?"
The words came out low, almost a whisper.
Marco hadn’t known Kaen for very long. But long enough to know he was sharp. Slippery like fresh ink on marble.
And that mana... what he saw Kaen release during the fight... that wasn’t from an ordinary student. Not even a Class 2...
But Aeryn had been clear.
She confirmed she felt Kaen’s mana at the place he was last seen. But after that... it vanished completely.
According to her, Kaen didn’t seem dead. But he also wasn’t there anymore. Either he escaped on his own... or was taken by the dark mages.
And coming from Aeryn... that was almost a final sentence.
Marco stopped in front of the classroom door. He took another deep breath.
"Doesn’t look like today’s gonna be a good day..."
He pushed the door and walked in.
====
2:20 p.m. — Professor Rhodar Velmire’s theory class.
Even after things had calmed down, students still whispered and talked about what happened, like it was all still happening right in front of them.
"Are they seriously making us come to class the next day? After yesterday, they could’ve given us a day off... don’t you think?"Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
"..."
"Elena."
"What do you want?"
Elena didn’t take her eyes off the front of the room. She kept writing in her notebook, fully focused on what Professor Rhodar was explaining on the board. Her notes were fast, direct, like every word spoken was crucial.
Lyra, on the other hand, was lying on her desk, face buried in her arms. Her whole body looked limp on purpose, like the weight of the world had pressed her down just to keep her from participating.
"Wow... don’t you ever get tired?"
"If I stop taking notes, are you gonna do it for me?"
Lyra lifted her face just enough to flash a playful little grin.
"T-thanks for the hard work..."
"Yeah, thought so."
".."
A bit farther back, between the light sound of pages turning and muffled conversations, a few whispers started to gain space.
Voices came and went, taking advantage of the moments when the professor’s attention slipped.
"Looks like they still haven’t found anything about the commoner from our class."
"Yeah, I heard about that."
Elena kept writing, not seeming to care about the conversation in front of her.
"From what I heard... they’re still searching, but nothing so far."
"With his personality, wouldn’t be surprised if he died..."
At that moment, Elena’s pen froze mid-air. Her finger lightly pressed the side, but she didn’t write anything else.
"Right... and honestly... he’s just a commoner. Who would even care—"
"Hey... you assholes."
The voices stopped. The two students slowly turned their heads and saw Elena glaring at them with a firm stare and a cold expression.
One of them swallowed dry.
"H-hum... Elena Elrien, is there a problem?"
"Shut up and pay attention to the class."
"A-ahh, right!"
The two immediately looked forward again, shoulders tensed. Elena then went back to writing, like nothing had happened.
But even with her head still down on the desk, Lyra was watching more than she wanted to admit. Her eyes followed Elena with focus. That calm... was it really focus? Or just a way to avoid thinking?
"Lyra..."
"~Yes?!"
"You don’t need to stare at me if you want to sleep..."
Lyra smiled and rested her chin on her palm.
"Ah, sorry... it helps. You’ve got this... calming vibe."
Elena sighed and gave her a sideways glance without moving her head.
"Why don’t you go sleep in the infirmary?"
"Eeeergh... no thanks."
Elena let out a breath with mild impatience and turned her gaze forward. In silence, she repositioned her pen on the notebook and resumed her notes, like she was shielding herself from any new attempt at conversation.
But... Lyra wasn’t the quiet type.
"Uh, Elena... about yesterday..."
"What?"
"What happened to Kaen wasn’t your faul—"
Elena stopped writing again. Her hand froze mid-sentence.
"Why are you talking about this? I already said I don’t care."
"Ah, right... my bad."
Lyra knew Elena wasn’t being honest. It was subtle, but something was there. Like Elena carried a silent guilt over what happened to Kaen. Even without having done anything directly.
Even though she wasn’t from a traditional noble bloodline, Lyra had connections to several prestigious houses. And with that, she had access to information few others did.
In noble circles, the rumors said the dark mages tried to capture Yenne Veltarion during the attack on the Transmutation Garden, taking advantage of the chaos.
Yenne was considered a valuable bargaining piece. After all, she was the heiress of the Third Magic Tower.
But Kaen, who was with her, got caught up in it... and was declared missing.
What seemed to light a spark in Elena’s expression was a comment made by Aeryn.
When she returned, Aeryn mentioned encountering a mage with green hair and a broken mask at the same place where she had last sensed Kaen’s mana.
It was the same mage Elena had fought before. The one she tried to stop from escaping. As if she had been trying to prevent something bigger.
And that something... seemed to have happened.
Lyra lifted her head completely, eyes scanning the classroom.
'Is she not here today?'
Yenne was absent. And even though Lyra didn’t know how close she and Kaen really were, something told her...
She was probably feeling even more guilty than Elena.
====
The light rain had stopped some time ago, but the sound of droplets remained, dripping from the high tiles of the academy’s administrative building. The hallway was silent and heavy, as if even the air avoided circulating through there.
Inside, a dim light illuminated a small isolated office at the back. The walls were covered with books, empty flasks, crumpled notes, and old papers piled carelessly. The smell was an uncomfortable mix of dried ink and poorly stored herbs.
At the center of the mess, a chair spun slowly after an impatient push.
"Those sons of bitches!!"
The voice echoed muffled, vibrating against the shelves.
Valtair slammed his fists on the table in frustration, then brought both hands to his head, tugging at his hair as he paced back and forth, as if the movement could purge the chaos inside him.
"They couldn’t even get the job done because of a bunch of first-years?"
His plan had been simple: give the dark mages free rein to eliminate Maelis. However they wanted... That was it.
But how the hell could they fail because of a few kids?? he kept asking himself.
Valtair was the professor’s longest-serving assistant. With her out of the way, he was sure he’d inherit the position. The academy would never waste time recruiting an outsider. His name was already there, the seat practically warm.
But everything had fallen apart.
The mages, instead of following the plan, had the brilliant idea of trying to capture Yenne first. A magic tower heiress. A target that would draw attention from anyone.
And they had the audacity to send a message saying some boy—a commoner—had interfered with the operation.
"Some white-haired student... seriously?!"
Valtair walked over to the window and yanked the curtains shut, as if he could hide his own face from reality.
"How am I supposed to smooth this over now...?"
His expression was a mix of panic and rage. His heart was beating way too fast. His hands wouldn’t stop moving, like they were searching for something to do, something to fix this before the headmaster returned.
He knew what was coming.
As soon as the headmaster and deputy returned to the academy, the names of those involved would be investigated. And his... would definitely be among the first.
"I need to talk to those idiots again..."