Chapter 32: Beatrice (1)

“So… what’s the meaning of this?”

“It’s nothing. I told you I wanted to change locations, didn’t I?”

Inside a café.

The aroma of freshly brewed tea lingered at the table in front of me, along with an assortment of colorful desserts.

A scene that anyone would consider a peaceful tea time.

Yes…

If I hadn’t been kidnapped here…

“You kidnap an injured person and now it’s tea time?”

“So what? If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

Beatrice said, picking up a dessert and taking a bite.

Her relaxed demeanor only irritated me further.

Sigh, I had to be patient.

Getting angry now would only put me at a disadvantage, especially since I didn’t know her intentions.

Furthermore, I didn’t have any weapons, so I couldn’t recklessly start a fight.

In the end, I picked up the teacup in front of me.

Sip

“It’s alright, isn’t it? I come here often.”

“Yes, well… It’s not bad. Although there are no other customers.”

“That’s because I rented the whole place.”

Renting an entire café just to talk with me…

My curiosity about her purpose only grew.

“I heard you cut off the Myers boy’s arm.”

“Luke Myers, you mean?”

“Yes, him.”

“He attacked me first.”

“I heard that too.”

I initially thought she came here because of the incident during the duel, but judging by her attitude, that didn’t seem to be the case either.

“Where are you from?”

“…I don’t remember.”

“Do you have any family?”

“…No. I suppose my parents must be somewhere, since I was born.”

It was a conversation with little substance.

Yet, a strange smile played on her lips, as if she found the conversation itself amusing.

“If this is all you wanted to talk about, there’s no reason for you to have brought me here.”

In the end, I was the one who broke the awkward silence.

“This is information you could easily obtain through an investigation, Beatrice-nim.”

“Why wouldn’t I come? This is quite entertaining.”

What?

“You said you knew who I am, right?”

“Yes. You’re the Headmistress of this Academy.”

“That’s right. And also a former member of the Hero’s party, the current strongest Archmage on the continent, and so on. All the titles that describe me are grand. But…”

She continued.

Just as I was starting to suspect she was narcissistic, her gaze changed.

“You haven’t shown any reaction this whole time.”

“…”

“How many people do you think can remain so calm after meeting me like this?”

“I don’t know. Probably not many.”

“Out of all the people I’ve met, those who react like this fall into two categories.”

“One, those close to me or familiar with me.”

And the other.

“Those who have lived hiding their emotions.”

Damn.

Her words momentarily shattered my composure.

But I couldn’t show any weakness.

“Which category do you think I fall into?”

“Since I don’t know you, I’d say the latter.”

Beatrice picked up a cookie, dangled it in front of me, and then popped it into her mouth.

“You seem calm, but in reality, there’s nothing there. That’s how you appear to me right now.”

“I’m used to hiding my emotions.”

“Well, it’s not my place to interfere with your life.”

She shrugged.

“But I’m telling you this out of concern. That’s a very dangerous thing, you know?”

“What?”

Her sudden warning caught me off guard, momentarily shattering the mask of composure I had carefully maintained.

“The more you suppress your emotions, the bigger the explosion will be when they finally erupt.”

“…”

“It’s not like I haven’t seen this happen before.”

The atmosphere grew cold as she continued.

Speechless, I simply covered my mouth with my teacup.

“Just today, a student lost his arm.”

“That’s…”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

Honestly, I had nothing to say. She wasn’t wrong.

It was true that I cut off his arm and lost control in the process. It was a kind of self-defense mechanism that kicked in whenever I felt my life was in danger.

But…

‘Then what should I have done?’

I was the Zeroth Legion Commander of the Demon King’s army, a warrior of the front lines.

Emotions were nothing but poison, something that only brought greater pain when things went wrong.

And she was saying suppressing them was dangerous?

Even if it was, nothing would change.

“Well, that’s all I have to say.”

“Are you leaving?”

“It seems I have a visitor.”

Clatter

The café door opened as she finished speaking.

A moment later, three people entered.

“You found me faster than I expected.”

“Haha, where else would you be, Headmistress? Especially after kidnapping a student.”

“Kidnapping? Do you know how precious it is to have time with me?”

Beatrice greeted Lian as if she had been waiting for him. Lian simply smiled wryly in response.

“Aria, do you know how worried we were when you suddenly disappeared?”

Lucia approached me and checked on my condition.

Come to think of it, I was kidnapped.

Suddenly, I had a question.

“How did you two know I was kidnapped?”

Wouldn’t they normally assume I had returned to the dormitory?

This was the time they were supposed to be meeting the people from the Church.

“I wonder about that myself. I made sure to block any magic or sound from leaking out.”

Beatrice asked, as if she was curious as well.

Alicia answered our question.

“When the Saint-nim returned to the infirmary to retrieve something she left behind, a light suddenly leaked from under the door.”

“Aha~ Should I be careful about the light next time?”

“Haha, you’re not even thinking about not doing it again… We were quite troubled when the Saint-nim suddenly came back.”

Lian added from the side.

But his words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

“Nothing happened, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Beatrice watched us converse.

“By the way, you’re the current Saint, right?”

“Yes, I’m Lucia Iris. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Beatrice-nim.”

“You two look very much alike.”

“Huh?”

Lucia expressed confusion at her words.

“Rumors have been spreading around the Academy since the entrance exam.”

“Rumors, you say…?”

“The Saint, and the commoner who looks just like her. People are saying you have a hidden sister.”

Beatrice’s words flustered Lucia even more.

“So, can I ask you something?”

What exactly is your relationship?

“Um, well…”

Why was Lucia so hesitant?

“We’re not related.”

“Oh…”

She knew the answer was already decided, didn’t she?

“Even though you look so alike?”

“Well, it must be a coincidence.”

“What a coincidence.”

With every exchange, Lucia’s expression grew more and more despairing.

She tried to hide it, but her trembling eyes revealed everything.

“Are you done talking?”

“Huh? Yes, but why?”

“I’ll be taking my leave now.”

I stood up from my chair as I spoke.

The atmosphere froze, as if everyone was startled by my sudden action.

“Then, excuse me.”

“W-wait, Aria!”

I could hear Lucia calling from behind, but…

I didn’t hear anything.

That’s how it had always been, and that’s how it would be from now on.