Ch.264-21. Academy (5)

# Chapter 21. Academy (5)

Bellian immediately ran to his father and rambled on about the day’s events.

Albert, seeming to have already figured out Bellian’s intentions, asked as soon as he finished speaking.

“So you want me to stop it?”

“Yes, I’d be grateful if you could.”

“Why should I?”

“Well… it’s kind of like, ‘If you seduced her, take responsibility!’ I’m cautiously predicting something along those lines.”

Albert pressed his forehead upon hearing this.

“I didn’t particularly seduce anyone though?”

“That’s just a figure of speech. So? What do you think? You’ve already gotten involved with everyone except Luna, so why not go all the way?”

“But why are you helping? I can understand Rachel, but you…”

To that question, Bellian showed remarkable shamelessness.

“It just seems fun, you know? Like, bursting into a wedding ceremony shouting ‘I object!’ and ruining the wedding… isn’t that entertaining?”

“Shouldn’t you be congratulating your friend on her marriage?”

“Not in this case. If she doesn’t want this marriage, someone needs to teach her a lesson! What do you think, Father?”

Looking at those sparkling eyes, Albert’s resolve was indeed weakening, but he didn’t accept the mission.

At least not until he heard Luna’s opinion.

“No, I won’t do it.”

“Aw! Why not?!”

“Why? Because I don’t have the right to do such a thing.”

“Tch… can’t be helped. But you’ll still attend the wedding, right? Luna asked you to come to the ceremony.”

Bellian handed him the invitation she had received from Luna.

On the invitation was Luna’s name, along with someone whose name wasn’t familiar but wasn’t entirely unfamiliar either.

Greg Ignite—that name was clearly written in the groom’s column.

“What’s wrong? Do you know him?”

“I do, somewhat…”

Seeing this name made his thoughts waver a bit.

Albert knew Greg from his previous life and also knew how much Elizabeth had suffered because of him.

“This makes things a bit complicated…”

***

Luna and Greg.

The news of a marriage between royals of Orion and the Persian Kingdom had captured worldwide attention.

Most people were delighted, and among them was someone who was particularly pleased about this fact.

-I’ve only seen her in photos, but she’s truly beautiful.-

“Yes, Mother. I think so too.”

-I’ll arrive tomorrow morning, but please tell my son-in-law that he doesn’t need to welcome me.-

“Yes.”

Though it was the day before the wedding, her mood was far from good.

Even as she spoke with her mother, she was deep in thought.

-Your condition is important, so go to bed early. I’ll hang up now. Sleep well.-

“Yes, Mother. Good night to you too.”

-Click!-

She stared blankly at the phone after the call ended.

Today, more than ever, she felt like rebelling.

It was the first time she’d felt this way since then. Led by this strange feeling, she went outside.

As autumn was approaching, the nights were getting chilly.

“I should have worn a coat…”

She rubbed her arms as she walked through the vast campus grounds.

Then she stopped in front of a large lake.

She gazed at her reflection in the water.

“Can’t you smile a bit? You’re the bride getting married tomorrow, you know?”

She muttered to herself, but the expression of the woman in the water remained unchanged.

She sighed.

“Haa… what do you want to do?”

Even when asked, the woman in the reflection gave no answer, which was regrettable.

She reached out and stirred the lake water.

At that moment, her center of gravity shifted forward.

“Ah…”

About to fall into the lake, she squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the disaster.

However, she didn’t feel the characteristic coldness of water; instead, she felt a pulling force.

“Be more careful, will you?”

She looked up at the person who had pulled her back.

Like her, Albert stood there in pajamas without an outer coat, holding her arm.

“Ah… sorry…”

“What brings you here? I thought you’d be resting in the dormitory today.”

“I just wanted some fresh air.”

Albert, like her earlier, gazed at his reflection in the lake.

Unlike her, however, the reflection of him was smiling.

“Congratulations on your marriage.”

“Oh… thank you. You’ll come, right?”

“Of course. It’s a friend’s wedding, after all. But…”

Albert continued speaking while looking at the woman in the water.

“Are you okay?”

Hearing that question, her already somber expression darkened further.

Yet, an idealistic answer that contradicted reality came from her lips.

“Of course I’m okay. What are you talking about…”

“You’ve become quite different from the princess I used to know.”

Albert looked at her, not at the woman in the lake.

“What was the princess you knew like…?”

“The princess I knew would have asked me to ruin that wedding.”

“That’s…”

She couldn’t continue.

In Albert’s memory, she was just Luna from a more carefree time.

But she didn’t dislike that time at all. Rather, she envied her past self, comparing the past with the present.

Between being true to her heart then and compromising with reality now, it was crystal clear which was the life meant for her.

Albert asked her again.

“Don’t you want to stop it?”

She had observed Albert’s women very closely.

They clearly recognized that their actions weren’t ethically right.

Yet, they didn’t wear expressions like the one reflected in the lake now.

Rather, they had bright expressions, just like his current one.

She finally seemed to understand why.

“Do as you please…”

***

With just those words, Luna left the place.

“Well… what am I supposed to do?”

But Luna’s final expression was quite different from before.

Having witnessed it, Albert couldn’t bring himself to criticize her actions.

Rachel, who had been hiding near the lake bench, slowly revealed herself after Luna left.

“See! I told you it would work!”

“I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Now let’s plan our strategy.”

“Strategy? What strategy?”

“Well, more like what you’ll say.”

Rachel enthusiastically explained the so-called strategy as if she would be the one executing it.

The plan was absurd, but nothing could be better than it.

“You want me to do that?”

“Aren’t you already prepared for it?”

“Haha…”

Since I was planning to do as Luna said—do as I please—I only half-listened.

Still, out of respect for her effort, I didn’t completely ignore it.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Now! You’ll say, ‘This marriage was a half-baked arrangement forced by the groom’s side through threats!’ and just take Luna away! How about it?”

“Is it okay to lie like that? Isn’t that quite far from reality?”

Rachel then made an expression she used to show me during our school days.

That expression couldn’t justify such irresponsible behavior.

“Who cares? It’s not my problem.”

“Seriously… grow up. You talk like you’re writing some novel.”

“Isn’t that what this is?”

I was left speechless.

“I’ll do it moderately, okay? Not to the extent you just mentioned. Or… do you know anything suspicious about him? Any past wrongdoings?”

“Well…”

“He’s your brother, so you should know.”

“I don’t think there’s anything… but can’t we just make something up?”

I noticed an unpleasant smile that suggested she had thought of some strange plan.

I quickly drew the line.

“I won’t do it! I absolutely won’t do it, no matter what!”

“I heard something from Elin.”

“Oh…? That might work.”

“Since we’re doing this, it’s better to be thorough, right?”

Rachel grabbed my arm firmly.

Then she started pulling me somewhere.

“Where are we going?”

“We have a lot to do today, so it’s better not to think too much.”

“Really… can’t we just not do this?”

Vague memories from that time came back to me.

It was a terrible memory. Just thinking about it made me feel repulsed—one of the few memories that did so.

Imagining the dizzying future ahead, I pressed my forehead.

“Really…”

“I’ll take responsibility and protect you.”

***

Luna, dressed in a beautiful white wedding dress that perfectly complemented the elegant elven atmosphere, was preparing for the imminent wedding ceremony in the waiting room.

Being the only princess of the Persian Kingdom, famous figures from around the world had come to attend.

“You look beautiful, and congratulations on your marriage.”

“Thank you…”

“I never thought you’d marry him… but why does Lord Greg look so gloomy? It’s strange, considering he’s marrying someone like Luna.”

As Elizabeth pointed out, it was indeed puzzling.

His expression was too dark for a groom about to be married, and his behavior was excessively cautious.

However, Luna had no idea why.

“I’m not sure about that…”

“Then, do you know where Albert is? He was here just a moment ago…”

“He hasn’t come here yet.”

This fact amplified both her expectations and worries.

‘Will he really come…? I should have just asked him directly…’

She regretted her ambiguous answer from yesterday. Still, it was too early to lose hope.

After all, he always appeared from unexpected directions.

‘I hope he does the same this time.’