The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy – Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Preparing for Finals

“…Elder, how many does that make?”

“Past 270… I stopped counting.”

Black Wolf gazed at the seemingly endless swarm of evildoers, internally reeling in disbelief.

Is this the result of the free will our tribe fought so hard to preserve?

He had volunteered to serve as Hoyeon’s guard upon hearing Byeolbi’s claim that the continent she was headed to was a land of free will.

By his estimate, he had cut down over 300 people, yet the evil rooted in the city showed no signs of disappearing. Doubts began creeping into his mind.

Could this, too, be one of Byeolbi’s cruel pranks? He wondered if he was still trapped in that narrow cage, his mind twisted by her influence. Just as he reached the height of his suspicions, he caught the sound of rustling in the distance.

“So stubborn. Lieutenant, can I leave that one to you?”

“Leave it to me, sir. Should I dispose of the body like last time?”

“Yeah. Return it to the earth.”

The unsettling exchange caused the rustling sound to grow louder, but to the disturbed Black Wolf, it was a trivial matter.

Was Byeolbi’s claim true after all? That free will was still far beyond these people’s grasp?

In the past, he would have flatly denied it, but now, he was shaken.

When he returned to his quarters, a falcon awaited him.

Perched idly by the window, the bird’s presence puzzled him until he noticed the piece of paper tied to its leg.

Who would send this? He pondered, though only one person came to mind. Yet he dismissed the thought just as quickly.

That person would never initiate contact first.

Just in case, he checked the note, fearing it might be a threat from some criminal organization that had tracked down his whereabouts. However, the familiar handwriting left him momentarily stunned, and the content made him doubt his eyes.

“Please watch over Dogeon.”

Hoyeon, who rarely reached out to anyone, was asking him to monitor someone. Black Wolf couldn’t help but suspect another one of Byeolbi’s tricks.

More unbelievable than the consequences of free will was the fact that Hoyeon had made such a request. Her timid nature and reserved personality made the idea of her asking someone to spy on another person seem ludicrous.

Only after banging his head against the wall—leaving a visible crack—did he accept it as reality.

“…Well, the young lady is really fixated, isn’t she? To the point of ordering surveillance… Ha. I never thought I’d see the day. Should I report this to the higher-ups?”

Clutching his aching head, Black Wolf glanced toward the academy. Its security was strict on the surface, but his trained eyes saw countless flaws in its defenses.

Even someone like Hoyeon changes when there’s someone by her side, huh.

Briefly recalling his tribe, he shook his head, dispelling the thought, and headed for the academy.

***

True to her word, Hoyeon didn’t smother me with obsessive behavior after that day. She didn’t cling to me throughout the day or growl murderously whenever I glanced at another girl.

Of course, it wasn’t like those tendencies had disappeared completely. She still sniffed me in the evenings, muttering incomprehensible words like “grass,” “perfume,” “sweetness,” “sweat,” and “coward,” while flashing unsettling smiles. At least I could tell she was holding back.

I even managed to sleep better after confirming that my paranoia about being followed was just that—paranoia.

However, as for progress with others… there wasn’t any. Shockingly.

Anastasia was kind to me but maintained an invisible boundary that I couldn’t cross. Iris was similar; though her complexion had improved and she’d gained some fullness in her chest, she didn’t seem thrilled about getting closer to me.

Her responses carried just enough courtesy to avoid making me feel awkward, but they lacked warmth.

Camilla? Multiple attempts to approach her ended with curt rejections.

Even Exipri, who seemed to warm up after I offered her some candy, was stopped by Camilla, who warned her not to eat sweets from others. That plan went up in flames.

Cecilia was the only one who actively talked to me, but Ethan was always by her side. And her tone felt less friendly and more interrogative, as if she were conducting an investigation.

Taking stock of the situation, it was clear things hadn’t improved at all. In fact, my relationship with Camilla had worsened.

As for Gloria, rumors had it that she was bedridden. Nothing was going my way.

What should I do? I was starting to feel anxious. The original story was already shattered when Stefania, the root cause of the first arc’s events, disappeared.

I couldn’t even think about the invasion in the second part of the story when I didn’t know what might happen during the upcoming finals.

I’d been diligently visiting Georg every week to train, but honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was even necessary anymore.

Was it worth building strength now that the threats seemed to have disappeared?

Three Weeks Before Finals

“…No, Hoyeon! I swear I haven’t forgotten this time!”

“But she said you’d already learned this. My love, forgive me, but… it seems like you did forget. Am I wrong?”

When I first met the guy who called Anastasia “my love,” I was startled. But after hearing their circumstances, I quickly understood.

It’s a fantasy world, after all. Arranged engagements without mutual consent still happen.

Eric didn’t seem romantically interested in her, and Anastasia, while hard to read, appeared ready to break it off.

Their act of drawing boundaries made sense since they were only pretending to be engaged for appearances.

“Would you please just be quiet?!”

Hoyeon had organized another study group in preparation for the finals. The difference this time was how much bigger and noisier the group had become.

“If you want to flaunt how close you are, save it for after class. Anastasia, I believe I told you not to forget logarithms.”

“Th-that’s… I mean… I just… Ugh! Why do we even have to learn something we’ll never use in real life?!”

“Because you need to graduate, of course. Do you want to repeat the year?”

“Ugh… Anything but that…! Ugh, are all these formulas just a conspiracy by wizards to make our lives miserable?!”

“It’s not to make your life miserable; it’s for the advancement of technology. Now stop whining. I never thought I’d have to explain this again…”

“Don’t worry, my love. I’ll help you understand it, too.”

“…Aaaagh!!!”

Hoyeon seemed much more adept at handling people now. She even had a commanding presence that made her look like a seasoned teacher.

“…How about solving it this way, Ethan?”

“Not bad, Cecil. But this method works better for me. My brain doesn’t function unless I write out the formula.”

“Hmm… Well, if that’s the case, then… Let’s try this approach instead…”

The finals loomed closer, but my progress? Still nonexistent.

Even back then, Ethan had been solving problems effortlessly on his own, but now he had brought Cecilia along for self-study sessions. I wasn’t sure why they were together, but when I asked, they both claimed it was for the sake of exploring a shared research topic. Suspicious, but I had no choice but to let it go.

Somehow, I felt like all the heroines were drifting away from me and toward Hoyeon. It filled me with a sense of crisis, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

Cecilia’s spirit still seemed to be intact, and the demonic beasts that were supposed to trigger an event with Anastasia had appeared once during midterms and never again.

My relationships with Camilla and Exipri had been strained since the start of the semester.

Sigh.

“…Eric. I’ll leave the rest of the explanation to you.”

“Don’t worry, Lady Hoyeon. I’ll take full responsibility for teaching my love.”

The other side was lively. With so many people around, Hoyeon’s one-on-one, in-depth lessons were clearly no longer possible. She seemed busy managing everyone.

“You look lonely. Shall I be your partner?”

“…If you would, I’d be grateful.”

With everyone else seemingly paired off, Hoyeon joining me would at least help dispel this strange sense of defeat I felt.

“Alright. Today… grass, sweat, coward, perfume. You’ve been busy, haven’t you?”

“Uh, Lady Hoyeon… what exactly do ‘grass,’ ‘sweat,’ and all that mean?”

As usual, she muttered those words while sniffing me, and my curiosity finally got the better of me. Why did she always whisper such seemingly random things whenever she caught my scent?

“…It’s nothing. I’m just describing the smells I pick up from you.”

Hoyeon gave me an ambiguous answer, one that felt both revealing and inscrutable. Then, like before, she began pointing out the specific parts of my work where I was stuck, helping me with precision.

…But here’s the thing.

She’s sitting awfully close to me. Almost too close.