Chapter 11

“You all did well.”

At the promised time, all the students had arrived at the final destination.

Some made it on their own, while others were eliminated and brought by the instructors.

The only common factor was that, with the exception of a few who arrived late, everyone had witnessed or experienced the final battle.

“Now I will announce the rankings.”

Grad, who had just finished a brief discussion with Rosalia, unfolded a piece of paper.

“First, the 31 pairs (62 students) who failed to enter were excluded from the ranking.”

“Ah…”

“Of all people, I had to run into those guys…”

Groans of disappointment were heard among the eliminated students.

“53rd place: Pair Horn and Bellos…”

“31st…”

“Tenth…”

With each rank announced, sighs and cheers erupted throughout the crowd.

“All the top spots were taken by those who entered with His Highness.”

“Damn, I’m jealous.”

“Awesome! We made the top 20!”

And then everyone began to realize something truly unexpected had happened in this exam.

“Wait… Carlo Deneb and Alia Torta didn’t even rank?”

“Oh, you must’ve gotten here late. They were eliminated early.”

“Those two? They were taken out early? Seriously?”

The student, shocked by the unbelievable story, couldn’t help but blurt it out.

“From what I heard, they ran into Luina and Fernan.”

“So not only did those two arrive first, but they also took down Carlo’s pair?”

As the whispers spread, Carlo and Alia’s faces turned slightly red.

“…2nd place: Ludger Schwaben and Almon Donertz.”

“And 1st place: Luina Bercheff and Fernan Pellenberg.”

So when the first-place result was finally announced, no one was surprised. There might’ve been some controversy in the process, but everyone had seen with their own eyes what they had accomplished.

“Honestly, wasn’t that kind of cowardly? They held back while everyone else fought, and then locked them all up at the end.”

“That’s not cowardice. That’s intelligence. Besides, trapping ten people for over five minutes is pure skill.”

No one had expected Fernan to possess such magical power and ability. He’d just hidden it that well.

“Yeah, there’s no way he’s only tenth-rank material.”

“And Ludger and Almon were there too, right?”

Most students had expected Ludger and Almon to win this practical exam.

“And they even beat Carlo and Alia…”

“I get Luina. She’s basically on par with Almon, right? But there’s no way she could’ve done it alone…”

“So you’re saying Fernan had been hiding his strength?”

“But why? And if he was going to hide it, why reveal it now?”

There could’ve been multiple reasons, but few had actually expected Fernan and Luina to take first place.

Not because they were weak, but because the competition was fierce. In a pair, both members had to be strong. And objectively, Fernan had always been seen as weaker than Luina.

Still, regardless of how it happened, the winners were Fernan and Luina.

They had defeated Carlo and Alia, confined other students, and proved that it wasn’t just luck.

“Quiet. I’m not finished speaking.”

At Professor Grad’s words, the murmuring students quieted down.

“Lastly, the scores from this practical exam, along with the bonus points, will be added to your final semester grades. The highest bonus scorers were Luina and Fernan, who took down eight pairs. Second place was Almon, with six pairs…”

Grad continued announcing the rankings. That’s when the students realized.

Luina hadn’t partnered with Fernan just for money. The Pellenberg name wasn’t content with a mere tenth place.

And the final semester rankings might face a massive shake-up.

Cautious and wary eyes turned toward Fernan and Luina.

“…Luina!”

After the practical ended, Luina headed toward the Ravidus Hall.

Thanks to a wealthy benefactor, she had ingested and applied potions like water, so she had no lingering injuries or physical issues.

But mentally, she was exhausted after tumbling through the mountains for three days.

‘I just want to crash into a soft bed and sleep.’

But before that, a sweet piece of chocolate would make her feel like she didn’t need any other luxury or indulgence.

Fortunately, she still had some Kraken Ink chocolate left—the reward she’d received for her victory.

Thank God I saved some for a moment like this, she thought, smiling to herself as she walked.

“Luina!”

A voice pierced her ears, snapping her out of her thoughts. Turning around, she saw two students running toward her.

“Bella? Aina?”

They were her friends from the Knight Faculty.

“Come with us for a second.”

“What’s with the sudden—?”

“Just come.”

Suddenly, they grabbed Luina’s hands and dragged her off. Their destination was a small town café.

Bella first ordered a rich chocolate cake and handed it to Luina.

“Eat this.”

“…Out of nowhere?”

“Just eat it.”

“Well, if you’re giving it to me, I guess…”

The sweet taste of chocolate filled her mouth, and Luina’s expression softened a bit.

Watching carefully, Aina’s eyes lit up like she’d been waiting for this moment and fired off a question.

“When did you know?”

“Know what?”

Luina blinked, confused by the sudden question.

“Fernan. I mean Fernan.”

“What about Fernan?”

“When did you know he was hiding his strength?”

Without waiting for a reply, Aina continued.

“Honestly, at first I thought you were crazy. All the mage students were dying to be your partner, and you suddenly picked Fernan?”

It wasn’t that Fernan lacked anything. But considering Luina’s ambition for top grades and her excellent record, it had seemed like a strange choice to everyone.

“I didn’t say anything, but I really did wonder if it was about the money. Not saying it was—just that… if not, what other reason could there be? Just a little?”

“Yeah, just a little.”

Luina flinched slightly at their words, but thankfully it wasn’t too noticeable.

“…No, it’s not that.”

She hadn’t actually had any other reason, but now they were handing her a great excuse.

“Just like you said, I saw Fernan’s potential. That’s all.”

“Knew it! I knew you wouldn’t do it for the money!”

“Exactly. Someone like you wouldn’t care about that. Sorry for misunderstanding.”

“It was easy to see it that way, so we understand.”

It was true, after all.

Though Luina felt a pang of guilt for lying, she forced herself to keep her composure.

“But still, it’s a bit surprising. It’s not like you didn’t have better options. I mean, we’re talking about Pellenberg. Weren’t they the ones who screwed over your family?”

“…That was a matter between our families. There’s no reason to take it personally.”

That wasn’t true. She didn’t have a good opinion of the Pellenbergs or Fernan either.

But she was sincere in saying it was a family issue. No argument between her and Fernan would solve that.

…Or at least, that’s what she had believed until recently.

“…You’re too kind, Luina.”

“If it were me, no matter what, I never would’ve partnered with Fernan.”

“Same here, same here.”

“But even if he was hiding his power, isn’t Fernan still a bit lacking compared to Carlo?”

Bella brought up the question again.

Luina didn’t have much to say; she thought the same thing herself. But there was no need to make excuses.

“I think the reason became pretty clear this time.”

History is always written by the victors.

“That’s true.”

“Well, I trust you know what you’re doing, Luina.”

The girls nodded, accepting her explanation. Their conversation shifted into casual chatter.

“I didn’t even rank this time. Got knocked out right after running into His Highness and Almon.”

“Talk about bad luck! At least I made it. I ran into Harold halfway and nearly had a heart attack, but I guess I was so close to the end that he just let me go.”

“You’re lucky.”

Luina listened quietly, until Bella’s question pulled her back into the conversation.

“What about you, Luina?”

“…What about me?”

“Those three days with Fernan. I mean, we didn’t see you fight, so we’re really curious about what it was like.”

Aina jumped in too.

“Yeah, tell us!”

“There’s nothing amazing to tell.”

“Come on, you don’t take first place without doing something incredible.”

“Yeah! You even beat Carlo and Alia!”

“Hmm.”

Luina paused and thought back.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say they won thanks to Fernan. The problem was, it was all because of an artifact. She thought it was a little cheap, and Fernan didn’t want anyone to know.

“We just had good synergy.”

“That’s it?”

“There’s really not much more to say…”

The vague answer left the table in silence for a moment.

“But Luina,” said Bella, breaking the quiet, “it wasn’t really about the money, was it?”

“I already said no. Why bring it up again?”

“No, it’s just that…”

Her gaze dropped to Luina’s body.

“Your armor looks different…”

“And now that you mention it, your weapon too…”

Cough. Luina had to use her aura just to stop the tea from shooting out her nose. Her throat and nose burned, but she kept her expression as neutral as possible.

“I changed them with the scholarship. My father’s in a good spot, so he told me not to ask for anything this time. And my gear was a little worn.”

“Really?”

“Good for you, Luina. Honestly, your equipment was pretty worn out. I even thought about buying you new gear myself.”

‘Thank God. That seemed to work. I’m really glad I thought of that in advance.’

Luina breathed a silent sigh of relief.

It was a secret that she made up excuses like this daily to hide the fact she was getting support from Fernan.

***

“Thanks for your hard work.”

As Fernan exited the classroom, his attendant was waiting for him. He flopped down on the bed inside the carriage as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“…I feel like I’m gonna die.”

“I heard you came in first.”

“Yeah. I bought first place with money.”

Fernan let out a dry laugh.

“That’s why I love money.”

“Did you end up using everything you brought?”

“Thankfully, not everything.”

Though not everything was used, the amount spent wasn’t small.

“At least I managed to recover a bit.”

Fernan pulled out five glass bottles filled with troll blood and handed them over.

“I see troll blood.”

“I didn’t have time to take all of it. Just picked the most efficient stuff.”

“Well done. And how was Luina Bercheff?”

“More cooperative than expected.”

For someone he had basically bought as a partner, she wasn’t bad.

She turned down a few options now and then, but when they were reasonable, she didn’t object.

Not to mention her skills. There was a reason she was ranked second. Still, it wasn’t clear if she’d actually become a Royal Knight.

“…I’m exhausted.”

A lot had happened.

Getting practical and sudden visions of possible futures was draining—physically and mentally.

“You should get some rest. I’ll wake you up once we arrive at Ravidus Hall.”

“Thanks. Oh, by the way, anything unusual happen while I was gone?”

“Nothing inside the academy.”

Which meant something had happened outside it.

“What is it?”

“A letter arrived.”

“A letter?”

The attendant handed it over. The golden turtle emblem stamped on the wax seal made it clear who it was from at a glance.

“My father?”

“Yes. A letter from the Duke himself.”

Fernan opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.

On the pristine white stationery.

As if to emphasize the beauty of the empty space, only one line was written.

[I accept your audacious offer.]

And yet, that single line was powerful. It was exactly what Fernan had hoped for.

“…Perfect.”

“Your bluff paid off?”

“It was the pufferfish tactic.”

A mocking smile curled on Fernan’s lips. An unsettling future might have begun to take shape.

But for now, everything was going according to plan.