The Past

Volume: Two

Title: Chapter 52 The Past

‘Hmm? Are you… inviting me?’

Ewan’s gaze sharpened instantly at the young woman’s hesitant question.

‘That shy expression.’

‘Those stammering words.’

‘Could it be…?’

‘But that can’t be right. I’ve only met Sally twice, haven’t I?’

“Ew-Ewan, please don’t misunderstand,” Sally stammered, her face flushing even deeper under his gaze. “It’s… it’s just my father… yes, my father asked me to invite you to our home as a guest.”

Her cheeks burned, as if aflame, as she hastily explained, “I wrote to my father earlier, telling him all about it. He wrote back recently, scolding me for trying to dismiss you with just a few cakes!”

“So, he insisted I invite you over. He’s a renowned chef, you see, and he wants to prepare a grand meal to apologize properly and treat you.”

‘Ah, so that’s it…’

Ewan finally understood. It wasn’t Sally, but her father who was extending the invitation.

That made perfect sense. After all, the more worldly one became, the more importance they placed on status and social etiquette.

Her father must have feared his daughter had slighted a duke’s son like him.

“I appreciate both your and your father’s kind intentions, but I’m afraid I already have plans for the Open Day,” Ewan said apologetically.

“But the Open Day lasts for three days.”

“I can’t be sure I’ll be able to make time. It would be even worse if I accidentally stood you and your father up, wouldn’t it?”

“Is… is that so?”

Sally’s disappointment was palpable, visible for all to see.

“Well, it can’t be helped, I suppose. Someone like Ewan is bound to be very busy during the Open Day.”

‘Why does that sound like I’m some kind of playboy with multiple dates?’

Ewan’s lips twitched. He continued to console her, “I’m sorry, Sally, to disappoint your good intentions. But truly, you don’t need to go to such lengths. Didn’t I say it before? That little misunderstanding, I never took it to heart. You can tell your father that he needn’t worry at all.”

“It’s not because of that at all…” Sally murmured softly.

“Hmm? What was that?”

“N-nothing at all.”

Sally shook her head frantically, then suddenly shoved a note, seemingly prepared in advance, into Ewan’s hand. “In that case, please visit whenever you find the time, Ewan.”

“Eh? Wait.”

“I’ll be waiting for you all three days!”

Before Ewan could react further, Sally fled as if escaping.

****

“Lower City, Durank Street, Number 15.”

Standing there, Ewan gazed at the note in his hand, which seemed to contain an address, and let out a wry smile. ‘This… this is going to be a bit troublesome.’

“Quite the youthful spirit, Ewan Campbell.”

A stern, rigid voice suddenly broke the silence.

Not far away stood an old man in a formal suit, clutching a silver cane. He watched Ewan silently, like a stoic old pine tree.

“Professor Planck? What are you doing here?” Ewan jumped in surprise, quickly stuffing the note into his pocket as he questioned him. ‘Are you also here at the hospital by coincidence?’

Professor Planck didn’t answer. He simply turned and said, “Follow me.”

“Eh? You need me for something?”

Ewan looked utterly bewildered, wanting to ask for clarification.

But Professor Planck had already walked away, leaving Ewan with no choice but to jog quickly to catch up.

****

The Great Clock Tower.

Underground.

The Silver Well.

With a soft *drip*, the magic-powered elevator doors opened, revealing an unfamiliar underground world before Ewan’s eyes.

The metallic floor beneath his feet, polished like a mirror reflecting clear images, stretched to the very limit of his vision. Pipes, shimmering with faint blue or red light, coiled like colossal pythons, clustering in corners before vanishing into the profound darkness.

In the shadows on either side, enormous, intricate mechanical constructs stood like giants lining the path. The moment Ewan stepped onto the ground, he felt two terrifying gazes sweep over him.

Under the immense pressure, Ewan’s breath hitched, as if he were at the bottom of a deep, dark ocean.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Professor Planck reached out and patted his shoulder. “Those are the guardians of the Silver Well. As long as you have authorization, there’s no danger.”

The pressure on his body vanished abruptly. As Ewan took a deep breath, he couldn’t help but ask cheekily, “What if one doesn’t have authorization?”

“None?”

Professor Planck’s tone rose for a moment, as if in mockery.

“The first thing any enemy wishing to invade the Silver Well must do is deceive the guardians’ eyes.

If they cannot…

Those who couldn’t have all perished.”

He glanced at a massive, dark red stain on the ground near the elevator — a patch of what looked like dried blood.

Decades had passed, yet the ground where countless formidable individuals had been pulverized remained stubbornly stained.

Professor Planck’s words sent a chill down Ewan’s spine. He instinctively pulled his neck back, his gaze flickering over the steel giants, and quickly hastened his steps to match Professor Planck’s pace.

Their footsteps echoed crisply, reverberating through the empty, silent corridor, like countless people tapping a rhythm in the darkness, somewhat eerie.

Ewan rubbed his arms, wanting to start a conversation to dispel the cold dread in his heart, but the presence of the stern and rigid Professor Planck in front of him left him unsure of what to say.

“Your father was also my student,” Professor Planck suddenly offered.

“Eh?”

Ewan paused, then quickly recovered. “My father also attended St. Mary’s Academy?”

“Since the academy’s inception, every successive heir of your Campbell family has studied there.”

Professor Planck paused, then continued, “After all, the Campbell family was one of the academy’s founders and remains one of its major shareholders to this day, holding the power to decide some of the academy’s significant matters.”

“I had no idea the Campbell family were shareholders of the academy,” Ewan exclaimed.

“Don’t think too much of it.”

Professor Planck said coldly, “According to the original agreement, only the Duke of Campbell is permitted to interfere with certain academy affairs. Therefore, whether it was your father then or you now, entering the academy merely makes you a student. You have no right to dictate terms to the academy.”

“I harbored no such thoughts,”

Ewan scratched his head with an innocent expression.

Dictating terms to the academy seemed to offer no benefits at all, apart from potentially getting slapped against a wall by Professor Planck so hard he couldn’t be peeled off.

He was not the kind of unruly noble scion who would fill an entire swimming pool with champagne and secretly ogle the smooth thighs beneath young women’s white dresses at a ball.

He preferred black stockings.

“So, what was my father like when he was a student at the academy?” Ewan asked.

“Your father, you say.”

Professor Planck paused, seemingly lost in distant memories.

Then, a hint of wistfulness entered his voice.

“At that time, Ronan Campbell was precisely as his current title suggests.”

“Title?”

Ewan thought for a moment. “The Lion King?”

“Precisely, the Lion King, the leader of the pride.”

A glint flashed in Professor Planck’s aged eyes. “From the moment he entered the academy, he was like a Lion King standing above all beasts, radiating immense, dazzling brilliance.

Humility, courage, studiousness, loyalty—all the qualities a virtuous noble should possess shone brightly on his chest like an emblem. Many students were captivated by his character and followed him wholeheartedly, and he always advanced amidst everyone’s adulation.

All that he accumulated during his student days became the crucial foundation that allowed him to swiftly raise the banner of Campbell during that turmoil, the incident where your grandfather tragically passed away.

He was a man whom everyone, upon first sight, would praise as truly worthy of the Campbell name.

Therefore…”

Professor Planck turned to Ewan, his expression complex. “When I first saw you at the academy a year ago, I was so disappointed.”