The Secret and the Looming Shadow

“You— mmph!”

Lily, startled, almost let out a shout, but Agniele quickly reached out and clamped a hand over her mouth. Her words cut off, Lily frowned and slapped the back of the hand covering her face.

“Quiet. Stay quiet.”

Agniele lowered his voice to a whisper, glancing nervously toward Ensi’s door. Sensing instinctively from that brief gesture that Agniele had overheard the conversation inside, Lily nodded to show she understood.

“Lily?”

Ensi’s puzzled voice drifted from behind the door. Agniele’s face filled with anxiety as he cautiously pulled his hand away. Having regained her freedom of speech, Lily glared at him with disgruntled eyes before turning toward the door to shout back.

“It’s nothing! I just got a sudden case of the hiccups.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry about it and get some sleep. You’re tired.”

It was a pathetic excuse, but Ensi let it slide without further question. He seemed too busy trying to manage his own turbulent emotions to press the matter.

Having successfully navigated the crisis, Lily cocked an eyebrow at the stone-faced Agniele.

‘What are you doing here?’

She didn’t speak aloud for fear Ensi might hear, simply mouthing the words. Agniele, interpreting her intent without difficulty, replied in kind with silent lip movements.

‘I came to ask if he was feeling okay.’

He had also come to confirm the schedule for tomorrow. While he had unintentionally eavesdropped, his initial motive had been pure. Lily let out a held breath at the response—it was an answer that was just so Agniele. She signaled him to move away from Ensi’s door, tapping his forearm and jerking her chin toward her own room.

The two crept to Lily’s room like thieves, only exhaling a sigh of relief once the door was shut.

“So, how much did you hear?”

“I heard from the part about being disowned.”

Agniele answered truthfully to the question that flew at him before he could even catch his breath. Hearing that he had basically heard everything important, Lily’s eyes shook violently.

“Ah— seriously. You have to act like you know absolutely nothing in front of Ensi. You heard nothing today. Ensi hates it—I mean, truly, deeply hates it—when other people bring up his family… You get what I’m saying, right? Please?”

It was an open secret that Ensi was neglected by his family. However, there was a vast difference between rumors floating around and facts being confirmed by the person involved. Agniele stared at the pleading Lily for a moment before nodding slowly.

“I will remain silent until Ensius chooses to tell me himself. Do not worry.”

“Really?”

Lily’s expression brightened at his solemn vow. Coming from Agniele, she believed it. If it had been anyone else, she might have resorted to threatening them to keep their mouth shut.

“Then I’ll trust you. Now that that’s settled… you said you came to ask about tomorrow’s schedule? He’s recovering faster than expected, so we’re leaving the village tomorrow morning.”

“Understood. Did you obtain the Sun Grass without issue?”

“Huh? Ah— right. Yes. We got it. Ensi said it’ll be enough to last until we return to the Academy.”

Lily nodded, remembering the excuse she had made earlier.

“Good. Then I shall see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Having heard everything he needed, Agniele left Lily’s room without lingering. Lily scratched her cheek, feeling a bit awkward at how quickly the situation had defused, and clicked her tongue.

Lily rolled around on the bed, delighted to be back in the familiar, sweltering heat of their dorm. Ensi, having lost the bed to her, took a seat on the edge.

“That was hard. Truly, truly exhausting!”

“Good work, Lily. How was the practical?”

“How was it? Ha, words can’t describe how tough it was. Just listen to this.”

At Donovan’s question, Lily sat up as if launched by a spring. Crawling over to grab Donovan’s shoulders, she began to recount every single hardship she had faced. Donovan, who had expressed a brief moment of distress at being trapped by his own question, nevertheless listened to her complaints sincerely.

“Anyway, what’s the reason for the gathering this time?”

Unlike Donovan, Luke had little interest in Lily’s struggles and cut her off. Looking uncharacteristically disheveled, as if he still hadn’t finished his experiments, Luke drew a pout from Lily, but she let her dissatisfaction end there.

“It’s because of Saint Lundrail’s Feast next week. It’s the day the Academy exceptionally holds a party, isn’t it?”

Because the Academy was heavily influenced by the Holy Kingdom of Asgard, it held festivals and cancelled classes for major feast days. As Lily suggested they make plans for what to do, Luke snorted.

“Using a feast as an excuse for a festival five times a year. They should use that money to increase support for the Magic Faculty instead.”

“My goodness, Luke! To call it an ‘excuse.’ It’s not an—”

“Whatever it is, skipping class and having fun is great! More importantly, has everyone prepared their outfits for the final night’s party?”

As a horrified Cyril began to formulate a serious rebuttal to Luke’s cold remark, Lily quickly jumped in to change the subject.

“I don’t plan on attending. I’m a commoner anyway, and I’d rather spend the time looking up materials in the library than playing at a party.”

Donovan, who had been flustered while looking back and forth between the sharp-tongued Luke and Cyril, was the first to respond to Lily.

“Commoner— right. Well, they said the outdoor gardens will be decorated too, not just the indoor hall. Shall we all hang out there?”

“I think I’ll be going to the indoor hall. Sirius already asked me to be his partner…”

“Please don’t worry about me and have a good time, Titania. And Lily, isn’t Titania’s outfit more important than my attendance?”

“True. But I figured Ensi would have Titania’s outfit ready anyway?”

Lily’s gaze naturally drifted toward Ensi. He shook his head slightly in denial.

“The Grand Duke said he would prepare it this time, so I only sent the jewelry.”

“Mm-hmm, that’s right. Sirius is preparing everything… but I’ll definitely wear the jewelry you sent! I have to advertise the new products.”

“Don’t wear them if they don’t match the dress,” Ensi cautioned.

Titania nodded, though she was certain that wouldn’t happen. Ensi sent her so much jewelry that her only struggle was the long time it took to pick the perfect piece for her outfit.

Cyril let out a sigh and brushed back her hair. Reminding herself of the truth that one should not argue with friends over religion, she joined the new topic.

“I don’t think I can hang out with everyone either. I’ll be spending this feast day in the Holy Kingdom of Asgard.”

“Cyril, you’ve been spending more time in the Holy Kingdom than here lately. Are you going to drop out before graduation?”

“If it comes to that, I suppose it can’t be helped. I didn’t come to the Academy for the sake of graduating anyway.”

Cyril gave a faint smile, indicating it wasn’t a major concern. While it was sad that her time with like-minded friends was decreasing, she couldn’t simply stay in one place forever.

“Isn’t it more efficient to conduct experiments than attend a party?”

“Luke, you shouldn’t be so consumed by magic experiments. You have to live in reality…”

Titania covered her mouth with a shocked expression at Luke’s skeptical view of the party. As she looked at him with pitying eyes, Luke’s brow furrowed.

“Titania, Lily said Luke was a ‘grad student’ in his past life. This is just how he is.”

“What does that mean?”

“Aha, it means exactly what it sounds like.”

“Lily Florence!”

Ignoring Luke’s shout, Lily burst out laughing and waved her hand dismissively.

“It’s a joke, a joke. But… it seems everyone has things to do this year, unlike last year. It’s a bit of a shame.”

Feeling that bittersweet sensation—like when a group of close teenage friends starts to drift apart as they become adults—Lily muttered her regret. As she vented her disappointment, Luke tilted his head in confusion.

“Can’t you just play with Nocturn, whom you love so much?”

“Gosh, playing with a lover and playing with friends feels completely different.”

Complaining that he didn’t understand such things, Lily rested her chin on her hand.

“I guess Ensi won’t be attending either, then. Right?”

“I’m not a fan of crowded places.”

If no one else was going, Ensi had no reason to attend. As he nodded simply, Lily gave a ‘knew it’ reaction.

“Can’t be helped. I guess I’ll just play with Nocturn this time.”

“But Lily, aren’t you forgetting one thing?”

“Huh? What?”

Lily’s eyes were filled with genuine confusion. Donovan, flustered, hovered for a moment.

“You know, the thing that happens right after the feast.”

“…Oh, wait.”

Realizing what was coming, Lily reached out to cover Donovan’s mouth, but he was faster.

“The exams.”