Time Healer Ceres

Chapter 55. The New Black Forest

Step. Step.

“......”

“It’s a shame. I’ve been preparing for this for a long time.”

Prince Alex followed Veilks into a place he had never seen before. He didn’t know there was an underground chamber beneath the flower garden where they usually met.

“Did I choose someone too foolish?”

Veilks clicked his tongue as he thought back to the Saintess, whose part in the plan had ended in failure.

“I thought her greed would be enough to pull it off. Did I underestimate this world? Or perhaps...”

Veilks suddenly stopped walking. Turning around, he gave Prince Alex a faint smile as he met his gaze.

“Perhaps there was a variable I didn’t know about.”

“...If there was a variable, it was Ceres. She was the one who found out about the Saintess, after all.”

Prince Alex barely held back a groan.

Could he have realized what Jutel did? After all, Jutel was the one who had told Ceres about the bracelet the Saintess had used. He even made a book about it.

“That’s right. She... she was the variable.”

Veilks nodded and continued down the passage. Prince Alex followed quietly, letting out a silent sigh.

“How much farther?”

After a while, Prince Alex finally complained. The staircase seemed to go on forever. He was starting to get tired.

“We’re here.”

At last, the end of the dark staircase came into view. Veilks stopped before the massive door and turned to Prince Alex.

“I’m sure you’ll be quite pleased, Your Highness.”

“.......?”

What could possibly be in there?

Prince Alex narrowed his eyes at Veilks, whose expression seemed unusually excited.

He thinks I’ll be pleased? What is he plotting now?

Creeeak.

The heavy iron door opened with a strange, grating sound.

“These are the children I’ve been preparing.”

“.......”

Prince Alex followed Veilks through the doorway, his mouth slowly falling open.

“They’ll be ready to show the world soon.”

“T-This...”

...Crazy!

Prince Alex swallowed the curse that nearly escaped him. Staring at the horrifying beings before him, a faint groan escaped his lips...

***

“Julia doesn’t have a mom or dad, right?”

“That’s true, but...”

“I heard her family is really poor, too.”

“I don’t think they’re that poor.”

In Julia’s classroom, Tooz, a boy who had transferred in just a few days ago, chatted with the other children while sneaking glances at her.

...So annoying.

Julia had clearly heard him, yet she sat there with the same calm expression. Tooz pouted.

She was the one thing he disliked most about the academy.

She doesn’t have anything, and her family isn’t even particularly special. Yet everyone in the class dotes on her!

His old academy hadn’t been like this. There was something strange about this class. Why did everyone like a girl like her?

Thwack!

“Ow!”

Something struck Tooz on the head. Wincing, he turned around.

“What about you? Do you have an older sister?”

“W-what?”

“Or do you have an older brother?”

It was Christine.

Thwack!

“Ow! That hurts! Why do you keep hitting me?”

“You don’t even have Sooty.”

“Sooty? What’s that?”

“You’ve only got a mom and dad. Who are you to badmouth Julia?”

“Tch...”

Tooz glared at Christine angrily, but she only snorted and turned back to Julia.

“Christine.”

“Hmm? Want me to hit him again?”

“No. Two hits are enough. You really are a perfect fit for the mean wolf.”

“Yeah. I think so, too.”

“Should I color this part with this?”

“No. That part should be red.”

The two girls soon went back to their drawing, completely absorbed in it.

“Ugh...”

Tooz continued to glare at them, but he didn’t dare say anything else. He was clearly afraid of Christine.

“Tch!”

Tooz pouted again and turned away. That was when another child caught his eye.

“Jailo.”

“H-huh?”

“I heard you’re from an orphanage. They say you got into this academy through sponsorship, too. Do you go back to the orphanage after class? You don’t have a mom or dad, or even any older brothers or sisters, do you?”

Having found someone else to take his anger out on, Tooz’s words grew even more spiteful.

“...Yeah.”

Jailo, who had brightened when Tooz first spoke to him, lowered his head at the words that followed.

Seeing that, Tooz puffed out his chest.

That’s exactly the reaction I wanted from Julia.

“I heard they give you donated clothes and everything else there. Isn’t what you’re wearing now something someone else wore before...?”

Thwack!

“Ow!”

Tooz’s grin vanished when another hand struck him on the head.

“Ugh!”

Certain that Christine had hit him again, Tooz whipped around.

“Tooz, that’s mean.”

But Christine wasn’t there. Julia stood behind him, holding one of her shoes and looking at him reproachfully.

Did she just hit me with that?

“I told you not to say things like that.”

“Ugh... What does it have to do with you?”

“Hit him with this. With this.”

“—!”

Tooz flinched when Christine took off her shoe beside Julia and handed it to her. The heel was pretty sharp.

That thing would really hurt if she hit me with it!

“Tch!”

When Julia took the shoe, Tooz finally backed away and hurried out of the classroom. With all the other children seeming to glare at him, his face flushed as he rushed outside.

Whoosh!

“Eek!”

But as Tooz headed out, he suddenly tumbled to the floor. He landed hard on his backside. When he looked around in confusion, his face crumpled.

“What was that?”

It felt like something had suddenly yanked his foot, but there was nothing around him. There wasn’t even anything on the floor that could’ve made him slip.

“Uwaaaah!”

Tooz burst into tears and ran out of the classroom. He was hurt, and he was embarrassed.

“Serves you right. Bleh!”

Christine stuck her tongue out at Tooz. Julia put the shoe she was holding back on Christine’s foot.

“Oh?”

Then, Julia spotted someone familiar standing at the classroom entrance. She broke into a bright smile.

“It’s Zien!”

Zien was standing in the doorway.

“......”

At Julia’s call, Zien glanced briefly at her before turning away. He then quietly walked off.

“Again. Again.”

He left without saying anything again. Julia crossed her arms and frowned after him.

“Who’s that?”

“My older brother, Zien.”

“You have another older brother?”

“Yeah!”

Julia nodded enthusiastically and giggled.

“I got a new one!”

“What?”

A new one? An older brother?

Christine couldn’t make sense of what Julia meant.

“Let’s finish our picture. Jailo, do you want to draw with us?”

“M-me, too?”

“Yeah!”

Before long, Julia and Jailo started drawing together.

***

“Here are this month’s earnings from the Aetel minerals. Lord Oselt also wants to trade in Pet minerals. What should we do?”

As his aide spoke, Kainel slowly read through the documents.

“For the Pet minerals, I’d rather trade with someone other than the Ellesia family.”

“I agree. Count Zorojou has also approached us about trading with the Principality. They’ve offered to supply us exclusively with their local specialties.”

The office was already filled with people, all of them vassals of House Persia.

Since Kainel seemed intent on spending more time in the capital than in the north, his vassals had gradually started moving there as well. They could no longer stay cooped up in the Principality of Persia.

With the northern gate finally open after being closed for so long, people were already lining up to knock on them.

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