Chapter 34

Once they reached the dorms, Estelle asked for her room assignment to the dorm guardian.

"Hello, could I get my room for tonight?"

"Yes, of course. What is your name, miss?"

"Estelle von Sideria"

"Current ranking: Number one. I'll proceed to give you the best room there is! If you end up first, you'll also be assigned many personal attendants."

Even though only temporarily, Estelle was the first place on the leaderboard. Thus, she was assigned the most luxurious room. If she maintained her position until the placement test was over, she'd have the right to many more benefits. But those would be assigned later.

"And you, little gentleman?"

"I'm Vince von Sideria. Would it be possible to have a room next to milady Estelle? I am supposed to serve her."

"It'll be slightly difficult… but if miss Estelle is fine with it you could sleep in one of the rooms supposed to be for the attendants."

'Well, whatever. A room is supposed to be used only to sleep anyway.'

"Fine by me."

"But you would be giving up on a better room, wouldn't you, Vince?"

"Don't worry, milady."

"Let's go with that then."

It could seem strange a kid serving another, but it was pretty commonplace, especially in huge families. Oftentimes children that weren't the family head's would serve those who were.

It was also a way to avoid family genes being spread too much. If they left the family, potentially great future cultivators would go into the hands of someone else.

Therefore it was rare that someone coming from a family of higher became an in-law, even females. It was more likely the male becoming an in-law of the higher-status family.

The room they were assigned was a highly decorated room full of golden finishes. Many paintings were hanging from the walls, all portraits of historical figures from the Flossen Kingdom.

The room came with a vast living room, a dining hallway too big for its purpose, a terrace and a garden. There was also an area wholly dedicated to training.

It currently felt a little empty, but once flooded with attendants everywhere, it wouldn't feel that way at all.

'What a big room… This is treatment deserving of royalty… actually, it's not like these weren't built with that in mind. Most times, the top ranker is a royal.'

They then went to Estelle's room, which featured a canopy bed so big that calling it a king-sized bed was an understatement. Estelle's room also had a room entirely dedicated to clothing.

"Your luggage won't be delivered here. It will be delivered in two days once the placement exam is completely over. For the time being, you can use the uniforms in the wardrobes."

After Estelle put the bed to test by diving into it, they moved on.

"Little gentleman, your room is this way."

Vince's room was pretty small in comparison. There was a double bed, but it paled in comparison to Estelle's.

'This is more than I expected. I even have a desk completely for myself. I can read books at night wonderfully this way.'

After they completely toured what seemed more like a villa than a room, the dorm guardian left.

"That should be all. If you need anything, feels free to call me."

"Sure. Thank you for the tour."

After giving them one last respectful bow, the dorm guardian left.

'They sure take safety as a priority here. The dorm guardian alone is just slightly weaker than my father. I wonder how they got someone on par with a Knight to bow to some kids.'

"Milady, I'll go prepare for dinner. We should go out early as we also have to find out where the canteen is."

"Uhm. I'll prepare as well then."

'The amount of independence kids our age are given is incredible. It makes no sense to expect all of this out of a kid… It is surely a way to quickly teach them how to live, though.'

Not long after, they both were ready to go. They both wore their school uniforms, though, on their chests, there was a stem missing. It was the stem representing the ranking.

'When they said that here ability is everything, they weren't kidding at all. One's ranking is displayed on their chest for everyone to see. It's a way to ingrain deep into kids how this society works. The strong reign supreme, the weak bow down. It is almost scary seeing all of this play out before me. But maybe it's just the education reflecting this world's common sense.'

"Milady, are you ready? I think it's about time we go!"

"Yes, yes! Here I come!"

'She finally got back her smile. After what happened, she hardly ever smiled. It's incredible how she remained so unaffected by society up to this point. She's the only one capable of treating her attendant as an equal. Only Albert von Sideria can rival her in this regard. Her now-deceased brother was the opposite. The few other siblings of hers I interacted with were also the same, and let's not talk about my own.'

They both wore snow-white blazers, but while Vince wore a pair of dark trousers, Estelle wore a long black skirt. And, while girls wore a ribbon, the boys wore a necktie instead. Surprisingly enough, most of the boys could tie their neckties properly.

Once they left the dorm, they asked the dorm guardian for directions for the school canteen.

Not long after, they reached the canteen. There was one canteen for every different school year. It was a way to keep kids among those their age and avoid too much of a power gap. Age at this stage played a major role in one's strength.

While strength was everything, this was an educational institution. Hence it tried to keep the competition within kids roughly the same age. It was one too big of a factor to be ignored, especially among six-year-old kids.

A neatly dressed maid welcomed them to the immense dining hall, designed to host tens of thousands of kids. Being a country with over one hundred and twenty million inhabitants, this academy's number of kids was really high. One had to consider that all noble kids of direct descent were to be sent here, though.

Since the placement exam wasn't over yet, the tables were all disposed on the same height. But the structure to put a bunch of tables higher than the rest was already in place.

Since this was the case, both of them could sit beside each other without much trouble.

"Hey, it's her!"

"Really? She's the one above the Prince?"

"I'm sure! I was in her group during the second exam!"

"Oh my god!"

Her presence didn't fail to attract everyone's attention. Even though only the first day was over, everybody already knew she would definitely end up in the top three. Few believed anyone could snatch her first place, let alone her dropping to third place.

'Maybe that's also the reason why they separate the tables according to rankings...'

Even though everyone around them was talking about Estelle, she paid them no heed at all. She only chatted with Vince.

"Who could he be? Why is she chatting with him?"

"Oh! I know! He's Vince von Sideria. He's the guy who scored three hundred points in theory!"

'Someone remembered me. Damn it. I didn't want to stand out too much…'

"I remember now. Yes, he's that guy! Now it makes sense! They are siblings!"

'I wonder how long it'll take them to realise we're not siblings at all.'

But as everyone nodded in understanding, Estelle spoke up.

"Hey! We're not siblings! He was adopted by my father!"

'Not long at all, it seems… Here I was already fantasising about the time when this would be revealed!'

"He's… adopted?"

"I've never heard of a duke adopting someone!"

As more people began joining the conversation, drawn in by the shocking things they had just heard, the food was served.

Vince picked a bit of everything while Estelle simply shoved on her plate whatever was in range.

'How much does she eat at this age… How is she in perfect shape while eating so much? It makes no sense.'

Every time one of the attendants brought forth a new dish, before anyone could even decide whether to take a bit of it or not, it was already gone. Only after a few servings did Estelle finally stop eating.

'Now it kind of makes sense why she assaulted me over some sweets… Her caloric intake is monstrous.'

Vince wasn't the only one with a shocked face. Many in the surroundings were also looking in her direction as if looking at a hungry beast.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, it's nothing; I was simply impressed by the amount of food you ate."

"It's you, the one who isn't eating much!"

"Milady, I think you should look around more…"

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

After they were done eating, they left the canteen and made their way towards the dorm.

But, mid-way through, Estelle suddenly stopped in her tracks. The stone pathway was dark, as night had already fallen. The bright moon was the only source of light, slightly illuminating everything.

'Hmmm? What happened?'

"Vince, I have to ask you something."

"Yes, milady, what is it?"

"Why did you purposely score lower in the second exam? I don't get it."

"I'm sure milady has already heard of the saying 'the nail that sticks out too much gets hammered down'. This is a perfect example of that. If I had scored too high, I would have stepped outside of my boundaries. For you, it's kind of different, as you only have to mind not surpassing the Prince by too much. You have a status that allows you to get strong without repercussions. But for me, it's different. Even though your father adopted me, it's still not enough. If I become too strong for my status, people would start to see me as a threat and try to get rid of me."

"But don't you feel constrained this way? What if people look down on you? Wouldn't you feel bad?"

"I honestly don't care. Everything that matters is who's going to be the last one laughing."

"And what happened last week? Did an expert really save you?"

"Yes, that's the case. There's no way I could have defeated those guys alone. I merely stalled for time."

'The least she knows, the better. But if she's already starting to doubt me… this might become a problem.'

"Mmmh…"

Estelle pulled up her sleeve and raised her hand in the sky. A tattoo appeared on the palm of her hand and shined bright. Her hair fluttered freely in the hair as all of her body lit up.

"In the name of the soul contract, I order thee, Vince von Sideria, to tell me the truth. Did you kill those men?"

'What is this… I feel like my heart is being held by something—what a strange sensation. I don't want to test how this works right now… But I have no other choice.'

"I did not."

"Really? Let me specify this then. Did you kill the twenty assassins that assaulted us both last week?"

'Damn it. How sharp can she be at six years old…'

"I did."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"See, you're a liar. You won't even tell me the truth. Even after we were together for a whole year, you don't trust me!"

The tattoo stopped shining. Estelle started running towards their room and staring at her back. Vince could see some tears flying off her face.

As soon as he took a step, he heard her yell at him.

"Don't follow me! I don't want to see you again!"

'Damn it.'

Vince halted and gave up on the idea of chasing her. He could only helplessly gaze at the beautiful full moon hanging in the sky, hoping that nothing bad would come out of this.

'You reap what you sow. I planted lies everywhere; this was bound to happen at some point. A single lie can be both the most powerful weapon you can wield and your coffin.'