[Chapter 10] A Bag with a Spider

The bright summer sky had a few white, fluffy clouds drifting across it.

The stone wall, worn by time, no longer had the grandeur it once had, but it still served its purpose of blocking passage. The stiff summer grass brushed against the wall as Kledwin walked along the path.

His black hair, with a blue sheen, looked as cool as steel, even in the summer. His high-quality white linen shirt fluttered in the sunlight and breeze, giving off a refreshing atmosphere, as if he were unaffected by his surroundings.

The Zacharia Library, located at the end of the wall, was quiet as usual. It was a time when the librarian was absent. Kledwin went straight to the top floor and entered the reading room, heading towards the fourth bookshelf and the pillar nearby.

The chair was empty, as it usually was.

Or, rather, almost always.

Kledwin reached out to the chair but didn't sit down. Instead, he infused magic into the carvings on the armrest.

A faint, mechanical sound, barely audible to a trained ear, was heard. Kledwin leaned against the pillar.

Soon, a cheerful voice came from within the pillar, loud enough for only Kledwin to hear.

"I missed you, my dear master."

The voice from the pillar laughed. Kledwin asked gruffly.

"What did I ask you to investigate?"

"It's clean."

Kledwin raised an eyebrow. A strange smile appeared on his handsome, youthful face.

"What?"

Kledwin's eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked again.

"What do you mean it's clean?"

The voice from the pillar replied.

"There's no one suspicious around Nellis Truede. But there is something strange."

Kledwin's eyes sparkled with interest.

"What is it?"

The voice from the pillar continued.

"Nellis Truede has a bag with a spider in it."

Kledwin's smile grew wider.

"A bag with a spider?"

"Yes. It's a very unusual spider, and it seems to be watching over her."

Kledwin's eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"I see. And what about the other thing?"

The voice from the pillar replied.

"There's a rumor that Nellis Truede is the daughter of a noble family, but it's not true. She's actually the daughter of a low-ranking knight."

Kledwin's smile never wavered.

"I see. And what about her abilities?"

The voice from the pillar continued.

"She's extremely talented, but there's something strange about her magic. It's as if she's hiding her true abilities."

Kledwin's eyes sparkled with interest.

"I see. I'll have to investigate further."

The voice from the pillar replied.

"Yes, master. I'll continue to gather information."

Kledwin nodded, still smiling.

"Good. I'll be back soon."

The voice from the pillar bid farewell.

"Until then, master."

The sound of the voice faded away, and Kledwin left the library, still smiling to himself.

"So, was it just a coincidence that you found that place?"

When his father passed away, Kledwin was a new student at the academy.

The Emperor would have been overjoyed. The young heir of the Grand Duchy had 'coincidentally' died, and it was as if the pumpkin had rolled into his lap.

It seemed that Kledwin Maindlandt, the thorn in the Emperor's side, had become a treasure that was easy to obtain.

But even now, after several years, Kledwin Maindlandt was still alive. He had terminated numerous 'coincidental' threats with his skills.

When he found out that someone had discovered the place where he and his subordinates exchanged codes, Kledwin naturally thought that he had been discovered by the Emperor's spy.

So, he deliberately drew his sword and threatened the person. He thought that a spy would react within the expected range.

However, the culprit was different from his expectations in many ways. The fact that there were no signs of training was unexpected, and the person seemed more surprised that Kledwin had appeared than anything else.

However, their eyes soon turned cold and stared at him without looking away.

Those eyes.

The calm, purple eyes seemed more like those of an adult who had experienced the world than a twelve-year-old child. Kledwin thought back to his conversation with the child and smiled unconsciously.

It seemed that this school had become more interesting.

***

As the first week of exploring each other came to an end, the new students began to host parties cautiously.

There were two main types of parties at Noble Academy. One was hosted by the student council, and the other was hosted by students.

The former was an official event where all students within the range set by the student council could attend freely, while the latter was closer to a social event. Only those who received an invitation card with the host's family name could attend, representing their family.

Children from wealthy and high-ranking families were invited to most parties, while those from poor or low-ranking families were invited to fewer parties.

The new students soon found it entertaining to evaluate which parties were the most impressive and which had mistakes, like adults.

In that sense, Diane McKinnon's pajama party was flawless.

Since it was a casual gathering, the children forgot their intention to evaluate and became engrossed in toys or had pillow fights, laughing loudly.

The party venue, Diane's dormitory, was a large mansion, so there was no need to worry about disturbing others in the neighboring rooms, unlike a typical pajama party.

However, those with discerning eyes noticed that the pillows and bedding Diane had prepared for the day were all high-quality, imported linen, the servants and maids who attended to the students were extremely polite, and the snacks prepared for when they got hungry used expensive ingredients lavishly.

"It's great, Diane. Thanks for inviting me."

Alektos Islani, who was already known for his wit, said with an admiring expression.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you for coming. If you find anything uncomfortable at the party, tell Betty."

Diane, wearing a sky-blue silk gown with frills over her snow-white linen pajamas, sat like an adult and replied. Almost all of the new students were attending the party, and Diane's pajamas stood out as particularly expensive.

Even her maid, Betty, was dressed in high-quality clothes, looking like a knight's wife. Since maids usually received their clothes from their employer's household, the children who guessed the wealth of the McKinnon family couldn't hide their envy.

Nellis sat next to Diane, quietly observing the party atmosphere.

She felt very strange. In her previous life, after becoming the adopted daughter of the Elantria family, she had been invited to many parties, but she had never truly been welcomed.

In fact, the only memory she had of the graduation ball, which everyone looked forward to, was a terrible one. Yet, Diane had urged Nellis to come early and sit next to her.

When Alektos went to his friends, Diane immediately turned to Nellis and asked sweetly.

"Liz, don't you want to eat anything? I told them to make a lot of things that you can't eat in the school cafeteria. What do you like? We have cookies with rose jam, chocolate with almonds, and warm milk with honey. Should I get you some?"

The food in the school cafeteria was quite good, but it had its limits. Nellis didn't particularly care about food, as she had often gone hungry during her time as the crown princess due to her husband's whims. However, children who were used to eating food tailored to their tastes at home often complained.

However, even the most picky eater would find it hard to say that the food provided by Diane McKinnon's daughter was lacking.

"I've eaten a lot. Thanks for your concern."

Nellis replied politely. Then, Angard Nain, who had been glancing at her from nearby, approached with a shy face.

"Uh, thanks for inviting me to the party, Diane. Nel, uh, your hair looks really pretty today."

Angard continued to call Nellis "Nel," trying to appear friendly.

Nellis's platinum blonde hair was famous for its angelic shine, even without any styling products. Today, she had a lovely half-up hairstyle, so Angard's compliment wasn't empty.

"Thanks, your hair looks nice too."

Nellis replied with a smooth, beautiful tone that made the listener feel mesmerized.

Angard was wearing a cream-colored satin ribbon, which was currently popular in the social circle. In her previous life, Nellis had heard Angard boasting about his ribbon during her school days.

Maybe it was a gift from the famous tailor in the capital, given to Angard by his father, the Baron Nain, so that his daughter wouldn't be embarrassed at the academy.

"What's with him?"

On the other hand, Diane, who had received thanks for the invitation, didn't look very good.

Diane knew that Nellis disliked being called "Nel," but Angard seemed to be acting as if he were very close to Nellis without even knowing that.

When Diane and Nellis didn't show much interest in him, Angard's face fell, and he went to join the other children.

The lower-ranking nobles had already had a couple of gatherings, and Angard had made a few friendly acquaintances thanks to his cute appearance.

As soon as Angard left, Diane changed her attitude and spoke kindly to Nellis.

"I have a card game I like. Want to play with me?"

"Yeah. How many people can play?"

"Just two!"

The McKinnon family's servants, who had worked hard to prepare for the party, exchanged awkward smiles.

It was considered polite for the host to show equal interest to all the guests. Although 'Nellis' seemed like a dignified and intelligent girl who would be a good influence on Diane, it was better to have a wide range of relationships in the social circle.

Just then, a servant carrying a lavender-flavored drink collided with a party attendee who was running around wildly.

The twelve-year-old child had run into the servant with full force, causing the servant to lose his balance. Fortunately, he didn't fall, but a few of the cups he was holding spilled over.

The child who had collided with the servant let out a scream as he was suddenly drenched in the cold, sticky drink.

"Ahh! It's cold!"

"I apologize, I apologize, miss!"

"Hahaha! Joanna's all wet!"

The surrounding children burst out laughing. The completely soaked child was quickly taken away by her maid to change clothes.

Although not as badly affected as Joanna, a few other children had been splashed with the drink, but those who weren't too wet just continued to enjoy the party.

Nellis, who had glanced at Angard's half-soaked ribbon, sparkled with amusement.

***

Nellis, who had put her hand in her bag, suddenly stopped moving.

A rustling sound, something thin, light, and stiffly dry. It wasn't the first time, so she quickly realized what it was.

"What's wrong?"

Diane, who was taking something out of her bag, looked at Nellis with a tilted head. Nellis replied nonchalantly.

"It's nothing."

There was no need to feel bad. It was a prank she had experienced every few days in her previous life.

Nellis's eyes sparkled with amusement as she realized that someone had put a spider in her bag.

To be honest, this is better. It's better than a dead mouse. Much better than a live mouse.

But despite the reduced discomfort, Nellis felt strange.

Who could have put a dead spider in her bag? And it seemed like there were multiple spiders.

There were already several people among the new students who would want to do something like this. Especially Megara and her followers.

However, people who were proactive and had the stomach to directly obtain and handle insects were rare.

Nellis mentally listed a few names. Was the culprit a male student?

Young boys often enjoyed seeing others' shocked faces without any real grudge. Especially Nellis, who had been a frequent target, disliked their conscienceless behavior, but she couldn't do anything about it in the past. She didn't have the power.

But now... she could use a better method than crying and pleading for sympathy. Fortunately.

The new students chattered excitedly about the fun they had at the party over the weekend, waiting for their teacher. Then, a cautious voice spoke to Nellis from the next seat.

"Nel, why did you stop when you put your hand in your bag earlier?"

Angard Nain. Seeing his face, which was oblivious to the situation, Diane lost her patience.

"He's sitting next to her again."

If it weren't for the fact that Angard's ribbon had gotten wet with the lavender drink at Diane's party over the weekend, she would have told him off. What's it to you?

However, Diane still remembered that the ribbon would need to be washed separately to remove the lavender scent and stains.

Diane's hesitation gave Nellis enough time to observe Angard. Nellis gave Angard a brighter smile than usual.

"Why are you asking?"

Angard's round eyes always made him look harmless and innocent. But Nellis could roughly guess who might have done something like this to her bag.

As she glanced around, she saw that Megara was also looking at her. Nellis smiled at Megara, who flinched slightly when their eyes met. Then, she waited for Angard's response.