CHAPTER 78: TEST

Arthur walked away, glancing around the campus. The earlier chaos felt so childish—he figured they might have even been throwing punches by now. He had hoped to see some spells and maybe even a bit of blood, but all he saw were two boys barking at each other.

"Haah, this is boring," he sighed.

Since no teachers were around, Arthur took the opportunity to explore the front of the campus. He’d be spending the next three years here, and this year would mark the start of many important things.

He hadn’t seen Eric earlier, so he figured Eric’s test would be on the second shift. With more than a thousand students applying each year, the assessments stretched over ten days, with both written and practical tests held in two shifts daily.

To even apply to this academy, a student had to meet certain requirements: they had to be "awakened" (meaning they could use magic) and have either a middle school graduation certificate or a recommendation letter from a scholar.

Arthur hadn’t gone to middle school—he found it incredibly boring. Instead, he’d asked Father Bowman for a recommendation letter. After a few questions, Bowman happily agreed.

Since only about ten percent of the population was awakened, it wasn’t surprising that only a thousand fifteen-year-olds applied each year. To avoid having empty seats, other academies don’t have any requirements to apply, so many students went there instead.

Soon, Arthur reached the eastern side of the academy, where a huge tree stood. Its green leaves swayed gently in the breeze, and under its shade stood a familiar redhead.

His heart raced as he saw her, but he kept his emotions steady as he approached. "Thank you...for last time," he said. She didn’t flinch; she had sensed him coming.

"Hmm? Took you long enough to thank me," she replied. Though her voice stayed calm, he could tell she was a bit hurt.

Arthur leaned against the tree, folding his arms. "You live so far away. It’s hard for me to just show up and say thanks."

Grace turned toward him, an elegant smile lighting up her face. "Now that I’m here, will that change anything?"

For a moment, Arthur forgot to breathe. That smile, those bright eyes...how could she look so much like ’her’?

"That depends..." he said softly, his voice carrying a trace of pain.

Grace seemed to sense it instantly. Her smile faded as she looked away. "Don’t force yourself to look at me when it hurts."

Arthur wasn’t surprised she could read him so easily. He let out a deep breath. "You might not understand...but this is hard for me."

Grace turned toward him again, parting her lips as if to speak, but then she turned away and shook her head.

"Go on, say it. I don’t mind," Arthur urged her gently.

But Grace shook her head. "I...don’t want to. Not right now." She paused, her voice trembling a little. "But I do want you to believe that these eyes, this face, this soul—they belong to the same girl you once fell in love with."

Arthur ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "You don’t need to prove anything to me. It doesn’t really matter."

Grace looked at him from the corner of her eye, a sad smile on her lips. "Why doesn’t it matter? I lived for you. I died for you. Don’t I deserve the chance to prove who I really am?"

Arthur turned to her, speechless, his eyes locked on hers.

That stubbornness...damn, why did she have to be so much like her?

He shrugged and decided not to say anything about that.

Changing the topic, he asked, "Who did you come with?"

"Father," she replied. "He must still be around here somewhere. Do you want to meet him after the assessment?"

Arthur shook his head slowly. "I’d rather not. The last time I met him in Westmere, he looked at me like I’d stolen his entire treasury."

"Father went to Westmere?" Grace’s eyes widened in surprise. "He never told me anything about that."

"He just showed up one day to see Father," Arthur explained. "There was no special reason, so my father was surprised too. But it was just a casual visit."

Grace hummed as they strolled through the garden, chatting about casual things.

They both cherished every second together, yet their hearts beat a little faster with every word—each of them carefully choosing what to say.

Both felt unsure and nervous, though for different reasons.

But neither of them minded the hesitation or the distance because they were simply relieved.

Relieved to be together again.

"Yes, he is," Arthur said, noticing the surprise on Grace’s face when she learned that his brother was the Student Council President.

"You didn’t know?" he asked.

"No, I didn’t," she replied, her eyes slightly wide. "My brother never talked about him." Her brother was a third-year, and in all the letters he’d sent, he’d never once mentioned Kevin.

Arthur hummed, his hands resting behind his back as they continued walking.

Their footsteps never stopped as he asked softly, "Grace..."

"Yes, I can see her," she replied, her gaze steady ahead.

Arthur sighed, sounding tired, and called out, "You’re terrible at hiding. Please come out."

He turned toward the bush where the silver-haired girl crouched awkwardly.

With that hair color, and in such a funny position, it was laughable that she thought she could hide at all.

Elowen grumbled as she stood up and walked over to them.

She glanced at Grace before turning to Arthur. "Y-You...you’re him, aren’t you?"

Arthur’s expression was unreadable. "I’ve heard that before, but trust me, I can’t be him."

The princess’s eyes widened. "You’re lying. That voice, those eyes...I can’t be mistaken."

Grace stepped forward, concern in her eyes. "Are you mistaking him for someone else?"

Elowen shot her a glare. "Stay out of this. You’re not part of—"

"Talk to her properly," Arthur growled, his tone sharp enough to make Elowen flinch. She stared at him, eyes wide.

"I-Is she your girlfriend?" she stammered, her voice trembling.

Arthur rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh. "Listen, miss. I don’t know who you’re looking for, but we’ve never met. This is the first time I’m seeing you, so please stop—"

Sniff.

Arthur froze as he heard her sobbing.

His lips parted in shock as he saw big tears rolling down her cheeks. She tried to wipe them away, but her voice cracked as she said, "I was so happy to meet you again...and now you’re rejecting me like this."

Arthur was helplessly staring at the girl before he glanced at Grace.

Grace didn’t know what the situation was so all she could do was shrug.

Suddenly, Elowen looked at him and said, "I won’t stop until you admit that it was you!" Leaving those words behind, she turned and dashed away.

"..." What was this situation? He believed he masked himself brilliantly...why did this girl identify him right away?

"You are quite popular." Grace’s voice didn’t contain humor. Although the edges of her lips were lifted her eyes weren’t smiling.

Arthur rubbed his forehead and said, "There are things which one cannot control."

"You can’t control yourself from ensnaring young maidens?" She mocked, making Arthur narrow his eyes.

"You..."

"The test is about to begin." Someone called out and instantly Grace stepped forward, "We should get going." Her eyes were smiling now. Rattling him still seems to be her best pastime.

Arthur shook his head, a weary sigh leaving his lips.

They were led to their rooms and told they could sit wherever they liked. However, the space between each student was wide enough to stop anyone from sneaking a look at someone else’s sheet.

Two teachers stood at the front, clearly there to keep a close watch on the class.

Before the question papers were handed out, one of the teachers spoke up, "Anyone caught cheating or disturbing the class will be banned from admission and blacklisted forever."

The warning made several students gulp nervously, and many shifted even farther from their desk partners.

Arthur was sharing his desk with a skinny guy wearing glasses—someone who looked like a strong gust of wind might knock him over.

He also looked scared, even though Arthur thought he seemed pretty smart.

Yeah, Arthur knew he was judging by looks.

"You have two hours to answer as many questions as you can," the teacher continued. "You already know the passing score, so be careful." He glanced around the room. "Any questions?"

"S-Sir, may I go to the washroom?" Arthur’s desk mate asked with a raised hand.

The teacher shook his head. "If you leave the room, you’ll be disqualified. No one is allowed out for the next two and a half hours."

The boy slowly lowered his hand.

Arthur sighed. They’re making this way more dramatic than it needs to be.

Still, he said nothing. A moment later, the question paper was placed in front of him.

’Alright, let’s see if I can finally get rid of this bird-brain label.’

******

A/N:- Thanks for choosing my work.