70
“Professor! Hello!”
As soon as Cloïs entered, Evie quickly got up and headed towards him. This was the first meeting with Professor Cian since the Festival of Seasons ended.
“Honestly, I thought he might not come today...”
In the reply sent by Dean Serafina, it was written that Professor Cian might arrive at his office by the evening.
But she added that being too busy might delay his return, so she advised Evie not to wait too long. However, Evie was determined to wait until the night ban.
Evie approached Cloys, looked at his face carefully before asking him in a worried voice:
“Professor, are you tired?”
“Am I? Why do you think so?”
“Here, there are black shadows under your eyes. Your eyes are full of red veins, and your eyelids have become narrower.”
Cloyce was taken aback by her words and looked at her in astonishment. He had become accustomed to hiding his fatigue in front of others, and it was inevitable.
After assuming the throne, he was forced for a period to impose his prestige through fear on the ministers and nobles.
This was necessary, as rebellion was lurking at any moment. So, he never showed any weakness in front of others. Since he was young, he had been trained to do this, so no one noticed his condition except those very close to him.
But for a seven-year-old to notice that right away? Did he relax too much or are Evie's eyes that sharp?
Cloyce smiled bitterly and changed the course of the conversation:
“And you, were you okay? I’m sorry I wasn’t able to say goodbye to you during the Festival of Seasons, you were deep asleep.”
“No, it's okay!”
Evie jumped as if to disapprove of his words, and at the mention of the Festival of Seasons, she remembered the gifts she had received.
She wanted to say that it was too many and she couldn't accept them all, but…
“They were all beautiful.”
Hairpins, ribbons, and other toys were all things she wished she had. More importantly, they are gifts from Professor Sian.
“Thank you for the gifts, I will use them all carefully.”
“Okay...”
Cloyce expected her to reject her as before, but when she thanked him instead of saying no, he felt relieved and proud.
It was proof that what he had chosen was truly to her taste. He motioned for her to sit, then looked at the foreign language book she was reading and asked:
“So, which part did you find difficult?”
He looked at his watch. It wasn't long before the night's ban, so he was determined to help her as much as possible with the part she was finding difficult.
If you have difficulty studying, you may go back and look for it again.
* * *
A bell rang in the distance. Hearing it, Cloyce checked the time.
“Come on, let's get up. You should go back to the dorm.”
“Okay...”
Evie organized her books hesitantly and regretfully.
“I don't know if I really helped you.”
“You helped me a lot! You explained everything I didn’t know.”
“But my explanation was a bit difficult, wasn’t it?”
“Haha…”
Evie couldn't deny it, so she just smiled awkwardly.
Upon seeing her, Cloyce resolved to make time from his night's sleep to study hard and become a more skilled master of teaching foreign languages.
His goal was not just to appear as a convincing professor, but he found real pleasure in teaching Evie. Evie was a child who understood two or three things with just one explanation.
She absorbed new information quickly, like a sponge absorbing water, and then stood shoulder to shoulder with her predecessors.
Cloyce was astonished to see a once-ignorant being grow so quickly.
“What fun I wasn't expecting.”
When he heard from Serafina about Professor Malice's passion, he thought it was an exaggeration of an enthusiastic old man, but now he could no longer laugh at him.
He even felt that he might surpass Malice in his enthusiasm.
He wanted to give this knowledge-hungry child everything she wanted, and see where she would go. His desire to teach Evie increased.
“But before that, I have to study first.”
Cloyce looked at the foreign language book in his hand. Since when hasn't he read a book that's not related to his work?
“Next time, I will explain in an easier way.”
"Good!"
While Evie was organizing her notebook, Cloyce looked at the room he had ordered to be transformed. Notice traces of use here and there.
Since only he and Eppie came to this place, she must have been frequenting it and using it. He felt vaguely proud that he had caught her taste. But suddenly he smelled a strange smell.
“...cakes?”
He hadn't paid attention to it before, but now, as he walked around the room, he felt a faint smell of candy. He started looking for the source of the smell, and discovered that it was getting stronger near the new bookcase.
"Professor! Let's go!"
As he tried to follow the scent, Evie grabbed his hand and rushed him outside. Therefore, Cloyce no longer thought about the smell of cake and went out with it.
“Give me your bag.”
He didn't wait for her answer, but picked up her bag and extended his hand. Evie didn't hesitate this time, and took his hand confidently. They walked together down the dark path towards the residence.
However, from the window of the neighboring building, someone was surreptitiously watching them.
It was Isabella. Since noon, she had been following Evie without the latter noticing her, as the thought that someone might be following her had never occurred to her, especially when she was eager to meet Professor Sian.
Isabella continued to follow until she saw Eppie entering a quiet building, so she entered a neighboring building to avoid being detected. Fortunately, I found an empty classroom overlooking the building I entered Ibiiiiiii.
She waited there, watching Evie come out, but until the closing time approached, Evie didn't come out.
“The lights are on, so she's in there...”
If the lights had been out, she would have thought Evie had sneaked back and she would have gone back to the dorm, too. But since Evie didn't go out, Isabella couldn't come back. Alone in the dark classroom, her tension increased.
Now, the other students are supposedly studying hard for their midterm exams. She should have been studying instead of this nonsense.
“She said she was learning the foreign language from Professor Sian.”
Isabella felt angry as she imagined Evie studying comfortably while she hid and watched.
“Even the professors constantly praise her.”
She believed that Evie, no matter how outstanding she was at her rural school, would not be able to compete at the elite institute where students receive education from the best teachers from a young age.
I expected Evie to realize her limitations here, and that Arcel and Luska would abandon her over time. But everything went against her expectations.
She asked some students who were still in contact with her, and they told her that the professors praised Evie in every class she took.
“She seems really smart.”
“Even in Professor Malis’s lesson, I’m jealous. In that hall of the main building, the other three students are great nobles, it’s like an elite club of the institute.”
"Professor Mallis himself is a great character, but we didn't know that because he wasn't active. They say he's going to start a group in his name, and Evie is his only student, so she'll have all the alumni support on her own."
They spoke in an envious tone as they gestured to Isabella to do something, otherwise they would return to Irene. Isabella was terrified.
“That's why I followed her today.
She didn't study well, and she couldn't find any conclusive evidence to put Evie Alden in trouble.
“Should I just come back?”
Even if you track it after exams, it won't be too late.
While she was thinking, Evie finally walked out of the building, but she wasn't alone.
There was a tall, blond-haired man with her, carrying her bag and holding her hand. It was definitely the man Evie mentioned at the restaurant. Isabella quietly walked out of the building and followed them from a very far away.
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