Chapter 842: World Froze Around Them

Third Person’s POVMeanwhile, Aurelia had absolutely no interest in carefully observing the impressive group that had just arrived.

Her thoughts remained occupied by only one thing: the mysterious violet-haired senior was nowhere to be seen.

And that realization left behind a quiet sense of disappointment that lingered deep within her heart despite everything happening around her.

As the old saying went, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Seeing the dejected expression gradually settle upon Aurelia’s beautiful face, Eleanor quietly observed her for several moments before finally asking in a gentle voice,

"Who are you looking for, little Aurelia?"

Her question caused Aurelia to stiffen slightly.

For a brief moment, she didn’t know how to answer.

Could she really tell Eleanor that she had been searching for a mysterious violet-haired senior whom she believed might actually be her long-lost son?

Even Aurelia herself knew how absurd that sounded.

Just as she was struggling to find an appropriate reply, another loud commotion suddenly erupted near the academy gates.

The previously settling crowd became lively once more.

"Look!"

"Prince Erius is here!"

"And Aria Froststar is with him too!"

"The twenty-fifth-ranked member of the elite forty!"

A young man excitedly shouted before placing both hands over his chest dramatically.

"Senior Aria is my favorite!"

His declaration immediately earned several strange looks from the surrounding students.

A moment later, laughter broke out among them.

"Look at this idiot."

"Even a toad dreams of courting a swan."

"Hahaha..."

The poor youth could only scratch the back of his head awkwardly while everyone continued teasing him.

Neither Aurelia nor Eleanor paid the slightest attention to their playful banter.

They remained immersed in their own thoughts.

However, just a few heartbeats later, several excited voices from a nearby group of girls suddenly reached Aurelia’s ears.

"Hey!"

"Look behind Prince Erius!"

"Isn’t that the mysterious new Violet Batch senior?"

"The violet-haired one!"

Another girl widened her eyes in surprise.

"But..."

"Wasn’t he walking around the academy with Princess Arlene yesterday?"

"Why is he accompanying Prince Erius today?"



The surrounding students immediately became confused.

One by one, countless gazes shifted toward the approaching group.

The noisy discussions gradually quietened as everyone stared in disbelief.

No one could understand the identity of that mysterious young man.

Yesterday, he had been seen together with Princess Arlene, but today he had arrived alongside Prince Erius instead.

The only two children of the Ice Emperor.

How could the same person be acquainted with both of them?

Who exactly was he?

Curiosity rapidly spread throughout the gathering like wildfire.

Meanwhile, the moment Aurelia heard the words...

"...the violet-haired senior..."

Her head abruptly lifted, and the disappointment that had filled her face only moments earlier disappeared completely.

In its place appeared unmistakable hope, along with longing.

Her forest green eyes immediately searched through the approaching figures with barely concealed anticipation.

Beside her, Eleanor also froze, as everything seemed to have suddenly clicked together inside her mind.

Only now did she understand why Aurelia had behaved so strangely ever since arriving at the academy.

Why she had constantly scanned the crowd.

Why she had looked disappointed after seeing Princess Arlene arrive without that mysterious senior.

She had been searching for him all along.

Yet, unlike Aurelia, Eleanor didn’t allow herself to become excited, not anymore.

Life had shattered her hopes far too many times over the past nine years.

Every rumor, every false lead, and every report claiming that Ethan might still be alive had ultimately ended in disappointment.

Little by little, reality had crushed the hope inside her heart until she no longer dared to believe in miracles.

Although she had never admitted it even to herself, a part of her heart had long since become numb.

She continued to search and continued to believe, but she did that only because accepting her son’s death was something she simply couldn’t do.

But an inexplicable uneasiness suddenly stirred within her chest, and almost against her own will of not being disappointed again, she slowly raised her head.

Her trembling violet eyes looked toward the mysterious violet-haired young man walking through the academy gates.



And the moment she saw him, time seemed to stop in her perception.

Walking calmly across the academy grounds was a tall young man possessing a perfectly proportioned physique.

His long violet hair flowed all the way to his waist, gently swaying beneath the cold morning breeze.

Its shade was exactly the same as her own.

His crimson gemstone-like eyes were calm and unfathomable, carrying a coldness that seemed to have been carved deep into his very soul, and a maturity that seemed to defy his age.

His sharp, masculine features made him appear exceptionally handsome.

Yet, beneath those mature features, she saw something hauntingly familiar.

The shape of his eyes, the bridge of his nose, even the faint outline of his lips.

They resembled her own with astonishing similarity.

At that moment, the young man casually lifted his head toward the gloomy sky before his crimson gaze slowly swept across the enormous crowd gathered before the academy.

Neither Ethan nor anyone else noticed the two women hidden quietly behind the marble fountain.

They simply stood there like statues, frozen in time.

Neither of them uttered a single word.

Their widened eyes never left the young man’s figure, while countless emotions surged uncontrollably within their hearts.

No one knew exactly when it had begun.

Perhaps the very instant they saw that familiar shade of violet hair, perhaps when those crimson eyes entered their vision, or perhaps when years of suppressed hope finally broke through the walls they had built around their hearts.

Silent tears slowly gathered within both women’s eyes.

One after another, crystal-clear droplets rolled gently down their cheeks before falling into the clear water of the fountain below like tiny raindrops.

Neither Aurelia nor Eleanor made any attempt to wipe them away.

They simply continued staring at the young man in the distance, afraid that if they blinked even once... the beautiful miracle before their eyes would vanish like every dream that had come before it.