Chapter 13: The Third Safety Measure
WHEN Mia attended class as usual the next day, she quickly noticed how overtly people had changed with how differently they now treated her. Compared to how they completely ignored her at the beginning of the school year, this was like an obnoxious joke. Classmates fled screaming whenever she set foot inside a classroom. It’d gotten so ridiculous, Mia thought she might wind up as the sole attending student for her pharmacology classes. Except pharmacology professors weren’t holding classes, opting to come up with one lame excuse after another for their continued absence. A fair amount of time appeared to be necessary before the Royal Academy would return to normal.
Rumors had spread across the Royal Academy like wildfire about Felix contracting Demon Claw from trespassing Sanatorium grounds, and he was also absent because the guards had booked him for questioning about why he’d broken the law to infiltrate the Sanatorium. For caution’s sake, they had ordered him a complete physical exam as well. Even if he was cleared, a faculty meeting determined it would be best if he remained confined at his residence until the mayhem had settled. Meanwhile, Mia, Henrik, and Mathias had no reason to stay home from school as they hadn’t come in contact with any of the patients.
Unfortunately, rumors of their association with Felix spread with terrifying speed, and they were treated as if they bore the plague. Not that Mia could blame her classmates for it. The team had a long ways to go before they could definitively prove that Demon Claw wasn’t contagious. This wasn’t something people would believe overnight, even if Mia waved the proof in front of their faces.
“I guess that’s one case closed?” Mia muttered to herself.
The whole commotion about Felix catching Demon Claw was an act put on by Doctor Kreutzer—the elderly woman in the hazmat suit. Truth was, she had segregated Felix from the patients in order to protect them from any germs he might have carried into the sanitized facility, so even if their theory was somehow wrong and the disease really could be spread through contact, Felix still wouldn’t have contracted the virus.
All evidence indicated that Felix would be promptly diagnosed as healthy and free of disease. Rumors would die down once news of the results spread. Mia was very curious about how the public was going to deal with the fact that he had broken into the Sanatorium’s Quarantine and Isolation Wards and not been infected.
The military will probably bury it. She let out a small sigh.
“Someone’s optimistic. How’s this a case closed? Nothing’s been settled at all,” a voice groaned from above her head.
Henrik and Mathias were standing behind her chair in the empty classroom, evidently having fled the same plague treatment as her. With his love of isolation, Henrik seemed unfazed by the situation. On the other hand, Mathias wasn’t used to being ostracized at all. Exhaustion showed through on his face as he leaned back on one of the desks.
“Oh dear… Were you guys left out too?” Mia asked.
They both nodded.
“Ya can’t chalk this up to somethin’ as cute as being ‘left out.’” Mathias forced a bitter smile through his unusual listlessness. Mia’s intuition had been right: for as big and brawny as he was, Mathias was surprisingly sensitive.
“So, why isn’t anything settled?”
“I don’t think Professor Einz’s absence was a coincidence, and it definitely has something to do with the time you were frozen,” Henrik explained coolly, his eyes sharply narrowing.
“You want to look for the culprit now?”
“We’re going to take on the military going forward. We can’t have enemies on the inside and the outside, or we’ll never last. Let’s figure out why they kept interfering with us and make them stop.”
“Whoever they are, they can use magic. It’s dangerous to let ‘em loose,” Mathias added with a serious look.
“Though the fact they can use magic should help us narrow down the candidates,” Henrik concluded grimly.
Mathias agreed. “Only if they’re hangin’ around campus though. Upperclassmen mages with a water affinity should be able to use Freeze.”
“Affinity for water? Sorry, I’m not well-informed on your field,” Henrik admitted.
“It’s like the property of the magic you already have inside. You can have an affinity with the four main elements: fire, water, earth, and wind. Incidentally, it seems like my affinity is for wind.”
Henrik silently considered Mathias’ explanation.
“…A mage student is a devout member of Angelica’s flunkies,” Mia brought up, a glum feeling coming over her at remembering how they had burned her notebook. If Angelica had ordered a mage to freeze Mia, that mage would be the perpetrator. “I wonder if it was her… She might’ve just been under pressure to obey orders…”
The power dynamic in their relationship was obvious even to outsiders. The mage would have no choice but to do it if she was ordered to. And Angelica had enough drive—enough obsession with Felix—to demand it of her flunkies.
“In any case, Angelica’s a vicious vixen all right,” Henrik agreed, “She was likely trying to secure a seat as Felix’s lover, but you’ve really got to wonder what’s so great about that guy.”
Mia had to laugh at the rare display of jealousy from Henrik. “She seemed to be gunning for you and Mathias as well, you know? She was angry about how I seem to be enjoying myself surrounded by elite boys from the Law, Mage, and Medical Departments.” She took another good look at her friends.
Henrik had a smaller frame, but his neutral facial features were breathtaking, while his sharply angled eyes brimmed with intelligence. Mathias’ face didn’t hold the same delicate beauty of the other two, but his well-balanced, large body gave him an impact no other boy their age had. Mia hadn’t paid much attention to it, but they both did possess distinct, handsome looks. On top of that, Henrik was the top student in their school year, and while she didn’t know Mathias’ grades, his bright-red eyes guaranteed powerful magic coursed through him.
Well, that’s not to say they don’t each have flaws too. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised other girls are envious.
“You three are popular with the ladies. The girls were cute, if you’re interested?” Mia teased.
Henrik gave her a look of pure disgust. “I despise underhanded, scheming types. And women who go for a guy based on how wealthy he’ll make her when she digs her claws in for marriage are revolting. I’m only interested in women who’ve got a will of their own like—” He’d been venting until that point but suddenly came to his senses and stopped.
“Like?” Mia never imagined she’d get to talk about love or romance with these guys. Her curiosity was piqued, so she cheerfully urged him to go on by placing her elbows on the desk and her chin in her hands to look up at him with big eyes.
“Why do I have to tell you?” Henrik snapped and didn’t say another word about it, averting his eyes from her face.
“Tch, you’re no fun.” Disappointed with Henrik, Mia turned her attention on Mathias.
He sighed and mumbled, “He’s gonna be serious trouble too. What a pain.”
She was about to ask what he meant, when—
“Oh, you three.” Professor Rueger opened the classroom door and poked his head in.
“Professor! How’s Felix?!” Mia leapt from her seat.
A soft smile touched his lips. “He committed a crime according to our current laws. It took some time, but someone from his family paid bail to get him released. His house arrest is still in place for now though… The bigger problem is the likelihood of him being held back another year.”
“What? Another year? Because he won’t have attended enough days?”
As far as Mia knew, Felix was seriously attending his classes and diligently turning his reports and homework in.
“Nah, last year he failed to take the Grand Plan Creation Course, which is a required unit, and failed the year. He’ll fail again this year too; not because of attendance, but because you receive failing marks if you don’t at least turn something in with your name on it for the Grand Plan. Not to mention, Keyserling’s grades in his other courses are pitiful…”