CICN 71

Chapter 71

“It’s best if we part ways here.”

Clois stopped a little distance away from the dormitory.

As curfew drew near, students returning from classrooms or professors’ offices where they had been studying crowded the path. Among them might be children who had seen him before at a banquet with their parents.

That would be troublesome.

He didn’t want his identity as the Emperor to be exposed.

If that happened, he would no longer be able to meet Ibi so comfortably. Every single one of his actions would be given unnecessary meaning.

The memory resurfaced.

Once, he had seen a child born in the same year as Ibbien and wondered—if his daughter had survived, would she be about that age? He had found himself looking after that child a little more than others.

Back then, the imperial palace had practically become a nursery, with all sorts of people bringing children around Ibbien’s age.

There were even those who, having no children of their own, borrowed relatives’ or others’ children.

I can’t let that happen again.

It had been terrible for him, and it would be no good for Ibi either.

If it were revealed that the Emperor was taking special care of a particular child, swarms of people would come flocking.

“Professor, what about you? Will you be going straight out of the palace?”

“I need to stop by the main palace for another matter before heading back.”

Clois handed Ibi her bag.

That was when he smelled the sweet fragrance again—the same cookie scent he’d noticed earlier in the professor’s office.

There didn’t seem to be any cookies in the bag, though.

If there had been, surely it would have rustled when he carried it. He remembered it being stuffed only with books.

Maybe she had tucked them inside earlier in the day.

That would explain the lingering scent of sweets in the professor’s office as well.

Next time, I’ll have to bring some treats for her myself.

As a fully supported student at the Academy for Gifted Children, she was never short of snacks.

Still, the cafeteria didn’t provide an excessive variety. The selection of sweets was limited.

He remembered that even when he had attended, the quantity was plentiful, but the variety had never been particularly wide.

Clois recalled how, when he had recently increased his meal portions, the delighted royal chefs had gone overboard, creating every kind of dessert imaginable.

“Chamberlain, do you truly think this is a reasonable amount for one person to eat?”

Faced with dozens of desserts, Clois had asked that question in exasperation. The chamberlain had promised to send only one kind from then on.

If only she could come with me to the main palace.

Then, in the wide and beautiful gardens, he could let her eat every dessert in the Empire until she said she could eat no more.

Suppressing his regret, Clois waved his hand.

“Well then, get inside safely. Let’s meet again soon.”

“You too, Professor!”

Even after exchanging farewells, the two lingered, gazing at each other.

“Aren’t you going in?”

“I’d rather watch you go than go in first!”

“No, you should go in before me.”

“But I’m just going back to the dormitory, while you’re off to work again. I’ll wave to you instead.”

Thinking that wasn’t enough, Ibi added another promise:

“Until I can’t see you anymore.”

He had tried to resist, but…

Her sweet little offer was irresistible.

“Very well then, I’ll be on my way.”

With a defeated smile, he lifted both hands and turned away.

After walking a few steps, he glanced back. Ibi had her arm raised, waving enthusiastically.

Seeing her keep the promise made him smile before he even realized it.

She continued waving until he turned the corner and vanished from sight.

Even after he was gone, she kept on waving.

“Ibi? What are you doing?”

“Aileen!”

Turning at the voice behind her, she found Aileen standing there wide-eyed.

“I was waving to Professor Sian.”

At that, Aileen looked toward the spot Ibi had been staring at. There was no one there.

“I should’ve come out earlier. Then I could’ve greeted him too.”

“Mm, want to go together tomorrow?”

Ibi suggested brightly, but Aileen shook her head.

“No, I’ll be busy again tomorrow with more supplementary lectures. I need to study more. I’ll just go greet him after the exams are over.”

It wasn’t that Aileen wasn’t curious about Professor Sian.

That magic stone had been real, after all.

He was the very professor who had caused that uproar. She still couldn’t understand what had possessed him to give such a precious item so casually to his ward.

Strange as it was, Ibi trusted him wholeheartedly.

She seems to like him even more than us, who see her every day.

According to Ibi, he was a very caring guardian.

She had said that while they were away at home, he had taken her to see the seasonal festival and let her experience the sights outside.

And he gives her plenty of gifts too.

She had proudly shown off a carved wooden squirrel, boasting that she had picked it out herself.

Oddly enough, it resembled the very squirrel Aileen had chosen.

It hasn’t even been that long since Ibi met Professor Sian…

And yet, she trusted him so completely.

Aileen set aside her doubts.

Even at her young age, Ibi was quick to sense ill will in others.

If she trusted someone this much, then surely he couldn’t be a bad person.

“Let’s go in. It’s still cold at night.”

Aileen brushed her arm, then held Ibi’s hand and led her inside.

A moment later, Izriela emerged from behind a tree.

Good. At least I’ve confirmed that man really is Professor Sian.

Climbing to her room, she recalled the professor’s appearance.

He was in far better shape than she had expected. No, not just fine—he was strikingly handsome.

His build was more reminiscent of a knight than a scholar—tall, lean, and honed without an ounce of excess fat.

He doesn’t look like a professor at all.

Just then, a staff member of the dormitory called out to her.

“You’ve got a letter from home. They said it was urgent and asked that you check it right away.”

Urgent? She glanced at the sender—it was from her older brother.

He really is obsessed with this matter.

She had a good idea why.

It must have been the story of the magic stone that stirred his curiosity.

Their father owned many magic stones.

Her brother considered collecting them a noble hobby and often lingered at auctions in pursuit of acquiring one of his own.

So naturally, he would be intrigued by news of a magic stone causing a stir at the Academy for Gifted Children.

And he seemed to know something about this Professor Sian too.

Once in her room, Izriela hastily tore open the letter.

[To Izriela.]

*Is it true that this man called Professor Sian is at the Academy? I checked, and the registered “Sian Roshen” on the faculty list is a professor of geology, but I’ve confirmed he has returned to his hometown.

On top of that, he’s fallen ill. Being over seventy years old, he hasn’t been recovering well, so his return to the Academy has been delayed. From what I’ve heard, he’s likely to resign completely and retire…*

Izriela’s eyes widened.

“Over seventy years old?”

Impossible. The man Ibi called Professor Sian just now—at most, he looked to be in his late thirties.

There was no way he could be seventy. And yet, the real professor was said to be in his hometown.

The letter went on to repeat that her brother had verified multiple times that Sian Roshen was indeed a geology professor over seventy.

Then who was the man she had just seen?

A smile crept across her lips.

Who cares who he really is?

What was certain was that he was no professor.

He was impersonating one, freely coming and going at the Academy.

And what’s more, he was posing as the guardian of Ibi Elden.

That child… she’s been hiding something in the professor’s office.

Just like last time, Ibi had been crouching here and there around the school, picking things up and putting them into her bag.

Today had been no different.

When she went in, her bag had been full; but when Professor Sian carried it out for her, it was noticeably lighter.

And quite a few students have lost their belongings, haven’t they?

Like the girl who lost her bracelet in the classroom, and many others who had reported things gone missing.

In her mind, Izriela pictured Ibi secretly stashing away those items.

It was only her imagination, but already she was treating it as if it were undeniable fact.

She jumped to her feet and searched for the book of Academy regulations.

Flipping through frantically, her hand stopped.

[Regulation 17, Article 1:
Any student found stealing the belongings of a fellow student shall be expelled.]

It was exactly the rule Izriela had been hoping for.