“Liyakade!? What’s wrong?”
Field saw the painful expression on Liyakade’s face and thought it must be some aftereffect from the fight, or perhaps an injury that hadn’t been noticed.
“N-no… it’s nothing. I just managed to be stupid all by myself,” Liyakade waved her hand dismissively, signaling that she was fine. “By the way, where exactly are we?”
“This is the Royal Palace,” Field patiently explained, seeing that Liyakade seemed unharmed.
“After you passed out, we wanted to send you back to the Academy, but we didn’t know where your dormitory was. Also, it wouldn’t be very comfortable for you to rest there, so I brought you back to the palace. It’s not too far anyway.”
“I see.”
Liyakade looked around. No wonder the decor was so lavish—she really had come to the palace.
No, wait!
Liyakade glanced out the window and suddenly realized it was already late; the sun was about to set. Tonight was her last chance. If she didn’t succeed, once the results were out in a few days, Irina Zi-sama would never let her off.
“Liyakade, thank you for today…”
Field, who usually loved to bicker with Liyakade, suddenly softened her tone. Her restless eyes kept darting to Liyakade’s face as she stammered out her gratitude, “Thank you for covering for us. It’s getting late… maybe… uh… you should stay here at the palace tonight…”
“No!” Remembering her mission, Liyakade immediately refused. She whipped off the covers and jumped out of bed, only to realize her body was bare except for two pieces of underwear.
“Where are my clothes?”
Realizing something was wrong, Liyakade hurriedly covered herself, despite the protection of her undergarments.
“They’re over there. I took them off for you,” Field said, blushing slightly at Liyakade’s pale skin. She quickly looked away and pointed to the bedside table.
“They’re covered in blood, so I had to change them for you and check your injuries—it couldn’t be helped!”
“It’s fine, as long as I have clothes to wear!”
Liyakade didn’t care who had taken off her clothes, nor did she mind the bloodstains. What mattered was whether PLAN B could succeed; otherwise, she might die a miserable death.
Without hesitation, Liyakade grabbed the school uniform stained bright red with her own blood from the bedside and put it on.
“Hey! That uniform’s filthy! Where are you going?”
Field saw Liyakade’s desperate eagerness to leave, completely ignoring her invitation. She anxiously stood up. “It’s so late outside!”
“I’m going back to the Academy!”
Liyakade took a deep breath.
“I have something very important to do!”
“Very important? What is it?” Field blocked her path.
“If you don’t explain, I’m not letting you go!”
“It’s something that’ll make me sad if I don’t do it! If I don’t, I’ll probably regret it for the rest of my life!”
Liyakade’s eyes hardened with determination. Though she couldn’t directly say it was an order from Irina Zi-sama, she could give a hint. “It’s about Alice—something important!”
“Wah!”
“So, I’m off first, Field!”
With that, Liyakade dashed out of Field’s bedroom at lightning speed.
“…Ugh.” Field slumped against the edge of the bed, repeating over and over what Liyakade had said. “Something that’ll make her sad if she doesn’t do it… Something she’ll regret her whole life if she doesn’t do it…”
“And it’s about Alice…”
“Could it be… that what Liyakade wrote was true?”
“Damn it!!!”
Clearly, Field’s thoughts had veered into strange territory. Feeling a pang of jealousy, she rolled around on the bed, while from the palace corridor came the strange shouts of the guards yelling things like “Assassin!” and “Catch her!” as they ran back and forth. It was probably because Liyakade’s bloodstained uniform was too conspicuous…
***
“Hah—”
Liyakade had escaped the palace and was now rushing toward the Academy. She wasn’t sure why, but after leaving Field’s bedroom, those guards had been chasing her as if they’d seen a ghost.
Luckily, she’d managed to lose them. Now, the sun had fully set. The students had returned to their dormitories, and the entire school had entered Curtain Call.
This would be Liyakade’s last battle for this midterm.
Bring it on!
Liyakade pulled on her hood, looking like one of those terrorists from her previous life. She concealed her presence and tiptoed through the bushes.
Although it was Curtain Call, that only applied to ordinary students and teachers. During Curtain Call, guards and the Disciplinary Committee patrolled the school. If they caught her, PLAN B would be an immediate failure, and Liyakade’s life would flicker out like a candle in the wind.
Liyakade crawled through the shadows of the bushes, cleverly avoiding all the guards and committee members. She slipped into the teaching building and then, step by step, approached the Sealed Chamber where the Test Papers were kept.
The Seal Formation on this chamber was about Level 50. Normally, no student could open it—even those at Level 50 couldn’t, because learning seal techniques required not only magical power but also extensive knowledge and deep understanding of sealing methods.
But as luck would have it, Liyakade possessed both. Perhaps because the original owner of this body had been so lonely as a child and read countless books, her memory stored a great deal of knowledge about sealing techniques.
As for the seal on the Test Papers, it was even easier—only Level 30, lower than the entrance seal of the chamber. Naturally, Liyakade easily broke the seal in no time and found Alice’s Test Paper without any trouble.
“…Do I really have to do this?”
Liyakade hesitated as she pulled out Alice’s Test Paper.
Honestly, she didn’t want to hurt Alice. Just the thought of tampering with Alice’s answers to lower her exam scores filled Liyakade with guilt. The earlier failures of her plans had even made her somewhat relieved that she hadn’t harmed Alice.
But she simply couldn’t endure being tormented by Irina Zi-sama any longer.
Even if it was just for a little while… please let me breathe, Alice. I’m sorry—please forgive me this once…
Liyakade finally steeled herself and opened Alice’s answer sheet.
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