“Headmaster, you!?”
Mark sat on the ground, looking at the scene before him as if he still wanted to say something to stop it.
“What’s wrong?”
Before the elder headmaster could speak, Willis turned back and said, “Does the Vice Dean have anything else to say?”
Faced with Willis’s gaze, Mark didn’t dare to look up and immediately lowered his head.
“N-no, nothing…”
“Heh, better be nothing, Vice Dean.”
The cold light in Willis’s eyes was so sharp that Mark dared not make another move.
Willis expressionlessly pinned the badge onto her chest, then casually stuffed the access card representing the Imperial Royal Academy into her pocket.
Her carefree and confident demeanor was full of assurance.
In contrast, Mark, who had caused all this, wore a face full of dejection and defeat, mixed with a trace of unwillingness.
“Now, I hereby announce that Willis Egbert is officially a teacher of the Imperial Royal Academy of our Empire!”
The headmaster’s voice wasn’t loud, but with the amplification magic, it was still firm and resolute.
With his affirmation, the applause in the hall rose again.
Most of it was for this mysterious headmaster, who was usually seen only rarely.
Tilting his head, the headmaster looked toward Willis and spoke with a tone full of earnest admonition.
“Willis, as a teacher of our Royal Academy, you must always remember the principles of the Academy…”
These were just formalities. Once Sylvester Joylu finished speaking, Willis was practically holding a formal appointment letter.
From now on, she was officially a teacher at the Royal Academy.
The Empire Princess’s inauguration speech came to an end, with a teacher stepping up to help the fallen Mark to his feet.
The Vice Dean stood up timidly, only daring to keep his head lowered, avoiding eye contact with Emperor Lubas or Willis.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he opened his mouth, and a flash of terror crossed his previously defeated face, twisting further as the applause thundered below.
At this moment, Mark’s inner world had battled countless times, desperately wanting to salvage the situation.
At that moment, Willis slightly turned her head.
A trapped beast struggling to fight back?
At this point, this guy still wants to make waves?
Willis sensed the all-or-nothing aura radiating from Mark, but the headmaster had already completed the appointment ceremony. Even if Mark refused to acknowledge it now, what else could he do?
Before Mark could speak, the soldiers guarding and maintaining order around the Moonlit Hall suddenly roared in unison, breaking the thunderous applause that had followed the emperor.
Within just three seconds, the entire hall fell silent again.
From where he was turning to leave, Lubas’s deep voice was heard: “Willis, do not forget the words you spoke today. Do not disgrace the name of our Royal Academy!”
With these words from Emperor Lubas, Mark was completely stunned.
At this moment, he even made a transgressive move, stepping forward and shouting, “Your Majesty!”
But Lubas paid no heed to anyone and left immediately, accompanied by his guards.
After the Empire Emperor left, the atmosphere in the hall lightened considerably.
Although there was still the infamous Empire Princess present, the air was much better compared to when Emperor Lubas was here.
Seeing the emperor leave, the elderly headmaster Sylvester Joylu urged with a prompt.
“What’s the matter, Vice Dean? Hurry and finish your speech.”
Willis looked at the kind old man before her with some surprise.
There was no mistake; this man was indeed helping her.
But why?
She had only met this headmaster for the first time today and had never seen him before.
Moreover, as headmaster of the Royal Academy, he must have been well aware of all the previous misdeeds of her predecessor. So why was he showing such goodwill toward her now?
Could it be simply because of her identity as the Empire Princess?
Or… was he just seeing that the situation was settled and wanted to make a smooth peace offering?
Hearing the headmaster’s urging, even though unwilling, Mark could only take over the spot where Willis stood and then summarized today’s inauguration speech…
and announced its conclusion.
“To… to… today, we thank the Empire Princess… Her Highness the Princess for bringing us such a brilliant inauguration speech…”
At first, Mark gritted his teeth, but his flattering words soon flowed smoothly and endlessly.
Willis was too lazy to listen to more of his words, as this was a public occasion, and she had held back from losing her temper, especially with the emperor present.
But now that it was over, Willis was already planning how to make this Vice Dean vanish forever from the world.
Not just the Vice Dean, but many within the Imperial Royal Academy would need to be purged!
A cold light flickered in Willis’s eyes as she scanned the professors and teachers sitting below…
Among them, some were already on her blacklist.
As for what consequences being on that blacklist would bring, they would soon find out—but not yet.
Taking a deep breath, Willis closed her eyes slightly.
[ No, no, stay calm. This is the influence of the original Willis affecting me. Don’t let it interfere with my judgment. ]
When she opened her eyes again, the killing intent in Willis’s eyes had faded, becoming restrained and unassuming.
For now, all she wanted was to leave here quickly.
Having just survived an assassination attempt, exhausted from the speech, and drained from using the Real Eye to improve her magic…
She was already extremely tired.
Though Willis concealed it well, she still couldn’t hide it from Sylvester Joylu, who was very close.
So, watching the fawning and indecisive Mark beside her, the headmaster urged once more.
“Enough, Mark, no need to say so much. Finish it.”
Though the elder headmaster’s voice was soft, to Mark’s ears it was another signal.
The headmaster was clearly favoring this Empire Princess!
At this moment, Mark somewhat regretted his previous actions and hastily ended his speech, then announced the dismissal.
In an instant, all the teachers and students in the hall stood up, all directing their gazes toward Willis, wanting to get one last good look at the Empire Princess who had just performed brilliantly.
“Please leave in an orderly manner.”
As the teachers and students slowly left, Hill Yu happily came out from backstage, running over in a few steps to hug Willis.
“That’s great, Willis! I didn’t expect you to have such a talent for speeches!”
The pleasant scent from this elder sister filled Willis’s nose, and her soft touch on the skin was comforting.
Although exhausted, Willis suddenly felt invigorated, reluctant to push Hill Yu away.
Luckily, after realizing the awkwardness of hugging like this, Hill Yu let go.
“It’s not talent or anything, just walking on thin ice.”
Willis sneered lightly, glancing at Mark who was awkwardly standing nearby, neither leaving nor staying.
The corpulent Vice Dean, sweating profusely, scratched his head in a fawning and weak manner, a flattering smile plastered across his round face…
“Haha, well… Your Highness, you flatter me. Those issues were just normal procedures. Saying it was like walking on thin ice is a bit exaggerated…”
“Um… now that you’re a teacher of the Academy, I suppose your office and teaching plans haven’t been arranged yet. As Vice Dean, it’s my duty to prepare those for new teachers!”
Looking at the sycophantic Mark, Willis really admired this man’s scheming.
Just now, he acted like he was sworn to oppose her, and now he was sucking up without a trace of burden?!
No wonder he climbed from a commoner to this position. It’s not just his ability; his cold-blooded restraint at critical moments is also superb.
But from his eyes, Willis could clearly perceive that this Vice Dean was far from the weak, conceding, flattering figure he pretended to be.
Real Eye!
[ Ah~ Such boring acting. If you want to flatter, you should smile with the corners of your eyes and relax your facial muscles, not be so stiff… ]
[ Everything he said was processed and fake, without a shred of sincerity. Especially the flames hidden in his eyes—they’re brewing a storm! ]
“Is that so… then I’ll leave it to you, Vice Dean.”
Willis spoke with a double meaning.
The other party repeatedly expressed modesty and fled the scene like a scared rabbit.
Just as Willis was about to turn and chat with Headmaster Sylvester Joylu, a group of students who had not yet left suddenly gathered around.
Willis saw from their attire that most of them were commoners.
In this world where nobles run rampant and knowledge is monopolized by the Empire, clans, and various forces, commoners’ only chance to rise is through luck or by breaking into institutions like the Academy.
This often costs unimaginable sacrifices, so the commoners who appear in the Royal Academy all desperately desire to gain respectable power and status, to climb higher in society.
Willis’s words on stage had ignited a moth-to-flame-like desire in them.
Even though she was a person with a bad reputation.
“Her Highness the Princess, is what you said true? Are you really willing to teach us magic for free?”
A student asked eagerly, his eyes shining with the same hope as everyone else’s.
Even in the Royal Academy where magic, swordsmanship, and all kinds of knowledge can be learned, mid- to high-level magic was still a secret treasured by every teacher.
They wouldn’t teach it easily.
“Of course, but on one condition—you have to be my student.”
Willis smiled.
Willis’s affirmative answer instantly drove the students into a frenzy, but soon, Headmaster Sylvester Joylu shooed them away.
“Go now, children, the speech is over. Don’t stay here anymore.”
Sylvester drove the others out, and the once noisy hall was left with only him, Willis, and Hill Yu.
Willis stayed out of curiosity about this old man’s attitude toward her.
Hill Yu was simply waiting for Willis.
“Willis, although this approach will quickly win people over, you still need to be cautious.”
Once he spoke, Sylvester’s words stunned Willis.
“Raising commoners comes at a high cost, and having lived in such a ruthless, treacherous environment since childhood, loyalty is hard to guarantee. They don’t have the conviction of nobles and knights who value their promises and morals above life…”
Not only was Willis stunned, but Hill Yu beside her was also greatly surprised.
How could their usually elusive headmaster be so close to Willis?