Inside the principal’s office, Miriem walked in slow circles around the room. She’d been doing it the entire time—speaking words no ordinary citizen should ever hear, the kind that could shake a nation’s foundations if spoken outside these walls. Still, she continued:
“Afterward… by that monster’s words, it seems she truly kept them. After all, I lived,” Miriem said. Her steps were light, yet each one landed with a hollow weight. She stopped abruptly and looked down at her hands, her voice sharpening, darkening. “Of course… if I were ever to face that monster again, I wouldn’t offer the same mercy.”
But the thought seemed to break off. Her gaze drifted toward something distant—something far beyond the room. When she spoke again, her voice thinned, airy and remote.
“My expedition was considered a failure—pointless, even. I lost an entire army of talented individuals, people irreplaceable to the kingdom. Something that should’ve ruined everything I’d built over all those years.”
She paused briefly before giggling softly. “But my report about that creature… well, let’s just say that arrogant womanizer and useless sovereign found my words concerning enough. And so, somehow, I became a hero.”
She then scoffed. “You never escape what your blood binds you to. For all his foolishness, when it comes to protecting the kingdom, even a pathetic tyrant becomes as sharp as any competent sovereign. They all do. Their blood won’t allow them anything less.”
Miriem stopped walking. She turned her gaze toward the group, who were staring at her with uneasy, heavy expressions.
“For one reason or another, I opened this academy,” she said. “I requested it personally, under my own name.” Her tone didn’t shift when she added with a smirk on her expression, “And with my prestigious name bringing nothing but glory and honor, the approval was immediate. They were never going to deny it. Naturally, who would?"
"..."
Yet no one replied. It was quiet—eerily quiet.
Returning to her seat, she crossed her legs with careful poise and offered them a soft smile. “First… thank you for allowing me to speak to my heart’s content. And for your patience, your discipline in not asking questions is something I do appreciate.”
Of course, there was a reason for that. Before she began, she had asked them to simply listen—no interruptions, no clarifications, no challenges. Whether out of bafflement, a loss for words, or a mind unable to grasp the things she spoke of, not a single one of them had dared to speak.
And Miriem… Miriem found herself oddly pleased. If they had tried to question her, she wasn’t even sure she’d be able to answer them.
No, she wouldn't be able to do so.
She looked at each of them, her gaze gentler than before. “Thank you,” she said again—soft, sincere.
For the first time, her tone carried real seriousness. Until now she had spoken in a light, sing-song cadence—almost cheerful, yet hollow, drained of anything resembling true emotion.
Everyone—Nyx included—grimaced. Watching Miriem’s eyes drift between star-filled violet, glowing gold, and the fierce red they’d once held made everything she had said settle into a clearer, heavier shape.
None of them knew that, long ago, those eyes had burned with a fierce, vivid red.
That also included Nyx herself.
Principal Miriem was the kind of figure who rarely involved herself in worldly affairs. She wouldn’t lift a hand for most incidents in the academy, appearing only when the threat was large enough to shake its foundations.
People often joked it was nothing more than a plot device—like a game developer dropping in to fix a bug. A convenient deus ex machina.
That was all Nyx ever knew. Miriem’s past, her true background… those were things even Nyx had never learned.
And now, suddenly, it all made sense. Nyx knew it could be just another convenient, sloppy twist made by the developers to implement reason... but what Miriem had experienced was real.
Artificial or not, she had lived it, and the proof was right in front of them: Miriem was genuinely thanking them, from the bottom of her heart. She stood before Nyx, breathing, alive, speaking cursed words: helping the fate of others, speaking of her story, that should have carried unimaginable pain, not because of any metaphorical phrases, but because of its cursed... yet not a sound, not even a grunt, escaped her the entire time.
Nyx had countless questions she wanted to ask: Why did you need someone for that death march? Do you feel guilty? Why did you create the academy? What does this have to do with the Academy Restoration Act?
But there was something else inside her—a feeling she couldn’t quite name, something suffocating and pressing, refusing to be ignored. She couldn’t hold it in any longer and muttered, “…I’m sorry, Principal… but… what is it about that girl… a monster?”
A girl, lost in the middle of the unexplored regions of the Hollows. Nyx had not the slightest idea.
Principal Miriem mused at Nyx's words, though, she didn't rejected it, rather, she was thinking about it, putting a chin on her jaws. "Truly, I'm not sure myself about the existence of that woman. I wouldn't say anything concrete unless I do have an actual proof about it myself." Miriem muttered, then she said to Nyx with a smile, "I hope you don't mind about my answer being ambiguous, Scholar Nyx. Fret not, it's not something for you to be worrying about."
Nyx still couldn't help herself but keep that nagging and pressing sensation within. But she couldn't ask for more so she just simply nodded, despite the unsatifaction.
Though it began with Nyx, someone else slowly gathered courage. A trembling hand rose into the air. It was Faye, the same person who had recently pushed the principal’s patience to its limits.
"What is it?" Miriem asked, her voice curious. She added, "Speak freely about whatever is on your mind. Just remember that I am not obligated to answer."
"Umm… I have a lot of questions. Truly, a lot. But…" Faye’s voice turned meek, her words shrinking, her eyes darting around the room as if expecting danger to leap out from the shadows. That seemed to be the source of her panic. "Hopefully knowing these things will not get me stabbed in the middle of the night or something. Right…?"
"…"
Miriem stared at her with a baffled expression. Everyone else mirrored that look, equally confused at Faye’s anxious conclusion. Silence stretched… long, awkward, and heavy.
Then Miriem raised her hands and clapped once. In the next heartbeat, she blinked into existence right in front of them. She smiled wryly and finally answered, "Who knows? Maybe or maybe not?"
"Eek! Ah, um… Please erase my memories. I am happy to know them but—"
Faye’s panic shot upward, but before she could finish, Miriem cut her off.
"I am kidding, little kid." Miriem said, voice calm. "You do not have to worry. This room is reinforced with the highest grade of silence. Unless someone is a god, they cannot pry into anything said here."
Her words carried a subtle kind of venom, enough that Lirien glanced at her and thought, ' why is she so petty?'
She quickly looked away the moment Miriem seemed to sense it. Whether it was a skill or instinct, Lirien had no idea.
Miriem let out a quiet sigh at the sight before her. She looked at all of them and said, “Well, why don’t we get to the main point.”
Everyone’s demeanor shifted immediately.
She stepped in front of Lirien first. “Do you support the Academy Restoration Act? Why or why not?”
Lirien flinched, clearly not expecting to be questioned so suddenly, but she steadied her voice and replied,
“…my last answer about it was immature. But I would support it only if the part about removing the servants is taken out.”
Miriem nodded, satisfied with the answer.
She asked Faye the same question, but Faye chose not to speak. She simply lowered her gaze, signaling that she would not participate. Miriem’s brows furrowed at that, unable to understand why Faye was even present.
Then it was Nyx’s turn.
“I will not ask about the root of the conflict,” Miriem said. “Just answer the same question as the other scholars. Do you support the Academy Restoration Act? Why or why not?”
“No. I do not support it.”
Nyx’s expression was stern, her voice steady. “Most of its proposals are idealistic instead of practical. There are loopholes. Many of them can be exploited. And my reason is not just because of the issue with the servants.”
Miriem let out a soft chuckle, amused.
Before the atmosphere could settle, Elaris suddenly cut in.
“Miss Nyx and Lady Lirien. If either of you would go that far just to help me, I would rather you not bother.”
Her posture was composed and professional, but her voice was not. “It would only become a burden to your already tired mental states. Truly.”
Nyx and Lirien were about to reply, but they were interrupted by another abrupt shift in the room.
Miriem was somehow already back in her chair.
With a flick of her hand, pens, ink, and paper lifted into the air. The pen began moving on its own, gliding over the paper in swift, precise strokes like a printing machine. After a short moment, she lifted the finished sheet.
“Since all of you seem divided, I will give everyone a chance to participate.”
Her smile deepened, amused, almost as if she had found a new toy. She announced proudly,
“Why don’t we hold an academy-wide tournament. All school levels included. All ranks allowed. No, I have decided...
She declared, "This will happen.”
Every expectation in the room shattered at once.
|Chapter 61 - Academy-Wide Trial