"That's an order," he spoke seriously.
Celeste had understood the order; however, she didn't want to bring the boy closer to Elise.
'If he did this to me, what would he do to her?' the girl thought. She didn't want her princess to go through what she had.
Alphonse knew that perhaps his suggestions wouldn't be enough to put her in line.
'If I had a bit more mana, I would strengthen the suggestions. But I need to make sure we get out of here,' he thought.
As soon as they passed through the door to the first floor, the journey became even more straightforward. The slimes that appeared were all smaller and weaker, making it easy to explode. Even Celeste's wind blades were capable of defeating them.
Moreover, the dungeon itself was less complex, with fewer forks and dead ends. The walls continued with white stones that were now well-lit with torches spread along them.
"They must have already passed through here; these torches are usually unlit," Celeste explained.
The two had to walk a few more meters until they heard some voices.
"They are here!"
"Quick! Quick!"
When they looked up, a group of four soldiers ran toward them.
"Are you all right?" the soldier closest to them asked.
"Yes. Yes," Alphonse replied.
"Do you need any medical help?" the soldier asked again.
"Celeste has a head injury," the boy replied. The girl lifted one of her locks of hair to show where she had been hurt.
"All right. We'll escort you back to the hall and then take Miss Celeste to a cleric," the soldier explained.
Upon exiting the portal, there was no one waiting for them. It was already late at night, and the other students had been sent back to their homes. Only the soldiers and a few captains remained.
Alphonse and Celeste were sent to the cleric to check their health and allow them to rest. The boy was interested in exploring a bit more of the castle, especially the hospital area; however, his mana was so low that he felt weak and preferred to have a good night's sleep.
On the other hand, Celeste had difficulty sleeping, thinking that the boy might try to come to her bed at any moment. To her relief or disappointment, he was already asleep.
"Alphonse!"
The boy woke up the next day with someone shouting. Sophie had arrived early at the Imperial Academy's infirmary and found him still sleeping.
Alphonse blinked his eyes, trying to understand what was happening. His sister was sprawled on his bed, hugging him. Her eyes were deep and reddened; she wished she could cry but had already spent all her energy the previous day.
"Never make me worry like that again," she said.
"Hey! But it wasn't my fault," the boy replied.
"I don't want to hear it." She hugged him even tighter.
The whole situation reminded him of when he had arrived in this new world. He had been here for just over a month, and everything had changed so much. Alphonse already felt attached to the place as if it were his original home.
'It was, at least for one of us,' he thought.
"Don't worry, it was just an accident," he tried to calm her.
Beside him, Celeste had woken up with all the commotion in the infirmary. She was smiling as she watched Sophie's behavior.
While Alphonse and Sophie talked, the wooden door of the infirmary opened again. This time, a tall girl with long green hair entered. Unlike the night of the party, Elise wore an ordinary dress suitable for a school day. However, it was still sophisticated enough that only a princess could access such attire.
"Princess," Sophie and Celeste said simultaneously. Sophie took the opportunity to bow before the imperial family. Alphonse chose not to participate, keeping his focus on the princess's eyes.
Elise raised one of her hands, signaling for the girls to relax. The boy couldn't recognize her as the same person from the party; she seemed more controlled and well-behaved than the person capable of breaking into a minister's office just to have sex with her lover.
'This kind of person is the most difficult; which of the two is her true face—the well-behaved girl or the sex addict?' he thought.
'She is so beautiful,' Alphonse managed to hear one of Celeste's thoughts. He was surprised that the connection hadn't been cut, especially since he was almost out of mana yesterday. His connection with Sophie was different; it came from the mark he had applied, so it never broke.
"Alphonse von Hohenberg," the princess mentioned his name, bringing him back from his thoughts. "Thank you for saving my friend."
"It was my pleasure, noble princess," the boy replied, lowering his head to show respect. However, this was nothing more than a dance of compliments and empty words to him.
The princess nodded and proceeded toward Celeste, sitting in the chair beside her.
The boy took the opportunity to get up from the bed and approached Sophie. "Let's go; I'm feeling better. This way, we give the princess some privacy."
Sophie agreed and left with Alphonse.
As soon as they left the infirmary, the boy remembered why he had entered the portal. "Did they announce the results of the Aegis?"
Sophie's smile faded the moment he finished speaking. "I passed, but since you spent more than a day in the portal, you were disqualified."
'That's a relief,' the boy sighed. 'I don't want to be a target again in the princesses' schemes.'
Alphonse looked worriedly at his sister; she would have to get close to the most complicated princess.
"No problem. I think I've already found a way to get closer," he said, not needing to explain it for Sophie to understand. "However, please be careful."
"Yes, brother."
Alphonse had no classes on his second day due to his recovery, and Sophie had already had her classes in the morning, so both were free to return to the penthouse.
The following day, Alphonse found Sophie and Marie sitting together having breakfast. He hadn't managed to see his grandmother the previous afternoon due to other commitments she had.
As soon as her eyes met his, he could feel the happiness she was experiencing. Even with all the disagreements and power struggles between them, she was his family at the end of the day.
"Good morning," the boy said as he joined them at the table.
The three continued eating and chatting, always with Marie's two assistants nearby. When they were almost finished, the boy decided to bring up one of the more intricate subjects.
"Marie, I need your help," Alphonse said while sipping his tea. "Yesterday, during the Aegis test, it wasn't just an incident but a sabotage."
Marie looked at him, assessing the seriousness of the accusation.
"How did you come to this conclusion?" she asked.
Sophie also stopped eating to pay attention; she had entered the portal before Alphonse's incident, so she wanted to hear directly from him.
"A little before entering the portal, I noticed the portal's colors changing. My impression is that someone sabotaged it. Additionally, I was specifically selected to participate without any other person, only with my companion," Alphonse explained.
"Hmm," Marie pondered the situation. "But why would someone try to harm you?"
"Not me—my partner. Celeste is a childhood friend of Princess Elise." This information wasn't entirely new to anyone at the table. They all knew about the friendship between the two, but not that it dated back to childhood.
"I believe Victorie tried to eliminate her by using me," he explained.
"Using you? How so?" Marie asked.
"You didn't see my exam, but my magical potential registered as zero. She assumed I would be a burden and possibly lead to Celeste's death," he explained.
Marie burst into laughter upon hearing about his magical potential. Due to some exchanges and her leverage over the academy, she knew the secret of the measuring device.
'Even that relic couldn't measure this boy's potential, huh,' she thought as she reassessed him.
"I see, but why do you want to investigate this? Just to get into the Aegis?" Marie questioned.
"No, what I wanted from the Aegis I've already obtained. I want some dirt—something that gives me leverage over Victorie," the boy commented. "Sophie won't fail to get close to her, but if I need something more direct at some point, I'd prefer to have this card up my sleeve."
His grandmother nodded. "I know just the person who will investigate this. If anything comes up, I'll let you know."
Sophie became worried. Now that there was a possibility she'd have to get close to someone who tried to harm her brother, she wasn't sure she'd be able to restrain herself.
"Great," the boy replied. "Shall we go? Today, I have my first Artificery class."
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