“Tsk.”

Neris clicked her tongue. She was surprised and bewildered.

It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to treat wounds at all. However, the wounds she had to treat herself were mostly from bullying, not injuries that reeked of blood like this one.

Cledwin’s eyes, which had just glared at her, became cloudy as if he had used up all his energy. Neris tried to make a calm judgment first.

The reason she hid the dangerous injured person of unknown identity from the boys was because she didn’t want to do anything good for Nelrysion or Abelus. Whatever it was, if it was someone they sent their close henchmen to find, it must be someone who needed to be eliminated.

She had no reason to save that injured person’s life while taking on some unknown risk. In fact, if it had been a corpse in the bushes, she would have just left it.

But he was alive. Moreover, it was Cledwin Maindlant. He might become a means to protect her mother in the future, the only person besides Diane who could be of help to Neris at this school.

It didn’t take long to make a decision.

Rustle. Neris carefully crawled out of the bushes. It was after confirming that there was no one around.

Then she picked a few leaves from nearby bushes relying on the moonlight and returned to where Cledwin was.

“Chew this. Can you chew? If not, I can’t do anything so I’ll leave you.”

When she came to her senses and groped to observe, the ground around Cledwin was damp. It seemed he had lost a lot of blood.

Cledwin silently looked down at the leaf Neris held to his mouth for a while. His eyes alternated between the leaf and Neris several times.

Neris thought it couldn’t be helped if he didn’t put the herb in his mouth due to suspicion. After all, there wasn’t that much trust between them.

However, Cledwin soon looked straight into Neris’s eyes and opened his mouth. Neris pushed the herb into his mouth.

Though unintended, she felt with her fingertips that the inside of his mouth was parched and hot.

Even as he struggled to chew the herb, Cledwin’s eyes did not leave Neris’s face.

Neris felt her heart pounding. It was a good thing that he had enough strength left to glare at someone. But was that all? Even if the herb took effect…

“Don’t swallow it.”

A question arose in Cledwin’s eyes as if to say, what does that mean? It was amazing that he could express such an abstract emotion with just his eyes. Neris spoke calmly.

“It’s not harmful but it tastes bad.”

Something like a smile appeared and disappeared in his eyes. And how much time had passed?

Cledwin Maindlant shrugged his shoulders as if trying to raise his body. Neris, relieved, supported his body with her shoulder. And while struggling to somehow stand him up, she grumbled.

“That just has an awakening effect, it’s not a panacea. Let’s bandage the wound first and move.”

Megara was not in a good mood.

Today was the rehearsal for the social exam, and Megara had already made plans to take full advantage of this opportunity—since they were using a different classroom than usual, even if a small ‘accident’ occurred, no one would suspect the first-years—to give that annoying Trude a light taste of her own medicine.

If her clothes were to become a mess in front of everyone, even the most aloof child would be embarrassed.

But that Trude didn’t show up.

The blade tucked under the table, the ink bottle prepared to be ‘accidentally’ spilled, all became useless. Of course, those were prepared by other children, Megara herself didn’t directly handle such trivial and childish things.

Just in case Trude might show up late, the children who knew about today’s plan kept glancing at the classroom entrance throughout the rehearsal. Diane McKinnon, who seemed to have noticed something, grew increasingly smug.

Megara almost frowned, throwing off her elegant mask, finding it all irritating to look at.

Sheriff Sheridan’s exam rehearsal ended with a deflated feeling for everyone. Although Megara monopolized the praise for this class as much as Neris, who always received perfect evaluations, was absent, even that fact didn’t bring joy to Megara.

She wanted a more definite, more obvious superiority. The attention that naturally poured in because the daughter of a lowly knight was absent was rather an insult.

Megara was quiet on the way back. Idalia didn’t know what to say beside her. They just walked together with the other children towards the district where many dormitories for high-ranking noble children were located, each lost in their own thoughts.

It was when they were passing by one of the libraries where upper-class students often gathered to study for exams. Someone called out to Megara in a friendly manner.

“Maggie! Are you going after studying?”

Megara turned her head expressionlessly to look at the person who had spoken to her.

Mahradi Ennim was standing there with a slightly embarrassed but excited face. Judging by the books he was carrying, he seemed to be on his way back after studying for exams as well.

Megara hadn’t forgotten the humiliation from the previous Berlean 3 class. She didn’t like his attitude of speaking to her as if it were natural just because he was an upperclassman, on top of teaching her the wrong translation.

But she couldn’t completely ignore him in front of the other children. She decided to at least respond.

“Yeah. What about you, oppa?”

Mahradi, who had been ignored by Megara several times until now, was overjoyed thinking that her anger must have finally subsided. He blurted out any words that came to mind in his nervous and happy state, hoping that at least one of them would pique Megara’s interest.

“Me, I’m an upperclassman, you know. I have a lot to study. Today I was studying with Joseph Caren, but he left early saying he had something to do. So I came out early and ran into you…”

If he were allowed to speak just a little more, it seemed he would start talking about fate.

As Megara listened to that nonsense with a disgusted look, Idalia flinched at Mahradi’s words. Joseph Caren was Nelrysion’s friend and henchman.

If Joseph suddenly had to leave because something came up, could something have happened to Nelrysion? Idalia gave Megara a pleading look to ask for more details. Megara was annoyed but decided to ask Mahradi anyway.

“What did that sunbae leave early for? After agreeing to study with you.”

Hearing Megara’s tone, Mahradi felt anger rising towards Joseph, whom he hadn’t given much thought to until now. Megara’s question was justified. How could he just leave like this after agreeing to study together!

“Right? Isn’t it too much? I couldn’t even study properly because the flow was interrupted. But it seems like something really did come up. At first, he said he’d be right back after Nelrysion Elandria called him, but then he came back in, packed his books, and left for good.”

While this information really didn’t matter to Megara, Idalia eagerly listened to every word Mahradi said. Excited that someone was listening intently, Mahradi rambled on about things he wasn’t even asked about.

“From what I heard, he ran into that Trude girl at Remnant Hall? He asked if there was anything strange while having classes with her? Does she still show off a lot during class these days? They say there’s a social exam rehearsal…”

The last words were clearly a slip of the tongue.

Mahradi himself realized this fact and closed his mouth with a dismayed expression, but the children who had already heard those words looked at Megara with pity. How long had that disgusting upperclassman been waiting, hoping Megara would pass by this way?

Idalia also felt disgusted and checked if Megara was okay. However, surprisingly, Megara looked much happier than before. She even asked for more details about the situation.

“Really? They ran into each other at Remnant Hall? When?”

“I don’t know. But since he packed his books and left around 8 o’clock, it must have been sometime before that?”

Mahradi, not sensing any blame from Megara, stupidly grinned with relief.

After dismissing him with a few insincere words, Megara became lost in thought. And after a moment, she asked Idalia.

“Dali, do you know where Neris’s dormitory room is? I need to know right now.”

“Where am I?”

To Cledwin’s first words as he groaned and opened his eyes, the boy with the sullen face replied.

“My room.”

Cledwin knew that boy’s name. Though not as much as himself, the heir to the Grand Duke Maindlant, that pink-haired boy was also famous.

Ren Feyel. The younger brother of the previous Pope and a student in the Theology Department.

Though they knew each other’s names, the two had never had a conversation. As Cledwin, who couldn’t grasp the situation, frowned at the gradually intensifying pain, another person entered his field of vision.

Twelve-year-old Neris Trude approaching with several towels.

Cledwin turned his body and only then discovered that Ren was holding a towel red with blood. Neris’s clothes were also stained with blood.

Neris approached Ren, handed him a clean towel, and took the dirty one.

“It’s all wiped up now. You don’t have to do any more.”

Ren spoke to Neris quite affectionately. It was a completely different treatment from the displeased gaze he had been sending Cledwin.

Cledwin had previously been informed that Ren, who usually acted like a ruffian with no one to rely on, was somewhat gentle only to Neris. But seeing it in person, this was…

‘Not gentle, but fluttering.’

Not the flutter of a spring breeze, but the flutter of a dog wagging its tail. And quite rapidly at that.

It was impossible not to find it amusing that among the two people with quite an age difference, the older one was acting like a puppy. However, Cledwin thought that picture looked natural.

No matter how young, Neris Trude was the master. One who could handle the leash of any beast sufficiently.

Hearing Ren’s words, Neris replied calmly.

“Is that so? Then could you step out for a moment so we can talk privately?”

“Alright. I’ll be right outside the door, so if that bastard does anything you don’t like, just shout right away.”

Despite being told to leave his own bedroom, Ren didn’t argue with anyone, but his gaze as he glared at Cledwin was fierce.

Cledwin felt a needlessly mischievous mood. It seemed like the feeling of seeing an owner bring home a new puppy, but wasn’t that behavior ignorant of the situation? He was her official employer, wasn’t he?

Because he felt so displeased, Cledwin’s eyes followed Ren’s back unkindly as he quietly went out and closed the door. Neris saw that gaze and furrowed her brow.

“What are you doing? To someone who helped you. Without Senior Ren’s holy power, you would have died. How are your wounds?”

Indeed, the terrible pain and haziness he had felt before passing out were now gone. Though it wasn’t completely healed as there was still pain, but that was to be expected.

Cledwin furrowed his brow just like Neris and asked.

“Why am I here?”

“You really don’t remember?”

Neris pulled up a chair and sat down. Cledwin looked up at her face from below, struggling to recall his memories.

Soon, a feeble grumble came from his mouth.

“…That herb, it tasted bad.”

“That’s why I told you not to swallow it. But you should know you survived thanks to that. If it weren’t for that, you wouldn’t have made it to Senior Ren’s dormitory.”

Complaining about the taste after saving someone’s life.

Neris replied in a cold voice that was perhaps too harsh for someone who had been covered in large, gaping wounds.

Cledwin thought that the statement about Neris being able to handle any beast seemed to apply to him as well.

People, without exception, feared him. The only difference was whether that fear was directed towards reverence or contempt.

But she alone was different. This small girl casually spoke to him as if giving orders, and he didn’t feel any aversion towards her for it. He just ended up acting as she said.

Until now, he thought it was because she was interesting. Among his subordinates, who were recruited regardless of background as long as they were talented, there were already several with twisted personalities.

So he thought she was no different from one of them, that it would end with just exchanging the benefits they each wanted.

That’s what he thought, but…

…It wasn’t like that. His mouth, which had been saying anything due to confusion, closed docilely before her. She had a power that couldn’t be explained by logic.

Cledwin tried to rebel. That is, he was about to mutter that earlier he didn’t have the strength to spit it out so it was unavoidable. But in the end, he fell silent.

He quietly surveyed the interior of the bedroom.