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Chapter 21: Fina Alcot

After entering the classroom, Nanali found a random corner and sat down by herself.

The other students also filed into the classroom.

A golden-curled student glanced at Nanali in the corner and hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and saying:

“Good morning, Axi.”

This student was the one who had shouted the loudest yesterday when accusing Nanali of secretly studying forbidden tomes, and she was also the only daughter of the Marquis Baikasi, Delores Baikasi.

Last night, her father had suddenly told her to cultivate a friendship with the Count Axi family’s daughter and also warned her to be cautious of one of the Axi family’s servants.

At first, Delores felt puzzled and even dismissive… who was she? A Marquis’s daughter!

How could she lower herself to befriend a Count’s daughter and watch out for a mere minor servant of the Count family?

Not until this morning did she notice that the knight captain her father had protected so fiercely… who also happened to be her cousin she had refused to acknowledge… had been executed by dismemberment at the market entrance for the crime of long-term oppression of commoners.

Executed by dismemberment!

Even if he had killed a Count, such a punishment would have been unthinkable.

Delores sensed that something was amiss about the whole affair.

After pondering briefly, she still decided to greet Nanali.

Although she could not bring herself to fully humble her pride and befriend Nanali, she at least did not want their relationship to remain so strained.

If Ryan knew what Delores was thinking, he would surely mock in his mind that these were merely nine-year-olds.

Were noble children really this tactically minded?

When Nanali heard Delores greet her, she froze for a moment… it was as surprising as the sun rising in the west.

However, as the saying went, you cannot fight a smiling face, so Nanali nodded and replied mildly, “Good morning, Baikasi.”

Delores did not take offense at Nanali’s attitude, since Nanali’s usual response had often been a sour look.

The two only exchanged this simple greeting before returning to their own affairs.

When the other noble girls who were with Delores saw her initiate a greeting toward Nanali, they were equally astonished.

“Baikasi, what’s wrong with you?”

“Did you sleep and lose your mind last night?”

“Why are you greeting someone who studies forbidden tomes?”

At the mention of forbidden tomes, Delores raised her voice:

“Axi does not study forbidden tomes! I guarantee her honor in the name of the Baikasi family!”

After all, she had been the one to raise the accusation, so it was only right she clear Nanali’s name herself.

Sure enough, once Delores spoke, no one else repeated the rumor that Nanali was studying forbidden tomes.

Yet everyone still wondered what had caused Nanali’s magic display yesterday.

♤ ♡ ♢ ♧

The building where Nanali attended classes rose upward until its top floor, which housed the Dean’s office of Alcot Academy.

Of course, Ryan had not climbed each staircase floor by floor, but had used a massive floating stone to ascend.

The floating stone was much like an elevator in Ryan’s memory, except that magic powered its vertical movement instead of electricity.

It was quite convenient.

The existence of the Dean’s office surprised Ryan, for as the Duke of Alcot, Fina might have been expected to have a private pavilion somewhere on campus rather than a simple office.

Ryan knocked on the door, and a voice that sounded languidly seductive called from inside:

“Come in.”

Pushing the door open, Ryan’s gaze first fell upon a remarkably imposing red-haired woman.

The red-haired woman appeared to have been napping, having set two chairs together to lie upon, her long, pale legs exposed and raised as if stretching.

From behind her desk, Ryan could still see the large swell of her chest, each as large as his head, straining against the noble gown she wore without any sense of incongruity.

Ryan would wager that even the most skilled succubus of the demon race could not mimic this woman’s figure.

Fina Alcot was one of the few female nobles in the Hedley Empire and the empire’s only female Duke.

This woman was no ordinary noble; a few years ago, she had kicked the king in his most vulnerable spot, forcing him to bed rest for a month, yet she still lived life to the fullest.

“Duke Fina, long time no see.”

“Hmm? Ryan?”

Fina clearly recognized Ryan and sat upright at the sound of his voice, her seductive features turning toward him.

“Ryan, you’re here?”

“Didn’t you ask me to come?”

Ryan replied.

“Ah? Oh…”

Fina laughed softly, then yawned, saying, “I’m so sleepy I momentarily forgot.”

Ryan sighed, “So you summoned me yourself… did you have something you needed?”

At this, Fina leaned back against her chair and smiled lightly:

“Shouldn’t it be me asking you that? I told you that if you felt disappointed with this empire, you should come find me at Alcot Academy, and now here you are.”

“But I’m not here for that; I came with my great Milady.”

Ryan remained standing in the doorway, deliberately keeping his distance from the woman.

He knew well the danger and ambition that lay behind her.

As a strong-willed figure, Fina had long worked to elevate the status of women in the empire, and this Alcot Academy for women was the result of her life’s work.

Yet in secret, this dangerous woman had always coveted the position of Emperor herself.

“Your great Milady?”

Fina looked puzzled.

She clearly hadn’t inquired fully about the substitute teaching arrangement but had agreed at once upon hearing Ryan’s name.

“Nanali Axi, the only daughter of Count Horace, and I am now her personal butler.”

Ryan said calmly.

Hearing this, Fina straightened her posture, “You? A butler in a Count’s household?”

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

Ryan wore a nonchalant expression.

In fact, he rather enjoyed this life.

He no longer had to face off against the demon race with a group of foul men every day, nor engage in scheming among a great family.

Each day he simply chatted with Darly, teased Daisy, and escorted Nanali to school.

Back on the frontier, he could never have imagined living such a life.

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