Chapter 43: The Cunning Little Hatchling
Today was the opening ceremony at Wode Academy following the recruitment of new students.
The academy’s system was very strict—no matter your background or royal lineage, if you didn’t pass the entrance exam, the academy wouldn’t accept you.
In the Aarlan Empire, strength above all was the most fundamental principle. Most royals and nobles spent heavily to train their children so they could pass the exams smoothly.
After all, within noble circles, arranged marriages were common, and no one wanted their child to become known as a useless failure.
On the streets, numerous noble carriages were moving, flanked by many guards. The grand display attracted countless envious gazes from bystanders.
Whispers of which young lady had passed the exam or which young master received which grade of badge echoed all around...
The streets bustled with chatter—on the day of Wode Academy’s opening, the city was unusually lively.
On the road, Erika wore a fitted black short skirt with a cinched waist and black lace-trimmed thigh-high socks paired with little leather shoes. She looked very formal.
Of course, she hadn’t dressed herself. She didn’t know how to dress at all—this outfit was meticulously prepared for her by Gladys.
Since it was the day of the opening ceremony, she had to be formally dressed.
Hearing the chatter, Erika couldn’t help but glance at the bronze badge on her chest.
“Bronze badge... must be really low-ranked…”
She mumbled to herself and felt a bit lucky. Who would have thought submitting a blank paper could still get her through the exam?
When she arrived at the academy gate, she spotted a familiar figure.
“Erika, over here!”
Isana stood at the entrance, holding brown paper in one hand, as if she had been waiting a long time.
When she saw Erika, her face lit up with a joyful smile, and she raised her small hand, hoping to be noticed.
Her outfit today was similar to Erika’s—a white short skirt with lace trim, snow-white thigh-high socks, and her silver hair fluttered in the wind, making her look like a lively little fairy.
But this attitude… was a world apart from yesterday.
Staring at Isana waving non-stop, Erika pursed her lips uncomfortably. The memories from last night kept replaying in her mind.
Forget it… better to ignore this pervert.
Just pretend not to know her!
Thinking so, Erika raised her brows and looked elsewhere, walking into the academy as if she hadn’t heard Isana at all.
…
“Erika?”
Still ignoring her…
“This is for you!”
Just as they were about to pass each other, Isana enthusiastically held out the brown paper.
The move successfully made Erika pause.
A familiar aroma tickled her nose.
She couldn’t help but sniff the air.
“This is that meat bun you loved yesterday. I bought it especially for you.”
“This…”
“You don’t want it?”
Isana tilted her head. “Or is it not enough? If it’s not, I’ll buy more.”
“It’s not that…”
“Then hurry up and eat. It’s still warm. Cold meat buns don’t taste good.”
Erika didn’t expect her to actually bring food.
She struggled in place for a long time…
She had planned to ignore her—why did she have to play this trump card?!
In the end, she couldn’t resist. Erika reached out with her small hand.
Carefully, she placed the meat bun into her mouth. The flavor of lamb and oil spread on her tongue.
In that instant, Erika’s attitude completely changed.
She quickly grabbed another and stuffed it into her mouth. The familiar taste filled her face with bliss.
“Fank you, Ishana.”
Just as Erika mumbled her thanks while eating, Isana suddenly came forward and clung to Erika’s arm at the academy gate.
“W-What are you doing?”
Startled, Erika jolted on the spot. Looking at Isana’s face, she couldn’t forget what she had done the night before.
“Why are you so scared? There are so many people here. I won’t eat you.
You know, Erika, the way you changed yesterday was so cool. That image is the perfect model in my heart!”
“Let’s talk about that another time.”
Erika curled her lips, instinctively refusing. She couldn’t bear the idea of being stripped and posed as a nude model.
“Why? You clearly promised me yesterday. You can’t go back on your word.”
“Yeah, I promised, but I said ‘in the future,’ right?”
Erika blinked. “Tomorrow is the future, a year is the future, even a century is the future. We’ll talk about it in the future.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Abba abba ababba…”
“Don’t play dumb, you cunning little hatchling!”
“I’m going into the academy now. Thanks for the meat buns, Isana.”
With a cheeky smile at Isana, Erika quickly sped up—grab the food and run.
“What’s the rush?”
Unexpectedly, Isana grabbed her again. “Today is the entrance ceremony. All new students need to gather at a designated location.”
“Where’s the gathering spot?”
“Hmph, I’ll take you.”
Isana raised her brow. Clearly, she wasn’t pleased with Erika’s attitude, but she was still happy to accompany her.
Two stunningly beautiful girls walking across the plaza of Wode Academy immediately drew countless male gazes.
“Look, look—it’s Princess Isana! She’s so beautiful~”
“The girl next to her is beautiful too. Is she royalty as well?”
“You don’t know? She’s Erika—she became famous among the new students yesterday.”
Everyone began whispering about the eye-catching pair.
But none dared to approach—because the silver-haired girl beside Erika was the daughter of the Duke of Daylight. No one dared offend the duke’s daughter.
“What happened to her?”
Some boys who didn’t know about it asked.
“You didn’t hear? Yesterday Andy tried to flirt with her, and guess what? She kicked him in the ‘you know where!’”
“No way—she’s that fierce?”
“Totally. And during the test yesterday, she even broke the crystal ball! Everyone was stunned.”
“What!?”
Breaking a crystal ball meant her magic power had to be overwhelmingly strong.
Most uninformed boys looked shocked.
After all, the crystal balls used for testing were extremely durable and could withstand immense magical power. Ordinary students couldn’t damage them—even many skilled teachers might not be able to.
“Hey, don’t be too surprised. Didn’t you see she’s wearing a bronze badge?”
“Yeah—why? If she could break a crystal ball, she should be pretty powerful, right?”
“The badges are given by Director Vanessa. I think the crystal ball used for her test was already faulty, so it shattered.”
“Yeah... something like that has never happened before. With her petite figure, how could she do it?”
“Right, she even handed in a blank paper yesterday. Must’ve just gotten lucky—arrived just as the ball broke, so Director Vanessa couldn’t grade her properly.”
“Well, she’s still so young. Just getting into Wode Academy is impressive enough.”