Chapter 3: Silas Grey

Alarmed, Catherine quickly raised her head, stunned by the sight of a green-haired young man sitting cross-legged in front of her, holding up his chin with one hand while gazing at her with eyes filled with amusement.

"Silas Grey. A Second Year Student of Siegfried Military Academy." The young man stretched out a hand for a handshake.

"Charon Blair." Catherine hesitantly took his hand, the warm touch of his palm left her entranced for a moment before she regained her senses, her face turning red.

Seeing her shy look, Silas chuckled as he leaned closer, their noses almost touching each other. "What's wrong? Am I giving you butterflies?"

Catherine "..?!"

Her eyes widened as she retreated in an instant, almost pasting herself against the wall.

Help!

She might have met a psychopath!

"Pffft!" Silas laughed. "Just joking. There's no need to be so terrified of me. It really breaks my heart."

Catherine blinked.

"Really..?"

Somehow, she finds that quite hard to believe.

"Really." Silas assured as he stood up, lending her a hand to help her up.

"No need." Catherine refused his offer and stood up by herself, her brows furrowing as she caught sight of her white apparel that had been smudged with dirt.

"Well, allow me." Silas snapped his fingers, effortlessly casting a cleansing spell on the "boy" in front of him and in just a blink of an eye, the little dust rabbit went back to being a little prince of ice and snow once more.

"...Thanks!" Although she could've done it herself.

"Now should I lead you to your room then. Which room was it again?"

"The 107th room on the thirtieth floor's East Wing."

"Really..? Let's go then~"

Catherine "???"

Was it just her or did the other person's tone sounded particularly weird just now?

Oh, forget it. At the very least, she still found someone to lead her there. Even if this person is, by all means, quite suspicious.

Putting her mind at rest, Catherine trailed after him, the sound of her footsteps echoing along the shadowed hallways.

Yes. Hers alone, for the other party walked so silently that it was no wonder she didn't notice him when he approached her earlier at all.

"Um, Senior Grey. Is this castle generally empty or am I just wandering in the wrong place?"

"Just call me Silas. And no. Not at all. It's just that you've arrived much too early. The other second year students are probably still out cold, drooling on their beds while dreaming of good old days. Haha!"

Catherine frowned, a little confused. "But my time table states that training starts at five in the morning. It's already half past seven by now."

"Oh, today's a little special, you see. It's a long awaited rest day that we usually only get twice a month which just happened to coincide with the arrival of the new students this year."

Catherine blinked.

Right. She almost forgot. Unlike other academies, Siegfried Military Academy has this one peculiar yet somewhat reasonable trait...

It DOESN'T give vacations!!!

Only rest days a few times a month and students are not allowed to contact the outside world once they enter the academy unless permitted by the Headmaster himself.

A little over the top yet it also lowers the chances of the Empire's future elites from being corrupted by worldly desires until they graduate three years later, of which by then, they would have already grown into fully fledged adults able to make their own decisions.

"By the way, about what you've said earlier..."

"Hmm? Which one?"

"The one where you said my ancestors were the people who designed this... maze." Catherine pointed out, not mentioning the fact that the other person seemed to know her identity even without her introduction since her silvery-white hair that was obviously a unique trait of the Blair Family had most likely already given her away.

"Oh, that! I suppose it's not surprising for you not to know since information regarding this place is considered one of the top secrets of our empire after all, disclosed only to people who had once and are currently attending the academy."

"I see. But why was it built like this? The overlapping hallways are much too confusing that people could easily get lost within it."

"True. However, you'll get used to it eventually as long as you spend enough time here." Silas shrugged his shoulders as he continued leading the way. "On that note, I might as well tell you, for fear of you getting the wrong impression that your ancestors were either not quite right in the head or much too playful so as to play such childish pranks on the students residing here."

"As a matter of fact, this place was not designed so much as a maze but a magical formation instead. You see, it's not just because of isolation that the academy was built in the outskirts of the capital instead of within it but also because underneath this seemingly old gray fortress lies the body of an evil dragon that had once been slayed and sealed by the First Saintess more than ten thousand years ago."

"...An evil dragon? I've never heard of this, although I have once read about the Founding Emperor of our empire having descended from the lineage of the First Saintess herself."

Hearing her words, Silas curled his lips into a bright smile as he turned his head to face her, yet that very same smile sent a chill down Catherine's spine. "Hardly a surprise, since after all... not everything can be written down in history. Wouldn't you say so as well?"

Catherine pursed her lips. As rebellious as his words may seem, it was an undeniable truth.

In the long course of history, many events may be forgotten. Or perhaps, even rewritten...

Mostly to cover up facts in order to whitewash the reputation of those in power.

The loser is a thief while the winner is king. As long as you climb high enough, it wouldn't matter how you got there. Even if it meant having resorted to sinister and malevolent ways, after all dust settles down, the end will naturally justify the means.

"Ah, why am talking about such heavy topics anyway? Hopefully, I didn't scare you away with my outspoken personality."

"It's fine." Catherine shrugged. "I don't really mind it that much, although I do hope you won't speak of such rebellious words in front of people so openly in the future. You'll end up miserable otherwise." After all, most nobles aren't exactly clean.

"Right. I forgot to ask you which noble family you hailed from. The surname Grey doesn't exactly ring a bell."

Silas chuckled, "My apologies, for I might have given you the wrong impression. Although my exceptional appearance might suggest so, I am in fact far from being a noble. Just a lowly commoner especially recruited by the academy due to my outstanding talent in magic and swordsmanship."

"Is that so?" Catherine highly doubted it.

"That's right. And I might as well tell you that I am the only family I have to speak of. With much wealth at home, a handsome appearance, unlimited prospects, and don't come with in-laws. A free man, by all words. The best groom to marry these days."

Catherine "..."