Chapter 31: When the Arena Turned Silent

The two of them headed upward.

The path, once narrow like a foot trail, widened and the trees thinned.

Sunlight, once blocked by shadows, poured down brilliantly.

After climbing uphill for a bit, they reached level ground, and soon, an emblem indicating the riding grounds appeared and the path became even wider.

As they turned to the right, a broad riding arena hidden within the woods revealed itself.

From the academy’s main entrance or the outside, one would never guess there was a riding ground here.

During the Empire’s war, it was said that soldiers were secretly trained here—add a few magic barriers and it would be completely concealed.

Since Evan had come all the way here, there should have been at least one person who would rush out barefoot to greet him, even if he tried to stop them.

But no one came running.

“They’re gathered over there.”

At the spot Evan pointed to, a crowd of students, each wearing the red tie symbolic of first-years, was gathered in a noisy group.

There were more than he expected.

From the thick dust in the air, it seemed they were watching a riding demonstration.

The students were so focused on the horseman making half a lap around the riding grounds and returning that they hadn’t noticed Evan’s arrival.

“A bit disappointing. Not a single greeting.”

“You always said you disliked that sort of thing, didn’t you?”

As Hawkins gave a playful jab, Evan merely shrugged.

Among the gathered students, a familiar face appeared.

It was strange that he hadn’t noticed her right away—once he saw her, he couldn’t look away.

Cecilia was there.

Cecilia, her long blue hair flowing down, her eyes sparkling.

“I didn’t know she was interested in horses.”

“Whom do you mean?”

Following Evan’s gaze, Hawkins swallowed a gasp.

He’d only seen her profile, yet his heart was pounding so much.

Since the day Hawkins’s world had been consumed in ashes, no one had entered his heart.

But now, here she was.

“Riana is here, too.”

The sound of horse hooves grew closer.

There were only seven horses, yet the sound was powerful enough to make the ground tremble.

A mane of rich, golden-brown hair caught his eye.

It was the wind.

The golden-brown hair, blowing in the breeze, drifted across Cecilia’s face and captured Evan’s attention.

Unconsciously, Evan found himself staring intently at Riana’s face.

She looked full of life.

When he’d met her by chance on the forest path to the main building, she’d worn a troubled expression.

When he offered to help, she refused repeatedly, yet she’d dared to leave her belongings with him, the Crown Prince, and walked off—he’d found it so amusing.

Thinking back on it made him smile again.

And when he’d visited her class? She was napping with her head down.

He doubted she was really asleep.

Perhaps she disliked noisy places—she seemed to avoid him, which was rather entertaining.

She was different again when he’d seen her in the capital.

It must have been a threatening situation, yet she acted calmly.

She seemed to possess a maturity and composure uncommon for someone her age.

When she was with her own people, she smiled like a young girl.

But all Evan had ever seen was her mask-like smile and her politeness.

Perhaps he’d glimpsed her real face when he’d teased her deliberately, but even that had only lasted a moment.

Was it because she was a noble lady?

If that were so, then Margareta was also a noble, yet she was entirely different.

At any rate, for the first time in a while, Evan felt that life at the academy might become interesting again.

“Wow!”

“It’s coming, it’s coming!”

For Evan, who had lately found Cecilia and Riana interesting, this was a delight.

He intended to approach them once the riding demonstration was over, so he watched leisurely.

Yet, a strange feeling crept over him.

The ground seemed to tremble—he’d felt this sort of energy before.

It was that mysterious, vibrant force he’d felt the moment a spirit was born.

“Kyaaaa!”

“What’s happening!”

“Stop!”

The accident happened in an instant.

Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of life exploded outward.

The moment Evan focused on that inexplicable vitality, the screams of the first-year students and the urgent voices of the riders overlapped in a chaotic din.

“Lady Cecilia—!”

Hawkins, pale as a ghost, shot forward like an arrow.

The horses all bolted at once.

Dust swept over the students watching, and coughing could be heard all around.

Evan also covered his mouth, coughing as he inhaled the dust.

The wild neighing of horses and the urgent thundering of hooves terrified the first-year students.

They were noble children who had never experienced anything like this up close.

The horses that couldn’t control their speed only stopped after a considerable distance.

“A-are you all right?!”

A panicked voice rang out loudly, but none of the students were listening to Paul.

Suddenly, Evan felt a hot surge run beneath his feet.

Startled, he checked the ground, but there was only well-tended grass.

Even though the sensation was familiar, he couldn’t be sure.

“Lady Cecilia! Are you hurt anywhere?!”

Hawkins’s strained voice rang out clearly.

Evan, who had been captivated by the intense energy, finally approached the commotion.

It was clear a serious accident had occurred.

He thought that if he hadn’t been distracted by the intense force, he might have been able to prevent it.

Evan strode over.

The first-year students were fidgeting anxiously, gathered in a circle.

“See! I told you it was dangerous! Just because there haven’t been any accidents before doesn’t mean it’ll always be that way! What was the name of the person introduced earlier? Pool? Paul?! I’m going to complain to the principal!”

Natalie’s sharp voice rang out.

The dust was so thick that coughing could be heard everywhere.

As Evan approached, the first-years parted in surprise to let him through.

Even amidst the chaos, greetings directed at Evan could be heard.

He ignored them and moved closer to the track where the accident had happened.

“How did this happen…”

“Did someone run out in front of the horse?”

“That couldn’t be, could it?”

“Maybe someone pushed her from behind?”

“No, I don’t think so. We did move forward to get a better look, but we were still far from the track.”

Nervous voices speculated about the accident.

“I knew something like this would happen!”

“Natalie, be quiet. This isn’t the time.”

There were also voices, tense with excitement.

Natalie swept back her bright yellow hair and stamped her foot in frustration.

A boy who looked just like her, probably her twin, seemed to be trying to calm her down.

If it had been before the horses started running, all eyes would have been on the twins, but now, everyone’s attention was focused on Riana and Cecilia, who appeared to be in shock.

As the thick dust slowly settled, Evan could see Riana collapsed in someone’s arms.

The man holding her had cold sweat beading on his brow, as if he’d caught her as she fell.

He was a man with jet-black hair, rare in the Empire.

Riana’s bright golden-brown hair draped over his arms made his own hair look even darker.

“Riana?”

“What do we do, Riana… what do we do…!”

Cecilia’s tearful voice was like a needle pricking at his head.

She was sitting beside Riana, leaning against Hawkins.

She was so frightened that her whole body trembled pitifully.

“How did His Highness come to be here?”

“Shouldn’t we fetch a professor?”

“We shouldn’t have come!”

“Your Highness!”

A female student wearing a red tie staggered toward Evan.

Evan took a step back from her.

“Help her up.”

He entrusted the girl who had approached him to a nearby male student and surveyed the scene.

With the dust settled, the area was now visible.

The soft dirt of the riding grounds was deeply rutted in places where the horses had been forced to stop abruptly, and far off in the distance, seven horses were still snorting and pawing at the ground, unable to calm down.

A tall young man from over there was running over quickly, his face pale as a sheet.

Evan, noticing his expression, addressed the frozen first-years.

“Everyone, calm down.”

At Evan’s firm voice, the students who had been chattering fell silent and turned to look at the collapsed Riana.

Even with Evan’s warning, he couldn’t stop the low murmuring altogether.

“Hawkins. What happened?”

“Evan!”

Cecilia, who had been resting her head on Hawkins’s shoulder, repeatedly calling Riana’s name, snapped her head up.

Evan met Cecilia’s gaze head-on.

Tears that had been trembling in Cecilia’s eyes spilled out all at once.

Her face was flushed red, and she called Riana’s name so desperately she seemed ready to faint.

“Evan, Riana… Riana…”

“Lady Cecilia, she’ll be all right.”

Daisy, wearing an anxious expression, comforted Riana.

She sprang up to greet Evan, but he didn’t seem to notice, speaking instead to Cecilia.

Daisy, cheeks flushed, moved aside.

Even as she’d tried to comfort Cecilia, the girl clung only to Hawkins.

“She’s shaking so much.”

Evan knelt beside Cecilia and draped his own cape over her shoulders.

Once the deep green cape was wrapped around her, Cecilia seemed to calm a little.

As he comforted her, Evan finally looked at Riana.

Her earlier vibrancy had vanished—Riana lay pale and limp in Maon’s arms.

Maon, even as Cecilia wept and Evan and Hawkins approached, didn’t move an inch, his attention wholly on her.

He checked Riana’s breathing, then her pulse.

“What’s he doing?”

Evan’s question was completely ignored.

But Evan didn’t press further and simply waited.

The cold sweat on Maon’s forehead was evidence enough that he had saved her.

“E-everyone, p-please calm down!”

Paul’s voice rang out especially loud and clear.

It was as if the hush that followed a major accident still hung over them.

No one dared speak, but when Paul broke the silence, the students began talking again.

“T-the C-crown Prince, Y-Your Highness!”

“I’m just a student here.”

Paul, who had been rushing to the fallen Riana, froze in place when he saw Evan.

His stammering voice quivered like a leaf.

Evan’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s His Highness?!”

“Stop.”

It was Natalie’s twin brother, Anthony, who grabbed her arm as she tried to rush forward.

He wore a slightly bored expression as he gripped her wrist tightly.

“What are you doing! Let me go!”

Natalie growled in a low voice.

But no matter how much she shook her arm, Anthony didn’t budge.

Startled by Evan’s reply, Paul finally noticed Riana lying in Maon’s arms.

“I-is she hurt anywhere?!”

Paul asked almost accusatorily.

At his question, Maon nodded.

“Th-thank goodness, that was almost a disaster. Did you save her?”

Paul hovered around Maon.