“Is this your Identity Card?”
Alona held the card labeled “Herya Serafina” and blocked Herya outside the door with Liana.
They had been waiting there for a long time just to catch this person with the fake identity.
Liana had gone home specifically to ask her parents.
Their surname was unique in the entire Kingdom of Magic.
All the side branches had died out, leaving only their lineage.
There was simply no such person as Herya Serafina.
“Did you find it?! Thank you…”
Herya reached out to take it back, only to find that Alona was gripping the card tightly, with no intention of returning it.
“Who sent you?”
“What are you talking about…”
Herya clenched her fists, her body trembling involuntarily.
Her identity seemed to have been exposed, but why? Just because of an Identity Card?
Don’t be ridiculous!
The Control Collar around her neck seemed to be getting tighter, making it difficult for Herya to breathe.
She could only lean against the wall, clutching the collar.
‘Have I been abandoned?’
Herya bit her lower lip as if she had made a major decision.
“I’ll fight you!”
A cornered dog will jump over a wall, and a cornered rabbit will bite.
Herya took a deep breath and charged into Alona.
The scene she imagined—knocking Alona over and escaping—did not happen.
Alona stood as still as a wall. It made sense; Herya had been malnourished for a long time.
How could she compete with an honest peasant like Alona, who worked hard every day?
Falling to the ground, Herya grabbed a handful of dust and threw it into the faces of the two girls in front of her.
“My eyes!”
Liana cried out, squatting down to rub her eyes. Alona, however, did not fall for the trick.
The moment the dust flew, she shut her eyes and grabbed Herya just as she tried to flee.
Herya was now suffocating from the collar’s grip.
In the Basement, the collar was used to restrict her magic, but at the Academy, it served as a powerful tool to prevent her from betraying them or running away.
“Are you okay?”
Herya’s complexion looked wrong.
Driven by her own kindness, Alona checked on the suspicious figure, even though she had originally intended to hand her over to the guards.
Alona let go of Herya, and the girl was finally able to breathe freely.
‘What exactly is the detection mechanism of this collar?’
Herya didn’t know. Perhaps they had given her a defective product.
She was just a slave; if she died, they could just buy another.
“Thank you…”
“Why are you thanking me? We still have questions for you.”
The collar tightened again.
“A lot of strange things have been happening at the Academy lately. Liana, did you know? The Imperial Palace sent many knights and soldiers to our Academy.”
“Why bring that up all of a sudden?”
Alona glanced at Herya and the collar on her neck from the corner of her eye.
During the struggle just now, the collar had been exposed.
‘As I thought, as long as I pretend to be chatting with someone else, this collar won’t trigger.’
“Maybe someone in the Academy knows a lot about this, right, Liana?”
“What kind of nonsense are you talking now?”
Herya nodded.
‘Can I pass information this way?’
Alona felt like she was a genius.
News of what was happening in the Academy had already spread everywhere.
This imposter definitely had something to do with it.
“Um… Alona, am I seeing things? That person looks like the one who kabedon-ed the Empress earlier.”
While Alona was still thinking about how to communicate safely with Herya, Liana suddenly tapped her.
Alona looked in the direction Liana was pointing.
The crowd had been dispersed, and a woman riding a Black Unicorn was leading a large group of knights toward the Academy entrance.
“A Black Unicorn… No way, that pervert really is the Demon King.”
Daphne’s ears were very sharp. Even the smallest sound could be heard clearly.
Thus, Alona’s voice naturally reached her ears.
The Demon King turned her head toward that familiar corner and scrutinized Herya, who was shrinking against the wall.
“Demon King!”
Freyja and Catherine knelt on one knee before the Demon King’s horse.
They had arrived at the Academy early to start a carpet search, trying their best not to interfere with the students’ regular classes.
“Rise. Well? Did you find anything?”
“We caught one or two Cultists who didn’t get the message and didn’t have time to retreat, but they all committed suicide. We couldn’t get any useful information.”
“I see… It’s fine. Continue the search.”
Originally, the Demon King didn’t want to disrupt the Academy’s operations, but with such a large time bomb buried inside, things had become urgent.
It had to be dealt with quickly.
“Everyone! I am the King of the Magic Kingdom, Demon King Denif Weer Sephalu! There are rebels lurking within the Magic Academy. We need to conduct a thorough search, so classes are suspended for one day! Please tell one another! Leave immediately! Anyone remaining in the Academy after 1 hour will be regarded as a rebel!”
As soon as she said this, the students cheered and left the Academy.
The Demon King had thought they would be dissatisfied, but now she realized they were actually very happy.
“Alona! Alona! Did you hear that? We have the day off!”
Alona wasn’t as happy. She looked at Herya, who was huddled in the corner.
This girl must be one of the rebels the Demon King mentioned.
Herya’s heart had already sunk. The Demon King actually knew there were spies in the Academy.
The others had probably escaped already.
Cannon fodder like her always received the evacuation notice last.
‘It looks like I’m definitely going to die here.’
The Kingdom hated traitors and spies the most.
Now, Herya’s only wish was for a quick death.
If it weren’t for these two blocking her path, she would have escaped long ago!
Yet, Herya couldn’t bring herself to hate Alona.
Seeing her punished by the collar, Alona had actually tried to find another way to save her.
‘To meet such a kind person right before a total defeat… just like that man who was killed.’
“Psst—psst—”
“Alona… come here…”
Alona felt like she was hallucinating.
She thought she heard the Empress’s voice.
“Over here, hurry up.”
Sephine was hiding behind a corner, showing only her head.
She was wearing a cloak made of coarse burlap, though Alona didn’t know where she had found it.
It covered her body, preventing her from being recognized.
“Empress, have you gained weight?”