Chapter 11: Once Upon a Time

Entering the courtyard, the silence of the night made the rustling of leaves in the wind sound clear.

If it were the afternoon, this would have been the best white noise for a nap, but now Lyr had no desire to sleep at all.

His eyes were already a bit tired, but his mind showed no sign of drifting off.

Sitting on the bench, Lyr took a deep breath. Cold air entered his lungs, and the chill spread from his chest throughout his body.

When he exhaled again, Lyr stared blankly at the empty space in front of him.

He had often come here long ago. While he seemed playful on the surface, at his core, he enjoyed the atmosphere of quiet and solitude.

Sometimes he even felt that the persona he showed the world was just a mask.

As long as he was in front of outsiders, he habitually adopted that casual, carefree posture.

Only when he was alone did he become different.

His thoughts drifted, and images from his childhood surged in his mind.

At that time, strange ideas always filled his head.

Moreover, those ideas had specific images in his mind, which had once made him wonder if he had come from another world.

It was a world completely opposite to this one, with no Magic, but with development no less advanced than the world he saw now.

‘A different world?’

‘Probably, just like in all those webnovels.’

At that time, Lyr had believed that world was reality and had remained constantly immersed in it.

That was why Lulong had said that back at the Academy, he was considered a slightly special child who possessed many wild fantasies.

As he grew up, Lyr gradually realized that it might really have just been a fantasy.

It was like every little boy who, after reading a storybook, became obsessed with it, unable to accurately distinguish between fantasy and reality, and feeling like he was the hero of the story.

It was nothing more than a child’s imagination.

Pulling these thoughts back, Lyr raised his hand to rub the bridge of his nose.

Tossing and turning without falling asleep had caused a dull ache between his brows.

“I still can’t believe it. I’m actually going to be a Teacher at the Academy. They really are something, not even asking for my thoughts.”

Lyr felt a sense of not being respected.

Although nobles would arrange the futures of their offspring perfectly, Lyr hated it.

He was someone who disliked being restrained.

‘Maybe I should just disappear tomorrow. That way, the Academy won’t be able to do anything to me.’

‘No, no, that way the Geno Clan won’t be able to explain it to the Academy, and it would be hard to answer to His Majesty, as well.’

‘But how do I act like a Teacher? I have no idea. This is clearly being forced into it.’

‘If I don’t do a good job, it’ll be incredibly embarrassing.’

An internal battle raged; Lyr’s mind was split into two sides, constantly fighting.

The Geno Clan had given him everything, and he knew that one day he would have to take on the corresponding responsibilities.

He just hadn’t expected it to come in this form, which truly left him at a loss.

In the end, Lyr felt he was just worrying over nothing and looking for trouble.

This trouble was partly his own fault; if he had explicitly refused at the time, regardless of the occasion, this wouldn’t be happening.

But thinking about it, Lulong hadn’t given him that chance.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became, and at this moment, Lyr simply accepted his fate.

Escaping was now impossible. He could only do as he thought — find a time to explain everything to Lulong.

If that didn’t work, and if he did a poor job, the Academy wouldn’t keep him around. At least, that was what he hoped.

Finally letting out a sigh, Lyr glanced at the sky. It was already very late. If he didn’t sleep now, he might really have no time left to rest.

‘Even if I can’t sleep, I should go back and lie down.’

With a heavy heart, Lyr followed the stone path back toward the house.

When he reached the door, before Lyr could even get close, he saw a flickering candlelight, as if expressing the mood of the person holding it.

Lyr stopped and rubbed his eyes. With the help of the firelight, he saw clearly that the person standing there was none other than Tif, wearing pajamas with a simple jacket thrown over them.

“Where did you go?”

Before Lyr could speak, Tif spoke first. Her voice was much softer than it had been during the day.

Lyr scratched his head and gave an awkward smile. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came out for some fresh air. Did I wake you up?”

“Is that really so?” Tif narrowed her eyes.

Since Lyr graduated from the Academy, joined the Knights, and traveled to the Frontier, the time he had spent at home added up to very little.

However, she still knew her brother quite well.

Playing dumb was not something her brother was good at, just like now.

Earlier, when she was in the house, the maids wouldn’t have been up this early. Hearing movement in the hallway, she had come out to look and immediately saw Lyr scratching his head, walking out of the house with a look of annoyance.

Whether out of worry or concern, Tif had come out with her jacket on and had been waiting at the door.

“Is something bothering you?” Tif asked.

Like an arrow hitting a bullseye, the awkward smile on Lyr’s face slowly faded. “A little bit, I suppose.”

He was wondering whether to tell Tif about his situation.

“If you need to, you can tell me. I can try to think of a solution for you.” Tif’s tone was very calm, as if she could handle anything.

“It’s nothing, really.”

Lyr really didn’t want to bring the same trouble to Tif when he was so bothered by it himself.

“Fine, as you wish.” Tif regained her coldness, turned around, and prepared to enter the house.

Even if her temper were better, after asking several questions without receiving a single proper answer, she didn’t really want to show Lyr any more grace.

This was the one thing she disliked about her brother — he always treated her like a child.

“Um… Tif.”

“Yes?”

The firelight reflected on Tif’s profile as she turned around. In her line of sight, Lyr put his hand to his cheek and scratched it with his finger.

“I don’t have much to do now that I’m back. Tell me, if I were to become a Teacher, what would you think?”

Tif tilted her head, not understanding what kind of nerve Lyr was twitching to ask such a question out of nowhere.

Even so, Tif thought about it seriously.

“If you really were to become a Teacher, I think you’d be quite suitable, Brother.”

“Eh? Why?”

Lyr was incredibly surprised by such a definitive answer.

“At least from my perspective, you are quite patient with everyone. As for a sense of responsibility — it’s so-so — but for being a Teacher, it should be fine.”

After saying all this, Tif unconsciously imagined Lyr holding a textbook and acting scholarly, and she couldn’t help but curl the corners of her mouth.

That look of Lyr’s should be quite interesting.

Making her restless brother become so steady was amusing no matter how she thought about it.

She didn’t let Lyr see her smile and quickly turned her head, walking inside.

“Get some rest soon. It’s already late.”

Watching Tif’s retreating back, Lyr smiled to himself as well. Thinking back, when he used to go to the Academy, Tif often waited for him at the door like this.

This girl didn’t seem to have changed much.