“Still, it’s not that bad. Maybe he hates you, the princess, more than he hates me. After all, everyone resents the rich—especially when your family is so wealthy. Maybe some royal relative offended him. We need to be extra careful.”
“But…”
He paused for a moment, his brow furrowing in thought.
“What is it?”
“As long as we don’t give him the chance to torture us, even if we lose in the end, he’ll probably die from anger.”
“Pfft… true.”
Isabella couldn’t help but bend slightly forward, covering her mouth as she laughed softly.
For some reason, being with Ailundun always gave her a sense of natural joy.
The way he said nonsense with a completely serious face was genuinely funny.
This was something she had never experienced with Leisha.
Maybe it was because Ailundun himself gave off an inexplicably relaxed and humorous feeling.
“So, what do we do next?”
“Let’s have Leisha stay here with you. There isn’t much time left. Luofulei and I will go check the surroundings. Taking the initiative is better than waiting here to be attacked.”
After a moment of thought, Ailundun made the decision.
“Alright, let’s do that. There are only twelve minutes left. We just need to stall until the end.”
Isabella nodded.
After this examination was over, she would report the unexpected situation to the teachers at the Weierdun Empire Academy.
Across the campfire, Luofulei watched the relaxed figures of the two under the firelight.
She was slightly stunned and remained silent.
She had wanted to discuss the next combat plan with Ailundun several times, but each time she opened her mouth, she couldn’t find the right words.
It felt like… she couldn’t insert herself into their conversation.
That feeling was familiar.
It was the same feeling she once had in the Lei-yadon family.
She thought she had long since become used to it after years of wandering.
But for some reason, a faint irritation rose in her heart again.
“Damn Lami’er…”
In the end, she could only attribute that emotion to Lami’er.
When Ailundun walked over to her, she stood up, lowered her head slightly, and fell silent for a moment.
Then the two of them walked toward the nearby area, preparing to use detection magic to locate Lami’er first.
Not far away.
Lami’er gradually shifted from a phantom state back into solid form, his expression dark.
Resurrection?
Of course not.
No one could survive that kind of damage.
The only reason he was still here was the mechanism of the artificial secret realm.
In this system, examiners do not truly die inside the secret realm.
Once defeated by candidates, the exam is automatically marked as cleared.
Normally, the examiner is defeated, the exam ends, a notification is sent, and the examiner is teleported out.
But there was a loophole.
The exam-end notification only triggered when the examiner remained in a defeated state.
If the examiner forcibly continued acting after revival…
The system would not intervene.
Because when it was designed, no one expected an examiner to be this shameless.
Yes.
Lami’er admitted it.
He was desperate.
Being tortured like this, as a teacher of the Weierdun Empire Academy, he was the first.
Any hope of evaluation awards was already gone.
No one would give an award to a fourth-tier examiner who was beaten this badly by candidates.
Even if they did, he couldn’t bear the humiliation of seeing his record broadcast publicly.
So he had decided.
If he couldn’t win, at least he would make them suffer a little before ending it.
This time… he would count it as his loss.
Afterwards, he would give them high exam scores so they could all pass smoothly.
As for the dean… he hadn’t decided yet.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed the thought away.
Earlier, he had checked his original body—it had been burned almost into charcoal.
These candidates had shown no mercy.
Especially that Ailundun.
He still couldn’t understand how someone could calmly suggest hitting his corpse a few more times.
That man was a monster.
But now, there was nothing more to say.
In the last fifteen minutes, he would teach them what respect meant.
The real exam… was only beginning.
“Someone really can’t accept losing…”
From behind the village, those words reached his ears, making his already dark expression even worse.
He gathered magic power throughout his body, letting it surge like a tide.
Without hesitation, he emerged from the shadows and threw a poisoned dagger toward the campfire group.
A weapon taken from his own corpse.
Using their own methods against them.
Then he vanished again into the shadows.
The dagger tore through the air, aiming straight for Isabella’s neck.
“Your Highness!”
Leisha reacted first.
Her body moved instantly, driven by her knight instincts.
Without hesitation, she rushed forward and shielded Isabella tightly.
“Leisha?!”
Isabella’s eyes widened as she felt herself pulled into Leisha’s embrace.
A faint blush appeared on her face.
Only when blood splattered from the dagger grazing Leisha’s arm did she regain her senses and quickly support her.
“I’m fine, Your Highness.”
Leisha stood back up slowly, clutching her injured arm.
Fortunately, the wound was shallow and the poison had not spread deeply.
“That bastard… always hiding…”
Isabella frowned, trying to locate Lami’er, but found nothing.
“I’ll try again.”
She closed her eyes and expanded her magical perception—but still detected nothing.
No trace.
No fluctuation.
“He’s completely disappeared…”
Leisha said quietly, enduring the pain.
“Don’t force yourself…”
Isabella said worriedly.
“I’m fine. I will protect you, Your Highness.”
Leisha said firmly, her eyes unwavering.
Isabella froze slightly.
For some reason, remembering what Ailundun had said earlier, her face warmed slightly.
Time remaining: 10 minutes.
Elsewhere.
Lami’er locked onto Ailundun and Luofulei as they moved away.
Compared to the princess and that reckless knight, he hated this pair more.
He had limited time.
He needed to choose his targets carefully.
Ailundun noticed Luofulei seemed uneasy.
So he decided to say something to ease her mind.
“Lami’er isn’t nearby…”
Luofulei shook her head, her voice slightly tense.
“Let’s go back.”
“That’s probably not a good idea right now.”
Ailundun replied calmly.
“Why?”
“Because Leisha and Isabella are still over there.”
“Then why did you leave them there?”
Luofulei frowned slightly.
“Because they have a good relationship.”
Ailundun answered seriously.
“A good relationship?”
Luofulei tilted her head slightly, confused.
Ailundun leaned closer to her ear and lowered his voice.
“Shh, Luofulei. This is a royal secret. Don’t spread it.”
Luofulei froze.
“What is it?”
Ailundun whispered:
“Actually… they’re lesbians.”
“…Huh?”
Luofulei’s mind blanked for a moment.
Her eyes widened as she turned to stare at Ailundun, trying to confirm whether he was joking.
But he looked completely serious.
“Uh…”
The words stuck in her throat, and she looked away awkwardly.
Even so, she was deeply shocked by this “secret.”
“The princess… is actually…?”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes. So it’s better not to disturb them.”
“Huh…”
Luofulei felt her mind short-circuit slightly.
But strangely, her irritation faded a little.
“So… you’ve been trying to match them up?”
“Yes. An ideal couple. Don’t you think that’s something sacred?”
Luofulei lowered her head slightly, her hair swaying.
For some reason, her mood actually improved a little.