Kapitel 50: [Chapter 50] The Exam Paper is Gone
A man in his mid-20s, clearly not a student, was coming down the stairs.
The girl hiding in the darkness, pressed against the wooden wall, was completely unnoticed by him.
Without changing his pace, he walked down the stairs and left the dormitory.
Neris knew his face.
Her heart suddenly felt hot. How could she forget that face?!
In her previous life, he was the one who had helped Yustas Grunevald kidnap her and had shown her an opening to escape!
He was the one who had given her a drugged tea and dragged her around during the kidnapping!
His name was... Ah.
"Simon! Tie up this girl's hands. You dare to take the lady's place?"
"Hey, Simon. What do we do next?"
'Simon was his name.'
Yustas had called him that. Since Simon sometimes seemed to be in charge during the kidnapping, he was probably a high-ranking servant of the Grunevald family.
He didn't seem close to Yustas, so he was probably one of Natasha's people.
Compared to back then, he looked more than 10 years younger now, but his face was still deeply etched in her memory.
Unlike children, adults don't change much with time, so she didn't think she had misrecognized him.
Yustas Grunevald was currently attending the academy, but he had never met Neris. Natasha didn't need to send her servant to Neris suddenly.
What was Simon doing here, anyway? And at this hour?
Was there another poor student in this building who had caught the attention of the Grunevald siblings?
Neris thought deeply and quietly went up the dormitory stairs. She entered her room and closed the door behind her.
The room was as tidy as when she had left. There was nothing out of place.
She had already been unpleasantly awakened. Neris searched every corner of her bed, desk drawer, and bookshelf.
The word "obsessive-compulsive disorder" crossed her mind, but for some reason, Simon's presence was bothering her.
Neris, who had lived in this dormitory for a long time, knew the other residents well. There was no one who could resist the influence of the Grunevald siblings.
Had her encounter with Simon given Natasha some inspiration?
Neris hoped that Natasha would be wary of Megara from the start.
So, she had deliberately met Natasha earlier, using the schedules of the student council members she had seen during her punishment with Nellurion, and had warned her with a smirk. Was something wrong with that?
Had Neris's attempt to save Cladwin and send Joseph away caught someone's attention?
Currently, Abelrus and Natasha were in a passionate relationship.
It was possible that Natasha had sent Simon to Abelrus's request, and he had searched Neris's room for a connection between Neris and Cladwin.
Neris was not a fool, and she had burned the letter Cladwin had sent her a long time ago. However, there might be other evidence left behind.
She focused on searching the room for any signs of an outsider's careful touch.
The bed, desk drawer, and bookshelf were fine. Nothing seemed to be missing or out of place. However, there was one place that caught her attention.
It was the bed mattress.
Everyone had their own preference for arranging the bed sheets.
Neris usually folded the sheets neatly and pushed them under the mattress, but now the sheet was carelessly stuffed under the mattress.
It looked like someone had lifted the mattress, put it back down, and restored it to its original state.
Normally, the difference in the sheet's appearance would be negligible, but in this situation, even a small change had to be checked.
Neris didn't trust the old dormitory's flimsy locking system.
She could open any door in the building, including her own, with just a few hairpins.
Neris pushed the mattress up with force.
"Ah."
Between the mattress and the bed frame, in a place that was normally invisible, there was a brown envelope.
Neris laughed wryly, pulled out the envelope, and restored the mattress and sheets to their original state. Then, she opened the envelope and looked at its contents.
[1st-year Social Studies Midterm Exam]
It was the exam paper, prepared for the upcoming midterm exam.
***
Before the earliest class at the academy, the student council members, who were having breakfast with sleepy eyes, received a sudden summons.
The students who were part of the student council were all from famous families, so they didn't eat in the student cafeteria but instead had their servants prepare food in their dormitory rooms.
As a result, it took some time for everyone to gather.
Natasha, who had to come without even fixing her hair, glared at her late-arriving juniors. The young high-noble students who did odd jobs in the student council executive department were intimidated by her fierce gaze.
The tense atmosphere in the student council room was broken when Abelrus and Nellurion entered.
Natasha, seeing Abelrus, quickly composed herself and put on a light smile.
Abelrus, who had a bird's nest on his head, yawned widely and sat down at his desk, his mouth still open. Natasha and Nellurion stood on either side of him, as if guarding him.
With tears in his eyes from yawning, Abelrus said lazily.
"The exam questions for Shelden's class are gone."
The solemn silence in the student council room suddenly became tense.
The student council members exchanged glances, and Natasha asked sweetly.
"When did it happen? This morning, Your Highness?"
"Between last night and this morning. According to Shelden, he checked the questions before the 1st-year supplementary class last night, so they were definitely there then."
Nellurion followed Abelrus's explanation, detailing the situation.
The stolen item was the 1st-year midterm exam questions. The time of discovery was this morning. The first person to discover it was a servant who was cleaning the hallway, who reported that the office's lock was twisted open.
When Nellurion finished explaining, Abelrus leaned his elbows on the desk, put his chin in his hands, and smiled ominously.
"This 1st-year class is really something. They never have a quiet day, huh?"
It was a true statement. The student council members, who were practically in charge of running the school, had received reports on all the big and small troubles, from Anagrid Nadine's daring theft to the fight between Rianon Berta and Alekto Israni.
But even they had never seen freshmen who caused problems nonstop from the beginning of the semester.
"Your Highness."
Natasha asked Abelrus in a sweet tone.
"Should we gather all the 1st-years?"
"I'm thinking about it, Tashi. If we call them to the student council right away, the culprit will naturally destroy the evidence and not come."
That was true. This was not like the minor theft of valuables that Anagrid Nadine had committed.
It was an act that ignored the academy's founding ideology of "aspiration" and fundamentally destroyed the grading system. If the culprit was caught, the punishment would be very severe.
As the student council members exchanged glances, disapproving of the unknown, arrogant 1st-year student, there was a knock at the student council room door.
"Who is it?"
The student council member closest to the door asked. A young girl's thin, lovely voice came from outside.
"It's Megara Rikeandros. May I come in?"
Abelrus gestured lazily with his chin, annoyed by the early morning visit from a kid.
"Open it."
The lowest-ranking student council member opened the door. But it wasn't just one person who entered. Megara, her servant, Idalia Kendal, and her servant all came in.
It was natural that these young, noble ladies wouldn't be out alone at this early hour.
The usual attendants of noble ladies were their close maids, but since it was early in the morning, they had brought their servants instead. The lowest-ranking member sent the two servants out and closed the door again.
Abelrus looked at Megara, who was approaching him cautiously, and Idalia, who was hiding behind her, with a bored expression.
The two girls were dressed strangely. No matter how you looked at it, they seemed to be wearing a gown over their nightclothes. It was an outfit that a high-noble lady would never choose to wear when going out.
"What's going on?" Abelrus asked, his eyes fixed on Megara.
Nellurion, who had been watching the scene, asked kindly, "What's wrong?"
Idalia, who had been looking down, avoiding the gaze of the upperclassmen, looked up at Nellurion's voice. Megara's eyes sparkled as she replied.
"I was having breakfast when I heard something shocking, so I came right away. I was worried that I might be disturbing you, but... I thought you should know."
"What is it?" Abelrus asked, his interest piqued.
"Uh..."
Megara looked away from Nellurion and glanced at Abelrus. Abelrus felt a slight improvement in his mood.
Even though Abelrus liked beautiful women, Megara Rikeandros was still too young. So, it wasn't that he was excited in that way.
But it was unusual for a girl, especially a young one, to look at Abelrus first in a situation like this, rather than Nellurion, who was known for his good looks and kindness.
As the crown prince, Abelrus was used to being the center of attention, but he couldn't help feeling a little annoyed that Nellurion was so popular, even among the young girls.
Megara was not only clever but also had a good eye for people. She seemed to have recognized Abelrus as the more reliable and dignified one.
"Go on, Megara. If you want to tell me something, go ahead."
Abelrus encouraged her, his expression softening. Megara blinked her bright purple eyes and looked up at Abelrus with a pitiful expression.
She lowered her voice, as if sharing a great secret, and covered her mouth with her hand.
"I heard that the exam paper went missing last night. I think I know who did it."
The student council members' faces showed different reactions.
Nellurion stared at Megara with an unreadable expression, Natasha raised an eyebrow, and Abelrus tilted his chin slightly.
"Who is it?"
"It's a bit awkward to say this about a classmate, but the situation is serious, so I think it's better to say it."
Despite Megara's words, no one believed her.
What's the point of rushing in here in the morning to make an accusation? Nellurion seemed to know who Megara would accuse. His gentle smile stiffened slightly.
Megara spoke with an expression of deep regret.
"Neris Trud."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein