The Academy

It was already the second time Kalliope had dined with the duke. Now, she wondered if she was starting to integrate herself with this family. It was a rather peculiar feeling when she thought about it.

She hated the humans on Earth. Though they might not be the murderer of her parents, their predecessors did and the blood of a sinner should run in their veins. Yet, here she was, sitting amiably on the other side of the duke across the duchess while a sumptuous feast spread on the dining table.

Did she find this tedious? Yes.

Was she as irritated as she had been last night? Less.

People do adapt quickly. She was finding her interaction with the grand duke's family more and more ordinary. Even pretending as their daughter became easier by the day. Though her heart wished to deny it and used Alice as an excuse, the fact remained. Alice had passed away and she was the current host of this vessel.

The threshold between pretending and acting like one seemed to thin out as Kalliope could casually ask, "Won't my brothers and cousin join us for lunch?"

"Ophelia is feeling unwell today as you've heard. Julian has gone back to the castle and since he's late, there's so much work to be done. Elias returned to the tower and Tristan headed back to the academy."

It was the duke who answered the question and the length of his speech shocked everyone. The fact that he spoke in the first place was already a surprise since everyone in the estate knew that the duke hated conversation during meal time. After all, the duke was a perfectionist and there were dining etiquettes to be followed.

Yet, here they were witnessing the young lady ignoring the rule not once but twice since last night, while usually Lady Alice was the most quiet one. So quiet that her presence seemed to disappear at a time.

However, ever since she had woken up from the poisoning case, the lady seemed to have completely changed and so did the duke's attitude towards her. They could even detect the faint gentleness hidden in the duke's voice as he talked to Lady Alice. Even the usual coldness seemed to dissipate a little bit as well.

Meanwhile, hearing the word 'academy' triggered an unpleasant memory in Kalliope's mind. Her heart flipped in that moment as she was suddenly reminded of a certain individual. The expression on her face condensed in that instance and guilt laced her rose-colored iris. Kalliope pressed her lips into a straight line as her hand holding the cutlery paused momentarily.

The duke who noticed this stopped his movement as well and in a slightly rigid tone, he asked, "Are you okay?"

Kalliope quickly squeezed out a smile upon his question and continued to eat after replying the duke, "Yup, I'm fine! You worry too much, Dad!"

The man's expression softened a little with a hint of helplessness and he sighed lightly as he continued to dine. The duke understood his daughter's body very well which often fell ill due to her weak constitution.

In a normal summer night, she could easily catch a cold or overheat during the day. It was even worse in winter. However, it was all because the air around the empire carried a rather dense mana wave. Hence, it wasn't exactly an ideal place for Alice, who was oddly born as a true mundane in a family of sorcerers, to live in. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be a place on Earth that wasn't affected with mana.

On another note, Kalliope, who just processed the duke's previous words, had her curiosity piqued at the mention of 'tower' and 'academy'. She wondered how talented the mages were and how profound their knowledge was on magic in comparison to the pureblood back in Zarronium.

Since she was now aware that they could use magic, she needed to assess their strength and knowledge while she tried to find a way to retrieve her body. And not only that, she needed a much more comprehensive information on Earth.

So, both the tower and the academy seemed to be the right place to unearth everything. The duke's and the public library might hold some of the gist but Kalliope doubt it would be anything deep.

If it were some conventional knowledges that she seek, then she would definitely find it there. But, what she wanted was much more than that.

So, Kalliope decisively asked the duke after they were done with the meal, "So, dad, I was suddenly wondering about the academy."

The duchess was not in her right mind at the present due to the exhaustion and her worry over Ophelia's condition. Thus, she had been silent throughout the meal and as soon as the meal was finished, she excused herself almost immediately.

Therefore, it was only her and the duke having tea at the parlor which made it convenient for Kalliope to interrogate the man. No curious eyes, meddling siblings, or troublesome cousin. She could calmly have a 'nice' conversation with the duke.

The duke's hand that was holding the teacup paused for a bit before he slowly set it down on the table. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he inquired, "What about the academy?"

"You see, I—"

"You cannot attend it," the duke immediately interrupted her sentence. His tone was authoritative, allowing no further question.

Kalliope, "….."

She was completely stumped by his hasty deduction that conclude her wanting to attend the academy. For goodness sake, she had breathed, lived, and grown up within the Slidora Academy compound for over fifty years, that at the mention of attending class could seriously make her throw up.

It was more than enough for her to become the professors' slave for all those years. She was a hundred percent sure she didn't want to collect points or take up whatever missions on the posting board anymore. She had been so close to destroy that wooden board back in Slidora. Honestly, now that she thought about it again, she should've done it since she was acting up as a troubled kid anyway.

Pinching her nose bridge, Kalliope sucked in a deep breath to calm her down before she smiled and explained, "It seems that you misunderstood. I was just wondering if the academy's library is open to public because I'd love to visit it."

Rising an eyebrow, the duke retorted in confusion, "What for? If you just want to read, you can always visit our library. We have quite a selection of books. And if there's any specific one that you would like to read then daddy can ask someone to get them."

Kalliope, "….."

'Ugh, why is it so hard to be kind?' Kalliope grumbled internally. The smile on her face was growing stiff by the minute. But no matter what, she would get that bloody permission!

The way he kept dodging her question gave her an incline that the academy's library might be opened for public. It was just the duke refusing to let her go.