Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: A Glimpse of the Second Year

Chapter 220 – A Glimpse of the Second Year

Meanwhile, the first class of the First Year ended while Cassius was walking toward obtaining what had been promised to him.

”That’s all for today.” Instructor Jade said, closing the notebook with a soft but resonating sound, dispelling the projection behind him. ”You’ll attend classes on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. The rest of the days are for self-training, or for those taking additional classes in Alchemy and the like. Don’t forget to inform me if you wish to join one.”

He paused, smiling gently as he swept his grey eyes across the classroom. ”Our next class, assuming the Palatine is present, will be the welcoming ceremony. So if any of you have Palatine Cassius’s number, you should inform him in advance.”

’So that he might come. Knowing his siblings, he certainly will not be here unless it is something important.’

Roy Jade knew the Desdemona well. He had personally instructed all of them: Morgan Desdemona, Dorian, the Twins, and now the very youngest.

They were all students who never bothered to come to class.

Yet they always managed to keep their Palatine rank until the end.

’Say whatever you want about the Desdemona, they’re talented monsters.’

Afterward, Roy Jade stored away his notebook and began to walk out of the classroom.

Before that, though, something immediately struck him.

He hid his excited smile beneath a professional one and turned his head. His glassy silver eyes landed straight on Esmeray Hood, whose face was crimson, her body unable to stay still...and had been since the start of the class.

”Lady Esmeray.” He called out, his voice startling the Princess, making her snap her head toward him in dazed, exhausted confusion.

”Eh? Y-Yes?” She blurted out, her voice wavering.

”I have a matter to discuss with you.” Roy Jade said. ”Come to the third building in ten minutes. My office is on the third floor, fourth door on your left.”

He walked away, waiting for no answer, leaving them to themselves.

Esmeray was confused about the reason, but her mind was far too distracted to dwell on it for long.

Whispers slowly began to fill the classroom, with Jurkil Julaibib taking Diaila Law’s hand and hurrying off somewhere.

His face was a painting of excitement, while Diaila clearly wished to be anywhere but there.

William Castria, meanwhile, disappeared silently as always, while Nourou Faim walked toward the cafeteria in great haste, his mind on nothing but the numerous foods he was about to eat.

Nafissatou and Layla Bint Aicha walked together. The two now found comfort in each other’s presence, being the only women who hadn’t originally belonged to the Kingdom.

Nafissatou was supposedly from a merchant family who lived by travelling all over the continent and even beyond the Sparrow Sea.

While Layla came from a tribe in the Wastelands.

The Ouroboros Tribe.

Watching all her peers exit the classroom, each with their own plans, Meadow turned her head toward Omm.

”Class is over.” She said, looking at the time on her right wrist. ”We can go now.”

”Go where?” Omm inquired, storing away his pen and notebook. His eyes momentarily caught Meadow’s still-open notebook, noticing how incredibly beautiful and precise her handwriting was.

It was obvious she wrote quite often.

”We’re in the Academy now, Shepherd.” Meadow’s pink eyes narrowed. ”You need to use your Skill as soon as possible and grow strong. You don’t know what might happen at any moment.”

Omm nodded, his face taut with seriousness.

He had realised his overwhelming weakness when he saw his classmates fighting during the Test.

Any one of them could have killed him, and the only reason he had made it through was solely thanks to Meadow.

”Thank you in advance.” He said, smiling gratefully. ”I’ll make sure not to disappoint everything you’ve done for me, Miss Wealth.”

Meadow beamed. ”In that case, after you obtain your first Summon, let’s go find a club to join!”

”A club?” He cocked his head. ”What kind?”

”Well?” Meadow’s voice dropped a little, a touch embarrassed. ”Writing?”

”What?”

”A writing club.” She said shyly, looking at him through her glasses. ”Well, what? Do you have a problem with that?”

”Oh, Miss!” Omm’s eyes began to glow like stars as he looked at her with awe and respect. ”You like writing? That’s so great! So great! Do you want to start writing?!”

’Argh. I already did, Shepherd. And why are you so excited anyway!!’

”Uh... yes?” She hesitated.

”That’s so great!” He smiled. ”I’ve always loved books and reading. I even tried to write something once, but hehehe...”

He laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head in shyness. ”...it’s truly not for me. I decided to remain a reader.”

”I’m not very good at it either...”

”But certainly better than me!” Omm nodded. ”I’ll be your reader if you ever write something. Is that fine?”

Meadow smiled softly at him, seeing how eager Omm was about her writing.

No one had been so eager since Cassius.

Her smile deepened, then she nodded softly, making sure her glasses didn’t slip off her nose. ”I’ll let you read once I’ve written something. But I have to let you know, I’m a romance writer! I won’t change my path for you!”

Omm laughed and willingly took Meadow’s heavy, expensive bag to hold it for her, seeking a way to thank her for everything she had done for him.

They rose from their seats — by then, almost no one was left in the classroom — then slowly walked away, with Omm suddenly thinking of something.

”Maybe Mr. Desdemona can help you with romance?” He proposed with a look that said ’what a genius idea!’. ”He seems very knowledgeable about it.”

”Because he’s beautiful?” Meadow giggled.

”Yes.” He smiled. ”And because he is so likeable. He must have a lot of women in love with him.”

”And men too.”

”Uhhhh???”

”Hahah.” Meadow barked a laugh, taking Omm’s free hand. ”Let’s go, Omm! We have many things to do today! We have a club to join!”

”What? Even me? But I’m not a writer!”

”You’ll follow me everywhere, Shepherd!”

”Argh... but Miss!!”

They finally exited the room, giggling and laughing, leaving behind only one person.

Jeanne Safara, who had been watching the interaction between Meadow and Omm all this time in a silence befitting the dead.

Her current state might not be so different, after all.

She would have loved to intervene, but today was a day when no strength, no will, no thoughts of the present or future were willing to stay within her.

She was empty, her heart like the stomach of a beast that no longer knew the taste of food.

Jeanne lowered her head slightly and lifted her uniform shirt.

Her golden eyes saw her body full of bruises, some of them black and blue, hurting so much she wanted to drink a healing potion.

”But I’m not allowed,” she muttered, closing her eyes as she tried to stop the tears from coming.

’No tears. No tears at all. I promised myself I’d never cry again.’

But nothing was more common than a promise. Nothing was rarer than one kept.

Jeanne still couldn’t understand why.

Why was she beaten so badly just because she wasn’t among the top ten?

How important was it?

The name? The title? The reputation?

How could all of these be so important that one could beat their own flesh and blood for failing?

How important were they?

’My title... my name... everything... my blood and my body... please take them from me. I don’t want to be who I am. I don’t want to bear my name any longer. Can I just disappear? Can I just... let go of everything?’

Oh... what a blessing it would have been, if only she had been born a commoner with no burden in her name.

No glory to maintain. No false smile to display. No tears to hide behind strong words.

’Just like you, Omm. Just like you.’

She let her head fall onto the desk, remembering the warning her father had given her.

’I... need to enter the top ten. And fast. Otherwise...’

My father will kill me.

Jeanne Safara cried silently.

Once again, she broke her own promise.

...

Outside the classroom, through the hallway where numerous other students strolled, Emrys and Love walked together, smiling from time to time at those who greeted them with respect.

Especially Emrys.

Even though his appearance fell short of Cassius’s, he was still objectively the second most beautiful man, despite the Kingdom’s List saying otherwise.

To add to that, some women found him more to their taste than Cassius.

And those same women were throwing jealous, poisonous stares at Love. And truth be told...

’I love this!’

She was enjoying it far too much.

Love smiled back sweetly at them, holding Emrys’s hand, making those women wish even more to cut off her lips and make her swallow them.

The two were marching toward the huge cafeteria to eat, making small talk along the way.

However, Emrys suddenly stopped, frowning at the sight in front of him. Love followed his eyes and saw a woman with short blonde hair and dark eyes heavy with ugly makeup, crawling on the floor beside a woman who was tall and obviously, sickeningly proud.

”What is this?” Emrys muttered in a sudden angry tone.

The crawling girl was crying, her face covered in slap marks, her lips bleeding.

Whispers echoed around.

”Ah, damn it. It’s Naomi again. What’s the problem today? What did her maid do?”

”I heard she came in very late today, and her only excuse was that she overslept.”

”Is that why she’s treating her like this? Naomi is truly evil for no reason. And all because she’s Copycat’s little bitch?”

”Shhh, man! Don’t let her hear you! I don’t want the Palatine on my back over a girl!”

”Tsk. Still, poor Coco.”

Emrys heard these whispers while approaching, shouldering his way through the throng of students, but Love suddenly held his hand, stopping him.

”What are you doing?” She asked, frowning, noticing many watching the scene and not caring.

”What do you mean, what?” He hissed. ”Are you not seeing the same thing as me, Love?”

”But this isn’t your problem!” She retorted. ”And they are second-year students. Don’t get involved in their affairs.”

”The moment it happens in front of me,” Emrys flicked his hand, ”it becomes my problem.”

The gesture was so sudden that Love staggered backward, bumping into a young woman behind her, causing the drink in the woman’s hand to spill onto her uniform.

”You!” The woman shrieked and shoved her away hard, sending Love stumbling to the ground, onto her backside.

She cursed, angry, and lifted her head to retaliate, but fell silent when she saw two identical women in front of her, one of them clearly furious, holding an empty cup with her hand dirtied.

Twins.

Blue hair and silver eyes, silver skin with strange tattoos, tall with stunning figures that made her instantly jealous.

One of them had a mole beneath her right eye. She was the one wishing to kill Love by the look in her eyes.

”Are you fucking blind?” The girl hissed. ”Can’t you pay attention to your surroundings?”

Love would have liked to retort. But these were second years, and there were two of them.

She swallowed the bitterness, turned her head, and saw Emrys arguing with the girl named Naomi, their conversation growing heated...and knew she was alone.

Love mumbled a couple of apologies, stood up, and ran straight to the bathroom, wanting nothing but to clean her uniform and rein in her wrath.

She passed by Sarah, who happened to have witnessed the whole scene.

Sarah spared her a glance then approached the twins with a smile and...

”Oh, do you mind?” She said, offering a blue napkin to the woman. ”Your hand is stained by your drink. You can clean it with this.”

The girl was about to curse when she saw Sarah’s gentle, loving face. She hesitated a moment, then accepted with a hmph.

”Thanks!” She looked at her twin sister. ”Let’s go, Awa! This shit ruined my mood.”

Awa was looking at Emrys, her face smiling. ”He’s so much more beautiful up close. And righteous, too. Oh, I like him!”

”Awa!! You bitch, come quickly!”

”Argh! I heard you, Aminata. Damn you.” She grumbled, following her twin sister, still thinking about Emrys. ”I think I’ve found us our next man!”

”Stop your damn nonsense.”

”Hehe! You will like him! He is the new one. The one titled Sky! The rival of Angel, or so they say!”

”Shut up!”

Sarah watched all of this with a hint of a smile, before walking away, unnoticed and overlooked.

However, she suddenly halted, her blue eyes finding Klaus walking toward the direction of...

’...the bathroom?’

She tilted her head. ’Didn’t Love just go there?’

Her smile deepened.

’Interesting.’

She filed it away in her maid’s mind and walked away.

Her Prince was waiting for her.

—End of Chapter 220—