Chronicles of the Red Sovereign

Two days passed after the incident in Mt. Tala Island. Everyone was evacuated after the fight with the demons while the imperial army, led by Archduchess Celestine herself, made a thorough sweep of the island to make sure that no more demons or enemies in any form remained.

Talk about stealing the spotlight. But I’m pretty sure there was something more to it than just doing a thorough check-up.

Aunt Zaira and the Four Guardians of Praiji dealt with the demons. The greater demon and the two lesser demons with it were dealt by Aunt Zaira singlehandedly. Although, I believe everyone should be given credit since some of the teachers and students also fought the demons when it attacked the base camp.

Speaking of fighting with the demons those who went face-to-face with it, even those who came into close proximity to it, were admitted to the Imperial Hospital and were under observation. It was apparently a rule in the Ministry of Health that anyone who came into contact with demons must be observed for at least twenty-four hours just in case any demonic influence shows up.

According to history, demonization could happen if a person is exposed to demonic aura for a long time or came into contact with demon blood. If not purified in the long run, one could turn into a demon. There were a few exceptions though, those that were immune.

I’d like to think I am.

And so, with that reason, I had been stuck in the Imperial Academy for two days. Not only did I get into close proximity to a demon, I also directly fought one. Well, I wasn’t alone when I did fight it but my partner, Freya, was also under quarantine in the next room.

I did not like staying in the hospital one bit. Not just because of the dreary environment and the smell, mainly because…

“I’m bored.” I grumbled to no one in particular as I stared outside the window. Not even Vyfal was with me, she was under quarantine as well.

Truth be told, I did not want to spend another minute inside the hospital. Especially when there were a few rumors about me going around.

Seriously. Those that started it were, and still is, stupid.

People seemed to have taken Professor Noria’s question about how I used to work for Archduchess Celestine. But then again, I neither admitted nor denied it so I suppose it was the reason all those rumors stemmed.

Worst of all, most of the rumors came too close to home but was never really the truth.

One rumor I heard from a few nurses was that I was a former Hunter under the Archduchess’ service. Well, I used to hunt in the Celestine Territory but I did not receive any salary from Aunt Zaira. Sure I received monthly allowances from her but that was normal since she was my guardian. Not to mention I earned most of the money I had from what I hunted myself.

Another ridiculous rumor was that I conquered a Level C dungeon by myself. Yeah, I did not even know how such a rumor surfaced but that did not happen! I never conquered a Level C dungeon solo! Only a Level E dungeon once and I still believe it was pure luck and coincidence.

-Rumors are really scary.

The one rumor that was the icing to the cake, which made me want to laugh and cry at the same time, was that I was an assassin working for the archduchess.

-I seriously want to choke whoever came up with that ridiculous thing.

Yeah none of it really made sense, but everyone seemed to have found it entertaining.

On the bright side, nobody did find out I was actually the fourth young miss of the Celestine Family, but others definitely suspect I was connected to Archduchess Celestine in some way other than being a local kid from her territory.

-Aunt Zaira, please do something about these rumors.

I seriously doubt she’s let it slide since she was all about keeping hers and her family’s privacy.

It was the next day that I finally got visitors.

“Your Majesty!” Senior Trent exclaimed and immediately dropped to one knee at the side of my hospital bed. “I am very glad you are doing well! When I heard that Mt. Tala Island was attacked by demons I immediately applied to leave the exam but-“

I did not let him finish and immediately scrambled off of my bed in panic and asked him to get up. Thankfully he listened and acted somewhat normal before the rest of my friends arrived.

“”Luna!””

I was enveloped in a group hug and I witnessed Peter drag Senior Trent in which made me chuckle. Afterwards, they sat around my hospital bed and started asking me what happened.

I gave them the short version of what happened in the island; demons crashed the exam, trapped us inside a barrier and the archduchess saved us.

I gave a few more details too but not too much. I think most of the details regarding the incident are were being kept in the dark.

“Whoa! It must’ve been a very scary experience for everyone in the Magic Arts Department.”Andrea commented.

“Yeah.”

“But probably not for you.” she added.

At this point I was actually not paying attention so I replied; “Yeah.”

-Wait, something’s wrong.

“NO! That’s not what I’m trying to say! Of course it was scary! I mean we faced demons you know?!” I exclaimed in panic. “Demons are scary creatures even from the legends!”

They just stared at me with looks of understanding. Or was it looks of disbelief? I wasn’t sure, I couldn’t discern it.

“On another note, the Military Arts Department was actually asked to sortie with the imperial army and join the rescue.” Peter said and took a deep breath. “But when we got there, the action was already over and we were only asked to stand guard on the base camp.”

-I see.

The empire actually tasked students to help us. It made me wonder if the empire’s lacking in soldiers.

“By the way Luna, I heard a few rumors going around about you.” Charles said which made me stiffen.

His words caught me off guard after all.

“What do you-“

“Are they even true?”

I noticed Thomas and Bernard look away. Well they two knew the truth but they knew fully well than to blabber.

As for the others, their gazes were definitely trained on me.

“Oh, I heard about them.” Senior Trent said. “I asked Torii about it and she said no. She never specified which one so I assume all of the rumors are fake news.”

-Good job Torii!

My eyes were probably sparkling after Senior Trent said that because they started giving me odd looks again.

“So? Are you going to say anything?” Kai asked.

“Yeah. None of the rumors sound good you know.” Andrea commented.

“Not only are you in the limelight but also the archduchess.” Peter also said. “Her enemies in the court will definitely make use of such a rumor. Especially the one where you’re supposedly an assassin working for her.”

“I won’t be surprised. A lot of people are jealous of her current status and will do anything to ruin her.” I replied.

I did not expect the two princes, and even Charles (he’s from a noble family), to agree with me.

“Oh well, those are only rumors.” Senior Trent said. “It’ll die down in a month.”

“I agree with Senior Trent.” Bernard said.

-Oh now you’re speaking?

“A rumor can only last twenty-one days at most.” Bernard added. “People will lose interest on it sooner or later and will forget about it, so cheer up Luna.”

Sometimes, Bernard really knows what to say at the right moment.