Chapter 42 – Snake’s Tongue (1)

Helio monopolized Sabina for the next fifteen days.

The days leading up to entrance were both joyful and anxious. The only ‘group life’ Helio had ever experienced was with non-humans at Marquis Meolin’s mansion, where he couldn’t even communicate.

“You’ll adapt well.”

Sabina said this with conviction. Every fall for the last two cycles, Helio had always been popular among the trainees. But Helio, who didn’t know what he was like in previous timelines, could only hear Sabina’s words as empty comfort.

Helio almost wished time wouldn’t move forward until he felt ready. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a time-attribute mage. Time simply flowed on, mercilessly.

Ten days before entrance, two packages arrived at D’Vialis Mansion.

Helio’s was a guidebook for new academy students. It contained the school map, regulations, faculty, and details about the great mages Certanon Academy had produced. Helio read and reread the guidebook as thoroughly as he had when taking the attribute test.

Sabina’s package contained a four-page brochure listing new students and their attributes, a small book compiling some current students’ achievements from last year, and a single application form. At the bottom of both the brochure and the last page of the book, it said:

「All adult mages of Brinita, please refer to the above information and fill out the enclosed application form for submission.」

At the very top of the application form was written: ‘Application for Magical Sibling Bond.’

All adult mages could form a ‘magical sibling bond’ with any academy student they liked. It was essentially a guardianship system: the adult mage chose a student, and the student could accept or decline.

Certanon Academy is a national school; uniforms, textbooks, and all educational expenses are covered by the state. In such a place, this system seems somewhat cumbersome.

However, the guardianship becomes valuable after graduation. The ‘magical sibling’ can help with research costs for achievement conferences, the daunting first research project, and other challenges faced by fledgling mages.

Adult mages could pick promising students, so it was a game with no losers.

Sabina had never taken on a ward after graduation. But this year was different.

For the first time, she began to fill out the application.

The next day, a tailor visited and carefully measured Helio’s size. The state-employed, taciturn tailor only made one comment the whole time: ‘Your hands and feet are large for your age, so you’ll likely grow tall.’

Mitchel hummed happily as she prepared Helio’s clothes.

“He’s a rewarding child. Miss Sabina hasn’t grown at all since she was thirteen.”

“Mitchel.”

From where she was reading the newspaper, Sabina warned against unnecessary remarks. Helio smiled a little.

A week before entrance, preview books and assignments for the coming school year arrived, so Helio could start reading ahead. Since his attribute was still officially unknown, he had to take an extra class on attribute exploration. Sabina’s name was mentioned in the preview materials for that class. Helio read the sections mentioning Sabina over and over.

“My case won’t help you. I was a blossoming mage.”

But Sabina’s story was inevitably more interesting than those of old, faceless mages.

The night before the entrance ceremony, Helio had trouble sleeping. He finally dozed off at dawn, and if little Hazel hadn’t burst in and pounced to wake him, he might have been late on his first day. Quickly stuffing his assignments into his prepared bag, Helio ate a simple breakfast and boarded the carriage.

The streets of Ridblon leading to Certanon Academy were unusually crowded. It seemed many people had arrived by train from the far ends of the country. All the new students from afar wore the same uniform; Helio wondered idly if the tailor had visited their homes too as he watched the scenery outside.

Arriving at the academy and entering the auditorium for the entrance ceremony, it was time to say goodbye to his guardian. New students were directed to the first floor, guardians to the second.

Helio looked at Sabina with anxious eyes.

“You can contact me anytime, so don’t worry too much.”

“……”

“I’ll visit every two weeks.”

“……”

“In just three months, it’ll be winter break. Winter break is two months long.”

“I know.”

Helio resolved not to act like a child anymore and, as bravely as he could, turned his back on Sabina and found his seat. But his slightly dejected posture was hard for his guardian to ignore.

As soon as Sabina reached the second floor, she spotted a man standing in a corner with his hands in his pockets. His hair was neatly slicked back and he was dressed formally, but his posture was slouched and he stood out immediately.

“Ashton.”

He turned to Sabina and smiled.

“You’re here.”

“You don’t have a ward to enroll. What are you doing here?”

“My lover’s ward is enrolling, isn’t he?”

She gave him a look that said ‘stop talking nonsense,’ but Ashton was unfazed.

“Move up front. I’m short, so I won’t be able to see anything from here

Ashton followed Sabina’s instructions. The two moved up to the fence and looked down at the first floor, where a thousand new students were still milling about. Even though blond new students weren’t rare, Sabina quickly spotted Helio by the window.

Helio also quickly spotted Sabina. She always wore monochrome clothes and was short, but she stood out like a star. Seeing her, he frowned slightly at the large man casting a shadow behind her.

Then he noticed Ashton’s expression was unusual.

The man was looking down at them, wearing a blank expression very different from when he looked at Sabina. And that wasn’t all.

‘Why does he look at me like that?’

Ashton was clearly hostile toward Helio. It wasn’t just teasing a child for fun—he genuinely disliked him. Helio had vaguely known Ashton disliked him; at the carnival, the achievement conference… his attitude was always the same.

But Helio now saw twisted envy in Ashton’s eyes and mouth. Ashton was the impressive, wealthy adult who had taken the place as Sabina’s lover. He had no reason to make such a face. Helio was young and powerless, always at his mercy. So why…?

Even as upperclassmen bustled around organizing the hall, Helio couldn’t shake the question and kept glancing up at Ashton.

Meanwhile, Sabina misunderstood Helio’s gaze as being directed at her. His face was far away, and since she and Ashton stood side by side, her mistake was understandable. She gripped the railing and sighed.

“Why does he look so worried?”

He’ll do better than anyone once he starts school.

“Because he’s dependent…”

Ashton whispered beside her. The heavy cane tip landed mercilessly on the man’s leather shoe. Ouch. As he bent over the railing, Sabina whispered coldly,

“I know.”

“Why the temper? Haven’t you had peaceful times lately?”

“You’re the one who makes me lose my temper. Be quiet.”

Entrance ceremonies are similar everywhere. Even in the spacious auditorium, a thousand boys and girls filled every seat like a dense forest. The Chancellor’s introduction, guest speeches, welcome from current students, oath from the top new student…

Ashton, who had been quietly standing beside her, whispered,

“Eight years ago, you gave the entrance oath, didn’t you?”

“Yes. But it’s nothing special. You just read what’s written in advance.”

Giving a brief answer, she looked over at Helio, who was staring intently at the student representative. He always did that.

After the ceremony, new students were led by upperclassmen to their assigned dorms. From now on, guardians couldn’t meet students unless they applied for visitation. Sabina quietly watched the retreating blond head.

As the guardians started greeting each other, Sabina quickly tugged Ashton’s sleeve.

“Let’s get out of here.”

If she lingered, she’d be surrounded by people desperate to talk to Lady D’Vialis. Alone, her unique presence would be fine, but the man beside her was the problem. Ashton had spent the last two weeks deepening ties at every social gathering.

Ashton obediently followed Sabina. After just two steps outside the auditorium, they arrived at the front gate of D’Vialis Mansion. Ashton let out a dry laugh.

Sabina stood tall, her gaze saying ‘What’s wrong with that?’

“Now you have to tell me why you came to Helio’s entrance ceremony.”

“I told you earlier.”

“You came because of me.”

Her words were full of self-assurance, but not wrong. Ashton smiled, thinking of her portrait in his wallet.

“That’s right.”

“You must have a reason for coming.”

“Well, you could say that. Or maybe I just wanted to see your face.”

“You can look at my portrait for that.”

Sabina, recalling their last parting, lifted her chin triumphantly. Ashton shrugged as if at a loss.

“Now that the young friend who absolutely needed your protection is under another guardian, I thought I might steal you away for a bit.”

“Steal me away?”

“Want to go to Retona?”

The suggestion was so sudden Sabina’s eyes widened in surprise.

Retona is a summer resort where white sand and blue sea meet in beautiful foam. The famous Miras flowers on the coast all wilt by late summer, so traveling to Retona now was a bit late.

“The autumn sea is beautiful too.”

“You always say such random things…”

Sabina rang the doorbell. Fixing her gaze on the front door, waiting for Vicky to open it, she said,

“I applied for Helio’s ‘magical sibling bond.’ Once that’s processed…”

Ashton expected her to say, ‘I’ll give you an answer then.’ He was about to jokingly complain about Helio always coming first.

“I’ll leave, so get the train tickets ready.”

Just as he tried to meet her clear silver eyes, Vicky ran out calling, “Miss Sabina.” Without looking back, Sabina said, “Goodbye.” Ashton smiled in response to Vicky’s bow, and even after the door closed, he stood there for a while.