Chapter 10.1 – The Ruined Entrance Ceremony

“Ah, ah. We will now begin the 57th Entrance Ceremony.”

Unlike before, when the noise was almost deafening, the entrance ceremony began in a relatively quiet atmosphere. Brienne sat up straight, constantly glancing behind Felix.

Herace appeared at the professors’ gathering not long after Felix finished his opening declaration.

‘Herace……!’

What a relief.

A smile appeared on Brienne’s anxious face as she fiddled with the bouquet ribbon. Herace, dressed in a neat suit, was bowing politely to the professors.

“In this Roeta Academy, everyone, regardless of nationality or gender, is given an equal opportunity to study…….”

Brienne sighed in relief and focused on the King’s speech. She only noticed the growing commotion when the King stepped down and the Pope appeared on the platform.

“Wait, what’s that smell?”

“Hey, over there……! Isn’t there smoke coming from the library?”

What is this?

Following the loud voices, Brienne turned her head toward the library. The bright sunlight made it hard to see, but the sharp smell of something burning wafted over.

It was at that moment.

Bang……!

A loud explosion echoed.

The sound of people’s voices shattered like waves. A piercing ringing filled Brienne’s ears. She clutched her head in pain and managed to look up.

Through her dizzy vision, only the black smoke rising from the library was vivid.

In her blurred mind, Diashi’s voice resurfaced.

<Whew, then I’ll be off. I plan to study in the library until the researchers’ meeting starts after the entrance ceremony.>

‘……Miss Diashi!’

Suddenly coming to her senses, Brienne staggered to her feet. Biting her lip, she pushed through the crowd and ran toward the library.

“……B-block the way! Don’t let anyone approach the library!”

Only then did the Knight Commander, who was overseeing the ceremony, shout loudly. The knights, who had been in confusion, started to control the path to the library one by one.

But Brienne had already rushed past them and arrived at the library entrance.

The smell of burning paper stung her nose.

Bright red flames soared up over the building.

Blinking several times, Brienne, pale-faced, struggled to breathe.

‘What should I do.’

‘……What on earth should I do?’

The face of Diashi, who she had spoken to just that morning, came to mind. Her vision blurred. Not knowing what else to do, Brienne stepped onto the library stairs.

At that moment, Herace’s voice rang out.

“Brienne……!”

Herace, who had rushed over in an instant, reached out and turned Brienne around.

“Why did you come all the way here? It’s dangerous!”

“H-Herace…….”

Tears welled up in Brienne’s eyes as she recognized his familiar face. If it was Herace, if he was such a great mage, maybe he would know what to do. Brienne desperately grabbed Herace’s arm.

“Miss Diashi is inside the library. We, w-we have to save her quickly.”

“No.”

But Herace firmly shook his head and only led Brienne down the stairs.

“The situation isn’t clear yet. There could be more explosions, so please evacuate quickly. I’ll let people know that Diashi is inside.”

“……More explosions?”

Brienne’s gaze wavered as she stared at the soaring flames. She looked around and asked,

“Then shouldn’t we go even more quickly? What about everyone else? Why…… why isn’t anyone putting out the fire?”

“……”

“Huh? Herace…….”

Herace avoided Brienne’s confused gaze. Sensing something was wrong, Brienne let go of his hand.

“No way, Herace. It’s not, right? This really isn’t right. There are so many mages here……!”

Confusion filled Brienne’s eyes.

She simply couldn’t believe the situation.

The huge library was burning fiercely. There were people inside. Yet no one was thinking to put out the fire.

Just that morning, Diashi had come to congratulate her on her admission. Now, thinking of Diashi inside those hot flames, Brienne’s chest tightened.

“……Brienne, please.”

Herace, gripping Brienne’s shoulders, spoke with a desperate look.

“I know how you feel, but the King and the Pope are here. Without permission, everyone is being cautious. They could be put on trial.”

“But this isn’t a natural disaster. It’s just, just a fire……”

At that moment—

“Miss!”

“Brienne!”

Garzen and Lusell, who were managing the situation in front of the platform, rushed over to them. Meanwhile, the acrid smoke from the library was spreading thicker and thicker.

“What are you two doing standing there? Get out of the way! The flames are strong, the building could collapse any minute!”

“Return to your seats immediately!”

……No.

As Brienne stepped back and shook her head, Herace covered her nose and mouth to block the smoke.

“Let go, Herace……!”

“I’m sorry. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Whispering sadly, Herace picked Brienne up in his arms. Brienne tried to push him away, swallowing her sobs, but her tightly held body wouldn’t move as she wished.

“Please, I said let go……!”

Tears fell down Brienne’s cheeks as she struggled in Herace’s arms. It was miserable. Knowing Diashi was inside and unable to do anything felt utterly powerless.

“I’ll take you to Sir Kelton.”

Only when the Pope finally gave permission for rain did the firefighting begin.

* * *

Shhh.

Rain poured from the dark clouds created by the Academy professors. Imperial Knights dragged fire hoses and kept spraying water into the burning library.

Even then, the library kept collapsing.

Right in the middle of the entrance ceremony that had almost stopped as soon as it began, Brienne couldn’t go inside and watched the scene from under the awning of a nearby building.

The Holy Knights entered the library and brought out the people inside only after the flames were somewhat controlled.

Watching people being carried out one by one, Brienne felt useless.

She hadn’t done anything.

She’d run right up to the front but ended up only crying.

Brienne’s gaze, lips pressed tightly, turned to one side of the building. The rare book section where the explosion happened had completely collapsed, exposing the interior.

The place she had so longed to enter was now gone forever. Centuries-old originals had turned to blackened ashes.

The last sight of the once-beautiful Grand Library was truly tragic. It was the moment resentment surged, perhaps directed at someone.

“Brienne.”

Herace approached Brienne, who stood alone. Having helped the professors put out the fire near the library, he was soaked just like on the day they first met.

Herace brushed back his rain-soaked hair and asked,

“……Are you feeling better? I’m sorry I couldn’t stay with you. And for touching you without permission.”

“No, I’m… I’m fine.”

Shaking her head quickly, Brienne stepped closer to Herace, who stood beneath the stairs.

If he hadn’t appeared the moment she set foot toward the library, she might have done something truly reckless. So she felt no urge to blame him at all.

Now that her reason was returning, she was just grateful to him.

“……I’m the one who acted without thinking. I know you did it because you were worried about me. You must’ve been shocked.”

Brienne conveyed her sincerity with a faint smile, and Herace stepped up the stairs to meet her gaze.

“I knew you would act that way, Brienne.”

“……Me?”

“You’re a lot like Marquis Ford.”

With a gentle smile, Herace placed his hand on Brienne’s cheek, softly pressing her reddened eyes, now brimming with tears again.

“Don’t cry.”

“……”

“Diashi isn’t as weak a mage as you fear. If she used magic at the moment of the explosion, she should be safe.”

“……Really?”

Brienne asked weakly, looking up at Herace. With a kind face, Herace nodded, comforting her as if to reassure her.

“Yes, so if you cry, Brienne, Diashi will be sad. Of course, so will I.”

At his warm comfort, Brienne tried her best to smile. But for some reason, that only made her want to cry more. As she wiped away her tears, avoiding Herace’s gaze, it happened.

“I’ll lend you my shoulder.”

Herace, taking off his rain-soaked jacket, wrapped one arm around her waist.

“My body’s already wet, so you can cry as much as you want and no one will notice.”

Suddenly burying her face in his shoulder, Brienne blinked in surprise. When she noticed his shirt was perfectly dry underneath, she managed a small smile.

“……Thank you.”

Resting her head on his broad shoulder, Brienne held her breath and swallowed her tears for a while. Amid the heavy rain, her small sobs occasionally mixed with the sound, but Herace just quietly patted her back, pretending not to notice.

When Brienne finally stopped crying and lifted her head, she was no longer in tears.

“……But Herace, there’s something I want to ask.”

Instead, she just looked at him, as if she had something to say.

“Why…… is it like this?”

Now a little calmer, Brienne’s gaze moved from Herace’s face to the still smoky library.

“Everyone knew there were people inside. So why…….”

“……”

“It happened in my father’s territory too.”

A deep question rose in Brienne’s eyes as she sought an answer from Herace.

“Why do people with the power to save others stay silent?”

“……Brienne.”

“The Temple, the Pope—what right do they have to permit magic?”

Herace shifted his gaze to her trembling shoulders and draped his coat over them.

Brienne was asking, but it wasn’t a question.

In her pale green eyes, only anger and hostility were visible.

“I thought you were special. I thought mages were truly amazing people. But this…… It’s so disappointing.”

Herace’s expression darkened as he looked at Brienne’s weak smile.

Should he have gone in to save Diashi earlier?

But at that moment, the only thing that mattered to him was Brienne. Out of all those people, he saw only Brienne.

When he saw Brienne running toward the exploded library, his body reacted before his mind.

He pushed through the people trying to stop him and grabbed her. He had no other thought—he just had to get Brienne to safety, even if she hated him for it.

But somewhere, something had gone wrong.