Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 333: The Lion in White (1)

“How... how did you do that?”

“It’s a simple sealing spell. I blocked the power that was trying to leak out.”

“S-Simple?”

“It’s not perfect, so be careful. Now that your power has awakened, it’ll continue to grow stronger with time. Once it crosses a certain threshold, the seal will break easily. Still, it should buy you time for now.”

“A sealing spell... wow.”

Despite how she looked, Rine was a student with considerable knowledge of theory.

From what she had learned, sealing spells were known to be high-level magic.

With enough time and effort, a teacher at Seorn Academy could likely cast one—but it wasn’t the kind of spell that could be performed so quickly and spontaneously.

‘Then again... it’s Professor Ludger. Nothing surprises me anymore.’

Even so, the way Ludger spoke of it so lightly, as though it were no big deal, made her wonder.

At this point, she suspected he was doing it on purpose.

“Rine. I’ve explained everything to you, but you must never tell anyone that you possess the Judgement Seal.”

“Why not?”

“If word gets out that you have it, the Lumenis Church will stop at nothing to take you away. And the demon that appeared this time won’t be the last. There’s no guarantee others won’t come after you.”

“Right...”

Rine nodded, seeming to accept his words.

But then she suddenly remembered—there was one more person who had seen her altered eyes.

“Um, Professor?”

“What is it? Don’t tell me someone’s already found out?”

“......”

Rine looked away, avoiding Ludger’s gaze as a drop of cold sweat trickled down her cheek.

“Who saw you?”

“J-Just one person. Senior Erendir.”

“You mean Erendir von Exilion?”

“Yes...”

“I see... is that so.”

Considering how often the two were together, it wasn’t surprising that Erendir noticed something was different.

The real problem was her status.

If it had been an ordinary student, Ludger could’ve simply issued a stern warning. But Erendir was royal blood.

Even Ludger felt hesitant about issuing a personal warning in such a case.

‘But asking Princess Aileen to handle it would mean explaining the Judgement Seal to her too.’

And the fewer people who knew about the Judgement Seal, the better.

Even if it was Aileen, Ludger had no obligation to tell her about it.

In fact, given Aileen’s nature, she’d no doubt find a way to use Rine for her own purposes.

It was better to keep it hidden.

“Rine. Do you believe Erendir is someone you can trust?”

“Huh? Me?”

“I’m asking what you think.”

“Well...”

Rine hesitated.

She could’ve tried to dodge the question or lie.

But she knew that wasn’t what Ludger wanted.

And deep down, she didn’t want to avoid it either.

“Senior... is someone I can trust.”

“Is that your honest judgment?”

“Yes. Of course, it’s not like I know everything about her. There might be sides to her I’ve never seen. But still, I want to believe in her.”

Even as she answered sincerely, her heart pounded with anxiety.

With someone like Ludger, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he criticized her harshly for being naïve.

But surprisingly, he accepted her response without resistance.

“Very well. If you’re willing to say that much, I won’t question it further.”

“Huh? You’re... okay with that?”

“You said you trust her, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but...”

“Then that’s enough.”

Ludger figured that if Rine was willing to speak so strongly, it was worth believing.

Not necessarily because he trusted her judgment—but because he trusted the power of the Judgement Seal.

‘She wouldn’t keep company with someone who would negatively influence her.’

Of course, Rine thought Ludger was expressing faith in her personally, and the wave of emotion that swept over her made her tremble.

“Still, Rine. Even if you believe she’s trustworthy, there’s no telling when the secret might slip out. So be extremely cautious.”

“Yes!”

“If someone you don’t know approaches you, be on your guard. Be even more suspicious if they act kind.”

“Wait, what?”

“And don’t follow anyone just because they offer you food.”

“......Professor, are you treating me like a little kid?”

Ludger immediately realized his slip.

While talking with Rine like this, he had unconsciously begun treating her like a child again—images of her as a young girl flashing in his mind.

He gave a small, awkward cough.

“It just means you should be careful. It never hurts to be too prepared.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

Rine gave him a bright smile.

“But if I do end up in danger... you’ll come save me, right, Professor?”

“......”

Her voice carried a note of hopeful expectation, but Ludger replied coldly.

“We’ll see.”

“Whaaat? What kind of answer is that?”

Rine puffed up her cheeks and turned her head away in a huff.

Ludger gave a soft chuckle at the sight.

“Still, I’m glad.”

At those words, Rine turned back to look at him.

“I thought you'd be really shaken after everything that happened. But seeing you now, I think I was worrying for nothing.”

“Well, I got help in that dangerous moment. From Senior Flora, and from you, Professor Ludger. I can’t even count how many times I should be thanking you both. I only feel sorry that I couldn’t be more helpful.”

“Just thinking like that already makes you admirable.”

With that, Ludger stood up from the bench.

“Oh, you’re leaving?”

“Yes. It’s a rare bit of free time. Since your field trip was canceled, take the chance to relax and enjoy yourself here at the palace.”

Leaving those words behind, Ludger turned and walked away.

Rine remained seated, unable to move from the bench until he completely disappeared from view.

“Haa...”

Once Ludger was out of sight, Rine let out a small sigh.

‘I still didn’t get to ask him.’

She had asked everything she was curious about—except for one thing.

‘I wanted to ask if we’d really never met before...’

* * *

Ludger walked through a well-kept park inside the imperial palace.

It was like something out of a beautiful painting.

All around him, students from Seorn were enjoying picnics in their own ways.

Some students spotted Ludger and waved brightly with smiles on their faces.

“Professor! Hello!”

“Have a great day!”

Their enthusiastic reactions caught Ludger off guard for a moment.

At first, he thought they were mistaking him for someone else.

But that wasn’t it.

They really were greeting him.

It was a phenomenon Ludger didn’t fully understand—but for the students, it made perfect sense.

These were the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} students who had personally witnessed Ludger saving them in front of the Crystal Palace.

They had seen him eliminate countless chimeras with dazzling magic and ensure everyone’s safety.

To them, Ludger had become nothing short of a heroic figure.

From that day on, Ludger had been greeted warmly by many students.

There were still some who feared him and couldn’t meet his gaze, but they were now fewer than half.

‘So getting that medal really did help improve my image.’

Just as that idle thought passed through his mind, he saw a familiar face approaching from the opposite direction.

“Assistant Sedina. Enjoying your rest?”

“Yes, all thanks to you, Professor Ludger.”

“Are you alone?”

“She said she doesn’t really have anyone she’s close to.”

Sedina answered quietly, all the while glancing nervously at Ludger.

She was clearly trying to act casual, but Ludger could recognize her usual habit—whenever she wanted to ask something, she always fidgeted like this.

“If you’re curious about something, ask.”

“Huh? What?”

“You look like you want to.”

“Uh, well, that is...”

Flustered, Sedina recalled the conversation she’d had earlier with Julia.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Julia’s words—but she wondered if there had been some misunderstanding.

Still, ever since she saw Ludger speaking separately with Rine, that sense of unease had only grown.

‘Professor... did you really kill that student Rine’s mother?’

Strictly speaking, there was no reason she couldn’t ask.

It had nothing to do with her, after all.

But if Ludger questioned her on where she’d heard it, she’d have to bring up Julia’s name.

And that would undoubtedly ignite a conflict—one that would flare up like a spark on dry straw.

Julia was openly hostile toward Ludger.

To her, Ludger was a murderer—someone dangerous who had no place near her friend.

And what about Ludger?

He wasn’t the kind of person to sit quietly when someone was openly hostile toward him.

Especially not when they knew something sensitive about him. There was a real possibility he’d silence them—perhaps even by force.

‘What do I do...?’

Sedina didn’t want either of them to get hurt.

They were both important to her.

“Assistant Sedina. Is there something you want to say?”

“N-No. I just... it’s nothing. I think I might’ve misunderstood something.”

After what must have been over a hundred internal debates in the span of a single moment, Sedina finally chose to brush it off as nothing.

Ludger could tell her behavior was awkward and unnatural, but he didn’t press her on it.

If she was acting like this, there had to be a reason.

“...Ah, right! Senior Hans sent a message.”

“Hans?”

“He’s currently on standby, but he said he really wants to see you as soon as possible.”

“He wants to see me urgently?”

“Yes. He didn’t explain in detail, but... from the tone of his voice, it sounded serious. I think something might’ve happened.”

Ludger thought for a moment about what might have happened to Hans.

The answer came to him quickly.

“Ah, that.”

He remembered who Hans and Bellaruna were currently with.

Grander.

His eccentric old teacher was with the two of them.

‘I was wondering why Master hadn’t come looking for me—she must’ve found someone else to torment.’

Grander had always found Hans unusually fascinating.

Someone who transformed completely into a beast upon taking on an animal’s traits.

Even for someone as long-lived as Grander, Hans was bound to be a captivating subject.

‘Though from Hans’s perspective, being the object of that interest probably feels like hell.’

If Hans wanted to see him so badly, it was likely to beg him to rein Grander in.

Ludger shook his head.

He felt sorry for Hans, but he couldn’t leave the imperial palace at the moment.

He had no excuse to go outside, and entertaining a bored Grander was a task even Ludger found daunting.

“Send a reply to Hans. Tell him to wait just a few more days.”

“Understood.”

After Sedina left and Ludger was alone again, he mentally reviewed if there were any remaining tasks.

There weren’t.

He had received all of Aileen’s promised rewards, and he had already been in contact with Headmaster Elisa.

And now that he had spoken with Rine—perhaps the matter that had weighed on his mind the most—his to-do list in the palace was essentially complete.

‘All that’s left is informing Professor Chris about Bellaruna’s whereabouts.’

Maybe he could squeeze in a nap.

With that thought, Ludger headed back to his assigned room—only to narrow his eyes when he saw a familiar figure anxiously pacing by the entrance.

“What business do you have in front of my room, Mandelina?”

“Ah—oh! Y-You weren’t inside?”

“I stepped out briefly to speak with the Headmaster.”

“Oh, to the external communications room, then.”

“So if you’re here looking for me, I assume something’s come up.”

“Well, yes... sort of...”

Mandelina wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and avoided his gaze.

She still found Ludger intimidating.

Even though she knew he had no intention of killing her anymore, the fear that had been engraved deep into her memory didn’t vanish so easily.

Ludger, for his part, had no intention of reassuring her.

That woman had a tendency to get too relaxed once you let your guard down—keeping her tense like this worked better.

“So? What is it?”

“Um... I guess you could call it ‘business.’ There’s a guest from outside.”

“A guest? Someone who came to see me?”

“N-No, not exactly. The guest came to see His Majesty the Emperor—and the First Princess.”

Someone visiting the Emperor and the First Princess directly?

Ludger caught the unease behind Mandelina’s tone and her choice of words.

“Her Highness told me not to say anything, but... I couldn’t help but worry.”

“Who is it?”

After some hesitation, Mandelina finally answered.

“A messenger from the Theocracy of Bretus came to visit.”