Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece-Chapter 261: Field Trip [1]

Bang—!

The heavy door slammed open with a loud bang as Aurelia stepped inside.

Her hair was billowing behind her. Blue, furious eyes locked on the figure sitting on her office table.

"What did you tell Kyle?" Aurelia demanded her voice, carrying with restrained rage.

"Oh, my where are your manners, Aurelia?" Seris said calmly, keeping her eyes still locked on the parchment on her office table. "Barging into my office like that."

Slam—!

Aurelia walked in front of her table and slammed her hand on the table with quite a force, saying, "Answer the damn question first!"

Pile of documents lifted in the air from the force of her slap, but before they could scatter, they froze midair.

Papers frozen in space glowed with a purple hue, then flew back to their original place.

"Haa...." Seris exhaled softly, setting her pen down. "You are always so impatient. Your students will be disappointed if they find out the real Aurelia."

Her golden pupils finally lifted, meeting Aurelia's furious blue eyes.

"I didn't tell him anything."

"Don't play games with me." Aurelia gritted her teeth. "Answer me. What did you say to him?"

"I only told him that I know his mother." Seris said calmly without breaking eye contact with her.

"That's it," Aurelia snapped. "You know how he is. You made him curious, so he can try to dig into his past."

"That wasn't my intention."

"You know what you were doing precisely. Why do you want to drag him to her past?"

A blue wind aura gathered around her, lifting her hair as her blue eyes glowed.

"He's happy now. Why do you want to risk breaking that to...."

"To what?" Before she could complete her sentence, Seris interrupted her. "To tell him the truth?"

Aurelia's hands curled into fists.

"I swear," She whispered. "If you say another word about this, I'll—"

Aurelia halted midsentence as heavy pressure suddenly descended on her. Her knees trembled, and every instinct screamed danger as heavy mana choked the air out of her lungs.

Aurelia gritted her teeth, biting back the groan.

Seris' glowing, golden pupils locked onto her with an unreadable expression.

"Be careful with your words, Aurelia."

Suddenly, the invisible pressure vanished, leaving Aurelia gasping for air. Her hair clung to her temple from the sweat that had formed.

Seris exhaled a hint of regret crossing her face.

".....I apologize... I overdid it." She said in a sincere tone.

"....."

"....."

For a long time, no one spoke.

Tick tick...

The only sound was the clicking of the clock in the otherwise silent room.

Aurelia clenched her fist, looking down as her hair covered her eyes.

Finally, Seris broke the silence.

"I won't tell him anything. If that's what you want, I'll respect that decision."

Her golden eyes softened. "But tell me something, Aurelia. Don't you think he has the right to know? About his origin? About..... his real mother?"

Aurelia opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out.

"You think I haven't thought about telling him that... that...."

She stopped her sentence. And bowed her head slightly. "Please, this is the only request I'm making you, don't tell him anything."

"Please, Seris."

With that, she turned around and exited Seri's office.

"Haa..."

Seris exhaled, leaning back on her chair as she kept staring at the office ceiling.

"....What a mess."

She hadn't really expected Aurelia to react like that.

"Who would have thought she could also make that kind of expression?"

She dragged her hand from her face. She straightened up, and a small, purple, shimmering portal appeared in front of her.

She reached out her hand in the portal, pulling a small photo frame.

She brushed her finger on the photograph. The image was old with slightly faded colors.

It was a photo of two young girls smiling together under the shade of the tree.

Her thumb lingered on the face of a younger girl with a deep sadness on her face.

"..."

—————————

"Yawn~"

A soft yawn slipped past Kyle's mouth as he stretched his arms above his head. His joints popped with quite a protest.

"Did you not get enough sleep?"

Eleanora's calm voice reached his ears beside him.

Kyle gave her a slight glance. Her light blonde hair glowed slightly under the morning light.

"I did sleep." Then, after a pause, he continued. "Just.... not enough, I guess."

Eleanora's crimson eyes lingered on him before she nodded.

"You can make up for it in the mana bus. The Crimson Falcons are one of the most comfortable mana transit models. You won't even realize when you've fallen asleep."

Kyle raised an eyebrow.

"For Real? Didn't think princesses also traveled by bus."

Her eyes snapped towards him and gave him a light jab on his shoulder.

"Don't tease me." She muttered.

He chuckled under his breath and didn't press her.

Eleanora opened her mouth to continue, but stopped herself. Something in his demeanor told her he wasn't in the mood for conversation. His eyes looked distant, as if he were in deep thought, or maybe it was due to lack of sleep.

They stood among the gathered first years on the academy grounds. The morning air buzzed with chatter and excitement.

Dozens of students were clustered in a group, their voices overlapping as they spoke about today's field trip.

At least that's what the Instructors told them.

But deep down, everyone was expecting it not to be a simple field trip.

Solvayne Academy didn't organize trips for fun. If it wasn't an exam, it was a test. If it wasn't a test, it was a setup for one.

A few students were joking nervously, while others muttered and prayed that this trip would not be as cruel as the last midterm exam had been.

Kyle's blue eyes drifted past the crowd ahead of him. Cedric, Reo, Cassian, Luna, Sylvie, and Lyra were huddled together, laughing about something.

Kyle stood a few steps behind them. He wasn't really in the mood to join them. The noise and laughter were a bit too loud for him in the morning.

Besides him, Eleanora stood quietly. On her other side was Serena, who was reading a book, probably a novel. Kyle couldn't really tell, as the book's title was covered with a white paper cover.

He shifted his attention from her and looked far ahead, where two dozen Crimson Falcon mana buses were lined up.

Each mana bus was crimson in color, while its front was shaped like a falcon's beak, and white wings were painted on the sides.

Honestly, the design looks really weird to him. But as they say, they shouldn't judge anyone by their outer appearance. The inside might be luxurious, as Eleanora had said.

Clapp...! Clapp..!

The sharp sound of clapping echoed through the academy grounds, cutting through the noise.

"Alright, students! Pay attention here!"

————————