Chapter 15: Trekking [2]
The Belozersky Estate in the imperial capital had fallen into complete disarray.
"She said she’d be coming soon, but I didn’t think she meant this soon!"
Anastasiya hurried through the mansion, issuing orders to the servants one after another as everyone scrambled to prepare for the unexpected arrival.
Examination season had kept her occupied from dawn until dusk, leaving her with barely enough time to manage the estate’s affairs, let alone properly prepare for a visit from home.
To make matters worse, things between her and Ilya remained as cold as ever, and despite repeatedly telling herself she would eventually find an opportunity to speak with him, apologize, or at the very least convince him to return to the estate, that opportunity had never come.
"Ah...!"
Anastasiya hurried toward the window the moment she heard the sound of carriage wheels coming to a halt outside the estate.
Peeking through the curtains, she immediately recognized the crest emblazoned upon its side, a silver wolf, the symbol of House Belozersky and the Northern Duchy.
A coachman quickly opened the carriage door.
Stepping out with grace was a woman whose long, wheat-blonde hair reflected the afternoon sunlight, while a pair of brilliant sapphire-blue eyes, almost identical to Anastasiya’s own, calmly surveyed the estate before her.
Though the years had lent her a gentler elegance, there remained a sense of dignity in every movement she made, befitting the Duchess of the North.
"Mother..."
Fixing her dress, she hurried toward the estate’s entrance.
The composed, authoritative demeanor she normally maintained as the acting head of the Belozersky residence had faded away.
Now, she was the nervous daughter greeting her mother after months apart.
By the time she reached the front doors, the servants had already lined themselves along the entrance, bowing respectfully as the carriage came to a complete stop.
Anastasiya offered a graceful curtsy.
"Welcome to the capital, Mother."
Mariya Karlovna Belozerskaya, the Grand Duchess of the Northern Duchy and the matriarch of House Belozersky, one of the Empire’s oldest and most influential noble families.
Even within the imperial capital, her arrival alone was enough to command respect, for few could fail to recognize the woman who represented the Belozersky name.
Mariya’s sapphire-blue eyes swept across the estate before finally returning to Anastasiya.
A smile graced her lips as she stepped forward, reaching out to gently brush a loose strand of hair away from her daughter’s face.
"It’s so lovely to see you again, Ana."
Then, her gaze naturally wandered past Anastasiya, as if searching the entrance hall.
"Is it only you?" she asked. "Where’s Ilya?"
"Ah... that’s..."
For a moment, Anastasiya felt a bead of cold sweat roll down the side of her face.
"They’re conducting the joint examination today. It’s a field exercise that lasts ’four’ days, so all of the participating students are currently away from the academy."
She lied as easily as she breathed.
What other choice did she have?
There was no way she could bring herself to explain everything that had happened the moment her mother stepped through the front door.
If nothing else, Anastasiya desperately needed time, even if it was only a single day, to think of some way to fix the situation before Mariya inevitably learned the truth for herself.
"You’re a very bad liar, Ana."
But unfortunately for her, Mariya had always been an exceptionally perceptive woman.
"What happened between you and Ilya?"
"...."
* * *
Mount Serebryany.
Located along the southern reaches of the Northern Frontier, Mount Serebryany marked the point where the Empire’s temperate forests gradually surrendered to the perpetual snows of the North.
Although it did not technically belong to the Northern Duchy, the mountain had long been regarded as its natural gateway.
Its lower slopes were covered by dense pine forests, while its upper reaches remained buried under ice and snow throughout the year.
The harsh climate, unpredictable terrain, and abundance of magical beasts made it an ideal training ground for the academy’s annual joint examination.
By the time the six-person teams had assembled, dozens of instructors were already waiting near the academy’s central plaza.
At the center were several professors from the Magic Department, who worked together to construct an enormous spatial gateway.
———!
A moment later, a pair of towering doors materialized out of thin air, slowly swinging open to reveal an entirely different landscape beyond.
Whoosh——!
An icy wind rushed through the open gateway. Beyond the threshold stretched a vast mountain range disappearing into the horizon, with towering cliffs rising above endless forests while snow-covered peaks pierced the clouds overhead.
Although the expedition would begin near the mountain’s lower elevations, everyone present understood that the further they advanced toward Mount Serebryany’s upper slopes, the less forgiving the environment would become.
"The rules for this examination are fairly simple. From this moment onward, you will operate exclusively as six-person teams consisting of three students from the Knight Department and three students from the Magic Department. Once you pass through the gateway, your performance will no longer be evaluated as individuals, but as a single unit."
The instructor paused, allowing the students to absorb the announcement before continuing.
"Over the next three days and two nights, your team will travel through Mount Serebryany while completing a series of objectives prepared by the academy. Your instructors will not accompany you. Every decision your team makes, whether good or bad, will directly influence your final evaluation."
Several students immediately exchanged uneasy glances.
"You are free to establish campsites wherever you deem appropriate, ration your own supplies, assign watches during the night, and determine your own routes through the mountain. Whether you choose to travel cautiously or aggressively is entirely your decision. However, remember that the mountain itself is part of the examination, and poor judgment has a habit of punishing those who grow complacent."
The instructor’s expression remained unchanged.
"Lastly, you should expect to encounter other teams throughout the expedition. Should your objectives overlap, how you respond to that situation will likewise become part of your evaluation. The academy places no restrictions upon competition between teams, provided academy regulations are observed and no student deliberately inflicts life-threatening injuries. Beyond that... your choices are your own."
"...."
Silence fell.
The message had been delivered clearly enough.
Although cooperation within one’s own team was mandatory, cooperation between different teams was entirely optional.
Whether they chose diplomacy, competition, or outright conflict would ultimately be left to their own judgment.
As the students quietly processed the rules of the expedition, Ilya’s gaze wandered through the crowd until it unexpectedly met someone standing several meters away.
"...."
Vera.
Without a word, she lifted a finger and casually beckoned him over before turning and walking toward a more secluded corner as though she already expected him to follow.
After glancing back at his teammates, Ilya scratched the back of his head.
"I need to use the bathroom."
"Ah, alright," Siegfried replied with a nod. "We’ll wait here."
The others barely reacted. Seeing no reason to explain himself further, Ilya slipped away from the group and headed to where Vera was waiting.
"You know, Senior," Ilya said as soon as he reached her, "I was honestly beginning to wonder whether I’d been hallucinating you this entire time."
"...?"
"I mean, we’ve been secretly meeting for weeks now, yet somehow I’ve barely seen you around the academy during the day. For a while, I was starting to think you didn’t actually work here."
"...? Awfully rude today, aren’t you?"
"Heh. So, what did you need? I brought cigarettes, but I’m saving them for the trip, so you’ll have to buy your own for the next few days—"
"Would you stop talking over me?"
"Sorry."
Vera let out a sigh before reaching into her coat and retrieving a small glass vial. Inside were several blue pills, and without another word, she placed the vial into Ilya’s hand.
"Take these."
Ilya examined the bottle for a moment before looking back up at her.
"I’m only a teaching assistant, so the academy won’t assign me to supervise an expedition of this scale. Since we won’t be seeing each other for the next few days, I prepared a temporary suppressant in advance."
After a moment of pause, she continued.
"It won’t cure the backlash caused by your Domain, but it should alleviate the symptoms if your body starts freezing over again."
"...."
"That said, I’d strongly advise you not to use your Domain at all. The best medicine is ensuring you never have a reason to take those pills in the first place."
"Thank you, Senior. I didn’t think you’d actually worry about me."
"I’m not sure worry is the right word. Think of it as protecting an investment. It would be inconvenient if all the time I’ve spent training you went to waste."
"...."
"And one more thing, Ilya. Whatever happens over the next three days, never come down the mountain."
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