Chapter 82: A unexpected challenge
I barely managed to finish half my sandwich before Clara glanced toward the academy clock tower.
Then she sighed.
"Lillith."
"Mhm?"
"Our next class starts soon."
Immediately Lillith’s expression fell.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
Lillith tightened her grip around my arm.
"I’m staying here."
"You have class."
"I have darling."
"That is not a valid excuse."
"It should be."
I wisely remained silent.
Unfortunately Clara wasn’t willing to surrender.
Neither was Lillith.
The argument continued for several minutes.
Eventually Clara looked toward me desperately.
I sighed.
"Lillith."
She then immediately turned toward me with her ignorant and bias full face.
"Yes darling?"
"You should probably go."
The betrayal on her face was immediate, which almost made me feel bad.
Almost.
After several more minutes of arguing, pouting, and dramatic sighing, she finally stood up.
"Fine."
The word sounded painful.
Very painful.
Clara immediately grabbed her sleeve.
Before leaving, Lillith turned around and looked back at me, glaring back at me with sad puppy eyes.
Then she looked back again.
Then again.
Then one more time.
It looked less like she was heading to class and more like she was departing for a military campaign.
Eventually Clara managed to drag her away.
I shook my head and returned to work.
The afternoon passed surprisingly quickly.
The steel frame continued growing section by section.
Workers carried support beams into place.
Others secured joints and reinforcements.
Several men worked beneath the structure installing sections of the heating system.
The greenhouse slowly began looking like an actual building.
At the same time—
The students became worse.
Much worse.
Word had clearly spread throughout the academy.
Everywhere I went I could feel eyes following me.
Students whispered constantly.
Groups gathered near the perimeter.
Some pointed and others stared while a few looked completely horrified.
I caught fragments of conversations while passing by.
"That’s him."
"The worker?"
"No, that’s Lady Nightbane’s darling."
"Seriously?"
"Look at him."
"How is he still alive?"
I ignored all of it.
The workers ignored all of it.
Construction continued.
Eventually classes ended with students then beginning to flood out of the academy buildings.
The grounds became crowded again.
Then I spotted a familiar figure running toward me.
Black hair.
Purple eyes.
A very dangerous amount of enthusiasm.
Lillith.
She immediately accelerated.
I sighed.
A couple students actually stepped out of her way.
Smart decision.
A moment later she crashed directly into me.
"Darling!"
"Hello Lillith."
She smiled brightly.
Then immediately attached herself to my arm again.
I looked around.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Don’t you have a carriage waiting?"
Lillith looked completely unconcerned.
"I told them to leave."
I blinked.
"You what?"
"I told them to go."
"...Why?"
She looked at me like I had asked the stupidest question imaginable.
"Because you’re here."
I stared at her.
She stared back.
Apparently that was sufficient explanation.
I rubbed my forehead.
Then looked around.
"Where’s Clara?"
Immediately Lillith narrowed her eyes.
"Why are you thinking about another woman?"
I blinked.
"What?"
"You’re supposed to be thinking only about me."
I couldn’t help laughing slightly.
Lillith looked even more offended.
Eventually I reached over and lightly tapped her forehead.
"You’re the only one for me."
Silence.
Then her face turned bright red.
Immediately afterward she buried her face into my chest.
Then started rubbing her cheek against me.
I looked down.
"...What are you doing?"
"Marking you."
I regretted asking.
"What does that mean?"
"I’m leaving my scent on you."
Several nearby students froze.
One boy physically stumbled while another girl looked moments away from fainting.
Meanwhile I considered disappearing.
"Lillith."
"Mhm?"
"Please don’t say things like that."
"No."
Of course.
After a while I managed to gently pull her away.
"Are you heading home now?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Lillith."
"I’m staying."
"We’ll be here for several more hours."
"So will I."
I pointed toward the construction site.
"We aren’t done yet."
She smiled.
"Then I’ll watch."
There was no winning.
Eventually I gave up.
I guided her toward a patch of grass overlooking the construction site.
"Stay here."
She crossed her arms.
"I’m not a dog."
"Just don’t cause problems."
"I never cause problems."
We stared at one another.
Neither of us believed that statement.
The next several hours passed peacefully.
Lillith sat nearby watching me work.
Sometimes she waved.
Sometimes she smiled.
Occasionally she glared at other students and staff that where also staying late who looked at me for too long.
Normal behavior by Lillith standards.
By evening the workers finally began packing up their tools.
The sun had already started setting.
Construction would continue tomorrow.
Together we headed toward the Nightbane residence.
The workers returned to their accommodations while Lillith and I headed inside the palace.
A while later we found ourselves lying in bed.
I was lying in bed.
Lillith was attached to my side lying on me.
As usual.
The moment she settled down she immediately started talking.
"The last few days have been amazing."
"I’m glad you feel that way."
"The fireworks were beautiful."
"They were."
"Although I wasn’t too fond of the fake gift."
I stared at the ceiling.
I had no response to that.
Lillith continued happily.
"The fireworks."
"The date."
"The greenhouse."
"The academy."
"Seeing darling at school."
Everything got mentioned.
Several times.
Eventually she folded her arms.
"I still have lingering feelings about your prank."
I sighed.
"You already forgave me."
"I did."
She nodded.
Then smiled.
"But I reserve the right to complain."
That sounded exactly like something she would do.
After a while I glanced toward her.
"Are you going to sleep tonight?"
Lillith thought about it.
"Maybe tomorrow."
I blinked.
"What?"
"Maybe the day after."
She said it so casually.
As though she was talking about just staying up until midnight.
I still wasn’t used to it.
The fact she casually stayed awake for a week remained deeply disturbing.
Lillith looked completely unconcerned.
Meanwhile I was already struggling to keep my eyes open.
The last thing I saw before drifting off was Lillith smiling softly while watching me.
Then darkness took me.
———————————
The next morning I woke up to a familiar sight.
Purple eyes.
Staring directly at me.
I didn’t like that I was starting to get used to this.
The moment Lillith noticed I was awake, her face immediately lit up.
"Good morning darling."
I groaned slightly.
"Good morning."
She moved closer instantly.
"Did you sleep well darling?"
"Yes."
"Did you dream about me darling?"
I opened one eye.
"...How long have you been awake?"
"Around a couple days."
Lillith smiled happily before resting her chin on my shoulder.
"I watched you sleep."
"That is still creepy."
"It’s not my fault your so cute when you sleep!."
I couldn’t be bothered anymore.
A few minutes later we both got ready.
Normally Lillith would leave using the Nightbane carriage.
Today she simply ignored it, instead she attached herself to my arm and followed me toward the worker wagons.
The journey toward the academy passed peacefully.
Mostly.
Lillith spent most of it leaning against me.
After a while she looked up.
"How much longer until the greenhouse is done?"
I thought about it.
"Two or three more days."
"That’s all?"
"We don’t have nearly as many workers as when we built the first one but we also don’t have to spend time experimenting like we did with the first one."
Lillith nodded thoughtfully.
Then smiled.
"Hey Leon let’s say that the greenhouse collapsed due to natural forces how many days would that add?"
"Don’t even think about it Lillith."
She leaned back and slid down the back of the wagon with her arms crossed like a angry child while pouting.
Eventually the academy came into view.
The rear gate opened shortly afterward.
The same knight from yesterday stood guard.
He immediately recognized me.
"Back again?"
"Unfortunately."
The knight laughed.
Then his eyes landed on Lillith.
Immediately his expression changed.
"My lady."
Lillith waved.
The knight looked confused.
"...Why are you here?"
"I’m with my darling."
The man looked exhausted instantly.
"Students are supposed to enter through the front entrance."
"It’s fine."
"It really isn’t."
"I’m going inside anyway."
The knight stared at her.
Then stared at me before he sighed heavily, I could see the gray hairs start to form from stress.
"Just go."
We entered and the workers immediately resumed construction preparations.
The greenhouse looked significantly different compared to yesterday.
The lower walls had been completed.
The furnace room stood finished.
Most of the underground piping had been installed.
Things were progressing nicely.
I looked toward Lillith.
Who was still attached to me.
"Lillith."
"Mhm?"
"Don’t you have class?"
Immediately she frowned.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes."
She looked deeply depressed.
Eventually she released me.
Slowly.
Painfully.
"Fine."
Then she started walking away.
Very slowly.
I watched her leave.
Then got back to work.
After a bit our next major task for the day was up.
Testing the heating system.
The problem was simple all we needed was water and a fair bit of water at that.
But we currently had none.
I scratched my head.
Then looked toward the academy buildings.
Surely somebody around here could help.
After informing the workers where I was going, I headed inside.
After couple minutes of walking around I could see students coming out of the classrooms.
It seems that lessons had ended.
Almost immediately I felt out of place.
Students filled the hallways.
Academy uniforms everywhere.
Meanwhile I was covered in dirt, dust, and construction grime.
Several students glanced my way.
Then looked again.
Probably because I looked like somebody who got lost on the way to a mine.
I continued searching for an office.
Then a voice called out.
"Hey you."
I turned around.
And immediately recognized him.
Adrian.
The original protagonist.
Standing beside him was a blonde girl with twin drills on her head.
She leaned comfortably against his arm.
The hallway gradually became quieter.
Students slowed down.
Watching and waiting.
Adrian walked forward as the blonde followed.
He looked me up and down.
Then frowned.
"What is a sorry excuse of a person like you doing here?"
I blinked.
That was surprisingly direct.
"The academy hired me to build something."
Adrian looked slightly thrown off by the calm answer.
Then recovered.
"You look like a mongrel."
Interesting opening strategy.
I decided to continue being honest.
"I’m looking for the botonay teacher or a groundskeepet."
Adrian ignored that.
"Since you’re apparently engaged with Lady Nightbane, you must be a noble."
"I mean I guess I am."
"And you’re probably only here to show off your status."
I looked down at my dirt-covered work clothes.
Then back at him.
"...I’m literally dressed like a laborer."
Several students nearby tried not to laugh.
Adrian’s eye twitched.
I continued.
"I’m just trying to find water."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Why do I need you to believe me."
Silence.
Adrian looked annoyed.
Then he puffed his chest slightly.
"I’m a higher status than you."
I frowned.
"Weren’t you a commoner?"
The hallway immediately became quieter, and the blonde girl looked amused.
Adrian smirked.
Then wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"This is Princess Amelia Valenor my fiancé."
Ah.
That explained things, but brought even more questions as well.
Why was a commaner engaged to royalty?
I shrugged.
"Then i guess you are since I’m the second son of a baron."
Adrian blinked, he was definatly surprised that Lillith NightBane could be engaged to a baron.
Even if he was a commoner engaged to royalty.
His confident expression faltered slightly.
Then he quickly recovered as u continued.
"And in mana capacity most likely as well."
The hallway grew silent.
I casually continued.
"I don’t have any."
Every student.
Every conversation.
Everything stopped.
A noble with no mana capacity was practically unheard, of even amongst the absolute lowest ranking households most had at least a D rank one.
The whispers immediately began.
I could hear them spreading through the crowd.
Then Adrian laughed.
"Low ranking and mana-less."
I sighed.
This conversation was becoming exhausting.
Then-
"That Lillith NightBane is probably as pathetic as you since she’s desperate enough to get engaged with you, she really is a sad loner with no friends."
The hallway instantly became colder.
Several students actually looked around nervously.
Checking if she was nearby.
I slowly turned back toward Adrian.
"I don’t really care what you say about me."
His smirk widened.
"But I’d appreciate it if you took back what you said about Lillith."
Adrian immediately repeated the insult.
Louder.
More obnoxiously.
Then he smiled.
"If you don’t like it, duel me."
The smart answer was no.
The sensible answer was no.
"Sure."
The hallway exploded.
Gasps echoed everywhere.
Adrian looked delighted.
Then mockingly asked if I wanted a handicap.
"I mean I am handicapped so I guess that would help."
I simply lifted my left leg.
Unclipped it.
And held the prosthetic in my hand.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Nobody had noticed.
The long work trousers had hidden it completely thus entire time.
Even Adrian looked shocked.
Then he started laughing.
Harder than before.
"A mana-less cripple?"
"What could even be her reason for engaging with you?"
I clipped the leg back into place.
Then smiled.
"She loves me."
That somehow made him angrier.
Eventually he declared the duel would happen tomorrow during lunch.
I agreed.
Then he asked what I wanted if I won.
I thought for several seconds.
Then answered.
"I want you stripped down to your underwear."
The entire hallway froze.
"I want you kneeling in front of Lillith."
More silence.
"And I want you apologizing publicly."
The crowd looked horrified.
Adrian laughed loudly.
"Deal."
Making the best of this opportunity I then added on.
"How about you throw in a couple hundred gold coins, 100 should be enough."
"Since I’m not going to be paying it how about you do 500 instead."
Adrian laughed out smugly.
"And how about you."
Then he named his own condition.
If he won—
Nobody could complain about whatever injuries I received.
I agreed.
After all—
I wasn’t planning on losing.
Eventually Adrian left but before he did he grabbed my shoulder and whispers.
"I’m going to enjoy the expression she makes at your funeral that should get back at her for all these years of humiliation."
The princess followed after him.
The crowd slowly dispersed.
Meanwhile I stared at the ceiling.
I still hadn’t found any water.
This entire conversation had somehow made my original problem worse.
I kept walking around still looking for a staff member.
Then suddenly—
Two hands covered my eyes.
A familiar voice spoke behind me.
"Guess who."
I smiled slightly.
"No idea."
Immediately a angry huff was heard behind me.
"Take this seriously!"
I gently lifted the hands away.
Then turned around.
Lillith.
And Clara.
I greeted both of them.
Then immediately remembered my actual problem.
"Lillith."
"Mhm?"
"Can you help me with something?"
Her eyes brightened.
"Anything."
"I need a lot of water."
Lillith smiled proudly.
"That’s easy."
And finally my actual mission finally started making progress.
