"Sorry for disturbing your break. Student Vallhall, if you please."
"...?"
Needless to say, when Vicas showed up and called out to him right when the first lecture on the last day of lectures came to an end, Rotsard was a bit more than just slightly surprised.
Even so, he didn't let it show in particular, and stood up from his seat while completely ignoring Justin and Amelia… as he did everyday, ever since his good will was torn apart and pissed on.
"..."
Seeing Rotsard move, Vicas stepped out of the classroom, showing that he wants to be followed, which prompted the raise of a brow from the bleached-blond-haired boy.
But he did follow, luckily not far.
Lucky for Vicas, that is.
Vicas was waiting for him, only a few steps from the door, leaning against the wall.
"What is it? Did you forget some deta…?"
"Here."
Rotsard rolled his eyes and asked with a sigh, but he was interrupted by a piece of paper being pushed into his hands.
"...wait… Already…?"
Rotsard's brows could not shoot up any higher, that's how surprised he was, and his hesitant voice conveyed it perfectly.
"I walked in and asked if I could go through some records personally. They said that it would require some special paperwork that they can't be bothered with right now, so I said I'll do it for them and filled it in on the spot. From that point on, it was just looking through some documents. Quick work. Everyone could do that."
Vicas shrugged his shoulders dismissively, sounding very bitter for some reason.
"...that doesn't sound as if it was a talent your fae sucked out…"
"Huh? Are you crazy? Why would administrative work be considered a talent? You just have to repeat the same task enough times to learn how to do it."
Rotsard pointed out, making the red-haired boylean back and stare at him as if he said something outrageous.
"...talent is something that goes beyond just that. It's something special for liberal arts, magic, and combat… Anyway, that would be it for the favor I owe you."
Vicas turned really sulky for some reason and started walking away from Rotsard.
"...back then… your speech about honor and whatnot… It better not be just empty words to intimidate some commoner. It was discovered that someone broke into one of the sheds. Don't snitch."
"Sure won't."
After the last exchange, the two returned to their respective classrooms even before the start of the next lecture.
Back in his seat, Rotsard was originally going to wait without checking the records procured for him by Vicas, but the lecture ended up sounding so boring that his hand took out the folded page almost involuntarily.
The date matched, at least as far as Rotsard could recall.
The list itself was short.
Only three names.
Kyle Hounderd
Lila
Kyle Hounderd
Joshua Karlasth
Joshua Karlasth
The commoner nurse, as all commoners didn't have a surname, so only her name was properly registered.
As for the other two.
…it was Rotsard's very own butler…
…and a teacher who didn't seem to particularly like the bleached-blond-haired boy…
The repetition of the name merely meant that the same person went back through the barrier.
Out of the two suspects, one had far more reason to want to get rid of the nosy nurse's investigation.
"..."
The boy gritted his teeth while clenching his hands on both sides of his desk.
Was it his fault, after all?
The commoner nurse was murdered because of him.
Because she wanted to help him…
Why didn't he lie better when the commoner nurse began to suspect that his family was against him?!
Did he really want to cherish the one year in which no one within the Royal Academy knew that he was the black sheep of the Vallhall family?!
Rotsard didn't want to admit it even to himself, but he actually wanted the commoner nurse to investigate things.
He wanted her to care.
He wanted ANYONE to care…
So despite pushing back… he didn't do it enough. He didn't do it properly.
His acting wasn't enough…
And that made the commoner nurse really start looking into things she shouldn't and…
…and no one is free to dig up dirt on his family and live to tell the tale…
Was….
Was that the reason his uncle, Ian Houndred, insisted on him taking the butler and keeping him around…?
Kyle did a good job dealing with the potential threat to the family and was ordered to continue?
*CRACK*
"!?!?"
Before he realized it, Rotsard tore his desk in half with his bare hands, startling both the teacher and his fellow students alike.
Everyone stared in silence as the papers and ink bottles, empty and full, bumped against Rotsard's legs on the way to shatter at his feet while he was sitting there with two halves of the expensive furniture.
It was worth mentioning that since it was THE Royal Academy, each piece of equipment was of the highest quality, so all desks weren't some flimsy thin planks on stubby legs, but rather proper works of carpentry arts built to last for ages with their unparalleled sturdiness.
…of course, that was until a certain bleached-blond-haired individual ripped one apart like a wet tissue.
Which wouldn't be so baffling if it was done with the help of the internal spells enhancing the strength, but even a single glance at Rotsard was enough to say with certainty that it wasn't the case for him.