The Lady's Butler: I Reincarnated To Serve The Villainess-Chapter 44: The Imperial Spirit Academy [100 PS Bonus - ]
The Imperial Spirit Academy was, very obviously, a statement of grandeur, just as the manhwa art had presented it.
At first sight, it looked like a cathedral but a lot larger. It had a large building made of white stone, seemingly merged with multiple towers on each end.
The roofs were made of golden metal that gleaned due to the sunlight hitting them, and at the very to of each tower shaped building, was a spire that seemed to pierce the sky itself.
The architecture looked like a mix between medieval castles and grand cathedrals, blend into one.
His on the walls were blue banners that held the academy’s crest, a golden shield outline and within a golden dragon.
Right in front of the massive doors that led into the building were stairs made of the same white stone as the building, barred by Flora.
In the center on the academy grounds was a golden statue of its founder, a figure that radiated so much pressure even though it was in animate.
But it wasn’t surprising, after all, the founder of the Imperial Spirit Academy was one of the only few to contract an Ancient Spirit over thousands of years ago.
Surprisingly, he just vanished completely a hundred years ago, after forming the Imperial Spirit Academy, without any explanation.
Some claimed he ascended, whatever that meant, others said he’s probably roaming Avera under a disguise.
But nobody knew for certain, not even the manhwa made his whereabouts clear. Though, if he was still alive and just written out of the story, Adrian would like to meet him, after all, the geezer had the perfect gift for his Renelle.
Adrian looked before him where a the massive gates stood open, allowing a steady flow of students to pass through.
The Academy’s grandness was second only to the royal palace, but even that was debatable.
"Let’s go," Renelle pulled him out of his thoughts as she walked through the gates with him calmly following behind.
The moment he stepped through, it felt as if he had just walked through some kind of thin invisible layer.
«A detection barrier,» Noctis informed, even though Adrian already knew that, «whoever put it up must certainly have a large mana pool.»
It so very much wanted to take its spot back on Adrian’s head, but that damn fox was still there.
It could try to scare Crystal off with its aura, but it knew that would be a bad decision, especially with the obsessed fool of a contractor it had.
So Noctis just gave up and stayed in the [Shadow Vault], communicating with Adrian from there.
"They definitely do," Adrian answered with a smile, "and she’s exactly who we’re headed to meet right now."
«I see,» Noctis muttered, «and who exactly is this person?»
"The headmistress," He answered, "and the daughter of this academy’s founder."
Also one of his favorite characters from the manhwa because of the type of Spirit she had, one that definitely didn’t belong to any normal category of spirits....just like Noctis.
«An important human,» the cat observed.
"Very much so," Adrian affirmed, "she holds the same power in Avera as a Grand Duke, sometimes even a bit higher." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
«Interesting,» It muttered before going quiet, it’s curiosity satiated for now.
Renelle, who was slightly ahead, slowed her steps before turning back to him and saying, "don’t fall behind."
"I wouldn’t dare," Adrian responded.
***
It took a couple of minutes, but Renelle and Adrian were now standing in front of a door labeled,
Headmistress.
Renelle let out a sigh before knocking once, and without waiting for a response, she opened the door.
They came into a relatively simple office, at least when compared to the rest of the academy.
Compared to the white, gold and blue of other parts of the academy, the headmistress’s office was mostly brown, giving a rustic feel.
There wasn’t much inside either, just a cabinet, a couple of sofa, and an office desk with two chairs on opposite sides, one of which was occupied by the headmistress herself.
She was a woman that seemed to be in her early twenties, though those looks were definitely deceiving since it had been over a century since her father disappeared.
Not that anyone would dare mention her age.
The headmistress had a pale skin, head full of black hair and red eyes, none of which told the type of spirit she was contracted to.
But what was even more terrifying was the aura she released, even though she wasn’t actively doing so.
Even from just looking at her, Adrian could tell how terrifying she was, something that Noctis noticed too.
«What an interesting human,» it muttered, sensing the almost endless mana that was coming from the headmistress.
"I don’t believe I granted you permission to enter," She suddenly spoke up, finally looking up at the two.
Although her expression looked stoic, Adrian knew that this was just a facade, especially when it came to Renelle.
After all, the other reason why he liked the headmistress was because she was one of the very few that tried to steer Renelle away from the path of ruin.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t as Renelle had already chosen her path, so the headmistress could only allow her to deal with the consequences herself.
"I guess you’re finally tired of playing tail to the prince," the headmistress’s expression suddenly changed as she let out a sigh, "or am I wrong, Renelle?"
Renelle stood there, silently looking at the headmistress.
She had a lot to say, yet so few words she could use, so she could only remain silent for a long while, before she finally said, "I’m sorry."
The headmistress looked at her expression, before waving her hand in front of her face.
"No need to apologize," She simply said, although a bit surprised at the fact that Renelle Ardent was apologizing.
Plus she wasn’t entirely sure why the child was apologizing in the first place, but she was certain of one thing, this Renelle was completely different from her first year self.
But she blamed the change on the broken engagement... speaking of which, the headmistress turned towards the boy standing a step behind Renelle with a small smile on his face.
"And you must be her new Butler," She said, "I heard you put on quite the show during the royal ball."
"I am," Adrian affirmed with the smile still on his face.
"I see," the headmistress nodded, observing him for a while before asking, "what’s your name, child?"
"Adrian," he introduced himself with a light bow, "and it’s an honor to finally meet you in person, headmistress Evelina Whitmore."
