When William and the rest returned to the academy, they were immediately summoned by the Dean and hurriedly brought to his office.
This was the first time that William had entered the Dean’s Office since he enrolled at the Royal Academy. The room was less extravagant than he initially thought it would be. He could even say that it is quite plain. Nothing stood out enough to make it look like the room of the most powerful person inside the academy.
However, although the room had nothing to offer, the person sitting in the chair facing William and the others was a different matter.
‘Such a strong presence,’ William thought.
Although the Dean was only sitting on his chair, William felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders. He knew that the Dean wasn’t doing this on purpose, but it was similar to the presence held by his Master, Celine, and his Grandpa, James, when they were planning to do something serious.
“Thank you for coming,” the Dean of the Academy, Simon Otis Beasley, said with a smile. “Please, sit down and tell me everything that happened from start to finish.”
Everyone sat down, and Spencer started to narrate their tale. While Wendy’s twin brother was telling his version of the story, William observed the Dean of the academy.
Simon had long blonde hair tied in a ponytail behind his back. His light-green eyes were clear and bright. His pointy ears, that revealed his identity as an elf, listened seriously to Spencer’s accounts of what happened.
From all looks and angles, he looked like a man in his late twenties. However, since he was an elf, it made his age very hard to determine.
William’s Master, Celine, was twenty-eight years old, however, she looked like a young lady who had just turned twenty. The red-headed-boy had a feeling that even if a hundred years were to pass, Celine would still look as she did now.
“Thank you for sharing your story,” Simon commented. “We will investigate this matter.”
Simon then scanned the students inside his office and gave another announcement.
“Starting today, the Goblin Crypt will be inaccessible to the academy for the duration of the investigation. I know that this incident has caused everyone some inconveniences, so I’ve decided to award each and everyone of you 5,000 academy points.”
Simon waved his hand and five white coins hovered in front of each student. “The academy will not turn a blind eye on everyone’s heroic efforts. I pray that in the future, you will continue to protect the safety of the students of the Royal Academy and uphold our dignity.”
The eyes of the Third-Years widened when they saw the 5 white coins floating in front of them. Each white coin was equivalent to a thousand academy points. Usually, you could only earn a thousand points once you finished four to five missions on the academy’s bulletin board.
Aside from the First-Years, who didn’t know how lucky they were, the rest of the students were feeling giddy because a meat-pie had fallen from the sky. With this, they would be able to exchange for rare skills, weapons, armors, accessories, and many more items that were only exclusive in the Exchange Office of the Royal Academy.
“Ah, before I forget.” Simon cleared his throat. “This matter will be confidential. Don’t tell anyone what happened inside the dungeon. We don’t want the perpetrators to get wind of our investigation, so all of you must act accordingly. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Good.” Simon nodded his head. “All of you may leave, except for Mr. Ainsworth. I still have a few questions to ask you.”
Est and the others gave William a glance before leaving the room. When the door of the office closed, only two people and one goat remained inside Simon’s office.
William didn’t know why the Dean asked him to stay. The latter busied himself in preparing tea, leaving William to ponder Simon’s intention.
Ten minutes later, Simon poured two cups of tea and placed one of them in front of William. The red-headed boy said his thanks before drinking the cup that was specially prepared just for him.
The moment the tea entered William’s mouth, he felt a refreshing taste that he had never felt before. It washed away the exhaustion and anxiety that he was currently feeling from the events that had happened inside the Goblin Crypt.
Simon smiled as he observed William. He picked up his own cup of tea and drank it. A few minutes of peace passed before Simon finally decided to break the ice.
“How is Celine?” Simon asked. “Is she doing well in Lont?”
William returned the teacup on top of the table and looked at Simon with caution.
Seeing the young boy’s guarded expression, Simon chuckled and raised both of his hands in surrender.
“I meant no harm to you or your Master,” Simon said.
“Master? I don’t have any Master,” William commented. “What are you talking about, Sir?”
William knew that the Hellan Kingdom had banned the use of Dark Magic. He was not gullible enough to expose his Master’s condition nor whereabouts to a stranger. Even if that person was the Dean of the Royal Academy.
Simon had an amused expression as he eyed the handsome Half-Elf in front of him. He was quite satisfied with William’s reply because he didn’t acknowledge anything that might compromise his Master.
‘She found a good disciple,’ Simon thought as his eyes landed on the mithril collar on William’s neck. ‘So, this is the child of Arwen and Maxwell. Lady Fate is truly a fickle lady.’
William noticed that the Academy Dean was looking at his collar with a gentle gaze. Even so, he was firm in his decision to protect his Master’s whereabouts and identity.
“Did you know? I was one of the makers of that collar hanging on your neck,” Simon stated. “The Collar of Wisteria, a special collar that was crafted to enslave a young elf named Celine because of the power of darkness that ran through her veins.”
William’s eyes narrowed as he unconsciously clenched his fists that were lying on top of his lap.
‘This collar was used to enslave Master?’ William felt his heart shudder. ‘These bastards!’
William wanted to ask questions, but he resisted the urge and pressed his lips firmly together. He was afraid that he would start to hurl curses at the Academy’s Dean due to the anger that was rising inside his chest.
Simon noticed the change in William’s expression, but he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he continued his tale as if he was reminiscing out loud.
“I can still remember her lifeless expression when she wore that same collar on her neck. Back then, everyone in the elf village disdained and scorned her for being impure. She was also subjected to very harsh training… Yes, she was subjected to torture using Dark Magic.”
Simon drank the remaining tea in his cup to wet his throat. When he was done, he returned it to the table and spoke once more.
“I don’t know how an eight-year-old was able to take that kind of training,” Simon continued. “There were times when she would return home and her dress would be dyed with her own blood. That is not something that any eight-year-old should experience. It was inhumane…”
William’s fist was starting to shake for he knew just how terrible and painful it was to be subjected to such torture using Black Magic.
Simon sighed before looking up at the ceiling. “When her training ended, she thought that everyone in the village would be able to accept her, but she was wrong. The elves are a proud race. They disdain anything that isn’t pure. Although they tolerate Half-Elves in their territories, they also make them feel that they weren’t welcome. Hah~ such narrow minded fools.
“On Celine’s twelfth birthday, she was exiled from the village and sent to the Dark Elves to continue her training. There, she suffered untold horrors. Horrors that any teenage girl would never dream to experience. This lasted until she turned twenty years old. Her Grandfather, Darwin, personally went to bring her back from the Northern Continent.
“The Celine that came back with him was no longer the child that hoped for acceptance and love. Since the Silvermoon continent wouldn’t accept her existence, Darwin decided to take her to the Southern Continent–where his old friend lived.
“There, he hoped that Celine would regain the things that she had lost during her childhood. When she arrived at Lont, that was also the day when the collar on her neck was finally removed.”
Simon’s gaze shifted and locked onto the collar on William’s neck. “The collar you wear on your neck right now was dyed with her own tears, blood, and suffering. Do you know? That collar is the most precious and hateful thing in her possession. A collar she had to wear in order to tell others that she had no intention of hurting them or anyone else. A collar that she was forced to wear so that others will feel safe in her presence… that is the history of the Collar of Wisteria.
“A legacy of how the Proud Elven Race chained up a young girl because they were afraid of some stupid prophecy. A prophecy that would bring them to their knees.” Simon sneered. “Didn’t it even occur to them that if they showed her love and compassion, she would repay them in full? Perhaps they did, but they are a proud race. Elves are such a stupid race. A very stupid race…”
Simon ridiculed and mocked the Elves as if he didn’t belong to their race. The Dean of the Academy sighed one more time, before waving his hand.
“You may go,” Simon ordered. “The next time you see your Master, know that your own suffering wasn’t even a tenth of what she experienced in her lifetime. Make sure to treasure her well.”
William walked out of the Dean’s Office in a daze, followed by his Mama Ella. He didn’t even know how he managed to return to his own room. Simon’s tale was still circulating inside his head and it made him feel angry and ashamed at the same time.
Angry because of how much suffering his Master had gone through and shame for cursing his Master, Celine, in his heart during the first few weeks of his own suffering.
