I ate the cake on the table calmly. From the beginning, I had already thought about it.Did my father expel me from the family because I was humiliated in public? That was possible, but I didn't think the issue was serious enough to go that far.
A more reasonable explanation was that I had offended the sole heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Celestra.But who would have thought… it turned out the girl sitting in front of me was the real cause.
"That day, Alfred came to me and asked me to take care of your problem," Charlotte said. "I immediately wrote a letter to my father—a letter filled with slander about you. You already know what happened after that."
Charlotte stopped sipping her tea and looked straight at me.
Ever since my previous world, I had understood one thing very clearly:people with power are terrifying beings.
They don't need the truth.Once they set their sights on someone, everyone around them quickly understands one thing—that person is a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.So the only choices left are to distance yourself… or throw them away.
In the end, this was the limit of the Valcaryn family.How sad.
"Is there any other reason you called me here?" I asked casually, taking a sip of the tea prepared for me.
Charlotte slowly shook her head."To be honest, the Seravelle family has been weakening recently. I can't restore your name. On top of that, my family is gradually losing control over several of our subordinates."
I froze when I heard that."What happened?"
"A few days ago, my father returned from his expedition to an SS-rank dungeon," Charlotte continued. "But he came back in poor condition because a breakout occurred there. That's why Alfred had the courage to cut ties with me."
My expression hardened. Everything felt too closely connected."Was the Duke's expedition ordered by the king?"
Charlotte shook her head."No. My father went of his own will."
My mind spun, running through possibilities.From the start, all of this felt too coincidental. High-rank dungeon breakouts were rare events—there weren't even clear warning signs.
Was this really just bad luck?
"Because of that," Charlotte continued in a flat voice, "the help I can give you is very limited. I might not even be able to protect you from Alfred much longer. Still, I'll do whatever I can to fulfill any request you have."
For some reason, nothing was going according to my plans.But maybe… that was the charm of this world.
"Is that all you wanted to say?" I asked.
Charlotte looked at me without answering.
"Then I'll be leaving now. For the time being, I don't have any requests for you. Goodbye."
I turned around and left the mansion.
I walked back toward the academy, intending to head to the library. But realizing I hadn't really eaten yet, I decided to stop by the cafeteria to see if it was still open.
Inside, several students were still eating and chatting.I bought a serving of rice with a bowl of tofu soup. Even though I had around five million Orialis after selling off furniture, I still chose to be frugal and avoid luxurious food.
The academy only provided free dormitories. Because of that, many poor students worked part-time—either in the city or within the academy itself, such as becoming teaching assistants to earn points that could be exchanged for food, potions, materials, or tools.
I looked for a table along the side of the room so I could sit with my back against the wall.That's when my eyes were drawn to one table—a girl with striking white hair, wearing the academy uniform, sitting alone and facing the wall.
I walked over, set my tray down, and sat across from her.
The moment she saw me, her eyes widened. She immediately stood up, clutching her tray, about to leave.
"Sit," I said, my tone slightly threatening.
The girl looked frightened. She lowered her head and sat back down.
I glanced at her tray—rice with a few green vegetables.It was a bit strange seeing her alone. Alfred should have been guarding her wherever she went… or so I had thought.
"Do you hate me?" I asked casually while eating.
She slowly shook her head, still keeping her gaze down.
"I want to apologize."
Hearing that, she slowly lifted her head and looked at me.
"I don't expect you to forgive me," I continued. "But I promise I won't bother you anymore. So next time, you don't need to be that scared when you see me."
"Ac… actually," she said in a small, nervous voice, "what you said back then wasn't completely wrong."
I raised my head.
"I also thought people would see me that way if I worked at a bar," she continued. "My coworkers were like that."She paused. "That's why I decided to quit that kind of job."
"Was there a particular reason you worked there in the first place?" I asked.
She fell silent. No answer.
I didn't press her. We continued eating in awkward silence.Suddenly, I remembered—wasn't this girl watching when Alfred burned me back then?
The thought made me want to bury myself. I hurried my meal, and before long, my bowl was empty.
I stepped outside, heading for the library—only to find it raining.I tried to divert the water with magic, but for some reason, the rain stopped midair and piled up instead of flowing away.
Several attempts ended in failure.
"U-um… do you need an umbrella?"
Beside me, the white-haired girl—Alicia—offered an umbrella from her shoulder bag.
"Do you have two?" I asked.
She shook her head.
"It's fine. I can wait for the rain to stop while having some snacks in the cafeteria."
"Alright… then I'll be going," Alicia said before walking away and disappearing around the corner.
I tried again. This time, it worked—the rain flowed naturally to the side.
Suddenly, I saw Alicia running back, without an umbrella, completely soaked.
"Why did you come back? And where's your umbrella?" I asked, confused.
"My friend wants to buy some materials in the city," she said. "So I lent it to her."
"Why didn't you use it yourself?"
"I'm just going to the library," she replied nervously. "She wanted to buy something, so…"
I couldn't tell if she was naïve or just foolish—I really didn't know how Alfred could like someone like her.
"Then shouldn't you go back to the dorm and change your clothes?"
"I brought a change of clothes in my bag," she said. "I was planning to wait in the cafeteria."
"Then I'll be going."She went back into the cafeteria.
As I was about to leave, a man came out holding an umbrella.For some reason, it felt strange walking calmly in the rain without one.
"Hey, you. Want 900 Orialis?" I asked.
"Sure. What do I need to do?" he replied with a smile.
"I want to buy your umbrella."
The man thought for a moment. "Alright."
He handed it over. I gave him 900 Orialis, then headed toward the library.
When I arrived, I read a book about dungeons, quickly skimming through some key points and skipping the rest.
Basically, dungeons began appearing around a thousand years ago.Historical records explain that a breakout occurs when a dungeon's barrier weakens.
For SS-rank dungeons, breakouts are extremely rare. Throughout history, the number of cases can be counted on one hand. Whenever it happens, the impact spreads into an international crisis, requiring the involvement of many parties—kingdoms, empires, and even cross-border organizations.
To this day, the exact cause of high-rank dungeon breakouts is still unknown.One theory suggests that the phenomenon occurs naturally when the monsters inside grow too powerful and manage to break through the dungeon barrier from within.
Another possibility is the weakening of the dungeon barrier itself. This happens relatively often in low-rank dungeons. However, for high-rank dungeons, this theory is almost impossible—because their protective barriers should not be able to weaken naturally.