Uria looked around the office, feeling dizzy as if she were trapped in an illusion. She glanced at Adam Drevin and thought, Aeren has a brother, and I didn't know? Do I even count as his friend, or am I just an idiot who only thought of him as one?
Ciya had told her to forget about him, but she had no one else to call a friend—all her friends were gone, and she didn't know who to talk to anymore.
Uria didn't know what to do. How could a harmless guy like Aeren kill anyone? She couldn't even imagine how he'd be capable of such a thing. She had seen him fight—he was average in speed and strength. Aeren had never impressed her in the slightest.
Now someone was telling her that Aeren—who looked average, had average strength, and was rarely seen by anybody—had killed a person. She would never believe anyone else if they told her this, but this wasn't just anyone. This was the Principal telling her that Aeren had killed someone.
She had heard about Aeren through Ciya, but she hadn't believed all her exaggerations about him and Prince Arin, so she'd ignored her.
She hadn't even met him since he disappeared a week ago.
Uria's eyes filled with tears as she asked with a look of denial, "Are you sure, sir? I mean, do you really believe that someone like Aeren could kill anyone?"
After hearing Uria's words, Isolde and Renn stared at her in shock, while Valerius studied her with a slightly raised eyebrow.
Valerius looked at Uria and said, "Student Uria, I can understand what you're thinking, but I saw him with my own eyes. That's why I asked you all to come here. I also suspect Aeren was involved in the incident at the capital."
Uria's eyes widened at that last sentence. She couldn't speak anymore and just stared at Principal Valerius, saying, "It's impossible." She broke down and started crying, but her instincts told her that Aeren had been too kind for a noble child—he had no arrogance like other noble children.
Uria had met many noble children before. They didn't even look at her, but Aeren had given them hope to live, provided them with essential things, and helped them grow.
And now they were telling her that Aeren had been acting all along—that he had always wanted to kill them.
Uria dropped to her knees, looking at the ground with despair in her eyes, not knowing how to speak anymore.
"Student Uria, do you know of any suspicious moments, things, or anything?" Valerius looked at Uria, who had accepted what was happening, and still asked her about Aeren.
Uria stared at Valerius for a few minutes, then with firm eyes said, "No, he didn't seem suspicious to me."
Valerius observed Uria for a second and saw fire emerge in her eyes. He had seen this before—when people started to accept their reality and wanted to make the world know about themselves, their eyes became real to others.
Valerius nodded at her answer, then looked at the other two, who were watching Uria. He began looking at them and asked, "Do you know of any suspicious events about Aeren? Like meeting others, speaking to unknown people, or anything else?"
Renn and Isolde looked at each other when—
Ding
Renn glanced at his system and said, "No, we didn't see anything like that, and we haven't met him for a year."
Valerius stared at Renn with a suspicious look, but he couldn't force them. They were his students, and protecting them was his responsibility. But he hadn't been able to save any student of his academy and had let them die.
Those students had families, and Valerius had met all the families, apologized, and offered compensation. Not all families took his compensation, but some did, which was why the academy looked stable.
But the academy was walking into an abyss. They had light in the form of Principal Valerius—he was the third strongest person in the kingdom, with only the Queen and King above him. So no one wanted to provoke Principal Valerius, or the world would know what would happen.
Valerius turned his head to Isolde and asked, "Can you tell me about Aeren?"
Isolde looked at Renn, who nodded to her.
Isolde turned around and said, "He came to my house alone, ordered by his father to be my personal butler..."
Isolde slowly and steadily told everything from beginning to end, even crying from time to time.
Valerius and the others absorbed all the knowledge about Aeren and his crimes.
Uria had been shocked before, but after hearing Isolde's account, she started to fear him. She had been living with someone who could have killed her anytime he wanted. She also felt relief that she had been able to survive him. Uria had thought of revenge against Aeren before, but now those thoughts shattered.
Uria no longer knew what to think—she had been living in an illusion with Aeren, and now reality was poking her like needles, destroying all her illusions.
Valerius was shocked by her explanation. He had never thought that Eledric Verdan had been speaking about Aeren.
Valerius never could have imagined it, thinking, Aeren was this dangerous at such a young age. Or maybe she was lying.
Valerius looked at Isolde and asked, "You're telling me that Aeren killed almost all the knights of Verdan house and made you all fear him?"
Isolde stared back at Valerius and said, "That's right. I had been feeling fear about him, but now that fear is somehow gone."
Valerius studied her and said, "You're telling me he was controlling your fear or something, but now it's gone, which is why you were able to say anything about Aeren?"
Isolde nodded.
"Do you really want me to believe your idiotic explanation?" Valerius uttered those words with irritation.
Isolde gazed at Principal Valerius for a few seconds, then turned to Renn with pleading eyes.
Renn saw her pitiful expression and was about to speak when they heard a knock on the door.
Everyone's attention turned to the door.