Chapter 42: CH 42

Contrary to her delicate appearance, her fist that suddenly shot out was powerful. Reacting instinctively, Riett turned her body to the side to dodge the punch. Fortunately, the girl didn’t come at her with another attack. She simply blinked in surprise.

One person had their fist extended, while the other had dodged it by turning her body. Their gazes met.

“……”

“……”

Several seconds of silence passed.

The person who had first thrown the punch retracted it. Despite swinging her fist abruptly, she showed no sign of apology or confusion. And just like when Riett saw her at the dance party, she maintained a cold and haughty expression.

“Who are you?”

Although Riett thought it was impolite and unreasonable for her not to apologize or say sorry after swinging a punch, she suppressed the urge to get emotional, thinking of Lucas. And once again, she introduced herself.

“I’m Riett Marren. I’m Lucas’ friend.”

At Riett’s calm introduction, the girl’s expression wavered for the first time. Riett quickly added an explanation.

“We met once at the school dance party.”

“…I know.”

For some reason, she seemed to have complicated thoughts.

“Excuse me, but what’s your name? I didn’t hear your introduction back then.”

At the dance party, Lucas had only briefly introduced her as his cousin, and she hadn’t said a word herself.

“I’m Anna.”

When it comes to nobility, it’s common to mention which branch of the family they’re from and what number child they are. But she simply stated her name and fell silent again.

Riett thought Anna was truly an unusual person.

“If it’s alright, can we talk about Lucas for a moment?”

Anna nodded her head. Riett thought she might refuse considering her actions so far, but she surprisingly accepted easily.

The two of them moved to a nearby park and sat side by side on an outdoor bench. There weren’t many people around, making it a perfect place to have a conversation.

“What do you want to talk about regarding Lucas?”

Anna demanded to get straight to the point, which startled Riett. Since Anna seemed impatient, Riett thought she should quickly ask her question and part ways.

“I’m a close friend of Lucas. I’ve been worried because he’s been looking gloomy lately.”

“……”

“He says he’s fine, but I was wondering if anything is happening at home…”

After a moment of silence, Anna slowly spoke.

“Nothing is happening.”

It was an unexpectedly curt response, but Riett felt relieved. If nothing was happening, that was good.

But before Riett could say anything else, Anna abruptly stood up.

“If you have nothing else to say, I’ll go first.”

“Yes, thank you for your time.”

Riett could have replied with a polite farewell, but Anna turned around and walked away without saying another word.

However, just as Riett thought she would leave, Anna suddenly changed her course and came back.

“…I apologize for earlier. I mistook you for an enemy and attacked you without realizing it.”

Mistook her for an enemy…?

Would a noble lady be this cautious to the point of being defensive when encountering an enemy? Even in the middle of a crowded street, although it was a bit late… If she had thought she was a dangerous person, it would have been understandable…

“Well then, goodbye.”

As Riett interpreted her words, the slightly courteous woman rose from her seat and left. Once again, Riett couldn’t help but feel that she was an unusual person.

‘Even though they share the same bloodline, why are they so different?’

Despite being introduced as cousins and attending the dance party together, they were quite close relatives, but she was so different from Lucas.

‘Oh, come to think of it, they do have some similarities.’

Riett thought that Anna’s posture as she swung her fist was similar to Lucas’ stance when handling a sword. Perhaps they had a traditional martial art passed down through generations in their household, but Riett didn’t know about it.

Remembering the unconventional first meeting with her, Riett left the park.

* * *

Several more days had passed since the bizarre encounter with Lucas’ cousin.

‘That darn clock.’

Riett, who couldn’t concentrate on her English class today, glared at the clock tower towering outside the classroom. Staring at the clock tower wouldn’t change anything, but she was still angry when she thought about what happened in the morning.

She had stayed late at the library yesterday to find some references, and until then, the clock tower was running slow. However, it wasn’t the case today. It had somehow caught up with the correct time.

Unaware of this fact, as Riett entered through the school gate and looked at the clock’s hands, she panicked upon realizing that there was little time left until the class started. If the slow clock was already showing this time, then the class must have started a long time ago.

When she realized she was late for class, Riett ran as if she had gone mad.

But…

Thud!

Of all things, she stumbled loudly over a cobblestone.

Embarrassment rushed over her before the pain in her knee. When she glanced around to see if anyone saw her, Evan happened to be standing in front of her.

She wished he had just let her go, but Evan personally came over and helped her up. He even took out a handkerchief and wiped off the dust from her knee.

“Be careful.”

And just like administering medicine, he smiled and disappeared.

If she recalled that scene, her face flushed with embarrassment. So, she could only glare at the clock tower, the culprit that made her run in a hurry as if seeking revenge.

“R-Riett?”

The gaze that was directed at the clock tower turned to the side and looked up. Samuel had a bewildered expression.

“Why are you looking at it like that…?”

“The clock tower.”

“The clock tower… Why?”

“I’ve been embarrassed since morning because of that broken clock tower.”

Riett replied with a sigh.

“The clock tower is broken?”

Samuel’s foolish question made Riett roll her eyes.

But it wasn’t just Samuel who seemed puzzled. Lucas, who was standing beside her, also asked with a hint of confusion.

“Isn’t it just a mistake on Riett’s part? Look, it’s showing the correct time now, right?”

“No, it’s accurate now, but in the evening…”

Hold on a moment.

While speaking, Riett realized something.

Come to think of it, she had never considered the clock running slow during the day. The bell always rang at the scheduled class and lunch times, and the clock tower served as the reference. But why did the time always slow down when she looked at it in the evening? Perhaps these guys had never stayed at school until late in the evening.

Now that she thought about it, not only them but also the students at the prestigious school were generally the same. They were all from noble families, so they had well-equipped study spaces in their mansions, and as a result, they didn’t need to stay at school late to study.

That was true for Riett as well, but because of her habit of studying at school from her past life, it was more convenient for her to study at school. So it wasn’t that Samuel and Lucas were strange, but rather that most people didn’t know that the clock malfunctioned in the evening.

“What were you going to say, Riett?”

“No.”

In response to Samuel’s question, Riett waved her hand.

“By the way, have you learned anything about the ancient sun?”

Damn, because of that, she’s been feeling restless lately. In her anxious state of mind, Riett ignited a fire under the clueless Samuel.

Fortunately or unfortunately, no one had solved the problem even after a week of the election period. Once a submission was made, whether it was correct or not, there were no more opportunities, so everyone was acting cautiously.

With no response from Riett, Samuel asked the next question.

“So, have you found a partner?”

At those words, Riett glanced briefly at Lucas beside her.

Since Lucas proposed the partnership, he hadn’t pressed for an answer even though Riett had been delaying it for days. She still wasn’t confident, even though she knew that Lucas was the optimal partner based on the conditions.

But she couldn’t delay the answer any longer.

“Lucas.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll think about it for just one more day, and I’ll give you an answer tomorrow for sure.”

Lucas smiled broadly in response to Riett’s words.

Although he rarely showed frustration in situations like this where the answer was being delayed, it seemed that seeing his face increased Riett’s confidence in him.

Indeed, Lucas, whom she had been close to all this time, was someone she could trust.

Nevertheless, since she had gained one more day of grace, she would think about it one last time and give her answer tomorrow.

“I’ll get up first.”

Riett gathered her belongings and stood up from her seat.

* * *

Back at home, Riett once again fell into contemplation. She had practically found a partner, so now she just needed to focus on the problem.

‘The ancient sun, the ancient sun…’

…No matter how much she thought, nothing came to mind.

What could the principal have been thinking when he posed this problem? Still, selecting someone to represent the students for a year, wouldn’t have given the problem any thought.

Unable to come up with an answer, Riett shifted her thinking toward the person who created the problem.

‘The principal…’

Although there were malicious rules introduced in this year’s election, Riett was still more inclined to think positively about the principal. He was a person who wanted to give everyone an equal opportunity.

The election system gave anyone who solved the problem a chance to become the student council president and allowed anyone who placed in the top three to inherit the position irrespective of their family status or influence, supporting them in pursuing their dreams beyond the school.

Thanks to such a system, Riett, as a woman, also had the possibility of inheriting the noble title.

‘What else is there?’

Oh, one more thing. Just like Lucas had mentioned, the principal was a modest and humble person. It was evident in his appearance, and his reputation in social circles was the same.

His family had a long lineage of educators and had been operating the Truto Public Noble School under the Emperor’s trust. They held a prominent position in the field of education, which could have made them arrogant or boastful. However, it was said that they always maintained a humble attitude.

The fact that the school’s outdated facilities were not being replaced could also be attributed to his modest nature. He was someone who would never change anything unless he deemed it necessary.

‘But they should at least fix the clock tower.’

Riett complained as she lay down on her bed.

Suddenly, a book hit her head. It was a book about spirit stones that Duke Kreutz had given her a long time ago. She had placed it on her bedside intending to read it this week, but she hadn’t even opened it for several days.

‘Sorry, mister..’

Riett decided to open the book, thinking it would help clear her mind and maybe read a bit of it. She unfolded the book, and on the first page, there was a table of contents.

“Types of minerals, understanding spirit stones, effects of spirit stones…”

Riett quickly glanced at the table of contents and flipped the page.

The first chapter provided an overall explanation of the various minerals in this world, which was necessary knowledge before delving into spirit stones.

‘Mana stones, minerals that contain condensed energy. Highly efficient mana stones can be used for up to a hundred years.’

Mana stones were the most commonly used material in this world. Riett skimmed through the section about mana stones and then lowered her gaze. In addition to mana stones, there were familiar ores listed.

As she mindlessly read through the mineral section, something caught Riett’s attention.

‘Sunstone. A mineral that contains concentrated sunlight. It used to be commonly used before the widespread use of mana stones, but nowadays it is rarely used.’

“Sunstone…? Was there such a thing?”

It was a completely unfamiliar concept of ore. Riett continued reading the description below.

‘It utilizes solar energy as a power source. However, it has the disadvantage of quickly depleting the energy stored during the day when the sun sets.’

As Riett read the words with an unenthusiastic gaze, her eyes gradually widened. A sudden thought struck her.

‘No way…!’

It perfectly matched the description and the school’s architectural structure. It functioned perfectly during the day but appeared broken in the evening…

‘That was the answer!’

Riett’s hand holding the book trembled with excitement.