NOVPUBAfter her private audience with the First Princess Aileen, Terrina Lionhowl walked alone through the long corridors of the Imperial Palace.
Her gaze swept over the gardens visible through the palace windows.
Terrina kept replaying the conversation she’d just had with Aileen.
The First Princess had spoken of a man who had once helped her—a man named Jack the Ripper.
And perhaps, she said, that man might now be in Rederbelk.
Jack the Ripper, huh.
Terrina silently repeated the name to herself.
She’d never heard it before, but for some reason, it felt oddly familiar.
During the audience with Aileen, there was something she hadn’t mentioned.
Something she’d left unsaid.
That there might be another person in Rederbelk—someone she had once faced, but failed to capture.
The infamous phantom thief, Arsène Lupin.
Jack the Ripper and Arsène Lupin...
Terrina came to a sudden halt, her mind racing, comparing Aileen’s words with her own experiences, until a theory sparked to life.
What if the man the Princess called Jack the Ripper, and the elusive Arsène Lupin, were the same person?
It wasn’t based on logic or deduction, just a sudden flash of intuition—a small flame flickering into existence.
But Terrina couldn’t deny the strange pull she felt toward this idea.
Still, it doesn’t quite add up. If he had the skill to wipe out an entire Black Ops team on his own, why would he live as a mere wanderer? Why would someone like that bother stealing things like a common thief?
Killing and stealing.
Both were crimes, sure, but you couldn’t really compare them on the same scale.
And someone that powerful would be treated like royalty no matter where he went, wouldn’t he?
Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. They could very well be two different people.
Still, just like Aileen had said, it seemed wise to keep a close eye on Rederbelk.
If there was one thing Terrina knew, it was that Aileen didn’t speak nonsense.
Aileen von Exilion, First Princess.
The next in line for the Exilion throne.
And the true ruler of the Empire in all but name.
Even as a child, Aileen’s talents had been undeniable.
To Terrina, Aileen was nothing short of perfect.
No—she went beyond that. Sometimes, she didn’t even seem human.
She could master complex knowledge in a single glance. She could perceive the flow of massive events. She could twist people's hearts with her words. Her natural mana reserves and magical skill were beyond compare.
Even the Mage Tower had once formally requested she join them, desperate to have her under their roof.
She refused, of course.
Simple reason: nothing about them interested her.
Someone so perfect, capable of anything, couldn’t help but drown in inevitable boredom.
Aileen found life itself dull.
The only exception had been her younger sister, the Third Princess, whom she showed rare affection for—but even Erendir had left for Seorn. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
And so Aileen drifted, day by day, through the swamp of tedium.
But now, she had smiled—truly smiled.
She always wore a polite mask of a smile, but Terrina’s sharp instincts had noticed something different.
Aileen had genuinely enjoyed herself.
I’ll have to be careful.
Thankfully, Terrina had left a trusted subordinate behind in Rederbelk.
She planned to contact Enya the moment she returned.
* * *
5 days until the Kunst Auction.
Ludger walked through the grounds of Seorn Academy, preparing for his next class.
Trailing behind him was Sedina Roschen, his assistant and Third Order member of the Black Dawn, carrying stacks of class materials in her arms.
As they headed down an outdoor path toward the main building, Ludger spotted a familiar face.
Selina.
Selina, the first-year Spirit Studies instructor, was talking to someone.
A man Ludger didn’t recognize—but judging by his attire, he was clearly another Seorn instructor.
Since Ludger didn’t recall him, he was probably teaching third-year students or above.
Ludger stood still for a moment, quietly watching.
The two of them were talking, but it didn’t seem like a mutual conversation. The man was the one doing all the talking, pushing it forward, while Selina just smiled awkwardly, trying to respond.
She looked uncomfortable, which suggested that the man’s intentions were probably... not exactly subtle.
Ludger was still debating whether to just walk past or step in when Selina spotted him and waved.
"Oh! Ludger!"
The male teacher’s expression soured slightly when he saw Ludger.
He quickly mumbled something to Selina and left in a hurry.
Apparently too embarrassed to stick around after that.
Ludger didn’t care about that guy.
Instead, his attention shifted to the assistants standing nearby, as if keeping watch over Selina.
He focused on one of them.
Joanna Lovett, who had been glaring daggers at the male teacher just moments ago.
Esmeralda.
First Order of the Black Dawn. A powerful spirit mage who controlled a high-level fire spirit.
Ludger paused, wondering how he should handle this encounter.
Better not to make it obvious.
He decided to keep things natural and approached Selina.
"It’s been a while, Selina."
"Yes, it has!"
"Who was that just now?"
"Huh? Oh... um, he’s one of the teachers for the fourth-year students."
Her response felt off.
"Did something happen?"
"Oh, no. It’s nothing, really. He was just worried about what happened at the banquet, that’s all."
Sure, he was worried. That was probably just a convenient excuse to talk to her.
Selina knew that too, but she was too kind to speak ill of others.
Ludger didn’t intend to badmouth someone who wasn’t there either, so he simply nodded.
"I see."
Normally, the conversation would’ve ended there.
But Ludger didn’t want to waste this chance to see Joanna Lovett.
Even a little bit of information could be useful.
"Selina, have you been feeling okay since that day?"
"Hehe, I’m fine. Honestly, I think you had it rougher than I did."
"I didn’t do much."
He was being modest, but in reality, Ludger had been the one who took down the fire spirit.
Twitch.
At those words, Joanna Lovett flinched.
None of the other assistants noticed, but Ludger had been watching her carefully and caught the subtle reaction.
He pretended not to notice and continued talking to Selina.
"I never did check if the students made it back safely."
"Oh, they’re fine! Everyone got back safely. One of our assistants was there too and said everything was okay."
"An assistant?"
"Yes."
Selina stepped aside slightly and gestured toward Joanna Lovett.
Joanna gave Ludger a brief nod, her face stiff.
She was clearly drawing a line.
Ludger nodded back.
"That’s good to hear."
"But now that I think about it, I do regret not doing more. I should’ve handled things better."
"You did your best."
"But I couldn’t do anything."
Couldn’t do anything?
Ludger had seen her summon spirits and help evacuate people with his own eyes.
There’s no way that counted as ‘nothing.’
Maybe what was really weighing on Selina was the fact that this—helping people escape—was all she could do.
If she’d been a little stronger, maybe she could have stood and fought alongside the others against the fire spirit.
But she wasn’t strong enough. She didn’t have the ability.
All she could do was assist with evacuations, watching as others took on the real battle.
So that’s what she’s been thinking about.
Even someone as cheerful as Selina had her own doubts.
That’s only natural—everyone does.
"I heard from Professor Vierno that you played a crucial role, Ludger."
"It wasn’t anything special."
"Still, you’re amazing, Ludger. Do you think I could ever be like that?"
Ludger shook his head at that.
"No. You can’t."
"...Huh?"
Selina blinked, wide-eyed.
Wasn’t this the part where people usually said, Yes, you can. You just have to believe in yourself or something?
"You and I are different. Even if you wanted to be like me, you couldn’t."
"Ah, ahaha... R-right. I see..."
Selina’s smile faltered, disappointment creeping in—but Ludger’s next words caught her off guard.
"But on ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) the other hand, I could never be like you either."
"...What?"
"I don’t know how to smile brightly and speak kindly to others the way you do. That’s something only you can do, Selina."
It could’ve sounded like he was just trying to make her feel better.
But these weren’t hollow words meant to comfort.
They were honest, from the heart.
"Don’t try to be someone else. You’re doing more than enough just by being who you are."
"You know, Ludger, you’re really strange."
"Hmm. Am I? I wouldn’t know."
"Anyone else would’ve just told me what I wanted to hear. Like, You can do it! or Follow your dreams!"
"That’s probably true."
Of course it was.
Selina was beautiful, and it was easy to love her.
Everyone wanted to say nice things to her, protect her, keep her from being hurt.
"But you’re different. You’re brutally honest, and totally realistic."
"If it was hard to hear, I apologize."
Selina shook her head.
"No, not at all. Actually... I’m glad."
"..."
"Hey, Ludger. People say I’m lovable. Do you think so too?"
"I’d say that’s probably true."
Selina let out a soft laugh at that.
"Probably? What’s that supposed to mean? That basically means you don’t think so."
"Maybe. Did that hurt your feelings?"
"Nope."
She smiled—not the kind of smile she always wore, but one of relief, as if she were thankful.
"I’m actually grateful you’re treating me like this. I mean, I don’t really deserve to be loved anyway."
"..."
For a brief moment, her face darkened in a way Ludger had never seen before.
The complete opposite of her usual bright, bubbly self.
But it passed in an instant, and she was back to looking like a fairytale princess again.
Or rather—was that really her true self at all?
"Ah. Look at me, holding you up like this. You’ve got class soon, don’t you?"
"It’s fine. There’s still plenty of time before it starts."
"Still, thanks for listening to me rant. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime."
"You don’t have to."
"Come on, just let me treat you! It’s what people do."
Giggling like a child, Selina turned and walked off with her assistants.
Ludger was left standing there.
Though not entirely alone—Sedina Roschen had been by his side the whole time.
"...I find that offensive."
Sedina muttered, watching Selina’s retreating figure with barely concealed irritation.
"How dare she unload all that on the First Order. Isn’t that arrogant?"
"I don’t care. And neither should you."
"But still..."
"There’s a certain grace in letting these things slide. Learn to accept it."
"I-I see! Of course, First Order!"
"Sedina. When we’re alone, it’s fine. But when others are around, address me properly as Professor."
"Ah!"
Realizing her mistake, Sedina blushed deeply and bowed her head.
"Sedina Roschen."
"Yes, Professor Ludger?"
"Can you dig into someone for me? Their past, what they’ve done, maybe their family background."
Sedina nodded immediately.
"Yes! Just give me the word, and I’ll find out everything—even their third cousins twice removed!"
"That won’t be necessary."
He calmed her down a bit, seeing how eager she was already, then gave his real order.
"Find out everything you can about Joanna Lovett."
A normal person might have asked why.
But Sedina, thoroughly smitten with Ludger, didn’t question it for a second.
The fact that the First Order had trusted her with this task was more than enough.
"Yes, sir!"
