Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 228: Caroline Monarch (1)

“What brings you here?”

Elisa’s voice dropped coldly the moment she saw Caroline.

It was only natural, considering they’d just been glaring daggers at each other across the Grand Hall of the Arcane Chamber.

“Ugh. Elisa Willow.”

Caroline scowled openly at Elisa standing beside Ludger.

From that alone, their personalities were made painfully clear.

Elisa Willow—despite irritation or displeasure—managed her expression and maintained politeness.

Caroline Monarch—blunt and honest about her feelings, never hiding her dislike.

Like oil and water—fundamentally incompatible. freēwēbnovel.com

“Answer me.”

“Shut it. This has nothing to do with you.”

“You came to see Professor Ludger, didn’t you? Then of course it concerns me. He’s a professor of Seorn, after all.”

“What are you, his nanny? If you’re butting in just because you’re the Headmaster, that’s an abuse of power. Move aside and stop interfering.”

“If you have something to say, then say it here. Professor Ludger is far too busy to waste time on a barbarian like you.”

“Barbarian... I told you, don’t call me that!”

Caroline flared up at the word “barbarian.”

The bad blood between Caroline and Elisa Willow ran deeper than most would assume.

Their connection went back over ten years—all the way to their time at Seorn Academy.

When they were both students, Caroline was always loud and unruly, while Elisa remained calm and collected.

Naturally, the two clashed constantly.

Worse still, their talents were both exceptional, which only fed endless comparisons from those around them.

“My, are you really in a position to get angry right now?”

“Kh.”

“To begin with, don’t you think it’s absurd that you came to see Professor Ludger?”

Elisa smiled sweetly as she spoke.

You were just pressuring Ludger Cherish a moment ago.

And now you presume to have a conversation with him? On what grounds?

Even Caroline couldn’t find a proper rebuttal. She bit her lip in silence.

That was when Ludger, who had quietly been watching, finally spoke.

“Headmaster. That’s enough.”

“Ludger?”

“She’s my guest. I can at least hear her out.”

With Ludger’s words, Elisa backed down.

“Miss Caroline Monarch.”

“Just call me Caroline. No need for formalities.”

“What is it you wanted to say to me?”

“Well...”

Caroline hesitated for a moment, then bowed her head deeply toward Ludger.

“I’m sorry.”

The apology that left her lips drew a look of mild surprise from Ludger.

“At first, I thought you were just a terrible person.”

“This is the first time we’ve met face-to-face, as far as I know.”

“Well, yeah... This will probably sound like an excuse, but—I have an inherent hatred for high-ranking nobles and royalty.”

“And what does your hatred of royalty have to do with me?”

“When I first saw you, I thought you were some royal. That’s why I got defensive. I shouldn’t have, and clearly you’re not, but I let my prejudice get the better of me.”

“...”

Thought he was royalty. Judged him at first glance.

From Caroline’s perspective, high nobles and royals were people who crushed others with authority.

“There are plenty of mages who hide their family names. So I tend to judge people by gut feeling, not by name or lineage.”

To judge people by instinct...

It sounded ridiculous, yet Ludger didn’t bother to refute it.

Because Caroline had been entirely correct.

‘She’s the same type as Casey Selmore.’

A mage with that kind of intuition...

Someone who functioned more on instinct than reason.

Now he understood why Elisa called her a barbarian.

“But Miss Caroline, you have the family name Monarch, don’t you?”

“Oh, that? Monarch’s not my real name. It was just something the state gave me—like a leash to keep a disobedient mutt in check.”

Caroline had originally been a commoner.

The state recognized her exceptional magical talent and granted her semi-noble status with the family name.

“I hated it at first. But surprisingly, that surname helped me a lot. Just three extra letters after my name, and suddenly people treated me differently. Once I saw it was useful, I decided to keep it.”

“You used that name to form a mercenary corps?”

“Yeah. Monarch Mercenary Corps. A unit named after this bestowed surname.”

Using a noble surname to form a mercenary unit...

To other nobles, that would be seen as an intolerable disgrace.

It wasn’t a noble knight order—it was a ragtag mercenary band. A stain on noble honor.

Caroline had sullied something that was supposed to be sacred.

That was how deep her hatred ran for those in power.

“But you were different. You didn’t act superior like the others. You didn’t care what people thought. And then you just... casually revealed something incredible.”

Caroline understood.

Ludger hadn’t been pressured into revealing his research—he’d done it by choice.

Whether he was nobility or royalty didn’t matter.

The decision he made was noble in the truest sense, deserving of respect regardless of status.

“I’ll apologize again. I’m sorry.”

Caroline was honest because she knew she’d been wrong.

Still bowing her head, Caroline drew a sneer from Elisa.

“How convenient. You tore him to pieces, and now a single apology is supposed to make it all better?”

“...”

Caroline didn’t lift her head. There was nothing to say in return.

Elisa clicked her tongue at Caroline’s silence.

Her golden eyes shifted naturally to Ludger.

Well? What are you going to do now?

Is she really throwing this to me all of a sudden?

“Please lift your head. It’s not a good look.”

“...You’re accepting my apology?”

“You didn’t do anything that requires forgiveness. And neither did I. There’s no need to feel guilty.”

Caroline lifted her head, puzzled.

“The Arcane Chamber is a place where mages test and clash over the knowledge they’ve refined. Conflicts—big and small—are bound to happen.”

“You...”

“I knew that from the moment I took the stage. Your suspicion and your words were not misplaced. Even if you hadn’t said them, someone else would have.”

“But I was the one who did. So I should take responsibility. You don’t need to console me.”

“Then let me ask. When you see the sun rise in the east, do you feel gratitude or irritation?”

Of course not.

Because that’s just natural.

No one questions or complains about something that simply is.

“Exactly. For someone to speak up in opposition, or point out something rational—that’s a natural and expected part of the process.”

“...!”

“That’s why I don’t dwell on it. Everything that happened a moment ago—I left it behind the moment I stepped off that stage.”

If anything, Ludger was thankful.

He had planned to go public from the start, and Caroline and the other mages had conveniently set the stage for him to do just that.

She had unintentionally become his biggest supporter.

Of course, Caroline didn’t know that.

Instead, she was moved by how easily Ludger forgave her discourtesy.

“Most people would’ve tried to bite my head off in a moment like this. You really are something.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.”

“Fine. I won’t make this more complicated. But I don’t like leaving debts unpaid.”

Caroline said that and handed him a card.

“Take this. It’s a special VIP card from the Monarch Mercenary Corps. Only a few people have one. Call me whenever you need help—I’ll take on any request.”

“Any request?”

“Yeah. I don’t say things I don’t mean. Any request, absolutely.”

“...Understood.”

Ludger accepted it without resistance and tucked it into his coat pocket.

Elisa, watching beside him, widened her eyes in disbelief.

Did Caroline really just hand over her Monarch Mercenary VIP card?

Even the Emperor of the Exilion Empire hadn’t received one.

She’d heard so few existed that some even doubted they were real.

And now she’d seen one with her own eyes.

“Well, that’s all I had to say. I’ll get going. Let’s meet again sometime! And Elisa! Go screw yourself! I saw the wrinkles near your eyes!”

With that, Caroline shot off like a rocket.

Watching her disappear, Ludger could only think what a strange person she was.

He half-expected her to use the apology as an excuse to get close, but she truly just apologized and left.

And of course, she hadn’t missed a chance to jab at Elisa on her way out.

Elisa pressed her fingertips to her forehead like she had a headache.

“Is she always like that?”

“Sigh... Yes. Unpredictable, self-centered, exhausting. A total pain to deal with.”

“Yet you seem to hold her in fairly high regard.”

“Whatever else she is, Caroline’s still a 6th-Circle mage. She was my rival back in school.”

“Back in school?”

“Yes. Oh, you didn’t know, Professor Ludger? Caroline and I—we both graduated from Seorn. And we were constantly at odds during our student days.”

So they were rivals...

Bickering whenever they met, yet quietly acknowledging each other.

Then a sudden thought hit Ludger.

Wait a minute—Caroline Monarch was said to be over thirty, despite looking like a teenager.

That means... Headmaster Elisa must also...

“Ludger?”

When Elisa called his name, a chill ran down his spine.

She hadn’t called him “Professor Ludger” like usual. She used just his name with Mr., a clear sign she was not pleased.

“Yes, Headmaster.”

“That’s far enough. Understood?”

“...”

Ludger simply nodded in silence.

That was enough for Elisa.

* * *

The snowy white Arret Mountains stretched between the Yuta Kingdom and the Exilion Empire.

Sheer cliffs and eternal snow.

A brutal natural environment where sunlight was visible less than one month out of the year due to relentless blizzards.

Setadel of the Black Dawn Society walked alone through the Arret Mountains—wearing no cold-weather gear.

Wrapped in a black robe, he walked unhindered by the raging snowstorm and eventually came to a stop.

Fwooosh—!!

He looked up—the snow was still whipping around in violent gusts.

He stood at the bottom of a deep gorge, nestled between mountains.

Setadel extended his hand toward the snowy ground.

He had come to find someone.

But there were no traces in the snow.

Even the footprints he himself had left would vanish beneath the snowfall within ten minutes.

There was no way to find tracks from several months ago with the naked eye.

So Setadel chose another method.

He took a small golden bell from inside his coat and gave it a light shake.

Ding.

With that clear chime, the sound of the blizzard began to soften.

A faint pale energy rose from the snowfield and darted off in a particular direction.

“So, that’s the way.”

Setadel began walking toward the direction the energy had gone.

Eventually, he came upon a cave beneath a cliff.

Without hesitation, Setadel entered.

The cave was cold and chilling.

And though faint, there were traces that someone had once lived there.

He walked deeper in, footsteps echoing.

And when he reached the end—he found him.

A man, collapsed and frozen, now a lifeless corpse.

The only things around him were burnt-out firewood and ash.

“John Doe. So he didn’t die from the fall off that cliff. He must have crawled all the way here.”

But without any way to call for help, John Doe had perished within the cave, trying to cling to life.

It was an environment where food could not be found.

His body showed wounds all over.

In the end, he hadn’t made it. He must have died of starvation.

This was the real John Doe—the one originally meant to infiltrate Seorn.

And despite seeing the body, Setadel showed no surprise.

Instead, he took out the same golden bell he’d used earlier.

Ding.

“Awaken, slumbering soul. Lift your head and speak thy voice.”

Ding.

He shook the bell again, and the dead body of John Doe gave a faint twitch. A white wisp of air rose from the top of his head.

Like smoke, it squirmed and twisted—until it gradually took the shape of John Doe.

[Where... is this?]

“John Doe. Do you know who I am?”

[Setadel. Adjutant to Zero Order.]

“You remember well.”

[Why am I here? No—more importantly, why are you here...?]

“Forget the rambling. Let’s get to the point. John Doe, you’re dead.”

[Dead? I’m... dead?]

It seemed his soul had yet to fully grasp the situation.

“Perhaps the memories are hazy, since the necromancy was recent. John Doe. What was your mission? Remember it.”

[My mission... It was... to infiltrate Seorn Academy, under the orders of Zero Order. Yes. I was impersonating Ludger Cherish. That’s right, I remember now.]

“What happened after that?”

[I boarded the magitech train... and struck up conversation with one of the passengers... Then something happened. A terrorist attack. The train was attacked. I subdued one of the assailants, tried to interrogate him, and then—he self-destructed...]

“I see. So you weren’t prepared, and you were thrown from the train in the blast.”

[I managed to use wind magic just before the fall to reduce the impact, so I didn’t die on the spot. But I was badly injured. The environment was harsh. I wandered, looking for shelter, and eventually made it to this cave.]

And then he died.

Without help from anyone.

He had survived the blast, only to starve to death.

Even John Doe found the idea so bitterly absurd it made him hollow inside—but then another thought surfaced.

[The mission... What happened to the mission that Zero Order gave me?]

“You don’t need to worry. Someone else is carrying it out in your stead.”

[Who?]

“Before that, John Doe—did you know who that passenger was, the one you spoke with on the train?”

[Passenger?]

“You just said it yourself. You talked with a fellow passenger on the magitech /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ train.”

[Ah... yes, I did.]

His voice sharpened, as though the memory was becoming clearer.

Setadel narrowed his eyes within his robe.

“That’s strange. Normally, you wouldn’t waste time making idle conversation. You mean you chatted with just a random civilian?”

[Just a civilian? No. He wasn’t just any ordinary person.]

“Not ordinary?”

[Right. I could tell. He was hiding his appearance and identity, but I knew at a glance. I knew exactly who he was.]

“Who was he?”

[A man who wanders the continent behind a mask. A nameless shadow. But every one of those masks... has shifted the world in some way.]

Setadel asked,

“You knew someone like that was there, and you still chose to speak to him? Why?”

John Doe, who had been answering fluently, suddenly fell silent.

Setadel’s irritation showed.

“John Doe. Answer me. What are you hiding?”

[That is...]

“You can’t disobey me. Your soul has already answered my summons. I control this conversation. So answer—why did you approach that man? What was your purpose?”

Pressed by Setadel’s demand, John Doe finally broke.

[...Because I... admired him.]

“...”

[...I was a fan.]