Chapter 14: Verify Before Acting.
Grrrrrrrrrrr
A loud growl echoed through the garden.
Beltrán, who had regained enough strength to continue his life at the academy, now found himself deeply embarrassed and strangely grateful at the same time.
"Good thing no one saw or heard that."
He had deliberately chosen to consume the potion in the garden. He doubted there was any real risk in drinking it after so long—he had heard that alchemical formulas of this kind had no true expiration date unless they were poorly made or counterfeit. Judging by its color and the care with which Eliette had preserved it, Beltrán had been willing to trust its quality.
Still, he had wanted to avoid worrying Eliette. And in case something went wrong—if he vomited or made a complete mess of himself—the garden would be far easier to clean than any room inside the house.
What Beltrán had failed to consider were the possible side effects.
"I'm starving…"
The appetite that had completely vanished after his beating returned all at once, forcing him back inside.
Eliette, who was busy with her chores, found Beltrán sitting in the dining room devouring the meal she had prepared earlier that afternoon. Seeing that the bruises on his face had completely vanished, she couldn't help but smile as she approached and quietly served him another helping.
As usual, Sir Aliss waited outside the estate for young Beltrán.
His battle-worn face remained completely devoid of expression, his thoughts hidden beneath his naturally stern features.
His dark eyes reflected the silhouette of the approaching boy.
Noticing Beltrán's slightly overgrown blond hair, Sir Aliss observed that every trace of yesterday's injuries had vanished.
For a brief moment, his instincts sharpened.
"…Such a rapid recovery? Impossible. There's no way he awakened a Path involuntarily…"
His critical gaze analyzed Beltrán's every movement, yet he found no discrepancies.
It was undoubtedly the same boy.
"The only logical explanation is the use of a healing potion."
In a world filled with endless possibilities, caution was never misplaced.
Once he had finished his silent inspection, Aliss turned his gaze back to the carriage and allowed Beltrán to climb in before boarding himself.
Stuart arrived at the academy classroom with his mind still replaying everything that had happened the previous day.
He let out a resigned sigh.
He hadn't thought any of it through.
"That bastard Noah…"
He clenched his teeth, unable to ignore the similarities Noah shared with certain members of his own family.
Now he was doomed.
With Beltrán likely absent for several days due to his injuries, Stuart would become the primary target of ridicule and harassment from everyone who had previously fixated on Beltrán.
As he approached his desk, he noticed that his usual group of friends stood noticeably farther away than normal.
And they had left something on his seat.
"Shit… literally."
Disgust twisted his face as the foul stench reached him.
His desk had been smeared with actual filth.
Almost instantly, Stuart shoved his hand into his bag, pulled out his thickest book, and drew back his arm to hurl it—
Only to be stopped cold by a firm grip on his wrist.
"What exactly were you about to do?"
A mature voice sounded behind him.
Turning around, Stuart found himself face-to-face with the professor.
The man's silver beard accentuated his square face, giving him the appearance of someone seasoned by experience. Though age had dulled his physique, he still showed no difficulty restraining Stuart's attempted throw.
Stuart clicked his tongue.
"Nothing."
The professor released him and briefly surveyed the scene before sighing with irritation.
"Go find the custodians. Tell them to clean this up."
Practically boiling with rage, Stuart inhaled deeply and slowly forced himself to calm down before heading out of the classroom.
The custodians were contracted specifically to maintain the academy's buildings and classrooms, remaining on duty during school hours to handle situations like this.
As Stuart made his way outside, he nearly collided with someone.
Looking up with annoyance, his eyes widened.
"Beltrán?"
The blond-haired, amber-eyed boy stood before him in full academy uniform.
Completely clean.
Perfectly composed.
The sight was surreal.
Since the start of the school year, Beltrán had always looked bruised, smaller somehow—constantly hunched in on himself as though instinctively bracing for attack.
But now?
He looked better than he had even before yesterday's beating.
Stuart blinked in disbelief.
Beltrán smiled faintly.
"I never thanked you for yesterday. So… thank you. Your effort won't be wasted."
With that, he lightly patted Stuart on the shoulder before tilting his head.
"What were you doing?"
"Tsk. I'll tell you later."
Stuart brushed past him with visible irritation.
Beltrán glanced toward the classroom.
The faint smile on his face vanished as he noticed Stuart's so-called friends staring from inside, their expressions full of unease.
His jaw tightened.
He recognized every one of them.
They had all been there yesterday.
Several had even participated in the beating inside the bathroom.
A short while later, Stuart returned with a custodian, who thoroughly cleaned his desk while pouring several alchemical compounds over the area to neutralize the stench.
A subtly sweet freshness spread through the classroom.
Classes passed painfully slowly.
An unmistakable tension lingered in the room.
Beltrán's tormentors sat frozen between disbelief and fear.
Though Noah had already offered them some explanation that gave them false reassurance, Beltrán's completely unharmed presence shattered that comfort.
Now each passing second felt heavier.
A seed of fear had been planted.
And it was growing.
Once classes ended, the lunch break began, allowing students to flood out into the academy grounds.
Among the first to leave were the bullies.
Their mounting unease drove them toward Noah.
"What the hell happened to you?"
Stuart asked as he casually exited the building beside Beltrán.
During class, the two had discreetly exchanged notes to coordinate their next move.
Though Beltrán still wasn't fully certain of Stuart's intentions, it was clear that backing out was no longer an option.
The moment his former friends turned on him, Stuart had been dragged into the storm alongside Beltrán.
"I drank a restoration potion," Beltrán replied simply.
Stuart's eyes widened.
"You can actually afford a restoration potion?"
His voice carried equal parts skepticism and envy.
"Not exactly. But that's not important right now."
Stuart clicked his tongue.
"Fine. Let's focus on following them."
Beltrán chose to keep Eliette's involvement secret.
Stuart seemed useful, perhaps even trustworthy—but Beltrán wasn't yet willing to risk revealing too much.
Through their notes, he had proposed shadowing their classmates directly.
He had correctly guessed that seeing him alive and unharmed would drive them to seek Noah for confirmation.
"Even if Noah expected them to check in with him, I doubt he expected their insecurity to surface this quickly… or for me to recover this fast."
When he had entered class that morning, Beltrán had intentionally delayed his arrival to minimize how many students saw him.
He didn't care about being late.
His academic knowledge far surpassed what was required.
He could skip most secondary classes without affecting his grades.
In theoretical matters, he was so far ahead that even some professors would pale in comparison.
Though the academy shared many similarities with modern schools, it differed in crucial ways.
Attendance, for instance, meant little.
As long as a student passed the required examinations and demonstrated sufficient mastery, they were free to structure their studies however they wished.
Still, Beltrán had learned from recent events.
No shortcuts.
No overconfidence.
"First, I need to verify before I act."
This time, he would do things properly.
Their mission was simple:
Spy on Noah.
Confirm Beltrán's theory.
If Noah truly had a guardian assigned to him, identifying that person would change everything.
If Beltrán was wrong, that knowledge would be just as valuable.
Either way, acting without certainty would doom any plan from the start.
Keeping their distance, Beltrán and Stuart followed carefully.
Stuart blended easily into the crowd, his amber eyes being his only notably distinct feature.
Beltrán concealed himself beneath a cap.
Though the cold here was mild compared to southern Recolta, the academy's proximity to the mysterious Ax-Mhon Forest brought constant chilly winds.
It wasn't uncommon for students to wear light coats or hats.
As they approached the building marked by the towering statue of Fareth, they spotted the group rounding its side.
Using benches and neatly trimmed hedges as cover, Beltrán and Stuart moved naturally enough to appear like ordinary students strolling the grounds.
Eventually, the group reached the rear courtyard.
There, roughly fifteen students stood casually gathered.
Many of them were familiar.
Members of Noah's entourage.
Beltrán quietly scanned the crowd for Noah—
And then something caught his attention.
A short distance away, as if intentionally separated from the others, Noah was arguing with a young woman around his age.
Her hair was tied into a low bun, with several loose strands falling messily around her face, giving her a more relaxed appearance.
Their eyes shared the same unmistakable blue—though in slightly different shades.
Beltrán immediately recognized her.
Samantha.
The same girl who had once told him the story of Fareth.
At first, he assumed she might be Noah's friend.
Or perhaps even his partner.
But the resemblance was impossible to ignore.
"Could they be siblings?"
Beltrán whispered, stunned.