A Gamble
A Gamble
Gwendolyn's expression remained indifferent as her voice echoed directly in Aurora's head. 'I don't know if this dumb thing can lead the chaos apparitions properly, but if she can, you might have to say goodbye to your academy, understand? Shall I continue?'
Regardless of whether it was the fate of her student or the academy, Aurora would rather not put it in the hands of others unless she was truly helpless.
The platinum blonde only hesitated for a moment before she gritted her teeth and faced the blue haired woman with determination. "Can you let me talk to her?"
Even if it was phrased as a question, Gwendolyn could feel that the little girl was in no mood for another rejection, and was sure to rebel immediately if she did so. 'Well… although I do appreciate the little girl to an extent, the one I need is not her. If she seeks death… so be it.'
In the end, Gwendolyn only shrugged and moved back. "Help yourself."
Nadia's expression was still a little wary, and her stare remained fixed on Gwendolyn, as if only perceiving her as a threat.
The blue haired woman sighed. "If you're going to try to convince her with words, I might as well move back a little. But remember, no matter what, you can't enter the water. If you do… you're on your own."
Aurora nodded as she waited for the throne to leave, and Nadia's expression eased once she saw the blue haired woman walk away far enough.
Looking at her proud face after having 'chased away' the foe who dared to challenge her, Aurora increasingly felt like her student must have already deceived and won over this child.
After all, she even tried to play hooligan with her teacher, what else would she dare not do?
The only question in her mind was why the pink haired girl hadn't returned yet, or at least informed her of the situation, but that wasn't as important.
Regardless of what the relationship between Evelyn and this little mermaid was, Aurora had to at least confirm her student's situation first.
The platinum blonde tentatively kneeled down to bring herself closer to the little mermaid. "Do you know Evelyn?"
The girl with bluish-green hair tilted her head curiously, blinking her curious starry eyes after hearing the familiar name. "Eevee?"
Aurora couldn't help but smile as she breathed out a sigh of relief in her heart. From the way she said it, her relationship with Evelyn was definitely friendly. "That's right. Are you Evelyn's friend?"
Nadia nodded absently. She seemed to search for a word in her mind for a while before a smile lit up her face. "Baby!"
The platinum blonde coughed. 'This hooligan of a student of mine! Deceiving children!'
If Evelyn knew her unknowingly referring to Nadia as a 'disobedient primordial baby' could lead to such a misunderstanding, she would surely have cried in regret.
Regardless of how she wished to punish her hooligan student, though, Aurora soon schooled her expression and put it off for later. "That's right. There's something I need to tell her, which is why I had to ask for help to call you out."
Nadia only partially caught her meaning, and blinked at her innocently. "Tell?"
Aurora nodded. "Mhm. I need to meet her so I can tell her, it's very important."
Of course, with her limited vocabulary, it was already a wonder that Nadia was able to partially infer what the person in front of her wanted to say, but holding an actual conversation was impossible.
"M-Meet…? Imp-imposh…?"
Looking at the confused little mermaid, Aurora felt weirder and weirder.
Nadia seemed to feel extremely distressed as she tried to figure out what was going on, and soon dived back into the lake, disappearing into the depths almost instantly.
Along with her retreat, the translucent creatures who had appeared beneath the surface seemingly dissolved as well, and the previously violent lake also turned calm.
Aurora could only sigh in her heart. 'Once she goes back to Evelyn, that girl should realize I'm waiting for her here, right?'
The platinum blonde felt like as long as her student returned now, everything would be alright.
Now that she had made a friend that Gwendolyn at least seemed reluctant to fight, regardless of how naïve and innocent she was, there was some extra assurance in Aurora's heart.
Even if that hadn't been the case, though, the platinum blonde still had a way to protect her student from the throne, though it was only a last resort, and she would rather not do it unless she had no choice.
Of course, aside from the cost and repercussions, there was another reason for her to hesitate and wait. Gwendolyn's attitude, together with what she had heard before, made Aurora both hesitant and hopeful.
After all, although the Lord of Bones was supposedly stronger now, if Gwendolyn was really willing to accept Evelyn's existence, even if she didn't support her growth, that would still be infinitely better than the current situation!
Her only worry was that Gwendolyn was deceiving her in some way to get to her student, but that made little sense. After all, she had known of Evelyn's existence years ago, before she had ever entered Aurora's protection.
She hadn't known that the voice from the domain was Gwendolyn's at that time, but now that Aurora knew, wouldn't it have made sense to get rid of Evelyn right then and there if that was what she really wanted to do?
No one would have dared to stop the blue throne from killing a random child in the Lavinian Empire, and most wouldn't even have realized it had happened until long after the event.
In fact, had Gwendolyn wanted, wouldn't Evelyn had vanished before Aurora ever became aware of her existence? It was a terrifying thought.
This was why Aurora decided to take this chance. Anyway, even if she lost the gamble, she could still assure her student's safety. In the worst case, she would simply no longer be able to accompany her.
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