Chapter 98

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Chapter 98: The Second Princess of The Elves, Milian Celfen

It seems that the original plot has already deviated significantly.

 

But then again, even he, Winnie, has recalled memories from his past life.

 

The extent of the changes brought about by the butterfly effect is something no one can clearly articulate.

 

The black-haired, purple-eyed girl calmly gazed at him, her cool eyes scanning him up and down.

 

After a while, she slowly shifted her gaze away, looking straight ahead and no longer paying attention to anyone else.

 

Winnie breathed a sigh of relief. Being stared at by such a powerful figure as the eldest princess had indeed put a lot of pressure on him.

 

She must have been curious about how he had passed the entrance exam, which was why she had briefly focused on him. At least there was no hostility in her gaze.

 

About half an hour later, all the new students who had successfully passed the exam had basically arrived.

 

Each team was separated by some distance. Winnie glanced at the surrounding teams.

 

He wasn’t curious about the teams from the empire, the tribes, or the grand duchies, all of which werehuman races. What he was curious about were the teams from the non-human races.

 

He had never seen non-human races like dwarves, elves, or demi-human before, so he couldn’t help but be curious.

 

However, the non-human teams were too far from the kingdom’s team, separated by several other teams, so he couldn’t clearly see who was leading the non-human groups.

 

Soon, an elderly mentor came to welcome the newstudents of this year.

 

Looking at these extraordinary new students, the mentor nodded in satisfaction.

 

Winnie understood that the next step would be the dormitory assignment.

 

The dormitory assignments were not randomly distributed; they were based on the total scores of the entrance exam.

 

The Carillian Academy encouraged healthy competition among students. The rankings of the entrance exam would be published to motivate the underperforming students to work harder and to remind the top students not to become complacent, lest they be surpassed by others.

 

At Carillian Academy, the top five, top fifty, and top one hundred students would live in different dormitories, with the level of luxury increasing accordingly.

 

The top five students would each have a manor villa to themselves, the top fifty would share a small villa to themselves, the top one hundred would have luxurious single rooms, and the rest would live in ordinary dormitories.

 

But even the ordinary dormitories were of a higher standard compared to other academies.

 

As the most prestigious and historically rich academy, Carillian Academy had perfected every aspect, which was why so many noble children were eager to get in.

 

“Next, we will announce the top five students with the highest total scores in this year’s entrance exam,” the elderly mentor with a monocle and a gentleman’s cane cleared his throat and took out a list.

 

“Fifth place, Gaius Caton.”

 

After the name was called, a girl with long purple hair stepped onto the high platform in front of everyone, under the gaze of many eyes filled with various emotions.

 

However, she frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with this result.

 

Winnie had heard of the Caton surname before. It belonged to a famous grand duke family in the Tyrell Empire.

 

Given this, the nobles probably wouldn’t have much objection to this top five selection.

 

At least, in the short term, there wouldn’t be any challengers.

 

“Fourth place, Eric Ackerman.”

 

The previously handsome young man also stepped forward, confidently walking onto the high platform to receive the admiration of the crowd.

 

This was also expected.

 

“Third place, Milian Celfen.”

 

Hearing the name, Winnie abruptly looked up and caught sight of a golden-haired girl stepping onto the high platform with a lively gait, shining as brilliantly as the sun.

 

She possessed a beauty reminiscent of a fairy from a storybook, exuding a surreal and ethereal charm, yet there was no doubt she was real.

 

Aside from the gentle sway of her chest, the most eye-catching feature was her elegantly pointed elf ears.

 

This confirmed her identity, an elf.

 

To be precise, a golden elf.

 

Milian Celfen was the only sister of the Golden Elf Queen, Seliphrene Celfen.

 

Interestingly, due to the hundred-year gap in their birth dates and the passing of the previous elf king, Seliphrene was more like a mother to Milian than a sister.

 

Both sisters were heroines in the original story. Winnie hadn’t paid much attention to Milian’s attitude towards the original Winnie, so he didn’t know. But he was well aware of Seliphrene’s attitude towards him.

 

For some reason, in the original story, Seliphrene had shown extreme dislike and aversion towards him.

 

Honestly, even the original Winnie hadn’t offended Seliphrene. They were separated by an entire elf forest, with no connection whatsoever, yet she still managed to dislike him.

 

Winnie didn’t know who to complain to about this.

 

Almost the moment Milian stepped onto the platform, all eyes in the audience were drawn to this dreamlike elf girl.

 

Perhaps it was because most people were seeing an elf, a long-lived race, for the first time, filled with curiosity about the exotic.

 

But the main reason was her overwhelmingly stunning appearance.

 

She perfectly fit all the beautiful descriptions of elves in fairy tales.

 

Well, beautiful as she was, Winnie remembered that the relationship between humans and elves was quite tense.

 

Apart from some trade relations, they were almost on the verge of conflict.

 

Moreover, with the recent conquest and occupation of the Moon Elf territory by the tribes, the relationship between elves and humans had only worsened.

 

But this was Carillian Academy, a place of absolute neutrality.

 

When the ancient Carillian Empire fell, only Carillian Academy survived.

 

Therefore, Carillian Academy never took sides, always claiming allegiance to the ancient Carillian Empire during conflicts to avoid being drawn into them.

 

So the presence of an elf here wasn’t surprising.

 

Winnie only glanced at the elf girl briefly before lowering his presence.

 

He suddenly thought of Aesphyra. That girl probably had her eyes glued to Milian when she appeared.

 

Thinking this, Winnie looked in Aesphyra’s direction, only to be surprised to find that while she was indeed attracted to Milian, it wasn’t as exaggerated as he had imagined.

 

She only looked for a while before shifting her gaze back.

 

Winnie could tell that she wanted to keep looking at Milian, but it seemed there was someone more important she needed to focus on, so she shifted her gaze back, waiting, occasionally glancing into the crowd.

 

Weird.

 

Is she sick today?

 

Winnie didn’t understand.

 

“Second place, Isatia Lanteville.”

 

As expected, the strength of the empire’s eldest princess was well-deserved. Honestly, if it weren’t for Aesphyra, who was like a cheat, Isatia would have likely taken the crown of this year’s Carillian entrance exam.

 

Isatia walked onto the high platform with elegant steps, her ink-black hair swaying gracefully, her purple eyes exuding an unspoken nobility, drawing everyone’s attention.

 

Winnie even overheard some girls whispering, “Who is this sister? She’s so cool!”

 

It was no wonder, given the time of the yuri game, where almost all girls have somewhat liking to other girls.

 

Aesphyra’s gaze also lingered on Isatia for a while. Looking at those purple eyes similar to her own, she smiled slightly and then shifted her gaze away.

 

Not seeing the person she was waiting for, a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes.

 

Of course, many imperial nobles were also puzzled.

 

Even their princess could only take second place. Who could be first?

 

“Next, the first place winner of this year’s Carillian entrance exam, the champion…” The elderly mentor paused.

 

Oh, who could it be? It’s so hard to guess.

 

Winnie silently complained in his heart.

 

“Aesphyra Galactus.”

 

Finally, the protagonist lived up to expectations and took the title of the new student champion. Under the gaze of various eyes, she stepped onto the stage, standing alongside these geniuses of the same era, receiving the attention of the crowd.

 

Everyone was probably wondering, “Who is Aesphyra?” But upon seeing the silver-haired girl’s overwhelming beauty and aura, they couldn’t help but marvel at how extraordinary this year was, with dark horses emerging one after another.

 

Needless to say, there would be many who would challenge Aesphyra in the future, trying to take her ranking, especially the children of the great nobles.

 

After all, the Galactus family was unknown, and no matter how high her score was, someone would inevitably try to step on her.

 

But if they really did that, they would be kicking a titanium alloy plate.

 

“Let us congratulate these five outstanding students for achieving the highest honor in this year’s entrance exam!”

 

Amidst the applause, the mentor presented the awards to these five students.

 

The top five would receive an honorary certificate and medal from Carillian Academy, while the first place would receive the golden laurel crown of Carillian.

 

Aesphyra thanked the mentor who awarded her the crown, certificate, and medal, gave a few routine “acceptance speech” remarks, and then stood on the high platform, receiving congratulations.

 

During this time, apart from Aesphyra and Eric, the other three were very curious about Aesphyra, especially Isatia. Her gaze fell on Aesphyra, expressionless and silent.

 

Aesphyra seemed to sense her gaze and smiled as she also looked over.

 

A historic moment.

 

Two pairs of strikingly similar purple eyes met, only to separate in less than a second.

 

Both acted as if nothing had happened, as if the brief eye contact had never occurred.

 

Did they just hit it off?

 

Winnie watched from below, his expression odd.

 

Next was the dormitory assignment. The welcome ceremony for the new students would take place after the official start of the semester.

 

“Brother Winnie, you’re really something, hiding your true abilities,” the mentors began grouping the new students based on their total scores. A cheeky-looking young man walked up and nudged Winnie with his elbow.

 

“Impressive! I thought I’d have you as a companion at the bottom, but who knew you’d betray our friendship and climb so high??”

 

“Surprised? I didn’t expect it either,” Winnie glanced at the cheeky young man.

 

This was Fred, a second son of a viscount family he had met during a card game a few days ago while travelling.

 

Due to his status, he couldn’t enter the core noble circle, so he didn’t care much about noble socializing or reputation.

 

He didn’t even care much about this entrance exam.

 

He did have talent and strength, otherwise he wouldn’t have passed the exam, but he had a very carefree attitude, doing things with a natural looseness.

 

In Winnie’s opinion, this guy might have taken the entrance exam just as a side thing. So why was he here?

 

To play cards, and to find card buddies.

 

As for who the card buddies were, their status, or their reputation, it didn’t matter.

 

It’s just a card game, why overthink it? If you get along, then get along; if not, then don’t. It’s that simple.

 

In his view, those big nobles who still put on airs during card games were more troublesome, taking forever to play a card, which made him extremely impatient.

 

It was much better to play with Winnie. This guy had no airs, just like him.

 

When the game got intense, he would swear, play cards quickly, and make mistakes.

 

When he made a mistake, he would slam the table and curse.

 

This kind of card buddy was perfect for his personality! They could get along!

 

So the two became close card buddies.

 

When playing cards with others, Fred had to hold back, not being able to speak freely, as most of his opponents were nobles, people of refinement.

 

When playing cards, only he would be swearing, and even with his thick skin, he felt a bit embarrassed.

 

Winnie was different.

 

Playing cards with this guy was just one word: refreshing!

 

No hesitation in playing cards, straightforward, and just like him, not caring about manners… or rather, not caring about those tedious etiquette.

 

After searching for so many years, Fred had finally found a card buddy who suited him perfectly.

 

The commoner students thought he was a noble, and the status gap made them hesitant to open up.

 

The nobles were too reserved. Only this guy, although his card skills were a bit lousy, Fred could feel that only he was truly playing cards, truly enjoying the game.

 

After a few rounds, the two became close.

 

Fred didn’t care about Winnie’s bad reputation, nor did he care if associating with him would tarnish his own reputation.

 

In his view, although he had successfully enrolled, it was mostly due to luck, and his ceiling was already set. Why care about these things?

 

Besides, compared to these, happiness was clearly more important.

 

“Stop talking nonsense. I saw you didn’t even blink when the mentor called your name, and you still say you didn’t expect it? Blowing your own trumpet without any preparation, making it seem like I would ask you for some secret technique,” Fred clicked his tongue, very disdainful.

 

“If you really wanted to ask, I couldn’t give it to you. There really isn’t any,” Winnie had relied heavily on Vanessa throughout this journey.

 

Saying Vanessa was like his mother wouldn’t be an exaggeration. How could he teach someone else? Teach them how to hug their own thigh??

 

“Alright, alright, you know me. I don’t care about these things. Compared to these, we’ve passed the entrance exam! After we get assigned to our dormitories tonight, how about a round?” Fred casually slung his arm around Winnie’s shoulder.

 

“Again? You used that excuse yesterday,” Winnie said disdainfully.

 

“Hey, it’s different! Yesterday we were still on the ship. Today we’re officially at the academy’s main campus. If we don’t play now, we might not get the chance later!”

 

“Fine, fine, you choose the place, whatever,” Winnie waved his hand.

 

“Heh! That’s what I like about you, so refreshing!” Fred patted Winnie’s shoulder.

 

“Hey, not so tight! You’re straight, right?” Winnie pushed Fred away with a look of disgust.

 

“Brother Winnie, how could you question me like that? My orientation is as straight as my card-playing strategy!” Fred scoffed.

 

“But honestly, you smell really nice. Do you, as a guy, actually wear perfume?”