The handsome man stood in a trance, mesmerized by Undine. Bathed in the radiant sunlight, her exquisite face and joyful smile seemed to glow with a divine shimmer.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. A voice, laced with displeasure, jolted him: "What exactly are you looking at?"
The man snapped out of his daze and bowed low to the newcomer. "Your Imperial Highness!"
The man was Saliba, the First Prince of the Chris Empire and the heir to the massive throne. The Prince leaned in, whispering into the man’s ear with a possessive chill: "Don’t harbor thoughts you shouldn't have. She’s mine."
The man’s face flushed red then turned pale, but he didn't dare utter another word.
Undine frowned at the intrusion. "Saliba, what are you doing here?"
Prince Saliba flashed a grin, revealing a row of perfectly white teeth. "Why, I’m here to meet my future 'younger brother,' of course." As he spoke, he reached out, intending to wrap an arm around Undine’s slender waist.
Undine sidestepped him effortlessly, her eyes flashing with undisguised disgust. "Don't you dare be so presumptuous!"
Saliba remained unbothered, but just then, a mocking sneer drifted from the crowd: "Which year is this student in? Imagine needing to be carried up the mountain by others."
A wave of derisive laughter followed. Most of them had followed the group to catch a glimpse of the "prodigy" whose fame had preceded him since childhood. None of them expected to see such a pathetic—yet hilarious—sight.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The crowd at the gate turned their collective gaze downward, and there he was: Eros, sitting atop a crude mountain sedan chair, being hoisted up the final stretch of stairs by four commoners.
Eros was speechless. Sensing his "four brothers" had stopped in their tracks, he said calmly, "Ignore them. Just keep going."
Blue and the others shifted uneasily. The group at the summit was a sea of shimmering silks and brocades—obviously high-ranking nobles. To be stared down by such a crowd was, frankly, terrifying for four country boys.
Saliba couldn't resist adding his own jab. "Needing a litter just to climb a hill? How embarrassing."
"ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP!" Undine barked. Her sudden fury silenced the crowd as she hiked up her skirts and bolted down the stairs.
The mockery vanished instantly. The onlookers stood there, stunned and blinking.
Seeing Undine sprinting toward them, Eros patted Blue on the shoulder. "Bro, you can put me down now."
Blue blinked, finally snapping out of it. "Oh! Right, right!" He carefully lowered the sedan chair.
By then, Undine had reached them, her breath slightly hitched. "Why didn't you wait for me to come down and get you?" she complained, though her eyes were full of worry.
Eros shot her a flat look. "How was I supposed to know you’d come down? You never even told me there was a staircase this long just to get into the academy."
Undine’s face turned a rosy pink. He had her there. To her, six thousand steps were a trivial matter not worth mentioning, but she had forgotten that Eros was a recovering patient—and she certainly hadn't expected him to travel without servants.
Embarrassed or not, she knew she had to thank the people who had helped her brother. She turned to Blue and his friends and gave a slight, graceful bow. "Thank you all for your help."
Faced with such a stunning beauty at close range, the four boys turned bright red. "N-no problem! Don't mention it!" they stammered, waving their hands frantically.
Eros, however, was much more direct. He reached out his hand to Undine. "Give me two hundred gold pounds."
Undine didn't even ask why. She reached into her small bag and pulled out two banknotes, each representing one hundred gold pounds, and placed them in Eros’s palm.
Eros handed the notes to Blue, patting him on the shoulder once more. "Thanks again, brothers. Here’s the payment I promised."
Blue looked at Undine, then at the two banknotes in Eros’s hand, and for a moment, he actually hesitated.
