Something Happened

Fate is never fair, and the joys and sorrows of humanity are not shared.

The lives of Mrs. Sterling's children, the bakers, were still fresh in his mind.

Having lost their land, a family of over a dozen squeezed into two tiny rooms of just over ten square meters, struggling through poverty and hunger, spending their entire lives amid the roar of steam and gears, until one day they collapsed unnoticed or vanished without a trace.

With no change in sight and no hope to be found, everything was like a railway track; no matter how fast one ran, there was no escaping the confinement of the rails.

Fortunately, education in this world was gradually becoming more widespread, perhaps planting the seeds for future reform. Nowadays, most ordinary families were willing to send their children to primary schools for four years of basic education, and some were even willing to spend a fortune to send them to secondary schools to learn more specialized knowledge.

Take Lynch, for example.

Lynch was very grateful to his late parents for sending him to a municipal secondary school, which was where most children from ordinary families went for their secondary education.

But it was different for children from wealthy families. Their parents preferred to send them to expensive private academies, pushing their starting line far beyond the finish line of ordinary children.

The Lillia Women's Academy, located just two blocks away, was one of them.

There, they lived in single dormitories with private living rooms and ate meals tailored one-on-one by professional nutritionists. The little ladies spent their days strolling between fountains and gardens in neat floral dresses, spending four beautiful years in classrooms housed in a row of bright, clean Victorian-style buildings.

This was the Lillia Women’s Academy, one of the top private secondary academies in Rhine City, catering exclusively to noble and wealthy families. From teachers to staff, everyone was female, and the management was extremely strict. Blue uniforms guarded the outside, while sturdy female guards patrolled the inside. Unauthorized personnel were strictly forbidden from entering, especially men, and those inside rarely stepped foot outside the school gates. The entire academy was conservative and insular.

But today was an exception. As noon approached, several middle-aged and elderly women dressed in plain-colored gowns appeared behind the gates.

These were none other than the principal and several etiquette teachers—the most powerful yet most conservative individuals in the school, who usually never left the campus. Yet, they were currently gathered in an orderly line behind the gates.

This caused the young girls in the school to gather in small groups, whispering and gossiping among themselves, until two black carriages pulled up to the school gates.

The tightly shut metal gates actually opened in coordination, actively welcoming the people stepping down from the carriages.

An elder dressed as a butler stepped down. He was quite advanced in years, but his demeanor was steady, reserved yet not subservient, low-key yet not timid. Simply standing there, he fully embodied the elegance of a grand noble family.

At a glance, he was clearly a butler from a major noble household, possessing a grander presence than most nobles themselves. As for the reasonably handsome young man behind him... he was a bit strange.

Though his facial features were soft and clearly showed traces of makeup, he had stuck on a fake mustache, making it look obvious that he was a woman disguised as a man. Furthermore, he wore a full suit of men's clothing and played the part rather convincingly.

As the two were personally welcomed inside by the principal under the guidance of a student, some well-informed students explained that they had heard a major noble was sending someone to inspect the school's environment today, and it must be these two.

While they were whispering, the headmistress, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, invited the cross-dressing visitor and the student beside them into the school.

Yes, this was Lynch's new trick.

For something like this, Lynch had no interest in cross-dressing as a woman again. Besides, Dr. Jenna had already proven with practical results that he was not cut out to be a master of drag. However, trying to enter a women's academy to investigate was indeed inconvenient for a man. Even if he could use lurking to slip inside, it was still highly risky; once discovered, it would be troublesome.

Therefore, he simply changed his approach: he would disguise himself as himself.

He merely asked Mrs. Maggie to help him apply a bit of makeup to soften his features and make them more androgynous, then put on an obvious fake mustache. Combined with his naturally gender-neutral voice, anyone who saw him would, under the influence of psychological suggestion, instinctively assume he was a woman intentionally dressing as a man.

It was the simplest form of double deception, a trick he had learned from watching dramas.

Of course, this alone was not secure enough and was still highly suspicious. At times like this, another method was required.

One of the best ways to pass off a fake as genuine was to place a real deal in front to keep up appearances. Thus, Lynch had headed straight to the Valente family.

Although the energetic old butler, Mr. Louis, had almost shot Lynch on the spot when he saw him showing up with a young female student to show off, he ultimately accepted Lynch's crazy plan under the permission of Miss Valente.

“Although the Count is far away in Norin, he worries that the Eldest Miss might feel lonely by herself in Rhine City. He wishes to send several distant young ladies of the family to study here so they can keep the Eldest Miss company during holidays. However, choosing which women's academy is indeed a question.”

Old Mr. Louis spoke with solid logic and genuine sincerity; it was clear that in his youth, he had made up no shortage of stories for the Count:

“As mentioned in the letter just now, this young lady... this Excellency is here to inspect on behalf of the Count. She... he needs to look around the school today. I assume the teachers wouldn't mind, would you?”

A butler of a prestigious family carried the inherent credibility of that family. With a single sentence, he solidified everyone's judgment of Lynch's identity. As for why someone inspecting a women's academy would dress as a man, it was best to ask fewer questions about the affairs of grand nobles. As long as they were certain “he” was not a man, nothing else mattered.

The principal was an elderly woman who looked to be in her sixties or seventies. She seemed to have some issues with her spine, as her back was permanently hunched, but her spirit was quite good. Her expression was equally conservative and solemn, but no matter how conservative she was, she still had to bow to performance metrics. The impact of a prestigious family member enrolling in the school spoke for itself, and the principal quickly agreed.

As for the rule about unauthorized personnel not being allowed on campus—what unauthorized personnel? They were the guardians of future students of the academy. When it came to their financial benefactors, could they really be called unauthorized?

Thus, Lynch easily sneaked into the women's academy. Faced with the request of a wealthy patron, the group of elderly women agreed without a second thought, letting him inspect the school on his own.

How wonderful.

Facing a crowd of teenage girls... no, facing the beautiful school environment, Lynch sighed in admiration. However, amidst Lady Luna's meaningful laughter, Lynch quickly returned to the business at hand.

According to Monia's narration, the fundamental issue did not lie with the ritual itself. Although the ritual was the direct trigger, its origin was the key.

The human element in this incident was too strong and highly targeted. Whoever designed this must have been very familiar with Monia's recent behavior. Although the women's academy did not prevent students from going home overnight, it strongly encouraged boarding. Therefore, the problem most likely lay within the school, while other locations were merely distractions. Thus, Lynch did not mind the trouble and chose this place as his primary target.

Lynch immediately found an empty spot to enter a state of lurking. Having entered with an official identity, he could now observe in secret without any worries.

Meanwhile, Monia had returned to her grade level, where a dozen or so teenage girls were gathered in a classroom that resembled a luxurious parlor. Her situation seemed stable; the dust transformation incidents around her were not particularly frequent, and her classmates were only slightly nervous and hesitant to approach, without showing any extreme behavior. However, Lynch also knew that if these incidents became more frequent, the outcome would be hard to predict. Fear was often the beginning of madness.

This matter had to be resolved as soon as possible; he could not allow panic to brew.

Yet, just as he was thinking this, Lynch suddenly realized something was wrong. Monia, who had seemed perfectly normal during his observation just a moment ago, now had a faint, indistinct dark shadow hovering behind her.

It was a very small mass, at most the size of an infant, blurry and indistinct. Lynch blinked, intending to enhance his inspiration to get a closer look, but the dark shadow seemed to sense something and suddenly vanished into thin air.

Hm?

At the very same moment, a girl's scream echoed from outside the classroom.

Something went wrong at such a precise moment?

Lynch's heart tightened. Maintaining his state of lurking, he was the first to rush out of the classroom.