Chapter 277: Hiding Among Us

Arlo shook himself out of his state of shock at Noah’s words.

He glanced at Noah.

“My eyes don’t lie. The Lady in Dark really came here.”

And with that, he made his way to the side, Noah following behind.

“Are you sure?” Noah couldn’t help but ask.

“Completely.” Arlo answered.

They both exchanged glances, no one saying anything.

But in their mind, they knew this meant one of two things.

If the Lady in Dark was personally in here, it meant she had sneaked in for something.

Who said only one student had gone missing?

What if she’d also come to kill or kidnap a student? What if this was the place she’d taken care of the student?

But there was also the second option, which was scarier.

That Lady in Dark was a student of the Royal Academy of Magic.

It opened up the possibility that she couldn’t just read minds. It would mean she could also manipulate them.

Noah knew that if he saw Lady in Dark before him today, he’d be able to recognize her. After all, her… aura was unique. He couldn’t forget it even if he wanted to.

So, if he’d met her before at the academy and hadn’t recognized her, it meant that she’d messed with his perception of reality. She’d messed with his mind.

He couldn’t help but remember the words she’d said on the first day they’d met. Right in the King’s study.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. There’s no barrier between us. Not really. After all, I know you so well.”

His blood ran cold.

She’d stated it straight to his face. How could he have forgotten that?

With everything that had happened on that night and since then, he’d relented on his search for Lady in Dark.

But she knew everything about him, and he knew so little about her.

He needed to erase her from reality.

Around him, the students were getting impatient.

“When is professor Oliver coming?”

“I heard there were a few injuries in his last class, so he might be late.”

“Injuries?”

“Yeah. I heard he went to supervise their healing, so that they wouldn’t be healed in a way that would lessen their effectiveness in battle.”

“What the hell were they doing on the first day of class to get so injured that professor Oliver has to supervise their healing himself?!”

As the voices drifted to Noah, something occurred to him.

’What if Lady in Dark is a teacher?!’

He froze.

Anybody could be Lady in Dark. A teacher, a student, even a staff member. It didn’t matter.

All that mattered was that they had access to the academy.

If he wants to know for sure, then he has to do something he should have already done.

Reveal Lady in Dark’s psychic abilities to Arlo.

He hadn’t even told him about her visit in his dreams last night. He’d reveal everything together.

And with Arlo’s eyes, they’d find who Lady in Dark was.

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“I see.” Arlo nodded. “Now, a lot of things make sense.”

It was after classes, and they were in Noah’s room.

Noah had just revealed everything he knew about Lady in Dark to Arlo.

“The question is, how do we find the Lady in Dark among everyone in the academy?” He asked.

“Our best option to eliminate the students would have been the assembly this afternoon, but we didn’t know then.”

Noah exhaled in response.

“We’d have to do it manually,” he said. “We’ll create a list of every person in the academy, starting with the students. Then, we’ll investigate them one after the other.”

Arlo nodded along. “That’s a good plan. But…”

Noah raised both brows. “But?”

“The missing students.” Arlo continued. “There were five missing students. What if the Lady in Dark was one of the missing students?”

He turned to Noah, his expression serious. “If she is as you described, my eyes should’ve seen it last semester. But what if she became Lady in Dark during the holidays?”

It was a plausible explanation.

In order to not have to study in the same academy as Arlo, she simply went missing instead.

“You should take care of verifying the identity of the students.” Noah said. “I’ll look into the missing students. Just get me their names.”

“Alright.” Arlo nodded.

Noah knew he had to take charge of the missing students case. After all, he’d personally made sure one of the students on the list went missing.

What better way to prevent Arlo from finding out than taking care of it himself?

It was at that moment that Arlo’s stomach growled.

Silence filled the room, every eye snapping to his stomach.

“Hehe.” Arlo chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “Guess I’m hungry.”

Noah said nothing.

“I’m heading to the cafeteria. Wanna come?” Arlo asked.

“Nah.” Noah answered. “I have to see Professor Cecilia.”

“Oh,” Arlo said.

And with that, they had another awkward goodbye, with Arlo heading to the cafeteria, and Noah heading to Cecilia’s office.

They were still not friends again, not really.

Noah quickly made his way to Cecilia’s office, knocking.

“Come in.” Her voice resounded from inside.

He opened the door and walked in.

She looked up, smiling widely at the sight of him.

“Noah, welcome!”

He grinned in response. “Professor.”

He took a seat.

“So… How was it? Your first day of classes.”

“Healing.” Noah simply said with a smile.

He didn’t need to say more. Cecelia laughed, immediately understanding what he was trying to say.

“Saw that, didn’t you?” She smiled. “Since you’re always ending up in the infirmary no matter what I say or do, why not learn to heal yourself?”

“You could’ve just given me a high level healing spell.” Noah said. “The school stores have none.”

“And how would you learn your lesson if I simply handed everything to you?” She asked. “Think of this as a punishment. If you pass the class with distinction, I’ll personally teach you my B-rank healing spell.”

“That’s a deal.” Noah said immediately.

“Good.” She nodded. “I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t turn down this offer.”

Immediately she said that, Noah almost froze as something occurred to him.

What if Professor Cecilia was Lady in Dark?

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