The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

Of course, such might wasn't worth mentioning in front of 'Pillars' of the academy, consisting of the professors who had long since stopped taking on students, and were the foundational members of the academy. But that didn't diminish the prestige and power of the 'Senior Professors' at all.

None of the powers on the continent would spare any effort in recruiting someone like Professor Dane if they had the chance. In fact, Craig considered himself extremely lucky to bump into the professor while he was so down on his luck.

With the senior professor by his side, along with this other guy, the Terran Prince was certain that they would be able to hold out in this cave long enough for his father's reinforcements to arrive.

So it was no wonder that even the Terran Prince would have to consider it twice before asking the man to give up his revenge just to give him face, if he had truly intended to protect Evelyn. Of course, since he didn't have any intention of doing so, there was no need to go through such a conundrum.

The only thing he found hard to bear, however, was how bad the half-burnt and naked professor smelled, especially in this closed cave.

Craig sighed. Perhaps bearing with such a thing for an extended period of time could be considered a 'test' of his willpower, as well. How come he never discovered that professor Dane was so unpleasant?

The red-haired man frowned as he looked at the two of them remain silent. "Am I talking to myself here? Why don't the two of you tell me how you know of her?"

As the 'reason' for his expulsion despite his hundreds of years of service, the hatred he bore for the girl wasn't small. The more he knew about her, the more thorough his vengeance would be.

As for Aurora… heh, was she going to forever keep the girl attached to her hip? Allowing independent growth was one of the fundamentals of cultivation, and Aurora would surely not cripple the girl herself, so she was sure to allow her to venture out on her own.

And once she did…

As the strongest person in the trio, the professor's words certainly held some weight. Moreover, Blaise didn't think there was any reason to hide these things from these two newfound companions of his, since they would all be known sooner or later with a little investigation from the Terran Prince anyway. 

The only reason he felt a little reluctant to explain it was because his 'failures' were too apparent, and appearing incompetent in front of his 'future employer' Craig was sure to give him a bad start.

But since the bastard professor insisted, he could only clear his throat. "The leader of the Justice Envoys forced me to target her family before, so I more or less know who she is."

Professor Dane hummed, a gleam of interest shining in his eyes. "Hon, for her to still be alive and well, don't tell me you failed miserably?"

Although his impression of this 'companion' wasn't too good, the number of tricks he seemed to possess wasn't anything to scoff at.

In his long life, Professor Dane had seen all kinds of people, and he knew that the ones like Blaise were the most annoying. Even when they were completely outclassed, they always seemed to have some way to slip out of their opponent's grasp at the last moment, barely preserving their life.

Oftentimes, when such vile bastards struck, it was with a heavy hand that allowed their own enemies no such 'lucky escapes' in turn.

And for the little girl to have remained unscathed, she was surely not 'simple'.

Blaise nodded. Between labeling himself as an incompetent fool who couldn't even take care of a simple matter, and blowing the matter up as much as he could, he would of course choose the latter. "Not only did I fail, I barely escaped with my life. The Justice Envoys provided me with extremely misleading information, no, more like, they don't seem to know of what's going on in the Moreen City at all!"

Prince Craig couldn't help but frown. As one of their kingdom's chess pieces, calling the 'Justice Envoys' incompetent was the same as pointing fingers at them as well. "Care to explain what you mean by that?"

Blaise had already made up a long tale to shift all the blame for that day's failures on to the Envoy's conceit and incompetence, which was somewhat true anyway, as far as he was concerned. Even if a few of his points were just conjectures, he was certain that he had the gist of the matter right.

The more he listened to the green haired man, the deeper Craig frowned. 'Didn't father mention that the royal family of the Lavinian Empire hates all the ancient families in the empire? If that's all a farce from them to fool us, and they were secretly still hiding their strength, wouldn't we be in for a nasty surprise later?!'

The mere thought sent chills down his spine, and he almost panicked. But as the Terran Prince thought of the new trump card they were going to acquire soon, which would be able to completely tip the scales in their favor, he quickly calmed down.

Professor Dane didn't seem too interested in the matters between thugs like Blaise and the Lavinian royalty, though he did make a note of the fact that the girl's family was under the protection of the royals. 

It made taking his anger out on the girl's family while he waited for her to come out harder, but that was never his style anyway. Dane preferred to save those things for later, because startling the little girl into hiding after hearing of her family's fate would just be counterproductive.

And even worse, if Aurora truly doted on the girl, it was even possible she would set out to hunt him down after hearing of her family's fate. If he had to hide himself, how could he be able to take care of the little girl when she left Aurora's side? It was just too much risk for little gain.

Compared to the thug from the same empire, however, Prince Craig's awareness of the girl's identity was of far greater interest to the professor. "And you, Prince Craig?"

Although he had been considering going along with the Terran Prince now that he lost his previous position, he wouldn't do so if his enemy was truly close with them. After all, it might put seeking vengeance in his own way completely out of the question, and Dane was never one to deny his desires for the sake of such minor things. There were many other places he could go to, anyway.

The Terran Prince snapped out of his thoughts, and looked at the red haired professor with a sigh. "She introduced herself to me in the carriage earlier, but I didn't think she would be involved in offending you, professor. Clearly, she was unworthy of my attention."

He would have already started dealing with that little girl by now, if not for the unexpected circumstances. Even as fellow students, she was just another talent without any backing except for that empty title as an ancient family princess.

It got her a few benefits, but so what?

He was the genuine crown prince of the Terrans, and the influence he wielded over both the students and the professors, junior and senior alike, was nothing to scoff at. If she had dared to reject his 'offer', Craig was certain that he could legitimately have had her expelled within weeks, if not days, had his plans not been interrupted.

And once she was no longer a student… was there any need to say what would happen?

But who knew that his father's supposedly 'foolproof' plan would fail so miserably, and land him in such a huge conundrum right before his graduation?

But even if it caused him another year of 'delay', Craig knew that it was still well worth it. After all, he had succeeded in carrying out his father's will, and the benefits it was going to bring to the Kingdom of Terrazyme… Craig felt ecstatic just thinking about it.

Perhaps by the time he took his position on the throne, it wouldn't just be one of the superpowers of the 'Old World' that he was ruling over, no, he would be the undisputed ruler of the whole continent.

But his feelings of ecstasy were soured not just by his current miserable situation, but also by the fact that this girl who was barely worthy of being his concubine was now Aurora's personal disciple.

Craig's feelings of slight intrigue had already turned to a deep hatred for the pink haired girl. Not to mention anything else, the fact that she was accepted as Aurora's student when he had already been rejected meant that she had declared herself to be more talented than him!

In the past, no one dared to make fun of him for not becoming her apprentice. After all, Aurora had never taken in a student. Wasn't it only natural? But that was sure to change now. Even if no one dared to mention it in front of him, or even behind his back, Craig knew that they would think so in their heart.

Moreover, the fact that this girl who was barely worthy of being a low-grade concubine for him was now in a position that he had been rejected from, how could he bear such humiliation in silence?