Chapter 120 Isabel walks into the rain
Isabel didn't show up at her seat until Aiwass began his lecture.
She had previously said that she would come to observe Aiwass's lecture and paint a portrait of him.
Therefore, Aiwass felt a little disappointed when he didn't see her in the classroom.
But Aiwass also collected himself and began to help Professor Bud teach the class seriously. The process of teaching was also a process of deepening his own understanding.
The content of this class was still related to the Celestial Kingdom, and it discussed the many influences that Valentine I had on Celestial Kingdom. Aiwass also incorporated some of Valentine I's personal experiences as a spice of life.
This wasn't some secret information from a previous life's game—Valentine I didn't have any secrets. As a founding monarch born into the common people, the stories circulating among the people would only be more numerous than the actual history, never less.
This is what Aiwass has been studying on his own this week. He's brushing up on the Astral language by reading a biography of Valentine I. While Aiwass's grasp of the language is sufficient for reading The Alchemical Codex, his reading speed is still a bit slow. Languages need constant review, otherwise they're easily forgotten.
Fortunately, Aiwass learns quickly enough.
He has read the entire Common Ritual and is almost done with Valentine the Great.
He plans to borrow and finish reading "General Explanation of the Six Classics" and "Treatises on Corpse Transformation" this week.
Both of these books date back to the Imperial era, and are mystical texts on the Adaptation Path and the Twilight Path, respectively. Astral Antimony is essentially the Imperial language. Aside from some slightly different conjunctions, they are generally interchangeable.
The former provides an overview of the six main skills of the Path: traps, assassination, poisons, medicine, lies, and divination, while the latter is an introductory book to the necromancer profession.
Although this type of book is not a tantric book, it also contains mystical knowledge.
The best way to hide your true Daoist leanings is to borrow all the Daoist books. As long as you read them quickly, nothing will be wasted.
But when Aiwas was halfway through the class, he suddenly realized that some students' eyes were looking in the wrong direction...as if they were always looking towards the door?
He turned his head twice and saw nothing. But he became suspicious and looked back secretly during the water break, and finally found Isabel's little head quietly poking halfway out of the front door of the classroom.
Professor Budd could clearly see it from this angle, but he kept pretending not to see it. After Aiwass discovered Isabel, the old man couldn't help but laugh out loud.
During the break, Aiwass let Lily push him out.
"Why don't you come in? Aren't you tired of standing outside painting?"
As Aiwass said this, he wanted to look back at Isabel's canvas to see how her painting was going.
"Wait, wait! Don't look yet!"
Isabel quickly reached out to cover the canvas. But her hands were too small to do anything. The paint was still wet, and it was difficult to pull the mask down.
So she simply reached out and covered Aiwas' eyes.
She whispered, "Wait until I finish drawing... The magic painting is very ugly when it is halfway through."
"Alright."
Aiwass answered readily.
He wasn't that curious—since Isabel mentioned that she didn't want him to see it in advance, then he wouldn't.
After confirming again and again that Aiwass had no intention of peeking, Isabel finally slowly put her hand down.
As soon as Aiwas opened his eyes, he saw that her cheeks were slightly red.
Maybe she was not used to such close contact with others, or maybe she was cold.
"Aren't you going to come in? It's so cold outside?"
Aiwass asked softly a second time, "Didn't you say you wanted to sit in on my lecture? You can't hear anything from outside the classroom."
"…The canvas is too big, and I'm carrying paints and potions."
Isabel was a little distressed: "If I sit in the classroom, I will have to take up the seats of several people. The paint will also easily stain other people's clothes...it will cause trouble for others.
"I was also worried that someone in the row in front of me might push my desk against my desk, causing me to accidentally draw crookedly. I thought about it and decided to draw outside - the sun is shining brightly."
"Then you should stay near the podium," Aiwass suggested. "It's a little too cold out anyway. It wouldn't be good to catch a cold."
It had rained all day yesterday, and it was still damp outside today. It was late November, and it was damp and cold outside, so cold that Isabel's fingers were red.
Even if I catch a cold, you can still help me treat it——
Isabel subconsciously wanted to say this.
Now that she knew Mr. Fox was Aiwass, she had an extraordinary trust in his illumination skills. Even before Aiwass entered school, he had already mastered the art to the point where he could use it continuously with his right hand, possessing a priest-level healing skill. Minor ailments like colds were easily cured.
...But in the end, these are just words I say in my heart.
Because Isabel was worried that this would make her seem too willful, too dependent on others, like a little girl who had not grown up.
Of course she knew that if she said or did this, she would definitely be tolerated and loved by others.
But she will eventually grow up and become less lovable than she was as a child. If she still clings to a childish attitude, she'll become a burden and be disliked. She's a member of the royal family, and she might even inherit the throne. That would risk incurring the resentment of not just one or two individuals, but the entire nation.
Isabel's ideal self is to be mature and strong, decisive and reliable, cheerful and talkative, and to be trusted and loved by others as a matter of course... just like Aiwass and Haina, just like her grandmother, who can undoubtedly become the center of the crowd.
On those occasions when Aiwass faced reporters, he was able to speak eloquently and give perfect answers to any difficult questions. His eyes always seemed to gleam with confidence, and the jealousy and hatred of others could not shake him in the slightest.
She was trying hard to be that kind of person, but she felt she was far from that, which made her seem a little depressed.
And this time, she finally saw Aiwass teaching.
——Exactly as she imagined.
The corners of his mouth were always raised, making him look happy, relaxed, and natural; his voice was clear, pleasant, and powerful. Although he was sitting still, his hands expressed a rich body language, and the rhythm of his speech, which was tense and relaxed, also attracted the students' attention and sparked exclamations or laughter from time to time.
She had never heard of such a bizarre thing: the students were still not satisfied with their lessons. Aiwass's lectures were like some kind of performance, but also like powerful speeches.
The last time she had witnessed such a scene was during the Great Guardian's speech. The twenty-minute speech had the entire audience excited and their blood boiling.
But that was the result of the addition of mystical skills. The exclusive mystical skill of the Path of Authority is "Leadership." It includes various goals such as ruling, inciting, and appeasing. But Aiwass achieved this goal with just words...
Perhaps he has a talent for becoming an authoritarian.
...Can I let Aiwass take on the Path of Authoritarianism profession part-time?
A thought suddenly popped up in Isabel's mind: she was not adaptable to the path of authority, but she might have someone she could trust who also had the path of authority, to whom she could hand over the power of the kingdom.
Wait, isn't that...
Just as she was lost in thought, Isabel suddenly felt Aiwass lean over and place his hand on her forehead. A warm force seeped in with the contact, making her forehead, which had been frozen outside for an hour, feel warm and relaxed.
Feeling the contact of light-attribute magic power, she woke up from her wandering thoughts in an instant, and her expression suddenly tensed.
"You're not sick...what are you staring at?"
Aiwass was somewhat helpless: “If I stand by the door any longer, I’ll really get sick.
"I know you're afraid of being stared at by students. But don't you want to be like me? Talking to people without fear? If you want to do that, you have to come and learn from them, right?
"Observe me, observe them, and put yourself in the painting. Just like actors observe life to extract concepts... You have to observe me carefully to get the courage you want, right?"
He whispered to Isabel.
If he had said directly, "If you keep being stared at for a long time, you'll get used to it," she might subconsciously think that she is not good enough.
But if Aiwass tempted her by saying, "If you look at me seriously, you will gradually gain courage," she would look at Aiwass intently, and in the process would gradually get used to people's hot or sharp gazes, and realize that being stared at was not a problem.
Before Isabel could reply, Aiwass suddenly moved closer mysteriously and added in a low voice, "By the way, you should know... Is Sherlock okay?"
"……I know."
Isabel replied subconsciously, "The teacher told me about it, but told me not to ask. He said I'd run into him at the advancement ceremony next month anyway... So you knew about it too?"
"That's good," Aiwass said with a slight smile on his face. "Then if I end up like him next week, don't worry about me."
"you also……?"
Isabel was a little surprised.
She thought for a while, then suddenly said seriously, "Do you need my help?"
"...What do you want to help with?"
Aiwass was completely surprised by Her Royal Highness's reaction.
Isabel boldly asked tentatively, "Can I help you disguise... make your plan seem more realistic? You know, I'm a [jack of all trades]... Ever since returning from the last ceremony, I've started to get into acting."
But she hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head and said softly, "Why not just forget it? I'm a little worried that it might backfire..."
"--No."
Aiwass interrupted, "I do need you, Isabel. Very much."
Isabel looked up in surprise and saw Aiwass's eyes shining as brightly as the morning sun.
Aiwass gave an encouraging smile and said seriously, "I really need you. If you can perform well, it will be a great help to me. If everything goes well this time, then when we advance together again next month, you will be able to fully demonstrate your strength."
...In other words, I won't be a burden then, right?
She doesn't want to be a vase, a protected person, or a burden. Isabel also wants to be a reliable teammate... just like Aiwass.
Isabel's eyes became firm: "I can do it."
A clear idea came into her mind: she had to complete this task no matter what.
"Come in then, Isabel."
Aiwass gestured for Lily to open the door and whispered encouragement, "When the time comes, you'll face more than just these stares and suspicions. This isn't an exercise, but a learning experience; it's not a training, but a test. Follow my example and endure this scrutiny—can you do it, Isabel?"
"I can do that."
Isabel answered without hesitation.
She followed Aiwass into the classroom. This time, she stayed in the classroom until the end.
Even though she was being stared at with curious, ambiguous, and nosy looks by her junior classmates...Isabelle's hands didn't shake at all this time, and every stroke of her pen was perfect.
She was also surprised by her own performance.
It was like waking up from a dream for the first time, and the whole world became clear.
When the thought of "I must do it no matter what" appeared in her mind for the first time, those gazes that were originally as sharp as swords suddenly could not hurt her.
——The malice and scrutiny from others are, at best, just a heavy rain.
Before, she was like trying to block the rain with her hands, but she couldn't stop it no matter what. So she looked extremely embarrassed, fragile and helpless.
Now that Isabel truly had something she wanted to do, she immediately realized that the rain was, after all, just rain. Compared to the real crises and difficulties, it was nothing. It was so weak that it wasn't even worth mentioning, and would only be scorned by the powerful.
It was because her heart was too fragile and her spirit too delicate that she thought it was scary enough.
Heavy rain can only make flowers wither, but she can also be something more than flowers.
When the hourglass ran out for the second time, Isabel finally put down her last stroke.
In the painting, Aiwass held his hand high, a confident smile on his profile, his spirits high, his eyes blazing. His background wasn't a classroom, but rather a sunset glow... a fiery red-purple glow.
Isabel gazed deeply at the image of Aiwass in her painting and made up her mind.
——One day, I want to be able to walk into the rain with a big laugh like him.
A 7,000-word update!
I'm going to advance tomorrow~
(End of this chapter)
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