After some minutes, the faculty member at the Teleportation Gate reviewed our IDs and granted us permission to leave the City.
Nero, Anastasia, and Chase were the first ones to step into the Gate frame and vanish.
William, Aster, and Kent followed the suit.
That left only Amelia and I.
While the faculty member was setting up the gate to teleport us to the Western Continent, I shifted my gaze to Amelia.
As I glanced over, I saw an alluring black-haired girl toying with her long, silky locks.
Her bright green eyes, reminiscent of a sunlit forest where rays filtered through the dense canopy of leaves, fluttered around aimlessly, holding a curious gaze.
She was dressed in an elegant, flowing dress that seemed to sway with the gentle breeze.
Noticing my gaze, she turned to me and wiggled her eyebrows. I lingered for a few seconds before speaking, "So I didn't ask this before but why are you still here?"
Amelia arched an eyebrow and playfully uttered, "Oh, I'm sorry for subjecting the great Your Highness to look at my lowly self."
I resisted an urge to roll my eyes and spoke through gritted teeth with a forced smile on my face, "I meant, why didn't you leave yet?"
Amelia was probably going to continue her joke but stopped upon seeing my irritation and shrunk her smile.
After a bit of thought, she said, "I actually waited for you. I had something to ask you and I'd prefer asking you directly than over text."
I knew it.
I knew exactly what question Amelia was going to ask, to be honest. I knew she was smart so she must've connected the dots on her own given all the time she had in the hospital.
In fact, she must've already had a suspicion when I went to meet her at the hospital.
Back then, however, I apologized to her so she never had a chance to bring up this topic.
After that, during the medal presentation ceremony, the chaos caused by Sera once again didn't give Amelia a chance to raise her question.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before I had nowhere to run. Now that we were all alone, I couldn't avoid her queries.
And to my dismay, after a bit of thought, Amelia posed the very same question that I had doubted she would ask.
"Lucas, how did you manage to know about the vampire attack beforehand both times?"
Damn it! Always being correct is more of a curse than a boon, I say! A curse!
In a last-ditch effort, I tried to feign ignorance and furrowed my brows. "I don't understand, Amelia. What do you mean?"
Amelia gave me a disappointed glance and remarked, "You're better than that, you know?"
...Yeah, I could have at least lied more efficiently. What happens to my deception skills when I need them?!
Before I could plunge myself into the depths of self-deprecation, Amelia continued speaking.
"At the ballroom back in Silveserine, you requested a dance with me. Although I didn't think of it much back then, you subtly pulled me away from the spot where the vampires were going to attack."
I wanted to palm my face and find a place to hide all the while barely refraining from leaping off this very building.
Meanwhile, Amelia continued, completely oblivious to my internal turmoil.
"And then, after the King's Tournament, you once again stopped me from getting closer to Nero, who happened to be close to the vampires hiding in the shadows. No one knew about their presence, not even the academy's defence personnel. So, how did you know about them?"
Before I could even think about lying my way out of this precarious situation, Amelia stopped me.
"Oh, and please don't lie because I will believe you. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine," she said, giving me a serious look.
I studied her for a few seconds as the gentle breeze ruffled her flowing black hair.
The hem of her dress danced in the air while her bright green eyes peered into mine. I took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart and let out a sigh.
After a long moment of silence, I finally parted my lips and murmured, "I won't lie, I promise you of that. But I also can't tell you. It's not that I'm unwilling, I simply can't."
As I said, I wasn't lying. I was not against telling the truth about this world and my true identity.
Yet, for some reason, my instincts bellowed at me, urging me to remain silent.
And besides, Amelia was very close to Anastasia and Nero in the novel. Even in this reality, she was their close friend.
While I somewhat genuinely trusted her, I would never trust her enough to not share something I intended to keep hidden from Nero.
Yes, I must not forget how intimately close Amelia and Nero were in the novel. They were romantically involved, after all.
Argh, it's frustrating… Just remembering that fact leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Damned protagonists and their harems.
Whatever.
Shaking my head, I cleared my thoughts and fixed an unwavering gaze on Amelia, feeling agitated for some reason.
"So, I'd appreciate it if you didn't pry further into this matter, got it?"
Amelia waited for a moment before weakly nodding her head.
Ugh, did I sound rude? It wasn't my intention.
Scratching the back of my head, I asked, "By the way, I was thinking... Will you travel with me?"
Amelia's mood lifted at the question, and a smile lit her lovely face.
She replied with a playfully mocking tone, "Sure, why not? After all, it's not like Your Highness can navigate a city without a guide."
"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?" I frowned.
Amelia averted her gaze and teased, "Your Highness managed to lose their way even on a straight street."
I blinked in surprise before retorting, "I— It only happened once!"
Our back-and-forth exchange was only interrupted when the faculty member completed setting up the Teleportation Gate.
We were handed a metal token and access codes to unlock the academy's AI, Athena.
Amelia stepped into the Teleportation Gate ahead of me, and I followed closely, excitedly muttering under my breath.
"Heh, finally, I can interact with a real AI!"
Grinning, I rolled my tongue, put two fingers in my mouth and let out a sharp whistle.
Soon, a big black-feathered bird swooped down from the sky and landed gently on my shoulder.
Alright, I had two tasks at hand.
Firstly, I had to unravel the mystery of my fractured memories and uncover the truth of what really happened before Lucas' personality changed.
And secondly, I had to find any leads related to the prophecies.
"Let's go, Sera. It's time to uncover some mysteries."
"Kriek~!"
