The massive stadium buzzed with excitement as civilians filled almost every seat.

Merchants sold snacks near the entrances, nobles chatted among themselves in the upper sections, and proud family members waved enthusiastically whenever they spotted students from afar.

At the center of the arena stood hundreds of carving tables lined in perfect rows beneath the bright lights.

Each table held a flawless cube of Luminite Marble waiting to be carved.

The atmosphere felt grand.

At the very center platform, Principal Varek stepped forward holding a floating amplification mic.

The stadium gradually quieted down.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Varek began smoothly, his voice echoing across the enormous stadium, "welcome to this year’s Contemporary Carving Performance Examination."

Applause erupted immediately.

"Students will demonstrate not only technical skill, but creativity, control, energy flow manipulation, and artistic understanding."

A massive holographic screen lit up behind him displaying names, rankings, and class divisions.

As the applause settled down, Varek suddenly glanced toward the highest level of the stadium where the luxurious private viewing rooms overlooked the entire arena.

Seeing the distinguished guests already seated, his smile widened slightly.

"And not to mention," he announced proudly, "it is a great honor that these esteemed guests accepted the academy’s invitation today!"

The entire stadium immediately grew louder with excitement.

Even the students backstage straightened.

Varek gestured dramatically toward the grand private rooms above.

"General Soren Markhelov!"

One of the upper balconies lit up slightly, revealing the broad-shouldered general seated with arms crossed with his aide calmly standing beside him.

"Duke Vesphyr Renardon!"

Another section brightened, revealing the famously elegant duke calmly sipping tea while several nobles around him applauded politely.

"Marquess Lyndon Tajiri!"

A refined man with silver-rimmed glasses nodded courteously toward the crowd as murmurs spread among the civilians.

"And lastly—"

Varek paused intentionally for dramatic effect.

"Their Majesties, the King and Queen of the Anteojo Empire!"

The stadium exploded.

Gasps.

Cheers.

Shock.

Some civilians immediately stood up in excitement while others bowed instinctively toward the royal viewing chamber.

Even several students backstage panicked.

"THEY CAME PERSONALLY?!"

"Why are royals watching a carving exam?!"

"I suddenly forgot how to hold a chisel!"

Meanwhile I slowly looked up toward the royal chamber while drinking milk.

"...That’s great."

Silvano stared at me. "That’s your reaction?"

"What else am I supposed to say?"

"Normal people would panic!"

I gave him a dead-eyed stare. "Since when was I ever considered normal?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I am. I am panicking right now because troublesome people showed up."

Silvano opened his mouth then closed it again. "...Fair point."

"But to answer your question," I continued while lowering the milk bottle slowly, "I am panicking right now because troublesome people showed up."

Not only Soren and Vesphyr was here, the host’s father, or technically my father, was also here.

If I shifted back into my beast form, only Vesphyr wouldn’t recognize me.

Unfortunately, that also meant Soren and my father would absolutely recognize me.

Meanwhile, if I stayed in this current form, Soren and my father wouldn’t recognize me at all... but Vesphyr probably would after staring at me for more than five seconds.

In conclusion—

My life was terrible.

I stared blankly at the VIP balcony while mentally calculating all possible escape routes inside the stadium.

The biggest problem was that everyone in the academy believed I was a snow leopard beastkin.

A very rare snow leopard beastkin.

And among all the snow leopards in existence, how many had red eyes?

Exactly.

I might as well wear a giant sign saying:

SURPRISE DEAREST FATHER!!!

YOUR DEAD DAUGHTER IS CURRENTLY ALIVE AND IS A STUDENT AT THIS ACADEMY!

I dragged a hand down my face tiredly. "Why can’t people just stay peacefully inside their mansions?"

Silvano frowned slightly upon hearing the irritation in my voice.

Gawain leaned in slightly, his voice dropping like he was offering something as casual as grabbing a snack from the cafeteria.

"What should we do now, My Lady? Should I create a slight disturbance?"

When he said "slight disturbance" I already knew what that meant.

In Gawain language, it could range anywhere from politely rearranging furniture that includes a whole building...

to something loudly explosive...

to a very concerning situation involving disappearing people and the phrase "cleaned up efficiently."

I rubbed my forehead tiredly.

"Just go fetch one of my eye veils," I muttered instead. "And make sure to choose the red one."

Gawain immediately nodded without question.

"Yes, My Lady."

Silvano, who had been silently observing the entire exchange, slowly turned his head toward me.

"...I’m not even going to ask why you need an eye veil."

"Good choice," I replied without hesitation.

I only waited a few moments before Gawain returned again. Actually, ’returned’ was a weak word.

The man looked like he had sprinted through all seven kingdoms.

His hair was slightly messy, his clothes wrinkled, and he was breathing just a tiny bit heavier than normal.

I stared at him. "...Wow. Did you run all the way to the dorm?"

"No," he answered immediately.

Silvano looked at his appearance. "...That’s the most obvious lie I’ve ever heard."

I smiled faintly as I turned my back towards him. "Put it on me."

His movements immediately became gentler as he carefully tied the veil around my eyes.

The moment I turned back around, several of my classmates-students stared at me in confusion.

"What’s with the veil?"

"Are you cosplaying?"

"Can you even see with that thing on?"

"Red eyes," I shrugged casually. "I’m sensitive to the sun."

Silvano was about to speak when the loudspeakers suddenly echoed throughout the entire stadium.

[All Master Carver students, please proceed to the field.]

The room instantly fell silent.

Even the students who had been panicking moments ago straightened automatically.

Some adjusted their uniforms.

Others took deep breaths.

One student whispered a prayer.

I stood up straight, stretched my arms, then cracked my fingers one by one.

The exhaustion from written exams still lingered but the moment carving was involved, my mood immediately improved.

Finally, I get to do something fun.

"Let’s show them what we’ve got."

The students around me immediately cheered.

"YES MA’AM!"

"FINALLY!"

"WE ARE NOT FAILING TODAY!"

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

VIP Rooms

"Dad! Dad! He’s here! Oh my gosh, he’s REALLY here!"

Lynette was currently one scream away from collapsing dramatically onto the carpet.

Meanwhile, beside her, Marquess Lyndon Tajiri looked like a man who had already accepted his fate long ago.

"I know," he answered tiredly.

"Dad, he’s so handsome!"

"Yes..."

"Dadddd!" Lynette grabbed his arm again and started shaking him violently enough to qualify as attempted murder. "He looked at me just now!"

Lyndon stared at his daughter with an exhausted expression.

"I’m fairly certain he simply glanced in this direction before looking away."

But Lynette was already too deep into her delusions to hear reason anymore.

She grabbed both sides of her face dramatically.

"Oh my gosh... what if he fell in love at first sight?"

Lyndon slowly pinched the bridge of his nose.

He suddenly understood why some nobles willingly went to war.

"Dad!" Lynette gasped again while shaking him harder. "What if he asks for my hand in marriage today?!"

At this point Lyndon genuinely considered jumping out the window.

She immediately stood up and began checking her appearance through the reflection of the glass window repeatedly.

"Do I look okay? Wait—no. My hair looks weird. Why does my hair suddenly look weird?!" she panicked while aggressively fixing strands that already looked perfectly fine.

Lyndon slowly pinched the bridge of his nose, the migraine forming behind his eyes was becoming spiritual.

He would rather negotiate with nobles for twelve hours straight than survive another ten minutes of this conversation.

Finally deciding he needed at least one moment of peace before developing permanent hearing damage, he gestured toward the knights stationed beside the door.

"Accompany the lady."

The knights immediately straightened.

"Yes, My Lord."

Lynette gasped dramatically. "You’re letting me go?!"

"I am letting myself rest."

"THANK YOU DAD!"

Before he could change his mind, Lynette rushed toward the door with enough excitement to power the entire empire.

Lyndon slowly leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes peacefully, savoring the rare silence his daughter’s absence had brought him.

Only for a moment.

His eyes opened again slowly, and this time the warmth in them had completely disappeared, replaced by a cold, calculating glint.

His gaze shifted toward another VIP chamber across the stadium.

General Soren Markhelov.

Even from this distance, the two men locked eyes briefly through the glass balconies overlooking the stadium below.

Neither looked away immediately.

One of Lyndon’s fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.

Soren had rejected every single invitation sent to the Markhelov estate regarding the formal announcement of his engagement to Lynette.

Banquets, tea gatherings, noble dinners—every single one had been turned down with either military excuses or complete silence.

And yet, the man somehow had enough free time to attend a student carving examination?

Lyndon almost laughed.

What bullshit.