The World Is Mine For The Taking-Chapter 1277 - 196 - Boiling Point (6)

That was right.

At that moment, I honestly couldn’t shake off the thought that there simply wasn’t enough time left for Myrcella to pull off what she was aiming for. The goal itself sounded admirable—hell, even inspiring if you looked at it from a distance—but the closer you examined it, the more it started to feel like trying to build an entire castle with only a few bricks and a rapidly ticking clock.

There was barely any time remaining.

In fact, if we were being painfully realistic about it, there were less than two months left before Myrcella’s graduation from the academy. Less than two months before the current academic year wrapped up and everything moved forward whether people were ready or not.

Two months.

That was nothing.

Academies ran on schedules that had been planned years ahead. Training programs, evaluations, qualifications for becoming a magic knight, those things weren’t something you could just rush through in a couple of weeks because someone suddenly had a brilliant idea.

And yet, that was exactly what Myrcella was trying to do.

Her entire goal had been to achieve this while she was still serving as the President of the Council. That position gave her influence, authority, and the ability to move things around within the academy system.

But once she graduated?

That power would disappear overnight.

Which meant that if she failed to accomplish this before the end of the academic year, then realistically speaking, it would be considered a failure on her part.

Not just a small failure either.

A very public one.

She had made promises. She had stood in front of the cadets and spoken about raising standards, about strengthening their generation, about making sure that every capable cadet had the chance to graduate as a magic knight.

But right now, the cadets who were about to graduate soon still hadn’t reached that level.

The gap between her promise and reality was... uncomfortably large.

"We can still manage it," Myrcella said confidently.

Her voice didn’t waver even a little.

"I don’t think it’s something completely impossible within the timeframe I set for myself."

She said it like someone casually commenting on the weather.

Like she wasn’t talking about cramming months—maybe even years—worth of progress into a few remaining weeks.

The confidence in her tone was honestly ridiculous.

And yet...

When Galdea heard her say that, she slowly smiled.

It was the kind of smile someone made when they heard something that sounded completely insane, but somehow... not entirely unbelievable.

It was strange.

Objectively speaking, what Myrcella was suggesting should have sounded impossible. Anyone with common sense should have laughed it off or politely nodded while thinking, Yeah, that’s never happening.

But the way she said it made it feel different.

Like maybe—just maybe—it could actually work.

Myrcella had that kind of presence.

Charisma.

And right now, that Charisma wasn’t just present, it was practically overflowing.

It radiated off her so naturally that it filled the room without effort. Galdea couldn’t help but get caught in it. Honestly, anyone standing nearby probably would have felt the same thing.

It was almost unfair.

When someone like that spoke, people wanted to believe them.

It was similar to how certain politicians managed to convince entire crowds that everything would be okay—even when the situation was a complete mess. They’d smile, speak with conviction, and suddenly people would start nodding along like things were already improving.

Not to say Myrcella was manipulating people like that.

Well... okay, maybe a little.

But it wasn’t malicious.

At least, that was the impression I got.

Still, I couldn’t help thinking that this might actually be what everyone needed right now.

When everything looked hopeless and impossible, someone had to step forward and gather people together. Someone had to stand there and say, No, we’re not done yet.

People would actually follow that person.

What they needed right now was someone capable.

Someone who could lead.

Someone who could rule.

And right now... Myrcella looked dangerously close to becoming exactly that kind of person.

***

After the meeting ended, the two of us headed back to the academy.

By the time we arrived, the academy grounds were already calmer than usual.

I pulled the car into the parking area and shut off the engine. The soft ticking sound from the cooling metal filled the brief silence before we stepped out.

From there, we walked toward her dormitory.

The hallway lights inside the building were warm but dim, casting long shadows across the floor. It was the kind of lighting that made people instinctively want to collapse onto the nearest bed.

Which was exactly what Myrcella did the moment we entered her room.

She walked straight to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, letting out a small sigh as she did.

She looked exhausted.

Not the dramatic kind of exhaustion people exaggerated for attention. No, this was the real thing—the kind that showed in the slight slump of her shoulders and the way she rubbed her temple for a second like her brain was still trying to process ten different problems at once.

Honestly, if someone told me she had been running purely on determination and caffeine for the past few days, I wouldn’t have doubted it.

While she was resting, though, her phone suddenly rang again.

The sound cut through the quiet room sharply.

She instinctively reached for it.

But before she could grab it, I stopped her.

"I’ll do it," I said, raising a hand slightly. "Just rest for a bit."

She looked at me for a moment.

Then a small smile appeared on her face.

"Alright," she said softly. "I’ll leave it to you."

Good.

That was the correct answer.

Because if she had tried to argue, I probably would’ve forced her to rest anyway. And trust me, dragging a stubborn council president away from work was not a battle I wanted to fight tonight.

I picked up the phone and checked it.

At first, I thought it might be another call or message.

But it wasn’t.

It was just a notification.

An information alert.

Normally, those things weren’t worth much attention. Most of the time they were just system notices or academy announcements about something boring like schedule changes.

But this one was different.

"Myrcella," I said.

"What is it?"

I knew I had just told her to rest.

But the moment I read the notification properly, I realized this wasn’t something we could just ignore until tomorrow.

Not even close.

"Sesillian’s cannibalistic sister, Sara, has been identified as having escaped from prison," I said slowly.

For a moment, the room went completely still.

"W-What...?" Myrcella said.

Her exhaustion vanished instantly.

That reaction was fair.

Because if that information was accurate...

Then things were about to get very, very ugly.