“Letitia Valorat,” the name pulled my attention, and I opened my dropping eyelids, glancing at the dais. The new Academ was awarding some kind of amulet to every graduate, and my lady followed the boy before her and collected the wasteful token after curtsying briefly. Poisor was announcing the names from one corner of the stage, and I was surprised to see his voice loud enough to entertain a crowd this large. Perhaps there were some wind mages who were helping him out, but I didn’t care.

My lady searched the crowd for my face from the dais, and I bobbed my [Devil eye] to tell the obvious. I was taken aback by that bright smile she flashed at me, and the mortals around me were no better.

“Was she always this pretty?” The maid seated beside me asked.

“I was too scared to even glance at her face. I’ve heard she beheaded a maid who touched her sleeve.” another servant added.

“Evil ones look the most harmless,” the maid said.

I glanced at my hands and grinned.

The ceremony continued, and this time, when I sent my [Devil eye] to my lady, I noticed she had become the center of attention. Many mortal males couldn’t keep their eyes to themselves and tried stealing glances of my lady one way to another. Elert even blatantly moved his chair next to Beth’s just so he could be closer to my lady.

“Just so you know,” Beth glared at the man beside her, “Leti rejected the marriage proposal. So keep your filthy hands to yourself. If you are dumb enough to try your crafty machinations, don’t blame us for being ruthless. We’ll cut your little friend without a second thought.”

“Little friend?” Elert glanced between the three girls. “If you mean Gladiata, then don’t worry. She already rejected me, and I’ve long moved on.”

Beth was dumbfounded. She recovered with a cough and continued, “Anyway, we don’t want to know you. That’s the bottom line. So don’t try to force your way into our grace.”

Casey giggled, earning a pinch from my lady.

“Please welcome Gladiata, the top graduate, with a round of applause. She would address the crowd on behalf of the class.”

I sighed. Were there any instances where the world let anyone else take the spotlight?

Gladiator descended on the stage magnanimously, her cyan kirtle dangling behind her, giving her an appearance of an ethereal mortal. Of course, my lady appeared much better, but there was no denial among the crowd that the heroine was an unparalleled beauty too. Her eyes scanned the crowd, pausing at her fellow graduates for more than a few seconds, until her lips bloomed to a smile.

“Esteemed Academ, noble patronages, and my fellow people, I feel honored to stand before you as the top student of our graduating class. Before I start acknowledging my mages and friends, I want to emphasize that each and every one here is a testament to the dedication, resilience, and potential that resides in every one of us. Our lifelong goal should be to bring out the best in us, no matter our arch in life.

“I would like to thank honorable mage Poisor for guiding us for the past four years. These have been the best years of my life, and despite not being born into nobility, I was never once treated unfairly by the mages. The Academy has sheltered me with love and compassion, something I hope to give back as I walk out of the gates on this memorable day so that, one day, every place in the kingdom will become an academy of one form or another, an infinite resource of knowledge, compassion, and potential.

“Magic, I believe, in its purest form, is manipulating the mana around us. It’s rather easily put than understood, but the power of imagination and the strength of character decide our prowess as a mage. Magic is not a tool to be used for personal gain, but it’s a gift we have been entrusted with to bring light, hope, and wonders to the lives of others. I hope my fellow mages will never cease to explore the horizons, push the boundaries, and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of magic, all within the confines of ethics and mortality.

“To conclude, I would like to thank my fellow graduates who have been amazing companions on this journey. I hope all of us find something to strive for, become compassionate magicians, and strive for a better world side by side. As we leave the Academy, may our wands be steady, spells be true, and our hearts be full of magic of possibilities. Ade Eu. Mane Yu Leir.”

Some horseshit of a mortal, but she managed to bring tears to the eyes of many. It was a shoe-touching speech indeed.

If you are wondering what the last few words meant, please don’t. Because I don’t know either.

The crowd rained her with applause, and everyone around me was impressed beyond the limit. Garlan had gone back to his post at the gate, so I missed his witty remarks. But I suppose her speech hit home to many mortals.

A few more valedictory remarks marked the end of the ceremony, and my lady returned with her two friends, the sisters nowhere in sight. A couple of men who had followed my lady all the way scattered when they noticed her glare. Letitia handed me the flat wooden amulet devoid of any incantations. Some characters were carved in bold, but I didn’t know enough about the ancient language of the kingdom to comment on their meaning.

“I expected better,” I handed it back to her, but Letitia shook her head.

“Keep it with you,” she said and touched my hand briefly. My gloves avoided most of the warmth, so I hardly felt it. “It’s just a formality. The mage congregation has its archive to mark the graduates, so it hardly matters whether I have this. They use some bookbinding spells for the purpose, but I didn’t pay much attention in class.”

“[Book Plaque],” Elert sprung out of the moving crowd. “It’s a special spell from binding spell class. Requirements are Earth and Dark attributes along with Amateur proficiency. You’ll get a job in the archives with no prerequisites if you have the two attributes. The plaques with the records are circulated to places that need them the most, especially the administrative offices. If you want to start a business, you have to get recognized by the plaque, and to the best of my knowledge, if you feed some mana into the spellbound plaque, it’ll light up. This amulet is indeed just a formality to…”

Letitia pulled me along and let the man be by himself, talking to no one in particular. His hard-earned reputation would be for naught if he didn’t open his eyes soon.

We waited for the two sisters at the gates while indulging in idle chatter. Garlan was busy directing the ornate carriages away from the Academy, and so far, he was doing a good job in preventing congestion. I watched them pass by the gate with interest, the scene taking me down memory lane.

My father hadn’t been a drunkard back then, and we were a happy family of three, my thirst for knowledge overridden by my love for my parents. A mistake, of course, but I was young and dumb, so it was forgivable. I remember waiting for him to return home, aimlessly watching the wains pass by, waiting day after day, just to see his elation when he saw me after a hard day at work. Mother would drape me in warm clothes in the winter so that I could avoid frostbite.

Maybe life would have been different if I hadn’t never encountered magic. Maybe I would have been peacefully decaying in a random world instead of trying to quench my boredom by hopping dimensions. I never really understood why I had forgotten all the memories. [Refluengence] hadn’t really been a curse, now that I think about it, so I had my hound to thank. Perhaps the pain from betrayal was too intense to hold any significance to the happy memories, but I had made peace with my past. And I knew the reason.

I glanced at my lady, and a smile crept on my face unconsciously.

“Why are you smiling, Rudolf?” Letitia raised her brows.

“Am I?” I tried wiping the grin off my face, but it only became broader.

“Is it because I'm an unparalleled beauty in your eyes?" Letitia smiled.

“Maybe you are,” I ruffled her head, deciding to ignore her reddened ears. “My lady, we have to return home early. The commoner is coming to show her baking skills.”

“Just a reason,” Beth chimed in. “Do you even think about anything other than bread, Ruddy?”

Casey giggled. “Our Ruddy never changes, does he? I believe he’ll be loyal to Leti forever. A good husband, indeed.”

“If she can beat bread, that is,” Beth said with a chuckle. “Her love rival is not even a woman.”

My lady just smiled despite the provocation. “Makes it easier to keep him chained to me.”

“Now, now,” I sighed. “I warrant some respect from you, noble ladies.”

The trio laughed, and their chatter continued uninterrupted. The two sisters soon reached us, and we headed home, parting ways with Beth and Casey.

The western courtyard was peaceful, and I reveled in the silence after a long, arduous day in the noisy crowd. As usual, my lady came to my room and locked the door behind me.

“Undress me,” she said my name with a seductive smile. I felt myself stiffen for a movement before I let out a deep breath.

“Stop taunting me, my lady,” I untied the laces of her bodice at the back, wondering how she had fastened them in the first place.

She removed the bodice and dropped the sleeves of her kirtle half her arms. I turned around, and she hugged me from behind, her face buried in my shirt.

“Thank you, Rudolf. Without you, I would have never gotten to wear my mother's knitting on this occasion," she tightened her grip. “I apologize for treating you badly before, but I promise to make up for it with the rest of our lifetime together.”

“My lady-” she didn’t let me turn around.

“Becoming a villainess for you is one thing, but I want to treat you right. You’ve never yelled at me, raised your hand, or even gone against my wishes. I want to do the same. So, give me some time to become a lady worthy of you. We can get married then, build a family with the two of us. Maybe we could rule some kingdom or embark on a neverending quest for knowledge and bread. Whatever you want, my undead.”

My lady unbuttoned my shirt, and I stopped her short. “Let me,” she said.

“I thought you were supposed to listen to my wishes, my lady,” I laughed.

“I can’t become a good woman, can I?” my lady sighed and continued unbuttoning my shirt. My back was still against her, so she had trouble reaching for every one of them.

When she was done, she removed my shirt and ran her hands over my body. I reached for her and pulled her close.

“Wherever the road takes us?” I asked as she removed her kirtle.

“Wherever the road takes us.” Letitia smiled, and her lips parted mine as she strained her toes. I lifted her and made her sit on my table.

“Wait, wait,” I raised my brows and stopped her when she reached for my pants. “No way we are going all the way, Letitia.”

“What?!” my lady stared at me, astound. “I already graduated, and I am eighteen! Many my age have given birth to kids!”

“A few more days to eighteen,” I pointed out.

She bit my neck hard and, with much reluctance, let me go. “I’ve waited this long, so I can afford to court you for a few more years.”

I ruffled her hair. “Shall we go now?”

“You only care about bread,” she pouted.

I kissed her lips softly. “And maybe someone else.”

Her face turned rosy, and she buried her head in the crook of my neck. “Stop teasing me!”

I laughed, tying her hair while she was distracted.

In all honesty, I was a true disgrace to the undead way of life. But, well, maybe it wasn’t so bad to bend a few undead rules sometimes. Of course, my foolishness would become the bane of my existence.