The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Furthermore, even Sister Kallian was vague about the matter, which suggests that the identity of the person attacked is also highly questionable.

　"Who will it be this time?"

　"It couldn't possibly be the Moon Elf Princess Artemis, could it?"

　Dark's mind raced, and he soon arrived at the teachers' dormitory and entered the secluded place.

　The space that conceals the laboratory remains quiet and tidy.

　Dark walked straight into the laboratory, then turned a few corners and found the room where everyone was gathered.

　Sure enough, it was the same old place. I pushed open the door and went in.

　Professor Sylph, Professor Cazell, Professor Harvey, and Sister Carlian are all in this laboratory.

　But the first person Dark saw wasn't them, but Principal Arte. Principal Arte wasn't surprised by his arrival; she had even made room for him beforehand.

　Dark glanced inside and then simply sat down next to the principal. By then, he had clearly seen the person lying on the hospital bed.

　It was certainly beyond his expectations, but it was also very reasonable.

　Because that person was the kingdom's only prince—Charles Clarissa!

　"what happened"

　"Dark asked, squinting."

　The atmosphere inside the laboratory wasn't tense, indicating that Prince Charles's injuries were still within the realm of healing.

　So he asked directly about the cause of the incident. "Don't rush, have some water first."

　Principal Art pushed a glass of water toward Dak.

　Dak took a sip, moistened his dry lips, and finally relaxed. Before coming here, he subconsciously put himself in the academy's shoes and worried that he had encountered some particularly difficult situation.

　After arriving here, he knew that the situation was indeed tricky, but he was less worried.

　After all, it's only "tricky" in nature.

　"At dawn, the patrolling golem found Charles unconscious at a corner."

　After putting down his water glass, Dak heard Principal Art say something very simple.

　"What time?" Dark asked.

　Principal Arte said, "It's not even five o'clock yet."

　After a moment's thought, Dak nodded and said, "So, it must have been seen by people who got up early for their morning exercise during the transport, which led to some rumors."

　Principal Arte chuckled, “That’s right. But we were lucky; we were only seen from the side, not enough to be recognized. We were almost at the infirmary, and Lillian, who was on night watch, reacted quickly and covered up Charles’s identity in time, so no one found out. Otherwise, he would probably have received a message from the royal family by now.”

　Dak scratched his head, feeling an unusual sense of unease.

　The tower's access control actually opened at 5 a.m. In other words, it was only by sheer coincidence that it was seen.

　Charles, who collapsed and fell unconscious before 5 p.m., obviously had nothing to do with the students who followed the school rules.

　As for Charles himself, he lived in the faculty dormitory. Naturally, the faculty dormitory had no access restrictions.

　Therefore, Charles could freely enter and exit at night and in the early morning. This makes it impossible to determine the exact time Charles was out.

　Since we cannot find the answer from the time element, we can only investigate from the location and the traces at the crime scene.

　The patrolling golem found Charles at a corner somewhere in the castle. The exact location wasn't particularly special.

　There were almost no traces left at the crime scene.

　The only unusual thing is that there is a secret passage near that corner.

　However, it is impractical to forcibly link Charles's coma to the secret passage.

　After all, the entrance to the secret passage inside the academy castle is still sealed and requires a "access card" to enter.

　Unless Charles has a way to bypass the seal and enter the secret passage. The seal on the secret passage has been in place for quite some time.

　If the purpose is clear and preparations are made in advance, having such methods is not surprising.

　The question is whether it is necessary.

　Given Prince Charles's status, if he really wanted to see the secret passage, he could easily get permission with just an application.

　Moreover, the task of accompanying the eldest prince into the secret passage for a "tour" will most likely fall to a certain Dark.

　There's really no need to hide it.

　Unless, Charles's purpose in entering the secret passage was not pure.

　But even if your purpose isn't entirely pure, you can start with the simpler parts. After a few more times, you'll naturally get used to it.

　Then, they will gradually lose interest in the secret passage.

　After all, those without the right opportunity usually encounter nothing when entering a secret passage alone.

　Even princes of the kingdom are no exception in this regard.

　Of course, it's also possible that Charles simply doesn't want people to know about his affairs.

　After all, everyone has their own ideas, and some things always start because of something very small and difficult to understand.

　From Dak's perspective, although Charles appears carefree, he is actually a very sensitive person.

　He was inferior to Elizabeth in almost every aspect, which led to a sensitivity that was hard for ordinary people to imagine.

　It's perfectly normal for this type of person to refuse to help simply because they "don't want others to know."

　Ignoring the cause and process, he did ultimately fail, otherwise he wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed.

　"How is Charles doing?" Dark asked.

　Principal Arte pointed to the sickbed and said, "His overall condition is better than that of the grassland elf Dylan. His soul is undamaged and he has not been cursed by the witch doctor. However, the cause of his coma is still related to his soul. His soul is very weak, and the fire of his soul is in a state where it may be extinguished at any time."

　Seeing the worry in Dark's eyes, Principal Arte added, "Of course, that was his condition when he was first brought into the infirmary. Now, his soul fire has largely stabilized, and he is no longer in danger of dying, but he is still weak."

　While this may sound easy, it was actually the result of emergency treatment by several professors.

　However, since the principal compared Dylan, the grassland sprite, with Charles...

　"Could it be that Charles and Dylan suffered the same thing?" Dark asked.

　But Principal Art simply shook her head, saying, "I don't know. It's just that only the two of them have encountered danger in the short term, and both have suffered injuries at the soul level. It's hard not to connect the dots."

　"So... how's Dylan's memory repair going?" Dark asked.

　Principal Arte said, "The situation is good. But we haven't gotten any useful leads."

　Although Dak felt regretful, he could only express his understanding.

　The grassland spirit Dylan's memories are largely fragmented due to damage to his soul. Professor Harvey uses "dream memory" to deduce from his remaining memories using dreams, thus reviving his memories.

　However, since it is a deduction, there must be one before there can be two.

　Dylan has almost no recent memories, which means he has no basis for deduction. The memories that eventually resurface are not only completely different from the actual memories, but also have no relation to them at all.

　Professor Harvey also had to explain the current situation to him and help him correctly identify the newly added memories in his brain.

　However, this can only be called "rehabilitation therapy" rather than research and investigation.

　However, based solely on the grassland spirit Dylan, nothing more can be found through investigation.

　If the Charles incident hadn't happened again, the Academy would probably have had no choice but to ignore Dylan's case.

　However, the incident did occur, and both victims suffered emotional trauma, making it difficult to separate them into two unrelated events.

　However, Charles's situation and Dylan's situation are fundamentally different.

　Charles's soul is intact and his memories are undamaged, which means that once he wakes up, he can ask any questions directly.

　Even if he himself doesn't want to answer for various reasons, information can be easily obtained through mind reading or other means.

　Then, we will know exactly why he was unconscious in the castle and who attacked him.

　However, during this period, confidentiality measures must be in place.

　After all, it was indeed not good to spread the news that the eldest prince had been attacked and fell into a coma at St. Marian Academy.

　Fortunately, it's only Monday, and there's still a long time before the second round of the Academy Championship on Saturday.

　If we wake Charles up during this time and communicate with him, the matter will not escalate.

　According to Charles's intelligence, it might even be possible to deduce Dylan's fate in reverse.

　In short, things aren't too bad.

　The more troublesome thing is how to keep Archbishop Calenoris in check during this period.

　After all, Charles often traveled with the archbishop.

　It's fine if they don't see each other for a day or two, but if it goes on for too long, coupled with the rumors that have already spread, it will definitely arouse the archbishop's suspicion.

　In short, it's best to get Charles to come up with a plan as soon as possible.

　As Dak was pondering this, he suddenly noticed that Charles on the hospital bed was struggling violently.

　It's time to take action.

　Then, despite his still weakened soul, he actually woke up!

　...

Chapter 1255 Darkdemon and the Hidden Trial (4k)

　Charles's sudden awakening was clearly unexpected by the professors. After all, given the current weakness of his soul, he was theoretically far from being capable of awakening.

　There must be something fishy going on in such an unexpected situation. Therefore, the professors immediately became alert.

　But Charles, who suddenly woke up, acted perfectly normally. The fear on his face gradually faded, and when he turned his head, his eyes were full of confusion.

　"Where am I? How did I get here?" he asked, his voice hoarse and unpleasant.

　“The ward,” Sister Kallian said. “Do you remember what happened before you fell unconscious?”

　“Unconscious… hiss…” Charles tried to recall under his guidance, but suddenly felt a sharp pain.

　But he didn't stop reminiscing; instead, he endured the excruciating pain and tried desperately to search. Finally, the chaotic memories were rearranged in his mind, and his recollections gradually became clearer.

　"I remember now! I'm currently taking the hidden exam for the Noble Academy..." He suddenly stopped midway through his sentence.

　Charles suddenly realized that he was surrounded by professors from St. Marian College, saying things that sounded like "theft".

　But by then, it was too late to keep quiet.

　The professors had all heard him clearly.

　The "hidden trial" he mentioned could no longer be concealed. However, the professors did not show overly surprised expressions.

　The "hidden trials" of St. Mary's Academy may seem very secretive to outsiders.

　But for Professor Sylph and others who had been teaching at the academy for many years, that was just basic common sense.

　Even Dark Dimon, sitting at the entrance, knew something about it. However, Charles's answer did clear up some of the confusion. Since it was a hidden trial of St. Marian Academy, it was essentially an exclusive property of St. Marian Academy.

　It belongs to the teachers and students of St. Mary's College.

　Although Charles is a prince, he has never attended St. Marian's College, not even as an exchange student.

　He came to St. Marian Academy as a "team leader" to lead the Royal Academy in the Academy Championship.

　Those "hidden trials" that belonged exclusively to St. Mary's Academy had absolutely nothing to do with him.

　However, he specifically took on the role of "team leader" to enter St. Mary's Academy in order to find and pass the "hidden trial" and thus give himself "specialness".

　In short, he came here to be a "thief"!

　Since it's a "thief," it's normal not to explain it to the college. However, it seems like they've "lost more than they gained."

　Charles, who possessed the kingdom's resources, was initially very resistant to being taught by the court mages along with Elizabeth.

　But later, as Eliza grew rapidly and left everyone else in the dust on the path of magic, Charles began to feel the pressure.

　He had never been at such a disadvantage in previous power struggles. Unexpectedly, in just a few months, the gap between the two sides in another field had widened to an immense extent.

　Charles, of course, could not give up his future as heir to the throne.

　Even if the old king regains his strength and works diligently to govern, he cannot give up. However, as the gap in strength between the two sides widens, he is gradually losing the possibility of inheriting the throne.

　In the past, the difference in individual abilities was completely irrelevant.