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Although it was a fairly large space, it quickly became crowded with about thirty people.
Ayla quietly scanned the faces of the people in the midst of it.
Familiar faces such as Rosia, Freya, Kadin, and Cedric, including herself, came into view one by one.
She knew that they were all promising talents from the academy and had been selected, but seeing them all gathered in one place made her sigh involuntarily.
‘Please, I hope I’m on a team with someone other than them.’
Of course, Ayla was prepared to do her best no matter who she teamed up with. She just didn't want to get a headache over anything other than the Subjugation Contest.
Just then, she felt a small presence next to her.
When she turned her head, she saw Felix leaning towards her. He stared straight into Ayla's eyes and whispered in a serious face.
"We have to be on the same team."
Ayla blinked blankly and then slowly nodded.
"Yeah, I hope so too."
"Please let me know what color you pick later."
"...Okay."
She couldn't help but laugh at his persistent request. After talking for a short while, her troubled mind quickly calmed down.
Ayla looked forward again with a much calmer face. Then, she made eye contact with Rosia, who was standing far away.
She wondered how long she had been watching. She could feel a sneer passing over the corner of her lips.
"You guys look close?"
Her lips were clearly readable even from a distance. But Ayla didn't respond and simply avoided her gaze.
‘It’s only tiring for me if I react to such provocations one by one.’
Rosia, as if she expected it, mimicked the two of them with Freya and burst out laughing.
However, as professors and other officials entered the barracks, the laughter soon subsided.
"Okay, please be quiet. From now on, we will decide on the teams to participate in the Subjugation Contest. The method is fair, through this lottery..."
Professor Stephan continued his explanation enthusiastically. Ayla's gaze naturally turned to the platform.
At that moment, an unfamiliar figure came into view.
‘Prince Darian?’
Ayla's eyes blinked blankly. It was because someone who shouldn't be there had appeared.
‘Shouldn't he be out for combat training with the royal guard around this time?’
According to the original story, Darian holds a departure ceremony with the royal guard who followed him around this time and then goes out for combat training.
And in the process, he experiences an unexpected accident and urgently searches for a cure, and first encounters Ayla, who was kicked out of the academy.
Ayla frowned, sensing that the development had gone wrong again.
‘It's the same at the ball and at the Imperial Palace... Somehow, I seem to run into him more often than in the original.’
Is this what they call the 'original's coercive power'?
She tried to understand and move on, but it was still strange that she ran into him more often than in the original.
As Ayla was feeling uneasy inside, Professor Stephan clapped his hands briefly to draw the students' attention.
"Okay, everyone, please come out one by one and take a lottery ticket."
Soon, the students lined up in front of the platform. And they started to go forward one by one and draw lots.
Regardless of grade or status, the method was to form a team with people who drew the same color.
There was soon a commotion here and there.
"Wow, I'm on the same team as Phillip."
"I wanted to be on the same team as Amanda..."
"What color did Cedric Blanche pick?"
"Well, it looks like it's a different color than yours?"
"Ugh, that's too bad!"
The students who were on a team with the people they wanted were happy, but the faces of those who weren't showed disappointment.
Ayla waited anxiously for her turn.
She saw Rosia, who was in the front row, drawing a lottery ticket. The color of the lottery ticket she drew caught her eye.
‘...Blue.’
She just needed to avoid getting blue, and she would succeed.
Soon it was Ayla's turn. As soon as she drew a lottery ticket and checked the color, she sighed in relief.
‘Red... Thank goodness. I avoided being on the same team as Rosia.’
As Ayla was sighing in relief, a shadow suddenly fell from behind.
Felix peeked over her shoulder and looked down at the lottery ticket in her hand.
"Is it red?"
"Huh? Yeah."
Before Ayla could turn around, Felix passed her and leisurely lined up.
She didn't know what he was thinking, but he seemed quite confident.
‘...Even if you want to be on the same team, it's not something you can do as you please.’
While he went to draw a lottery ticket, Ayla looked around. She was curious to know who the people who were on the same team as her were.
Just then, she made eye contact with someone who was holding her lottery ticket and looking around from afar.
It was Cedric Blanche. Soon, Ayla's eyes widened as she spotted the lottery ticket in his hand.
...It was the same red as hers.
‘Sigh, I knew it.’
Since there were so few people, it seemed impossible to avoid all the landmines.
Still, it was better than being on the same team as Rosia, Freya, or Kadin.
‘I should be glad it ended here.’
As she was sighing, Felix came back to her with a bright smile.
In his hand, he held a red lottery ticket triumphantly.
"How... You're also on the red team?"
"Yes, isn't it great?"
"No way. How could this be?"
Ayla looked back and forth between his hand and face, looking as if she couldn't believe it.
Felix chuckled softly as he saw her expression.
"What's wrong? Were you lying when you said we should be on the same team earlier?"
"No... Even if I said that, I didn't really think we'd be on the same team. What is it, is your luck really good?"
Felix gave a meaningful smile at those words and moved closer to Ayla.
Then, he whispered in a voice small enough for only her to hear.
"Luck? This is all skill."
"Huh? Skill?"
Ayla looked up at him with a puzzled face. Felix nodded and pointed somewhere.
The moment she followed his gaze-.
"Huh? I think the color of my lottery ticket has changed?"
"What?"
"No... I don't think it was this color until just now, but why did it suddenly turn green?"
"Were you dreaming?"
"No, I'm serious...? What is it?"
One student rummaged through his pockets, not knowing what to do, and looked around.
Seeing that, Ayla narrowed her eyes and turned to Felix, as if she had gradually grasped the situation.
"You, by any chance..."
He shrugged his shoulders and said.
"I have some skills that I learned while working as a mercenary. It's useful in times like this."
Ayla was speechless at his brazen attitude.
‘This isn't a skill, it's pickpocketing, isn't it?’
She wanted to say something, but she closed her mouth because she was afraid that people around her would hear her.
In the meantime, it seemed that all the students had finished drawing lots.
"Okay, please submit the lottery tickets you each drew and record your names."
The students buzzed and went forward.
There, Ayla was able to meet another team member.
"You're both red? Wow, lucky. To be on the same team as last year's top students!"
An upperclassman who introduced himself as Ruvahn said with a bright smile.
He belonged to the Faculty of Magic and was someone she had run into a few times while visiting Professor Jacy's lab.
"Let's see. Your name is Ayla, and you're Felix, right? Let's work hard together. By the way, my goal is to win first place in this Subjugation Contest."
He seemed to have a very passionate personality. Felix bowed his head and shook the hand he offered.
"Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too..."
Ayla was about to shake his other hand as well.
"Nice to meet you too."
Cedric Blanche suddenly appeared next to her. He didn't pay attention to the other team members and only looked at Ayla.
Ayla sighed inwardly at the sight.
‘I knew this would happen.’
Since they met in the waiting room last time, Cedric Blanche had occasionally been giving her lingering glances.
As if he still hadn't fully accepted her rejection.
‘Don't tell me he's going to be like this throughout the Subjugation Contest?’
Thanks to him, the atmosphere was somewhat subdued, but Ruvahn was steadfast.
"Ah! Another celebrity. If we do well, we might really win first place this time?"
He seemed very excited about the fact that all the team members were talented, and he was busy talking about his plans for the future.
Fortunately, this awkward atmosphere didn't last long. This was because Prince Darian stepped forward to the platform and prepared to give a speech.
The students turned their attention to the dull sound coming from the magic megaphone.
The Prince looked around at the students with calm eyes and said.
"The Subjugation Contest is an event that shows that the academy's talents are supporting the safety of the people of the empire. As such, we must all take responsibility."
His tone was serious and clear, and he attracted people's attention, as befitting a prince who was trusted by many.
He continued his speech without hesitation and left a short word of encouragement.
"Then, I hope you all show your wonderful selves as talents who will lead the empire."
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