Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 62 - 61 - Selena Velmoria 1.

The test Raven was going through consisted of all five subjects.

It was a penalty for damaging the academy’s property, i.e., destroying the principal’s mansion.

Argon was responsible for that, but since no one could blame the Dragon Duke, the blame was shifted to the youngest son of the Dragon Duke.

After all, no one was taking up the principal’s position because they wouldn’t have a mansion.

However, this penalty wasn’t something major.

With the Vaises’ capabilities, they wouldn’t get mentally exhausted even if they had to give ten tests simultaneously.

The same could be said for Raven and Siris, who were about to finish their respective tests.

Creak...

The doors creaked with an exaggerated groan as Siris and Raven stepped out of the private examination room after submitting their test papers.

Raven looked utterly relaxed—if not outright cheerful—while Siris was still humming softly under her breath.

"I won’t fail!" Raven declared, lifting his arms dramatically like he’d just won a championship. "Turns out I’m also a genius at studying!"

Clara side-eyed him, scoffing. "You? A genius?"

Raven flinched at those words, sighing inwardly. ’Man, where is the girl who used to look at me with a soft gaze?’

If only Siris hadn’t suddenly awakened feelings for him, maybe things would’ve been fine.

He couldn’t do anything about Siris, but he could still talk it out with Clara. She just needed some comfort, and then maybe she would return to how she used to be.

"Haha," Alex, on the other hand, grinned as he observed Raven’s situation. "It feels good to see you understanding my pain now!"

Raven’s brow twitched as his fists clenched. "Alex, we will be sparring first after returning to the mansion."

Alex froze, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, but no words came out.

Because he knew he had fucked up.

"So? How was the test?" Jessy asked, her expression thoughtful.

Raven rolled his neck, stretching as his body had gone stiff from sitting. "Other than that first question—to write about the Great Mana Collapse in the first paragraph—everything else was a breeze."

Jessy raised a brow. "So, did you answer the first question or not?"

"Yeah, I did. I was just shocked at the difficulty of the first question," Raven replied, his shoulders relaxed.

Behind him, Siris approached holding a few sugar cubes she had sneakily stolen from the examiner’s tray.

"The test was easy," she stated calmly, then added with a slightly pleased tone, "...I like tests." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Raven groaned, rubbing his temples. "Of course you do."

The next second, he felt Clara’s sharp gaze on his back and quickly returned to her side.

"You don’t want to ask me anything about the test?" He asked, passing her the best smile he could muster, but Clara just looked away.

"No," she said, walking forward, followed by the others, who glanced at Raven with pity.

"Are we not going with them?"

Siris’s voice came from the side, making him sigh again, only to imagine Crisaius smiling at him.

Raven could imagine that old man saying, ’You are doing good. You are learning the way of acting old.’

"We are," Raven answered Siris, moving toward the group, ignoring the sudden flash of Crisaius he had, wondering what that old man was doing.

The group then slowly made their way from the exam wing, walking through the wide corridors of Velmoria Royal Academy.

The building itself was an elegant sprawl of towers, arched bridges, and crystalline windows—each hallway adorned with portraits of alumni who had long since become legends, most of them Vaises.

Of course, wherever the group passed, heads turned and whispers followed.

"The Vaises...!"

"Is that Raven Von Vaise in the center?"

"Why is he so tall in person?"

"He’s the one who—!"

"Shhh! He might hear you!"

"Man, why is he so handsome? Why is God so unfair?!"

Even professors bowed their heads respectfully as the group walked by.

To the Vaise, the academy wasn’t a challenge but a chance to live a normal life.

To others, however, it was a way of letting everyone know they were still there.

They showed the world that the Vaise family was still the strongest by sending their children to the academy, where other children from other major families study.

The Vaise family’s children had always left a shadow in the minds of other young masters and young misses.

So, Raven and his group always attracted attention.

More than anyone from the Royal family.

After all, everyone in the kingdom knew that despite being on good terms with each other, the Royal family was nothing without the Vaise family.

However, everyone from the Vaise family was used to attention, especially Raven, who was always observed by someone when he was in the Cradle.

So, they continued their walk, introducing Raven and Siris to the faculty in the academy.

Siris was new to everything, but she was learning and adapting quickly. She absorbed any information she was provided with.

’Is she even human?’

They all wondered, despite knowing the answer.

Except for Raven, no one else knew that Siris was an artificially engineered human, and all of her talent came from the blood of other organisms running through her veins.

But when they were moving toward the cafeteria because Siris wanted food—

—The air shifted.

A hush fell over the students nearby, and murmurs sparked like wildfire.

"Wait, look over there!"

"Those knights... Are they part of the Royal Guard?"

"It’s her... It’s really her."

"I heard she was close to Clara. Is she here to meet her?"

From the far side of the courtyard, a formation of silver-armored knights entered, their boots striking the flagstones in perfect rhythm.

In their center was a girl with silver hair that shimmered under the sun and eyes of the calmest, clearest blue.

Those eyes carried a heavy awareness, a weight born of watching far too much for someone so young.

It was—

’—Princess Selena Velmoria,’ Raven muttered inwardly.

He had only read about her in the novel and had never seen her, but it wasn’t hard to tell who she was, especially with so many royal knights flanking her.

She was the only daughter of the king of Velmoria.

Despite her royal blood, her demeanor was calm, almost distant, without a hint of arrogance on her face.

Her robes were white with threads of gold, modest but unmistakably regal.

’That sham of an author, she wrote her to be beautiful, so why do I feel like I’m looking at a lateral angel?’

Selena was as beautiful as Clara, but because of her Royal blood, which gave her an air of authority, she was more of an eye-turner.

’She’s calm and collected on the outside, but in reality, she’s just a child who wants freedom.’

That was the way the author had described Selena.

And because of that, Raven had already decided that the second woman he would go after would be her.

She was perfectly normal, the direct opposite of Clara.

So, if he had them both, he could balance things out.

"—Ouch!"

Frowning at the sharp pain in his forearm, he turned sharply, only to shrink as he saw Clara glaring at him.

"W-What?"

Feeling his thoughts read by Clara, Raven stuttered.

"You were thinking something bad, weren’t you?" She asked, and Raven quickly shook his head.

"No. Nah. Never."

Clara squinted her eyes as if trying to peer into his soul, but a gentle voice brought her back to reality.

"Clara."

It was Selena, her eyes lightening up with gentle familiarity as she looked at Clara.

Clara turned to her only friend in the academy and smiled, making Raven sigh in relief.

"Selena!"

Clara ran ahead and hugged the princess like an old friend.

The surrounding students gasped.

"Huh?! Clara Vaise just hugged a royal?!"

"...Did the world flip?!"

But Raven smiled slightly, watching the scene unfold.

He remembered it well—two years ago, he had ordered Clara to look after someone in the academy.

It was Selena, and at that time, through Crisaius, he had found out that Clara wasn’t in favor of this task. She had said that she was being tasked with helping "a random royal brat with ’issues.’"

Raven had then sent another letter, with one line written on it.

He had only said, "She needs someone who sees her as a person, not a piece."

Now, the two moved like long-time friends.

But why did the people around them seem shocked?

If they had been friends for so long, shouldn’t everyone know about it?

The reason for that was also Raven.

Clara and Selena’s friendship wasn’t known to many people because Raven, in the letter he used to send Clara, had told her not to make it obvious that they were supporting Selena as it would just make things harder for Selena.

At least not until Raven came to the academy.

Now, as Raven had arrived, they didn’t need to hide anything, and Clara, who could freely hug her only friend was quite happy with this development.

Soon, Selena pulled back, offering a polite nod to the others before she turned toward Raven as a strange light flashed past her eyes, making Raven almost flinch.

’What was that—’

But before he could even think about it, Selena spoke, smiling calmly.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Raven Von Vaise. I heard a lot about you from Clara."

Although unsure if he had seen things right, Raven returned the smile. "The pleasure is mine, Princess."

No one said anything after that, as Selena kept her eyes locked with Raven, her eyes flashing continuously, as she thought.

’He’s finally here...’

The protagonist, however, found it strange. ’Just... what’s going on with her?’

Alex, looking at all this, leaned over to Jake. "Bro... Is Raven flirting with the Princess right now?"

Jake lowered his head, sighing.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Clara coughed.

"Selena," she called out to the princess, her expression filled with suspicion. "...are you alright?"

Selena realized her situation as she heard Clara’s voice and quickly controlled her expression.

"I’m alright, Clara."

She turned toward Clara, a smile marring her face. "I was just wondering if he deserved someone like you."

Her words quickly dissipated Clara’s suspicion as she smiled, but as she felt Raven’s gaze, she huffed, turning away.

Selena’s expression shifted for a heartbeat when she saw this, but she quickly turned toward Siris, standing some inches away from Raven.

She studied Siris for a moment before giving a light nod. "You must be Siris Vaise. I’ve heard... curious things."

Siris blinked. "I do not know what you heard, but yes. I am me."

"...Well said," Selena replied, unsure how else to respond to that blunt reply.

Raven chuckled awkwardly. "Siris is... still adapting."

The way Raven stepped forward to defend Siris made Selena and Clara frown, but Selena’s frown disappeared as soon as it appeared.

Just then, the murmuring from the other students picked up again.

"They’re talking with the princess."

"Do you think she’s trying to win them over?"

"Obviously! Everyone knows whoever the Vaises support... basically rules the kingdom!"

"Didn’t the previous Crown Prince get exiled because he insulted the Vaise Patriarch?"

"Shh! Do you want to get expelled?!"

Selena ignored it all, her attention entirely on Raven and his group.

"I’m glad you all enrolled," she said sincerely. "And I hope we’ll see more of each other... perhaps in the coming events."

Clara raised an eyebrow. "You’re talking about the trials, aren’t you?"

Selena’s lips twitched. "Perhaps."

Raven, who heard those words, suddenly remembered that there was something like that and groaned. "Why can’t we have one month of peace?"

Jessy, Jake, Rufus, Clara, and even Alex turned toward Raven as if asking, ’Who do you think is responsible for that?’

Siris, on the other hand, raised a hand. "Will there be food after the trial?"

Selena gave her a polite nod. "Always."

Siris turned to Raven. "I approve."

"Of what?"

"Academy."

Selena giggled with a palm covering her lips, seemingly amused at Siris’s response before she turned toward Raven and smiled.

"I would like to invite you for a cup of tea—"

Before she could finish her words, one of the imperial knights following her stepped between her and Raven, his eyes sharp and cold.

"Princess, it’s time you return to your classes."

The Vaise group, especially Raven and Clara, frowned at that.

’A mere guard interrupting the Princess?’

Selena, however, paused, her lips pursed. "There are still some minutes left—"

"Princess," the guard cut her off, her expression colder. "Your elder brother had asked you never to be late for your classes."