I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 480
Clunk!
The carriage came to a rough stop, and Hong Biyeon opened her eyes. Across from her, her escort Yetherin and her personal maid gasped in surprise, their eyes widening. However, Hong Biyeon, as if she had anticipated this, spoke calmly.
“Yetherin. Can you step outside and help a little?”
“H-help, Your Highness? With what exactly...?”
“Oh dear!”
Before Yetherin could even voice her confusion, the coachman outside let out a groan of frustration. They had no choice but to open the door and step out. As they did, they were greeted by the sight of snow piled up high, trapping the wheels of the carriage.
“...Ah.”
Though Hong Biyeon had noticed the falling snow through the window, she hadn’t expected it to be so heavy that it completely obstructed visibility.
The entire world had been blanketed in white. As Yetherin stood there, dumbfounded by the sight of the snow-covered road, Hong Biyeon poked her head out of the carriage.
“Ah... Refreshing.”
Her breath formed a visible puff in the chilly air. For Hong Biyeon, who had reached the level of a 7th-Class mage, cold weather posed no real challenge to her.
Born with the Blessing of Fire and carrying the energy of Red Flame Moonlight in her heart, this kind of chill was, if anything, invigorating and pleasant for her.
“Is it going to take long?”
“N-not at all, Your Highness!”
As Hong Biyeon urged them on, leaning slightly out of the carriage, the coachman quickly called for assistance from the other carriage drivers accompanying the royal entourage. They worked together to identify the issue that had brought the carriage to a halt.
“It seems the frozen ground has collapsed, creating a hole.”
“Forcing it out might damage the wheels...”
“Isn’t there a contingency plan for situations like this on royal carriages?”
“We do have snow chains installed, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) but using heat to melt the ice on the wheels would only create bigger problems.”
“Ha, true enough. If we melt the ice, it might cause the ground to collapse even more.”
The coachmen joked amongst themselves as they placed their staffs against the wheels.
Wooong!
A magic circle lit up, lifting the wheels off the ground and setting them back in place. Hong Biyeon didn’t even have to lift a finger; the coachmen were skilled enough to resolve the issue on their own.
Yet, as Hong Biyeon watched them work, she couldn’t shake a sense of unease.
‘Why do they even bother carrying swords at their waists...?’
If they were going to rely solely on magic, why not just call themselves mages instead?
She couldn’t understand why the kingdom insisted on maintaining the title of “knight” at a national level.
“Shall we proceed?”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
At Hong Biyeon’s signal, the carriages resumed their journey.
Their destination was Tehallan, the capital of Adolevit.
“Phew, Your Highness. My apologies. If the weather had been better, we could have used an airship instead...”
“It’s fine. Sometimes, this isn’t so bad.”
“Still, you have an important schedule to keep. If we’re delayed, it could cause considerable trouble.”
Hong Biyeon had several reasons for returning to Adolevit during the winter break.
First, there was no reason to stay at Stella Academy during the break. It was a simple yet clear reason.
Second, she had been summoned by the royal family.
The queen’s orders were absolute. Even if it meant abandoning her studies at Stella, she had no choice but to return to her homeland.
Third, today marked the beginning of a festival in the capital, Tehallan.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
Upon reaching the city walls of Tehallan, the sight of automatic carriages and the crowds of people forming a bottleneck made entry seem nearly impossible.
Although some stepped aside upon recognizing the royal carriage, the sheer congestion of the roads made even that difficult.
In fact, the sight of Hong Biyeon’s carriage only attracted more people, further slowing its pace.
“Hmm, Your Highness. At this rate, we really might be late.”
“I know. I’m deliberately being late.”
“...Pardon?”
“Think about it. Why do you think the elders scheduled their meeting for today of all days?”
There had been weather forecasts for days.
They all warned of heavy snowfall today.
Holding an elders' meeting on such a day would have forced Hong Biyeon to leave early, but the queen had assigned her an urgent task yesterday, leaving her no choice but to delay her departure.
A series of unfortunate circumstances had aligned.
It wasn’t entirely the queen’s doing.
Queen Hong Seryu only occasionally assigned Hong Biyeon tasks, without any ulterior motives.
The one orchestrating these circumstances was someone else.
“...It’s Princess Hong Shihwa, isn’t it?”
“Right. She must’ve racked her brains trying to figure out how to hold an elders’ meeting without me. And today was the perfect opportunity.”
The day after the queen gave her a task, when heavy snowfall had been predicted, and on the day of a festival that clogged the streets with traffic—today was ideal for Hong Shihwa to gather all the elders and run her mouth in Hong Biyeon’s absence.
“That... that sounds dangerous, doesn’t it?”
Yetherin looked visibly worried, but Hong Biyeon didn’t seem to care.
For any royal family member, missing an obligatory meeting would undoubtedly damage their reputation.
But Hong Biyeon showed no sign of concern.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s not like I have anything significant to say there anyway.”
“Still...”
“Besides, the one who’s panicking right now isn’t me. It’s Hong Shihwa.”
“...Pardon?”
A sly smirk crept onto Hong Biyeon’s lips, the kind that only appeared when she was plotting something mischievous.
Two years ago, such an expression would have been unthinkable for the princess.
‘She’s changed...’
Yetherin thought to herself. The princess, who used to take everything at face value and live honestly without an ounce of cunning, now seemed to enjoy devising schemes and taking pleasure in them.
But was it bad?
Not at all.
Hong Biyeon had never done anything malicious. If anything, her intellect and resourcefulness were used to outmaneuver her opponents for the greater good.
And that made Yetherin happy.
It meant the princess could finally smile like this, even against the royal family of Adolevit, which she had spent her life resenting and despising.
“But, Your Highness... What did you mean when you said she’d be the one panicking?”
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
With that, Hong Biyeon closed her eyes.
There was still quite a way to go before they reached their destination, so she planned to take a short nap in the meantime.
***
“...This is troubling.”
Hong Shihwa let out a sigh as she looked around the gathering.
Today was supposed to be the day of the Elders’ Meeting, a significant occasion where high-ranking nobles and royal family members connected by blood to Adolevit gathered to discuss the nation’s future.
But on such an important day, less than half of the attendees were present.
Even Orkan, the duke closest to her, was absent, along with over half of the elders. Messages from other nobles indicated that they were only just now on their way.
However, there was one peculiar detail.
‘Most of Hong Biyeon’s closest allies are here.’
From the Black family, a once-disreputable pirate lineage, to the Duke of Atalek and other nobles who had recently started siding with Hong Biyeon, all of her supporters were present.
In other words, almost everyone here belonged to Hong Biyeon’s faction—except for Hong Biyeon herself.
“This makes it impossible to start the meeting.”
Seated at the head of the room, Queen Hong Seryu wore a bored expression. With a nod, she summoned her attendants.
One quickly brought her coffee, but that wasn’t what she wanted.
“Prepare my bathwater. I’ll go back and wash up.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
As the attendant turned to leave, Hong Shihwa spoke urgently, though she tried to keep her voice calm.
“Your Majesty, the nobles will arrive shortly. If you could wait just a bit longer—”
“Should I?”
Hong Seryu already looked thoroughly exasperated.
“I expected to get caught between the two of you and your little power struggle, so I allowed this meeting to proceed. But do you think I should involve myself further?”
The queen’s words struck a nerve.
Hong Shihwa had manipulated the date of the Elders’ Meeting to suit her advantage, and the queen had allowed it.
That alone had already been a significant concession.
But Hong Shihwa had not anticipated this outcome. She hadn’t accounted for the fact that most of the nobles would leave the city due to “certain circumstances”... something completely unplanned.
‘I didn’t have any information about this. Could it be that they left to carry out the queen’s tasks? If so, why?’
Why would the queen assign tasks to the nobles now of all times?
Or perhaps...
...I heard that Hong Biyeon was fulfilling one of the queen’s tasks just yesterday.
Hong Shihwa pressed her lips together.
If that girl involved other nobles in the queen’s task...?
A task personally assigned by the queen came with greater recognition and rewards if completed alone.
Hong Biyeon was capable enough to handle most of the queen’s tasks on her own.
In the past, it would have been unthinkable for her to seek help. Hong Biyeon was the type to do everything herself, determined to earn the queen’s approval through her own efforts.
...But that was the Hong Biyeon of two years ago.
And now?
Hong Biyeon had completely changed. No longer content with mere cleverness, she had become a formidable strategist, manipulating nobles to suit her goals.
If this was Hong Biyeon’s doing...
...She might have delegated the queen’s tasks to others. Or perhaps, she exaggerated them.
She could almost hear her sister’s persuasive words:
“The queen has given me a command, but I cannot accomplish it alone. However, with your help, I’m sure we can achieve great things, and the queen will hold you in high esteem.”
By doing so, Hong Biyeon could sway nobles who once belonged to Hong Shihwa’s faction while simultaneously disrupting the Elders’ Meeting.
And if more than half of the attendees were absent...
The meeting itself could be rendered null and void.
If this was Hong Biyeon’s plan, the outcome was a resounding success.
As the queen departed, the remaining elders rose, muttering complaints as they left.
“Who thought it was a good idea to hold the Elders’ Meeting on a day like this...”
“In our day, this would have been unthinkable.”
“Tsk, tsk.”
As a result, Hong Shihwa couldn’t say a single word to the elders, and her reputation took a significant blow.
Manipulating the elders always carried such risks.
“Ha... hahaha...”
Only after all the nobles had left did Hong Shihwa let out a hollow laugh and sink into her chair.
Setting aside immediate gains to focus on a larger picture.
It was something Hong Biyeon of the past could never have done. But the Hong Biyeon of today could.
“You’re already trying to surpass me...”
And yet, why?
Why did Hong Shihwa’s expression not look sad at all?
With a face that seemed on the verge of tears, she was smiling.
Amidst the complex emotions swirling within her, Hong Shihwa ran her hand through her hair.
Her younger sister, who had completely derailed her plans and damaged her image without even being present.
As a rival, she should have resented and been furious with her. But she wasn’t.
Instead, she gazed out the frost-covered palace windows, picturing Hong Biyeon, who was likely now stepping into the capital under the blazing sunlight.
“You must become... a greater flame than I ever could be.”
And for that to happen...
“...I will have to become the most relentless fuel for your fire.”
Hong Shihwa’s expression hardened.
