Ch14 - Entering the academy + new roommate

The morning he was to attend the academy, he sat in the horse carriage with Bill.

Morel studied the map of the campus with great interest. 

The Milo Royal Academy of Arts was on an outskirt 20 kilometers from Mephistophele County.

To the south lay a coastal town and in the north, the Jarland Meadow was flourishing with acres of flora, and in the northeast there were lofty, undulating mountains, and sweeping dark forest.

“What else does the academy teach besides drawing?”

“If you wish to, there is also sculpting and architecture. There are many other subjects including, but not limited to, fencing, horsemanship, and etiquette.” 

Morel asked, bright-eyed, “And?”

“There’s theoreticals, sketching, still-life, oil painting, watercolor, and so forth. You can also learn about perspective, scale, and anatomization…”

Bill wasn’t done speaking yet when Morel asked in confusion, “Anatomization?”

“Yes. The dissection of cadavers to study the structures of the human body.”

“But…I’m not studying medicine, why would I need to…” The hair on Morel’s body stood up!

Bill explained with patience, “It is typical of an artist to begin with drawing nudes. Otherwise, some may draw the human body flat and lifeless while for others the muscles are overly exaggerated like a clump of radishes. Every subtle movement the body makes affects the numerous tendons, bones, muscles, and ligaments. When you understand them and their functionality, you only need to draw roughly the crucial parts without the need to sketch out every detail. Then, the drawing can be lifelike.”

Morel gulped, “Dad, does that mean I’ll have to dissect whoever I’m drawing first?”

Bill laughed, “If it’s as you said, who would dare to be the model?” 

Oh, so there’s no need. Thank god.

Morel sighed inwardly with relief.

Of course, the reason for his alarm was because he wanted to draw his dad…if he needed to dissect him…wah, he would never do such a horrible thing!!

Morel imagined the frightening corpse. As the carriage shook, he unintentionally fell asleep. 

Morel was woken up by his dad. The horse carriage had stopped beside a deep blue lake.

The other day they came to the Milo Royal Academy of Arts, it was hard to see anything at nighttime, moreover, he had been worried about his didi. Morel didn’t have a good look at the academy then. Only now did he realize how ginormous the academy truly was. Rather than a campus, it was more apt to say it was a third of a town.

The ensemble of buildings encompassed by mountains and forests were gothic architectures from the 15th century. They had blue roofs, white walls, pointed arches, and flying buttresses. They were perpendicular to the sky and majestic as if they led to the gates of heaven.

Standing among the crowd, Morel, with squinted eyes, blocked the sun with his hand and exclaimed, “This is an academy? It’s like a royal palace…” 

“And there’s still more to see.”

Bill spoke lightly. Leading Morel, they bypassed the fountain with the Venus centerpiece and entered the academy. Morel was bedazzled by everything he was faced with: the ivies that crept on the large trees, the cheerful warbling of birds, the patches of red and white camellias crowding on top of each other, and the lofty clock tower…

And, of course, much attention fell to the tall figure walking into the academy.

“Ah…isn’t that Earl Mephistopheles?” 

“I came to the new student orientation since I heard he was coming…but I didn’t expect it to be true! What a stroke of luck!”

“Will he be giving a speech?”

The crowd was clearly excited.

The Earl, as always, was remarkably unbothered. He wore a black top hat, and his hair was gathered on his back. His coat was navy blue, double-breasted, reminiscent of military apparel, and was cinched with a palm-width leather belt that only enhanced the outline of his body. 

Though, what attracted the people’s attention wasn’t his attire but his elegance. Back straight, steps graceful, his pale face was cold and beautiful. His person could gather attention effortlessly, like a black hole.

He stopped in his tracks.

He turned around, and sure enough, Morel had stopped following him, his face buried in a white camellia flower and he was blissfully inhaling the flower’s fragrance. With sunlight scattered on him, his golden hair looked extra fluffy. Bill initially wanted to reprimand him, but seeing his endearing appearance, he smiled in spite of himself and walked over.

“Do you like camellias that much?” 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“En!” Morel nodded his head.

“Yxjs, atfc P’ii tjnf rbwf qijcafv lc atf ujgvfc ijafg. Ktfc sbe’ii yf jyif ab rff atfw fnfgs alwf sbe mbwf tbwf.”

“Gjv, sbe’gf rb ubbv ab wf!” Zbgfi’r rwlif kjr fzagfwfis rkffa.

Dlii ufcelcfis ofia tfiqifrr jujlcra tlw. Lf tfiv tlr tjcv jcv mbcalcefv abkjgvr atf ifmaegf tjii. 

The surrounding people were dumbfounded.

“That was the Earl? The perpetually unsmiling iceberg?”

“Was that his child? Impossible, he’s that big already?! I’m going to have a breakdown…”

“Impossible, impossible…the Earl is 20 at most, that’s likely his little brother…” 

“His smile was so gentle just now…did I imagine it? How envious!”

Bill just completed Morel’s registration process when he suddenly received news of an urgent matter requiring him to return to the residence immediately. Initially, Bill made up his mind to stay no matter what. After all, it was easy to get lost on the enormous campus. However, Morel insisted he would be alright by himself at his age. Not to mention, they were already surrounded by the warm welcome procession that was waving flags of different colors.

The leader of them was a boy, who, although a head taller than Morel, was extremely baby-faced. His dark gold hair was shoulder length and styled in a mid-part, and his eyes were aquamarine. Every time he smiled would bring out a dimple on his left cheek, and he looked sunny and cute.

After Bill entrusted Morel to him, he quickly patted his chest and said, “no problem”. 

He enthusiastically came up to Morel and lowered his head, lightly pressing both sides of his cheeks against Morel’s face as he introduced himself, “I’m a third-year student of Red Rose Academy and the current dorm leader, Dyna. Please take care of me.”

Morel was feeling a little shy, but he smiled and replied, “I’m Morel…please take care of me as well.”

“I take it that you’re heading to the dormitory? Why don’t I show you the way this time and familiarize you with our campus along the way.”

Morel nodded quickly, “ Then thank you, Senior!” 

Everyone heard this and nodded their heads in satisfaction.

Especially the girls in the back. They whispered.

“Ah, this little brother is so cute! Not only is he pretty, but he’s also polite…”

“Isn’t that right? Let me be the one to take him to the dormitory instead!” 

Dyna chuckled. His back turned to Morel, he smiled, “Don’t fight with me, otherwise…”

The group’s faces were full of black lines. They all knew, their dorm leader was exactly what they describe as an angel without but a devil within…

Dyna enthusiastically helped Morel carry his luggage and led him to ride on the school’s cabriolet. Each row could seat two people for a total of eight people.

Dyna was a qualified tourist guide the entire way. 

He introduced to Morel in great detail the school building, the dining hall, the sports field, and such. After they crossed the bridge, the campus’ surroundings became even more serene and when 10 minutes had seemingly passed, Morel looked outside and was stunned.

He saw the grand building on top of the water. The sunlight projected the colors of the building onto the sky-blue lake and the glittering, crystalline water looked surreal. Dyna told him it was merely an ordinary school building.

He saw the sea of violet flowers. A small cabin was hidden within and only its orange wooden door was visible. Dyna told him that was the indoor garden. Many exotic floras were planted there as references for the students to sketch.

He saw the old chapel, its prismatic windows, and the enigmatic lights they gave… 

Dyna saw his look of astonishment and smiled, “Many years ago, this academy was actually a property of the royal family, but it was severely damaged during the war. It was only during this century, under Earl Wallace’s guidance, that it was renovated to how it is today. Afterward, with the support of Earl Mephistopheles, the school modernized the facilities, expanded the green areas, improved the quality of its teachers, and thus, our academy was reborn. In merely 10 years, our prestige is even greater than Paris’ Royal Academy of Arts.”

His dad?

Morel was incredulous.

For such a huge renovation project, how much money would it cost? 

Morel suddenly recalled how on the merchant ship, his dad had casually taken out an exorbitant 6,000 francs with an attitude like he was using a few centimes to buy bread…Dad, exactly how rich are you?

“Is the Earl your dad or your brother?” Dyna asked curiously.

“Dad.” Morel answered without missing a beat.

Dyna muttered, “When I tell the girls later, they will likely cry themselves to death.” 

“Why?” Morel asked innocently.

“Your dad’s charm knows no bounds…on his occasional visit to the academy, anyone who learns of it would flock to the academy’s gate. If he gives a lecture, there will be people screaming in the audience and the most frightening thing was last year, when a girl tripped and fell, the Earl helped her up and she fainted on the spot…how many girls do you think want to be his bride? Now that he has a son, of course they will cry.”

“…” Morel was stunned…

“But really, the Earl has never brought you here before?” 

“He did, we came here last time to see my didi.”

“Didi? Is he in the primary academy?”

“En, he’s only 7.”

“Haha, you can see him more often, now that you’re both attending the same school. Just remember to take the carriage with the white rose pattern on the back. It is some distance though.” 

Morel smiled brightly at the thought of Hania.

“I plan to go find him after unpacking my things…”

Morel’s skin was delicate and fair and his face was small and nicely shaped. Both his slightly long, soft hair and lashes were the color of gold and his brows were light brown. His eyes that always looked like round, green grapes were now curved into crescents. From head to toe, he looked like an angel.

Dyna sighed quietly. 

Alas, yet another problematic addition to the academy.

Given a few years, how many young boys and girls would lose their hearts?

****
Finally, they arrived at the dormitory building.

As all the new students were busy moving in, there were a lot of people. 

Dyna was quite the popular one. Many people, upon seeing him, would nod their heads and greet him by saying “Hello, Dorm Leader” or “Hello, Senior” etc.

On the 4th floor, he unlocked Room 07. As he briefed Morel on some important points—such as when lights out was, when he needed to get up, where the bathing area was, etc—he helped Morel carry in his luggage, helped him set his bed, helped him tuck his pillow, etc. It seemed that Morel’s roommate had arrived first, evident by the messy pile of things on the other bed, and the easels and paints that were strewn on the floor…Even Dyna had to wrinkle his brows: Who is this sloppy person? My condolences, Morel, it seems like you will have a hard time in the future.

When they were done in the afternoon, Dyna took Morel downstairs to get his uniform.

Morel was beyond excited. 

His eyes darted around, “Senior, since the red rose represents the intermediate academy and the white rose represents the primary academy, is the advanced academy…a black rose?”

Dyna asked in surprise, “Did you hear this from the Earl or from someone else?”

Morel scratched his head, “No. Didn’t Senior say you were a part of the Red Rose Academy? And you told me to ride the carriage with a white rose pattern on the back when I’m visiting my didi? That means the primary academy is a white rose…and I happened to see a big brother with black rose epaulets, and I guessed he must be a student from the advanced academy…”

“…So you’ve been paying attention. Your observations are correct! Back then, despite knowing there were several types of roses, it still took me half a year to notice that the patterns on everyone’s shoulders were, in fact, different…” 

Morel smiled, thinking it was something quite obvious…

Dyna continued, “In addition to the roses, you can differentiate the grades by someone’s shirt too. This is your shirt inside here. The blue pattern is for the primary academy, the dark gold pattern is ours, and the pure white pattern with a mermaid insignia is for the advanced academy. Then there’s the highest grade that uses a purple pattern with an insignia of a crown and a sword. Of course, it’s unattainable to most people in the academy since having it means you possess ability and prestige on par with a Royal Chief Painter.”

Morel nodded his head and followed Dyna back upstairs. He couldn’t wait to try on the uniform.

Morel unwrapped the package and inspected his uniform. 

The white, high-collared jacket was single-breasted and on the collars and folded cuffs, it was trimmed with metal, creating a dark-gold, classical pattern. The back hem of the jacket was sewn diagonally, and embroidered on the black epaulets were patterns of red roses. Evidently, sublime craftsmanship was involved.

Besides the first jacket, there was another shorter jacket of the same style along with two pairs of black trousers, a white shirt with wide sleeves and pleated collars, a navy blue vest, a pair of brown boots, and a pair of black leather shoes.

The ensemble was gorgeous…

T-this is the academy’s uniform? 

Isn’t it essentially upper-class attire?

This must be the difference between public and private academies.

After Dyna left, Morel faced the mirror and tried on the clothes.

He took off his clothes, put on the shirt, buttoned it up, wore the vest, then the jacket, then the trousers, and strapped the belt… 

But after putting them on, he was met with disappointment.

How come his dad could look amazing wearing formal attires, but he ended up looking as strange as imaginable…it must be because he was short and small, without muscles and without a figure!

Alas, if only he was a bit bigger and a bit taller!

He was depressed. Why was he only 143 cm? Even if he wore dashing clothes, he was still short in the end and not the least handsome! 

As he was about to undress piece by piece again, the door was suddenly kicked open with a bam!

Morel turned around and a tall boy walked in, out of breath and sweaty.

The boy was dressed simply in a blue shirt and white trousers. Strands of his black hair covered his slender, dark eyes. When he saw Morel, a smile flashed on his arrogant face.

“Oh, little brother is white and tender just like…a steamed bun—” 

He dragged out his words in a drawl.

W-was this making fun of him?

Morel was angry. He was already feeling down because of his height and this person came stoking the fire.

But abiding by his good upbringing, he mustered a smile and looked innocently at the other, “And Big Brother, you look dark just like a burnt piece of coal. Also, please don’t kick on other people’s doors as you wish and definitely refrain from entering other people’s rooms. Please return now.” 

In short—get lost.

However, the boy not only walked in but also closed the door gently. He smiled, “Little brother, is it right to be so hostile towards your new roommate?”

Saying this, he approached Morel who was done changing at the time. Lowering his head, he pressed both sides of his cheeks against Morel’s face, “Name’s Brandt, please take care of me.”

Morel’s expression was stiff, but in the end, he nodded, “Morel.” 

But Brandt didn’t move his face away and lifted Morel’s chin.

Morel recoiled, subconsciously wanting escape! Unfortunately, Brandt was stronger than him and he was unable to break free.

Brandt scrutinized him for a while before asking, “Little Brother, are you 10 yet?”

His sentence successfully enraged Morel. 

While he maintained his smile, it didn’t reach his eyes, “I’ll be 13 soon, thank you.”

“Oh…is that so. Couldn’t tell.”

“What about you, Big Brother?”

Brandt puffed his chest and looked at Morel condescendingly, like a proud peacock. 

“This master is entering the first chapter of youth, 14 years old.” He said this smugly and turned around to tidy his things.

Morel was grinding his teeth.

How was he so much taller when he was merely a year older? Brandt looked about 165 cm tall, meaning he was even a bit taller than Senior Dyna. Meanwhile, Morel was barely taller than the other’s shoulder…

And Brandt’s voice was very peculiar. It was a combination of a man’s and a boy’s voice, it was a little magnetic. Was his voice about to change? And what about himself? Morel’s own voice was still sexless and completely child-like… 

Meanwhile, Brandt, who was organizing his things, glanced at Morel.

It was indeed the right call, coming to this distant land of France from the East. After all, look—he already encountered a kitten who, although clearly angry, still insisted on smiling politely.

Hey, hey, little brother, aren’t you tired, keeping it all in?