There’s Something Special About Her - Chapter 59

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 59.
Padilla Bondeiz’s office sofa wasn’t quite as comfortable as the one in the nest, but it was pleasant enough.
In fact, before Padilla, myself, and Instructor Kessler sat steaming cups of warm tea.
“Mm, perfectly brewed today.”
“The adjutant’s skills seem to improve by the day.”
I couldn’t simply sit idle beside the two of them as they began to properly enjoy their tea, so I lifted my own cup.
Though I wasn’t entirely at ease drinking it.
I was merely going through the motions.
‘So this is how a guest gets treated.’
Would those two have served tea if one of the trainees rolling around in the Training Grounds had walked into the office?
Absolutely not.
My cup of tea might as well have had ‘You’re still nothing but a guest here’ written across it.
“Now that you’ve warmed yourself with the hot tea, shall we continue?”
Padilla Bondeiz smiled knowingly—though I wasn’t sure when she’d started watching me.
“This batch of trainees numbers forty-three, and a hundred days of training have already seen five days pass.”
I nodded silently.
“But since one trainee withdrew—not by choice—we have a vacancy, so that’s fine. The real issue is equity.”
I fully agreed.
Compared to the other trainees, who’d struggled for years just to gain admission, I fell short in every qualification except Dupon Clansher’s letter of recommendation.
“Besides, whatever Dupon may have thought, the Training Facility operates under independent authority granted by the first Duke himself—at least when it comes to trainee selection and education.”
A soft click of her tongue punctuated the sentence.
“And His Grace has entrusted me, Padilla Bondeiz, with even greater authority than that. But today, Dupon crossed the line by having Runelk Eines brought into the Training Facility—he even lowered the Drawbridge, which is supposed to remain sealed for a hundred days except in war.”
“I… I see.”
Damn.
Padilla Bondeiz was still smiling that bright smile, but she was clearly seething.
I’d managed to get on the Training Director’s bad side before I’d even officially enrolled.
‘Killian Nox, you madman.’
He tells me to handle the spy situation myself?
But now I’m in her bad graces—the one person with absolute power within the Training Facility. What am I supposed to do?
There’s no way he didn’t know this would happen when he sent a letter of recommendation under Dupon Clansher’s name to get me admitted.
He simply didn’t care whether the mission became harder or my position became more difficult.
“…I apologize, Director.”
That was all I could say.
After all, I still had to catch the spy infiltrating the Training Facility.
I couldn’t simply excuse myself and leave, saying I’d come back next time.
Padilla Bondeiz studied me as I kept my head bowed and my mouth shut, then shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, I suppose I’ll bend on this one.”
Really?
Just like that?
My eyes widened, and she flashed a brilliant smile.
“But if you’re going to get through the remaining training period without incident, Runelk will need to prove himself. We’ll administer a Special Examination so the other trainees find it convincing.”
***
Wilfred Kessler, the instructor who taught Nox family history and various theories at the Training Facility, tilted his teacup to cut off a low sigh that was about to escape.
‘The director’s temper has truly been ruffled.’
Padilla Bondeiz was an exceptional person.
Her open-hearted nature built her rapport across the board, and she possessed an almost supernatural gift for discerning the latent potential in trainees not yet in bloom.
Moreover, her scrupulously fair handling of every matter had consistently produced just results.
Kessler took as much pride in serving under her as he did in having become a member of the Nox family all those years ago.
‘Though her temperament in this…’
Those who knew Padilla Bondeiz reasonably well would have mistaken that smile for a very pleasant mood, but in truth it was a decidedly dangerous signal.
It meant her pride had been thoroughly wounded.
‘Of all people, a letter from Dupon Clansher.’
Padilla Bondeiz and Dupon Clansher had been bitter rivals for years.
The story was that it stemmed from a competition over a position as the Duke’s closest advisor.
Kessler, who’d joined the Nox only well after twenty, had never witnessed it firsthand.
“If Runelk proves through the Special Examination that he deserves to be a trainee, the complaints about fairness should fade.”
Of course they would.
If the exam were passed cleanly.
Instructor Kessler stole a glance at Runelk Eines, who sat with unusually large eyes blinking steadily.
Though not to the level of Padilla Bondeiz, he too had an eye for people.
‘The muscle and bone balance seems decent enough, but…’
Word of the small hero had drifted even into the Training Facility, isolated as it was from other divisions.
Repelling an attack by the Green Merchant Guild, throwing himself before the Duke’s horse to save Trainee Hanno Becker, subduing a spy encountered during patrol and delivering him to the Judicial Bureau—these were undeniably remarkable accomplishments.
Yet, as Runelk himself had just mentioned, such things were possible only with fortune’s aid.
‘With diligent preparation, admission with the next batch might be possible, but now…’
Admission examinations couldn’t be passed by talent or aptitude alone.
One had to hone one’s innate abilities and bring one’s skills to their peak.
Even someone with cursory knowledge of the enrollment process would shake their head at the odds.
But Runelk Eines seemed quite unfamiliar with how Nox worked.
“If it’s a Special Examination, what stages would it involve?”
To ask such an innocent question.
“Stages, you say.”
Padilla Bondeiz drew out her words.
It was just as ominous as that wide, bright smile.
“Over four days, we’ll evaluate one area per day. The first day covers knowledge of Nox discipline and Basic Tactics, the second day will be a Physical Examination, and on the final day…”
Her amber eyes flickered briefly toward the outdoor Training Grounds.
“…victory in a Public Duel against a trainee would make everything convincing, wouldn’t it?”
So she had no intention of accepting Runelk Eines as a trainee.
A field operative who was doing patrol duty until yesterday couldn’t possibly defeat a trainee.
And a public duel, no less.
This was pure humiliation.
A man who’d tried and failed to gain admission mid-term—Runelk Eines—and another who’d been pushed in as a trainee under false pretenses—Dupon Clansher.
This was the tableau Padilla Bondeiz wanted to stage.
“Ahem.”
Instructor Kessler, strict enough that anyone who’d passed through the Training Facility would have groaned, found his own throat suddenly tight.
Was one poor operative caught in the crossfire between the higher-ups?
“Director.”
“What is it, Kessler? Something on your mind?”
Instructor Kessler called out softly to his superior, but Padilla Bondeiz merely feigned innocence with a smirk.
It was wholly unlike her.
Had her rift with Dupon Clansher cut that deep?
“…It’s nothing, ma’am.”
“If your throat hurts, have some more tea.”
She spoke like a solicitous superior concerned for her subordinate, then turned her attention to Runelk Eines.
“So, what do you think? Should we be able to achieve what we both want this way?”
“Understood. Thank you for the opportunity, Director Bondeiz. I’ll do my best to pass the examination.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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