Catalyst of Enigma

Miss... miss...

"Miss Deborah, it is time for you to wake up," a woman lightly said as she lightly shook the sleeping woman's arm.

"Mmm... just 5 more minutes... Awwhhh... I promise I'll wake up, just 5 more minutes," another woman replied as she drew the fluffy bed sheets over her head.

Hearing this, the woman from earlier fell silent for a moment.

fwooom

Grabbing the bed sheets, the woman dressed in black threw the covers into the air as she shouted.

"MISS DEBORAH, TODAY'S YOUR FIRST DAY IN THE ACADEMY AND... WE... CAN'T... BE... LATE!" She struggled as she forcefully removed the sheets.

Feeling the cold air brush up against her skin, the girl screamed.

"Ah!"

She then curled up into a fetal position as she tried to savour the remaining amount of heat left in her body.

"Cilia, why are you waking me up so early?" the girl named Deborah asked groggily.

Hearing this, the maid Cilia sighed.

"Because, miss, today's the day for you to head to the academy."

"I get that, but why are you waking me up so early?" Deborah yawned as she replied.

"Why? Because you asked me to, my lady," the maid spoke as she brought out a recording device.

Grabbing hold of it, Deborah watched the recording as the memories gradually came to her.

Sigh, [why would I ask Cilia to do such a thing?] Deborah sighed as she threw away the device, collapsing back on her bed.

"Miss?"

"Don't worry, I'm awake. Sigh, just let me rest for a moment... oh, and go make me a warm bath," Deborah said, waving her arm at the maid.

"As you wish," the maid replied quickly before attending to her duties.

Deborah, who was still on the bed, sighed. [I can't believe it's already been 6 years since I reincarnated into this world,] Deborah mused as she stared up at the ceiling motionless. Memories of her past life flashed through her eyes.

...

Back at the Phalsmir Kingdom, maids and butlers were running up and down the mansion. Their anxious faces were visible for all to see.

Inside the mansion, a black-haired maid could be seen as she hurled insults at a maid who looked younger than her.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SEEN HIM? YOU WERE THE LAST PERSON HE WAS WITH!"

Delara, the maid in question, could be seen pacing back and forth through the room.

As she did this, Delara could be seen biting her nails, her thoughts chaotic.

[Fuck, fuck, fuck. Damn it, what am I supposed to do now? He was here 3 days ago. So how could he manage to disappear all of a sudden? Was he kidnapped?] Delara thought. [Damn it. Normally I wouldn't care about any of this. But why did those powerhouses all of a sudden decide to shorten the time needed for the academy to open?]

The academy was meant to open 4 months from now, right? So why did they suddenly change it to today?

Delara started to grab onto her hair, her expression continuously changing.

[And what makes it worse is the fact that they only told us about this late last night.]

Just as she continued to have these thoughts, a voice coming from outside the room could be heard.

Knock

Knock

Knock

"Delara!"

"We've found out what happened to the young master," a voice said, knocking on the door.

Without a moment's hesitation, Delara swung the door open, grabbing onto the woman in front of her.

"Where is he?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

"I don't know."

"What!? You just said you know where he is!" Delara asked, her face one of annoyance and confusion.

"No, I said we know what happened to him, not that we know where he is," the other maid said nonchalantly.

"Then what happened to him? You do know that if we don't find him, the Phalmir knights might have our heads!" Delara spoke, the annoyance rising.

Looking at this, the maid sighed as she forcefully removed Delara's hands from her collar.

"Calm down. You think after practically abandoning him for 4 years, the Empress will make a move?" she questioned, her eyebrows raising slightly. "Plus, even though we know what happened to him, it's not like we can find him."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Delara questioned.

"Spatial rupture."

"Spatial rupture? What does that have t—" As she was about to finish, Delara came to a sudden realisation.

"Y-you don't mean"

"Yup."

"He got teleported away by a spatial rupture. And the thing is, he isn't the only one who got transported away."

"There were a few more people there. I think around 15."

She paused for a moment, thinking.

"Well, anyway, that's all I have to tell you. So calm down."

[It's not like we can do anything about those things. Even the top experts are unable to stop those ruptures when they occur.]

"If they could, why do you think these ruptures still exist?"

"So calm down."

"I doubt the Empress would kill us over something we can't control."

"Ah, you don't understand!" Delara sighed as she gripped the front of her nose bridge in frustration.

"If you haven't heard already, a notice has been sent to all the noble families in the various continents."

Informing them that...

The upcoming date for the academy's opening has been pushed forward.

"And because of th—"

Cutting herself off, Delara looked at the maid in front of her before sighing weakly.

"Haa. You know what? Forget it."

"Huh?"

"I said forget it, just forget it."

Delara said as she walked out of the room, but just before leaving, she muttered under her breath, her voice barely audible.

Sigh [Not like you'd understand anyway.]

With that, she left.

Silence soon filled the room.

Seeing this, the maid who had been talking to Delara earlier scratched her head, visibly confused.

She then turned, looking towards the other maid in the room, only to find the same confused expression on her face.

They both soon stared at each other for a moment as if lost in their thoughts.

Then, with nothing else to do anymore, she left the room, the kneeling maid following soon after.

...

"Lady Deborah."

"Lady Deborah."

"Huh? Who? What's... what's happening?"

A girl who had been lying unconscious suddenly sprung up. Her eyes scanning her surroundings as she looked towards who had called her.

"Oh, it's just you, Cilia," she sighed in resignation as she slumped back down in the vehicle.

"Just me? Who else would it be apart from me, my lady?" She asked, a little confused.

"It's nothing, it's just... Ermm, I had a nightmare, that's all," she awkwardly replied as she turned her head to the side.

"Are you OK?" Cilia asked, her expression slightly changing.

Deborah turned towards the window as she nonchalantly replied. "Yeah. It's just a bad dream, that's all. Nothing big."

She thought for a moment before asking.

"Anyways, why did you wake me up?"

"That is because we're here, my lady," Cilia replied as she gestured towards the window.

Hearing this, Deborah's expression shifted to one of shock.

"Already?" she asked, still not quite certain.

Cilia just nodded with a smile as she slowly exited the vehicle, opening the door for her master.

[Damnit, felt like I was asleep for a few seconds.] she thought.

As Deborah walked out of the vehicle, the sight in front of her surprised her.

"Wow, that's a big building," she unknowingly said to herself as she stared at the academy.

"How boring."

"I thought it was going to be some extraordinary craft since this is a different world."

"But I guess even in different worlds, the style of academies always looks so plain."

Deborah thought to herself as she continued looking towards the academy, which she considered "lacklustre."

Sighing, she turned around only to see Cilia and some strange people taking both their belongings.

Walking over, she questioned Cilia.

"Hey, Cilia, what's going on? Who are they?" she asked, giving the people questioning looks.

"I was told that they were part of the academy."

"Academy?" Deborah asked.

"Yes, my lady, they should be here to help us move our belongings to the rooms," Cilia said as she watched the scene unfold.

Deborah, on the other hand, wasn't as inclined to watch this show, as she grabbed onto Cilia's arm.

"Come on, let's go already. Why bother watching workers do the jobs?" she said, leading them both towards the entrance of the academy.

[A/N: SHES FINNALY HERE OUR MC Deborah is finally here..] 🙌 also this is Deborah