Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 274: Dvalk Imperial Castle (1)

The Dvalk Imperial Castle was a massive, silver fortress that symbolized the Exilion Empire itself.

By day, it basked in the blessings of the sun, and by night, it was graced by the moon and stars.

Standing tall as if to assert its presence, the citadel was a monument of history that no one could dare to trespass upon.

Yet now, in a place where no outsider could usually enter—

Ludger was walking under escort.

‘They really opened the doors of the Imperial Palace to me.’

Ludger glanced around the interior of the castle.

He wasn’t the only one here.

Alongside Ludger stood other instructors.

“Wow. It’s really beautiful.”

Selina said that as she walked through the corridor filled with ornate decorations and works of art.

“It is,” Ludger replied appropriately, echoing her sentiment.

But it wasn’t just Selina who was amazed. The other instructors reacted the same way.

Even as Seorn Academy’s teachers, such a chance to enter the Imperial Castle was exceedingly rare.

They were currently walking along the Corridor of Glass—a corridor that itself was a masterpiece composed of glass, crystal, and mirrors.

This massive and stunning creation made from glass was considered one of the two great glass artworks of Lindebrune, alongside the Crystal Palace.

‘It might even be more impressive than the Crystal Palace.’

Unlike the Crystal Palace, which was open to anyone who bought a ticket, the Corridor of Glass was accessible only to the chosen few.

Given its exclusivity, one could argue it was far more valuable.

‘I used to think I’d seen plenty of strange and wondrous things while traveling the continent.’

Ludger had roamed far and wide with his master, exploring remote and forgotten corners of the world.

Ancient ruins, flaming skies, frozen lands—wonders of nature that defied logic and comprehension.

Among those, he had even witnessed an Elemental Lord—a being ordinary people might never see in their entire lives.

With such experiences, Ludger had long become desensitized to being surprised.

Compared to the miracles of nature, humanity’s art often paled in comparison.

Or so he had believed.

Yet even Ludger found himself awestruck by the Corridor of Glass.

Though artificial, this was a work of beauty precisely calculated and shaped by countless artists who had poured their souls into it.

Had he not come to the Imperial Palace, he might never have seen such a thing.

‘Come to think of it, for all my wandering years, this is my first time setting foot inside the Imperial Palace.’

Seven years ago, on that day—

Even when he met First Princess Aileen, Ludger had never entered the palace itself.

Back then, Princess Aileen lacked influence within the palace, and there were too many eyes watching her.

So their meeting places were in dark alleyways or abandoned buildings.

Looking back now, it was almost comical.

A candidate for the next emperor and a future top-tier academy instructor once met in a filthy ruin?

Not even worth joking about.

But it had happened.

Just like someone capable of wielding absolute power once had to hide in alleyways to escape.

Now she shone brilliantly—but it hadn’t always been that way.

‘No one starts out great from the beginning.’

“Professor Ludger?”

“Yes?”

At the sound of Selina’s voice, Ludger shook off his thoughts and turned toward her.

Selina, who had accompanied him as a chaperone instructor, was looking at him with clear eyes.

“What were you thinking so deeply about?”

“I was just thinking how beautiful the interior is.”

“Ah, I knew it! Same here. Honestly, I never imagined I’d get to visit a place like this in my life. And the artwork is stunning, too.”

“Yes. So let’s enjoy it while we can. Opportunities like this don’t come often.”

Ludger said this without ceasing to survey ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ the interior of the palace.

It was so vast that he hadn’t yet located the royal vaults, but it was still important to get a sense of the general layout.

‘Still, it’s absurdly huge. And this is only a small fraction of the entire palace, the part we’re allowed to see.’

The corridor seemed endless.

Even just a glance through the glass showed a courtyard so vast it rivaled Rederbelk’s city park.

It made one wonder if it would be better to travel by carriage or steam car rather than on foot.

That was how massive the Dvalk Imperial Castle truly was.

‘Even if I were to steal a relic fragment from this place, I’m not sure I could escape properly.’

Ludger had come to the castle for one reason only.

To obtain a piece of an ancient relic—one of the few remaining fragments.

‘It’s certain that a piece is in the imperial capital, but even Hans turned the place inside out and found nothing.’

Perhaps it was an overestimation, but Ludger had confidence that there was nowhere Hans’s intel couldn’t reach.

No matter how secret a location, if it was touched by human hands, it was bound to be discovered.

And yet Hans had found nothing.

That, through process of elimination, became the most decisive clue.

‘It has to be here.’

There was a vault inside the palace that stored precious items. If it existed anywhere, it would be there.

But the number of problems was not small.

Even if he knew the vault’s location, it would no doubt be massive, considering the size of the palace.

‘The fragments resonate with each other when close. If I can just get inside, it won’t take long to find it.’

The real problem would come after the theft.

‘The palace is far too large. Once they realize something was stolen, soldiers will appear from every direction to encircle the area. If that happens, escape would be virtually impossible.’

Ludger considered various outcomes.

What if he used shadow-based spatial movement?

‘That’s not reliable either. The magic barriers installed throughout the palace make it risky—the coordinates could become unstable.’

Up to now, Ludger had only used spatial movement magic when he could verify the coordinates visually and mentally.

If the coordinates were even slightly off, he could plummet from high altitude.

That would be lucky.

If he phased into a wall or materialized underground, that would be a real problem.

Ludger was the only one who could use spatial magic, but even so, the risk was too great to use it recklessly.

That left the option of escaping on foot without magic.

That too seemed impossible.

The palace was simply too vast.

With its size came a large staff—and numerous soldiers.

‘Not just soldiers, either. The palace has its own knights protecting it.’

Even now, walking through the corridor, he could spot knights in uniform standing guard.

The Imperial Palace Guard Knights.

They were not the same as the Empire’s Three Great Knight Orders.

While the Three Orders ventured into danger and carried out arduous missions, the Palace Guard Knights were considered less capable.

Even so, a knight was still a knight.

Though they merely stood guard in a peaceful place and were often underestimated, to a normal person they were no different from superhumans.

‘And the biggest problem would be the Royal Guard.’

Knights who existed solely to protect the bloodline of the royal family.

The Royal Guard was a title granted only to the strongest among knights.

Their numbers were small, but each individual possessed power far surpassing that of ordinary knights.

He had heard that even Terrina Lionhowl was eligible to join the Royal Guard but declined, saying the position didn’t suit her.

‘Even if they’re not all master-level, I’d have to assume they’re at least close.’

To shake off both the overflowing Palace Guard Knights and the Royal Guard and escape from this colossal palace?

‘There’s no way that’s possible.’

Ludger momentarily thought about using divine power—then shook his head.

Gathering the relics was a task that had to be done in absolute secrecy.

If he used divine power, there would be no hiding anything.

Not only would secrecy vanish, but all the citizens of the capital might witness a scene they would never believe.

‘It’s not like I could conveniently control the scale of divine power either. If I tried to, I’d have to give up far more than I’d be willing to.’

Ludger ran an imaginary simulator in his head—just in case—and then shook his head.

This was too far-fetched, no matter how he looked at it.

‘Altering the imperial map just to steal a single shard? That’s overboard.’

More than anything, the Imperial Palace didn’t just have the Palace Guard and Royal Guard.

There were imperial mages, and undoubtedly undisclosed forces still in hiding.

‘Like the shadow’s dagger.’

The secret dagger of First Princess Aileen in the past referred to one of Ludger’s identities—“Jack the Ripper.”

But Jack the Ripper had vanished after resolving the incident seven years ago.

Even so, the story of the princess’s dagger still echoed among the nobles.

Never ceasing, reappearing periodically just when it seemed to be forgotten.

There was no way an illusion like that could be maintained for seven years, so it was highly likely someone new had been placed in that role.

‘At this point, I might need to reconsider the idea of breaking into the Imperial Vault altogether.’

If Hans had heard that, he’d probably respond dead serious: “Wait, you were actually planning to do it?”

Surprisingly, Ludger had indeed intended to steal from the palace.

Not immediately—but genuinely.

Suddenly, Ludger wondered,

‘I wonder if Hans and Sedina are doing well.’

* * *

Sedina Roschen was now facing a major obstacle.

‘Why did it have to be her?’

Sedina’s eyes shifted toward her mentor—Casey Selmore.

Casey Selmore, too, was acutely aware of Sedina, Ludger’s assistant.

Originally, Sedina had planned to pretend to attend the mentors’ classes while using her paper magic to secretly gather surrounding intel.

Hans may have taken the lead, but she couldn’t just sit still and do nothing on her end.

But with this mentor, that plan was utterly unworkable.

She was up against someone who had tracked Ludger Cherish’s whereabouts all the way here.

Known as the century’s greatest detective, Casey Selmore.

Even Sedina, with her subtle magic, couldn’t be confident that she’d go unnoticed by someone like that.

‘My magic is especially good for stealth, but there’s no guarantee someone of that caliber wouldn’t detect it.’

If Casey had simply ignored her, maybe it would be different—but the fact that Casey was keeping her in mind was the real issue.

‘What is she even after?’

While Sedina was deep in anxious thought, Casey Selmore was thinking:

‘If I get close to his assistant, maybe I can learn more about that man.’

The reason Casey applied as a mentor was to increase her points of contact with Ludger. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

What she had seen in Ludger’s past was completely different from the public perception.

Even if it was something Ludger had intended to hide, now that she knew the truth, she had to correct the misunderstanding.

Normally, Casey would have said it out loud with boldness.

I saw your past.

I know what really happened that day.

But she couldn’t bring herself to say it in front of Ludger.

Maybe because she wasn’t entirely proud of her own actions either. So instead, she had forced her way in with a mentor application, having no other move to make.

In the end, Casey decided to change tactics.

She would slowly learn more by approaching those around Ludger.

Unaware of that, Sedina could only feel a rising fear that her true identity had been discovered.

‘What should I do?’

To make matters worse, there was someone else in her group who made her extremely uncomfortable.

Zzz.

A piercing gaze boring into her from the side.

Sedina had to struggle not to turn her head toward it.

Julia Plumehart.

Of all people, Julia had ended up in the same group—and was now staring straight at Sedina.

As if irritated that Sedina wasn’t reacting, Julia showed no sign of looking away.

‘This is bad.’

To Sedina, Julia’s unrelenting stare was deeply unsettling.

Of course, it wasn’t as if she felt no guilt.

As children, Sedina and Julia had once been very close friends.

The first person Sedina ever opened her heart to was Julia—and the same went for Julia.

But once Sedina chose to join the Black Dawn Society, their relationship fractured.

‘Even though I’m no longer with the Black Dawn, and I’ve sided with Professor Ludger now, that doesn’t change anything.’

Sedina was no longer an ordinary student.

Her world was different from Julia’s.

For Julia’s own sake, Sedina had to avoid getting involved with her again.

In Julia’s eyes, there was a mix of anger, betrayal—and faint traces of lingering affection.

Sedina, feeling an indescribable sense of guilt, still deliberately avoided Julia’s gaze.

But no matter how much she tried to ignore her, Julia showed no sign of giving up.

Amid that strange and tense atmosphere, Sedina cried inside.

‘Someone... please help me.’

* * *

“What the hell is she doing with no word this whole time?”

Hans, waiting in a safehouse, crossed his arms and bounced his leg impatiently, frustrated that there was still no word from Sedina.

‘Well, the palace is crawling with knights. Maybe there’s nothing she can do either.’

Hans knew very well how much Sedina respected Ludger.

If even someone like her wasn’t reporting in, it meant things were not going well—likely due to circumstances beyond her control.

‘In that case, I guess I’ll have to do what the boss told me to, even if I’m alone.’

Following the advice of Grander, who was still lying lazily on the sofa, Hans had started scoping out the underground sewer routes.

But honestly, Hans had serious doubts about finding any useful intel there.

‘Still, better to check than to get chewed out later for ignoring instructions.’

Just as Hans was mulling it over, one of the rats he had sent out returned.

“What, back already? That was fast. You found something?”

Squeak! Squeak!

“The underground? You checked inside the sewers, right?”

Squeak squeak! Squeeeak!

“...What?”

Hans frowned, unable to hide his confusion at the message from the rat.

“You’re saying you couldn’t go deeper beyond the main sewer line?”

In response to his question, the rat perked up its whiskers and nodded.