April is the beginning of the school year, and most schools in the empire begin their first semester in early rose-colored April.

The Astrad I School was established by Emperor Bag II the Great in memory of his father. Located on the western outskirts of the imperial capital, relatively far from the heart of the imperial capital, this public school sits on the banks of the Emerald River, not far from the royal palace Karin Castle. The scenery here is beautiful, without the disturbance of the imperial capital, and because it is located in the suburbs, close to the farmhouse, it has a unique idyllic scenery.

Emperor Bag II had the idea of equality between men and women independent of his time, and even loved his daughters more than his sons. In order to put the eldest princess Karin, who was favored by Bag II, on the throne, the emperor forced his son Astrad to enter the monastery and become a priest, depriving him of his inheritance rights in disguise. In the end, Princess Karin was able to ascend the throne, and Prince Astrad accompanied the Lord in resentment and loneliness until he was called by his father.

Influenced by the idea of equality between men and women and even the preference for women over men, the atmosphere of the era was quite open, and Astrad I College has been a coeducational school since its establishment, and to this day, when many schools are still managed separately for men and women, Astrad I School still holds high the head of the pioneer and continues the school spirit that has been handed down since the time of Bag II.

However, although the school is a school for men and women, it is still an aristocratic school. Most of the children of the nobility studied here, and only a small number of people who were not nobles but had a relatively high social status in society were allowed to send their children here. The school lives up to its reputation, with alumni from all walks of life in the upper echelons of the empire, most notably the current Prime Minister, William Noe Pitt Jr. He graduated from Astrad I College nearly 40 years ago, when his father, William Noe Pitt, Sr., was also a fellow Astrad I Schoolmate.

Sophia came to this prestigious public school accompanied by her brother, and the application was sent out while they were still in Midnight Castle, so Sophia can come to the opening ceremony today.

With excitement and a little nervousness, Sophia walked into the Gothic spire arch of the Astrad I College and entered this strange and youthful school. Swain was still wearing a heavy black coat, dressed as a standard old-school gentleman, and this time he specially accompanied his sister to go through the final formalities before entering the school, and by the way, he fulfilled the promise he made last time.

The Astrad I School is very large, and due to its age, the buildings here are like a museum, and you can see traces of development from the time of Bag II to the present day. The principal's office building is a single-family building in the style of the Bag II era, with the emperor's preference for red and simple style of the era, this small building is made of red bricks, simple and simple, so it is also called the Red House by students.

The Red House has been around for some years, although it has been renovated several times, but there is still a creaking sound when walking up the wooden stairs, but fortunately although it is simple here, the quality is still very passable, this old feeling does not make people feel unsafe, but has a sense of the times.

When Swain knocked on the door of the principal's office, the headmaster's angry voice came from inside almost at the same time: "Please come in." ”

Swain pushed the door open. The principal's room, like the Red Building, was not very large, and the décor was very simple, with a desk and a few cabinets in the small room, except for a few chairs at the door that looked new.

"Hello, Headmaster Russell. I'm Swain Noe Jericho," Swain took off her top hat as she entered, "We submitted our application for admission earlier, and this is my sister Sophia, who is preparing to enter your school. ”

Principal Russell listened to Swain's introduction with a smile on his face, and he pointed to the chairs in the doorway and motioned for them to sit down first.

After thanking him, Swin and Sophia sat down. Sophia looked at the headmaster, who wasn't very old, looked like he was fifty at most, maybe even fifty. His figure was on the fat side, and he always had a kind smile on his rich face, and because of his round figure, the headmaster did look very kind. His complexion was ruddy, he looked energetic, and there were no wrinkles on his face, so Sophia thought he should be less than fifty years old, but his hair was not so young, and the top of his head was bare, and only a circle around him was barely supporting.

When Sophia looked at Principal Russell, he also looked at the little girl, and although his gaze was kind, Sophia quickly put away her impolite gaze.

"Your application for admission has been approved, it would be better if you came a few days earlier, we don't have your address in the imperial capital, and we haven't been able to deliver Ling Mei's school uniform to you, please go to the logistics office to pick it up later." ”

"We were negligent. Sven nodded, no expression on his face.

Principal Russell was a little puzzled by Swain's appearance, but he didn't ask much because he couldn't speak, so he had to think that the young man was introverted or shy. "Our school is a boarding school, of course, students can go home every weekend, but in the school everything has to take care of themselves, is this condition acceptable?"

"Of course. Sven didn't think much of it, and replied directly, without asking Sophia. However, although Swain believes that his sister can bear such conditions, in Sophia's heart, she is still reluctant to be separated from her brother from time to time.

"Then there is no other problem, Sister Ling can go to the dormitory to clean up in a while, and I will let Ms. Martha lead the way for you." With that, Principal Russell pressed the bell on the table, and in a few moments, a sturdy middle-aged lady walked in.

She had the same smile on her face as Principal Russell, but she was more modest than that principal. She was wearing a gray cloth skirt and an apron, probably a female worker in this school.

"Do you have any orders, Mr. Headmaster?" she said in a loud voice, even with a rough country accent.

"Please take this Miss Jericho to her dormitory. ”

"Yes, Mr. Headmaster. Then she turned to Sophia, "Come with me, miss." ”

Sophia smiled and nodded, the lady's loud voice was a little uncomfortable.

Swain also got up, ready to accompany his sister to the dormitory, to see what the conditions were here, but Principal Russell stopped him. "Wait a minute, Mr. Jerichault, may I speak with you?"

Swinn paused, then said to Sophia, "Go first, I'll see you later." ”

"Yes, sir. Sophia lowered her face, hiding her look of loss.

After Sophia and Lady Martha were gone, Swain returned to his seat. "Is there anything wrong, Mr. Headmaster?"

"Actually, it's not a big deal, it's just a rare opportunity, and I hope to have a good chat with you. The smile on Principal Russell's fat face remained the same, and even his face became more energetic, "Your surname is Jericho, and I also checked it according to the identity information you provided, you are the grandson of Mr. Winston No. Jericht." ”

"That's right. ”

"What an honor!" exclaimed Principal Russell, excitedly, "and, in fact, more than forty years ago, when I was a child, I had the privilege of listening to Mr. Jericht. He had come to give a lecture to us children, so he told us the history of the empire in a nutshell, and I had a great admiration for Mr. Jericho, and I was fascinated by historiography. Unfortunately, I had limited talent and never achieved much in history, but instead became the principal of this public school as an educator. However, although I am now fully committed to the cause of education, the profound impact that Mr. Jerichault left on me has not been erased. To be able to see his grandson now can be regarded as a part of my wish. Mr. Jerichault, is he okay now? I haven't heard from him since he came home. ”

"My grandfather had passed away, just in the middle of February. ”

The bad news made Principal Russell's smile freeze for a moment, and then slowly shattered until it turned into a mournful expression. "Really...... I can't imagine it. It seems that my wish will not be fulfilled. Headmaster Russell sighed, his expression sad from the heart, and it seemed that he, like Wood and the Marquis of Metternich, had an extraordinary reverence for the Earl of Jerichthorn. Swain didn't bother, and of course, he wouldn't comfort the headmaster.

After a moment of sadness, Principal Russell looked up again, but he couldn't put the smile on his face anymore. "I don't know, do you know that your other sister, Miss Victoria No. Jericht, also studied here?"

Sven nodded, but didn't speak.

"I didn't mean to investigate anything, but as the principal, all the students' files would pass through my hands, so it was inevitable that something would come to mind. At that time, I was prepared to receive Victoria's father, as I am today, because he was the son of Mr. Jerichault. But when I told him about Mr. Jerichault, he was a completely different man, and he broke me off with such a loud voice that I choked on me. Headmaster Russell smiled wryly, and seemed to remember Ernest very well, "I have no doubt that if I say one more kind word about Mr. Jericho, he will draw his gun and shoot me in the head." Later, I asked some people who knew the gentleman well, and I found out that the relationship between father and son was very bad. Actually, I was apprehensive before I saw you today, but fortunately you didn't scare me. ”

Although it brought me the biggest bad news. He said in his heart.

However, what made Principal Russell even more puzzled was that after hearing him say so many things that were personally relevant, Swain's face remained unchanged. His face was still so flat, and his tone was as tasteless as boiled water. "Thank you so much for your kindness to my grandfather. Although there was not a hint of gratitude in Swain's voice, he still said, "Our family's father-son conflict has been going on for decades, and even now, even after my grandfather's death, this conflict continues to exist. ”

In other words, he is now at odds with his father, the Viscount Jericho. Principal Russell thought in his heart, probably because his words just now expressed his reverence for the previous earl and dissatisfaction with Viscount Jericho, and Swain's words also explained the current situation of the Jericho family and his own position.

"What a distress, that Count Jericho is ......"

"There is one thing I need to affirm. Swain interrupted Headmaster Russell, "My grandfather's will clearly identified me as the heir to the Earl of Midnight and the Jericho family, and I am the modern-day Earl of Midnight. ”

Swain's words made Principal Russell's face change, and he felt that he somewhat understood the reason for the discord between the two Jerichault father and son. "I see, what a rude thing just now, Your Excellency the Earl. He swallowed what he was about to say as he thought about a new topic, "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything about it, but as the headmaster, I still want to ask, about your sister, has the custody been decided?"

"I will stay in the imperial capital until this problem is resolved, but whether it is Sophia or Victoria, I am relieved that they will study at the most prestigious public school in the empire. Swain knew that Principal Russell was worried that a change in custody would cause the two girls to drop out of school, so he gave him a reassuring answer.

"Thank you for your attention. Swain said something nice, and Principal Russell finally showed that kind smile again, "Would you like to see Victoria later?"

"Unfortunately, I have something else to do today. Swain rejected President Russell's offer, "Actually, I'm here to meet with Professor Ranke from your school. ”

"Professor Ranke? Okay, I'll let him know. Headmaster Russell nodded, and if Swain inherited the Jericho family's lineage from the old Winston, then such a request would be reasonable.

"Thank you very much. Although he said thanks, Sven's expression showed no trace of thanks.

————————————

After all, Astrad I College is an aristocratic school, and although the headmaster's office is quite old, the dormitories provided to students are in a delicate and cumbersome Rococo style. The girls' dormitory also has a pale pink hue that looks bright and warm.

A dormitory is usually a double room, which is designed to foster a helping and accepting attitude towards life. Since all the necessary furniture was already prepared, Sophia came with only a small suitcase with clothes.

Lady Martha took her to the dormitory, handed her the key to Sophia's dormitory, and left. This spacious room also has a bathroom with showers, and of course the school has a more comfortable public bathhouse.

Sophia sat down on the bed, and the freshly changed white bedding still smelled of the sun after the sun, making people unconsciously want to sleep. Her roommate doesn't seem to have arrived yet, the other bed is empty, and there's nothing left in the room.

Although the dormitory at Astrad I is very good, and Sophia can meet many friends of the same age here, and enjoy the youth she should enjoy at her age, she still doesn't like it very much, because she will not be accompanied by her brother at night.

When she thought of this, Sophia's heart felt like she was empty, without any real feeling, as if she was standing on a high-altitude pavilion and would fall down at any time. She simply lay down on the bed, hugged the new bedding, smelled the fragrance of the sun, and remembered the smell of her brother as much as possible.

However, I don't know if this breath is too charming, or if she woke up too early this morning, Sophia actually fell asleep, and if someone hadn't woken her up, she really wouldn't have slept until when.

Sophia rubbed her eyes and turned her head to look at the girl who had just woken her up. "Are you ......" Although her vision was still a little blurry because she had just woken up, Sophia could see the general appearance of the girl in front of her, and this girl still made her feel a little familiar.

"Hello, meet again, Miss Sophia. The girl who woke her up spoke in a very low voice, and kept rubbing the corners of her clothes, looking very shy.

"Miss Gratis!" Sophia finally remembered who it was, wasn't this Miss Gletis Ranke, whom she had met at the Metternich family party that day.

"Hmm......" Gretis nodded with a red face, so Sophia didn't know why she was so shy, "Well, this time we're roommates in a dorm, and please take care of us." After saying that, she also bowed to Sophia really seriously.

Gladys' appearance was so cute that Sophia couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

"I—Did I do something wrong, Miss Sophia?" Gladys couldn't help but get even more nervous when she saw Sophia laugh like that.

"No, no, nothing, Miss Gratis...... Can I call you Glatis?"

"Well, of course. With that, Gladys lowered his head again.

"You don't have to be so shy, Gladys. Sophia gently stroked the petite girl's back to calm her down, "We're friends, aren't we?"

Sophia's words moved Gladys and finally calmed down. "Thank you, Miss Sophia...... Can I call you Sophia too?"

"Of course, we're friends!" Sophia smiled and hugged Gladys, the girl was so petite that Sophia of the same age could pick her up, "You don't have to be so shy in front of us, you can also puff up your chest and talk to others generously." ”

Gladys, who was hugged by Sophia, couldn't help blushing again, she wanted to stand up, but she couldn't break free of Sophia. When Sophia hugged her, she felt that this girl was really cute and she couldn't put it down, as if she was holding a kitten all the time.

"Just now, when you were asleep...... Gladys, who couldn't break free from Sophia, had to tell the truth, "you kept calling Mr. Swain's name, and, and...... And made an unsightly sound......"

The hand holding Gladys let go, and Gretis finally broke free of Sophia.

This time it was Gletis's turn to look at Sophia curiously, and now the young lady was blushing and completely in confusion.