Twisted Wonderland | Mickey's Print

34. The Second Sorting

A few minutes later, Crowley waited patiently in the Mirror Room with Lilia and almost all the dorm leaders. Everyone had received the news of the young girl's awakening and her sorting. Instead of wearing ceremonial robes, as they did at the beginning of the school year, they had their respective dorm uniforms. But it was hard to tell for Idia, who was only present via his floating tablet and refused to put the camera on.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Kalim exclaimed fervently. "I can't believe a girl is gonna be in the same school as us!"

"This is certainly a historic event," Lilia said, no less cheerful. "It reminds me of that time when that princess got admitted here with the help of her mother's strong insistence. The news spread fast and widely."

"Ah, are you talking about the youngest daughter of the great-grandmother of the current queen of Queendom of Roses, Lilia?" Riddle asked, confusing Kalim with that entangled sentence.

Lilia looked at him, surprised. "Oh, have you heard of that story? It's an old one, and I don't know many young people who know about it."

"I learned about it last year when I researched important personalities who graduated from Heartslabuyl out of interest," Riddle explained and flashed a small smile. "I was impressed to learn that a remarkable politician in the history of my country studied at an all-boys school like ours. I would have never thought I would witness something alike."

"However, she's not a princess this time, but the sister of the very prefect of Ramshackle dorm," Azul reminded. "Who would have thought it!"

"Exactly, this year we've had some curious admissions," Crowley replied as he glanced at Yuu's ghost camera in one of his hands. "But just like her brother, this young girl is going through circumstances that few people would wish, the Black Carriage brought her here as it did with the rest of the students, and the school must take responsibility. So I ask you again to keep an open mind and understand why she is here at Night Raven College with us."

"It doesn't seem like she has many other options. I don't think it would be so scandalous to accept a girl in this school, it wouldn't be the first time either," Vil said calmly. "But we cannot deny that her arrival has made a great impression. If it weren't for the Magical Shift tournament, this would have been the most popular topic of the week."

"She may not be a princess, but I heard she's so pretty she looks a lot like one," Kalim said. "I want to see her! Hey, Vil. What do you think about it? Do you think she'll be sorted into Pomefiore because of that?"

"Some students from our dorm who saw her even compared her to the Fairest Princess, the stepdaughter of the Fairest Queen," Vil replied. "But no matter how beautiful her face is, it won't do her any favor if she doesn't put in her effort to improve herself. So we'll see what the Dark Mirror says."

"Ortho got along very well with her after he found her," Idia commented. "From what he told me and what I've heard, her arrival wasn't exactly a bed of roses."

They were all silent for a moment, knowing what he was referring to.

Riddle and Leona stared at the ground. They had both recently been through the same thing she was about to, with some differences being that she did not understand what was happening to her by then, and her health paid for her new magic.

"Falling into Overblot by just having magic! That's terrifying!" Kalim exclaimed with a shudder.

"This is indeed a mysterious, unfortunate situation," Azul sighed as he adjusted his glasses. "Two siblings come from a world where magic does not exist, the boy is not a magic user and needs a magical creature. But the girl can use magic, not without putting herself in danger unless she learns to control it."