CHAPTER 1

The whole Wisdom Academy was bustling with noises of students who were decorating the buildings of the academy. After all, the 200th anniversary of the Wisdom Academy is tomorrow. For the grand celebration, the whole academy was decorated by the students and teachers of the academy. The academy was the one of the oldest institutions in the kingdom where children of aristocrats, knights and some rare talents were taught. The academy which started with only a small building has now expanded to many buildings and facilities.

As the new generation came, the teaching technique, facilities and admissions were also upgraded. Now, in this academy children of common people are also taught and some are given scholarships based on their talents, skills and studies. Due to which now, it has become a target educational institution for all, be it nobles or commoners who want to gain fame, reputation or upgrade their lifestyle and live merrily.

Also with the increasing popularity of equality between nobles and commoners, the students in the academy were also studying together in harmony though sometimes there would be friction between the two factions; Nobles and commoners. Anyway, but for the grand celebration of the 200th anniversary of the academy, all were working together to decorate the academy buildings. The work has been continuing since last month. After all, it was such a huge place and also it was the 200th anniversary.For the celebration, there were many guests from different sectors who were invited for the day. Not only from the kingdom but from all over the world.

Adeline and her classmates were responsible for decorating the auditorium hall and path leading to the hall. And the temporary lecturer, current Duke of Basilisk, Caesar was overseeing and managing the students for the day. Adeline and some of her friends were decorating the stage at the time. Caesar was talking with a teacher who just came to know about the progress. After talking about the progress, Caesar went out of the hall. Adeline saw Caesar going out but still continued to help her friends.

 "Can you call the teacher? We seem to need help from him about how to arrange these." asked one of her friends, Kiara.

"Sure. I just saw him going out. I'll call him right away." answered Adeline. Then, she went out of the hall to find Caesar.

She walked out of the hall and looked around first. The whole pathway and also the garden around were cleaned and also decorated. Then, she saw Caesar walking deep into the garden. Thus, she went toward the place and followed Caesar. She first tried to call him but it seems he didn't hear anything at all. So, she followed the path through which Caesar walked.

As she went deep into the garden, she heard someone talking and that seemed to be Caesar. As she was about to call out to him, she heard something hitting the tree, more like a fist hitting the tree and an angry growl which seemed to be coming from Caesar. After hearing that, she stood there silenced and somewhat surprised. The teacher and Duke she knows wasn't like this. He was a very gentle person who liked to smile and never got angry. Her and also the student's impression of him was like that, a gentle person. But what she just heard from Caesar was completely opposite to the impression they had.

Thus, to confirm she walked towards the person carefully and silently. Though some rustle can be heard but it seemed that the person didn't hear that as he was still mumbling something. Adeline saw the back of the person and confirmed that the person was the gentle Duke and their teacher.

Then she heard him growling, "Finally, finally. Finally, my plan will be done. They all are going to suffer. Tomorrow, they all will meet their end." Then she heard him laugh amusingly and somewhat maniacally. She shocked from the face of the Duke was shocked and stumbled. Only then the person i.e. Duke Caesar seemed to hear someone so he turned to the direction of noise.

He was shocked and somewhat panicked. But, in a few seconds he was calm. He again turned to his gentle self and asked, " Do you need help for something?" Adeline was still in shock but hearing the question answered him, "Yes. We-we needed help so I came looking for you."

Caesar then smiled gently," Oh, then why didn't you call me? Let's go then." Then, Caesar helped Adeline to stand up. Both then walked towards the hall.

"You-you are not like this truly." Adeline asked more like a statement while walking behind Caesar. "Huh? What are you talking about?" Caesar still walked nonchalantly and asked gently.

"You-you there weren't like th-this." said Adeline, stuttering and shocked with his still calm and gentle face after witnessing the scene before.

"Oh? Then, what?" chuckled Caesar softly.

"I'll tell everyone." answered Adeline somewhat sternly.

"Who will believe you?" Caesar asked again.

"..." Adeline went silent.

"So, just keep quiet. There'd be no harm to you anyway." said Caesar and walked ahead.

They both reached the hall and her friends came to ask suggestions from Caesar. Caesar also answered them patiently. At the side, watching the performance of Duke, she was shocked and didn't know what to say anymore. She wanted to tell others about how Duke is but as Duke said nobody will believe her, she knew. So, she kept quiet and decided to first tell her best friends later when they are alone.

After arranging the halls, all students went to the dormitory or their home. Adeline was still living with her parents and her friends lived in a dormitory. She was the only girl and child of her family, so her parents doted on her so much. They were also protective of her so she chose to stay with her family. This didn't hinder her social life so she also accepted it easily.

Adeline wanted to talk to her friends but she was stopped by Caesar before going out with them.

"Adeline. I have something to talk to you regarding the program. So, can you stay for a while."

Adeline wanted to decline but Caesar again turned to her friends,"You can go first. I have something to talk to her regarding tomorrow's program. It might take a while."

"Oh, okay then. See you tomorrow. Bye Adeline, bye teacher." With that her friends left them.

Adeline was now stupefied and wanted to follow them. But Caesar stopped her and said,"You should not waste your energy telling others about me. It will all be in vain." "Then, see you tomorrow." With that he also walked out leaving Adeline alone.

Adeline got out of the trance and returned home. At home, her mother welcomed her warmly. She was the princess of the Dukedom of Astreas. Her father was Duke Arthur Astreas whereas her mother was Duchess Grace Astreas previously known as Grace Ambrose. Her parents had initially arranged marriage but developed love afterwards and she was their crystal of love so they loved their daughter dearly.

Her father hasn't returned yet and her mother was free today so she was at home. Thus, she was warmly welcomed by her mother. Adeline was tired after a long day full of tension. As soon as she entered the mansion, she hugged her mother tightly,"I am exhausted."

"Oh, my princess. Let's wash up first and relax then." Duchess Grace said to her daughter.

"Okay, mom." Adeline answered the Duchess.

After washing up, she went down and found her father was home. "Dad, welcome home."

"My princess, I am home." Duke Arthur patted Adeline's head.

They had a family chat and then had dinner afterwards. After having their dinner, they went to their respective rooms to rest.

Next day, Adeline woke up early and then got ready to go to the academy. She after getting ready had breakfast which was already prepared for her. She bade goodbye to her parents and then went to the academy. As she reached the academy, she recalled the memory of the previous day. She pondered about the situation at her room yesterday and decided to ignore it for now as there is celebration going on.

All students were gathered in the auditorium hall. They were assigned various tasks by teachers to maintain the peaceful atmosphere. After assigning the tasks, they were told to disperse and go to their respective position. After an hour or so, guests started to come and thus the work of students also started. After a few hours almost all guests gathered so the program was officially gonna be started.

The host of the show entered and stood on the stage, before everyone and announced the official start of the celebration of anniversary. After announcing the starting of the program, he called out to leaders from different sectors to give a speech first. The section was obviously boring to many students. Same goes for Adeline. As she was thinking about Duke's problem till late night, she didn't get enough sleep so she was starting to get sleepy. So, she excused herself to go to the washroom to get refreshed.

When she was returning from washroom, she heard noises and shouting from the hall. So, she went there quickly to see what happened. When she reached there, she saw that the whole hall was in mess. People were running here and there and some were hurriedly coming to the exit. She wanted to know about the situation but she got hit by people exiting the hall. So, she went to the side and looked around to see if there was a teacher nearby.

She saw a teacher but the teacher was Duke Caesar. With no choice left as there was no teacher nearby, she went to Caesar to ask if he knew what was going on. When she reached near him, she heard him laughing maniacally and again talking to himself,"Finally, they are going to meet their end."

Hearing this, she realized that the commotion which was going was probably due to this Duke. So, she asked,"Is that what you're doing?" But Caesar still was laughing, looking he didn't hear anything at all.

"It's your doing!" This time she stated it.

Caesar then stopped laughing and looked at her. "Yes, so what?" "You can do nothing now."

"You-" As she was about to say something she felt pain in her head and she lost consciousness.

When she opened her eyes again, she was in her room, her room in Dukedom.

‘Where am I?’ Adeline thought, pressing her aching head. She then looked around and was surprised to see that it was her room in Dukedom. ‘How did I get here?’ ‘I remember I was with the Duke confronting him, then suddenly…’ ‘What’s going on?’ She was wondering about these things when someone entered her room.

“My princess, are you okay now?” Duchess Grace came to her who was lying in bed. Then, hugged her and started to question her if she was okay. “Is everything okay now? Do you feel pain anywhere? Are you feeling okay?” Duchess Grace questioned her daughter relentlessly loong at her daughter worriedly.

“I-I am fine, mom. It’s just my head is aching really bad. Other than that, I am totally fine.” Adeline answered patiently to her mother’s worried questions. “By the way, what happened to me? Wasn’t I at the academy?” Adeline inquired about her doubt after she calmed her mother down.

“Don’t you remember? You suddenly fainted just before you got out of the house.” Duchess Grace answered worriedly after seeing that Adeline didn’t remember how she fainted at home and talking about her being in the academy. “ Wait for a moment. I will call the doctor immediately.” Then, Duchess Grace hurriedly went out to call for the doctor.

‘Huh? What's happening? Mom said that I fainted in front of the house but I don't remember fainting and even in front of the house. I clearly remember that I was at the academy. What's happening?’ Adeline thoughts were in chaos. With these thoughts, she looked around and pinch herself to wake up if she was in a dream.

But the obvious pain made her realize that it wasn't a dream. Then, her eyes fell on the calendar on the side bedside table. She was shocked to see that the date showing on the calendar was far behind from what she remembered.

It was obviously January of King Callisto III 45th year but the calendar showed that it was January of King Callisto III 44th year. ‘Did I travel back in time, a year before the 200th anniversary of the academy?’ Adeline was shocked and wondering about how this could happen when someone entered her room.

“My princess, are you okay?” Her father, Duke Arthur, asked worriedly and then asked or rather ordered the doctor, “Check her health and see if there is any problem or injury.” “Sure Duke.” The doctor answered respectfully.

The doctor then checked Adeline and inquired how she was feeling. The doctor, not seeing or finding that there were not any wounds, concluded it might be due to excessive stress or emotional distress which is why she fainted.

After getting the answer, Duke Arthur permitted the doctor to leave. Then, worriedly asked Adeline again, “Princess, why are you taking stress? Is someone giving you a hard time in the academy? Is there some problem you are facing thinking about it? If it is the case, please tell us, hmm?”

“Yeah, we are your family and parents. If there is any problem, do tell us. We will always be there for you. You don't need to stress yourself if you can't solve the problem, you can tell us. We will solve it for you as best as we can.” Duchess Grace said to Adeline, patting her head.

Adeline hearing her parents' words was grateful and also relaxed a lot. “Don't worry, mom, dad. Nobody did anything to me. It might just be due to the coming academy anniversary.” Adeline reassured her parents.

“Oh, don't stress too much because of this. Get rest today as you have to attend tomorrow’s ceremony, no?” Duchess Grace patted Adeline. “Take a good rest for tomorrow.” Duke Arthur also told Adeline to take rest and then they departed from there.

‘What? Tomorrow is the school anniversary? Then, did I travel back one year earlier from the time and one day earlier? Adeline thought. ‘But I don’t remember fainting during this time in actual time. So, how did my past change? Isn't the past supposed to be the same as today? Only I travelled back in time. Maybe, it is due to my future self travelling to the past. So to create an opportunity, I must have fainted due to shock or something like that.’

‘But it’s just some hypothesis of mine. I don’t even know why and how I got here?’ Adeline was thinking deeply then suddenly remembered, ‘Isn’t tomorrow the day when Duke Caesar officially joins the academy as teacher then? I remember that he joined officially on this anniversary. So, I will meet him tomorrow.’ With these thoughts, she slept as her drowsiness overcame her.