GameDev Reincarnated into His Own Creation

Vol 2 - Chapter 19.1: Validation

"Yes, young master." Hileya kept her eyes down, bearing the weight of their collective scorn alone. "I'll await your completion."

Vel stepped back and walked away. Behind him, the other servants resumed their tasks—but not quite the same positions as before.

A maid pushed her cleaning supplies away from Hileya, while another butler moved to a different section. The older servant, who had observed, nodded respectfully at Vel as he passed, then walked around Hileya without a word.

The realization struck him slowly. All those stares, the wide eyes, the sharp disapproval—none of it had been directed at him. They'd been judging Hileya.

His intention had been simple: treat her with the respect and dignity she deserved. Instead, he'd marked her as incompetent. A poorly trained servant who couldn't maintain proper boundaries.

Vel glanced back one last time. Hileya stood alone now, a careful space maintained around her by the other servants. They wanted nothing to do with someone who'd failed so publicly at basic protocol.

His stomach twisted. Being half-elf already put her under constant scrutiny, forcing her to hide her ears. As if that wasn't enough, he'd just handed her another burden.

All his modern ideals about equality and dignity had only made her life harder.

Vel rejoined the unstable attunement group, though his attention kept drifting back toward the servants' area.

"Your servant?" Tomas asked, nodding toward Hileya.

"I'd like to think of her more as a friend," Vel said, keeping his tone even.

Tomas tilted his head, glancing toward the servants' area.

"I've never seen a noble treat their servant like that. Most barely acknowledge them, let alone... whatever that was."

"It was just fixing her hair. Not that big of a deal."

Tomas blinked rapidly, eyebrows shooting up. "Which house are you from? I mean, I've read about most of the major ones, but..."

The question caught Vel off guard. He'd assumed most students knew he wasn't nobility.

"House Novalance," Vel said with a slight smirk.

"Novalance?" Tomas's brow furrowed. "I... I don't think I've heard of... wait, is that from the eastern provinces? Or maybe..."

"That's because it doesn't exist." Vel rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not actually noble."

"But you have a personal servant, and your clothes..." Tomas gestured helplessly. "I mean, they're nice, and I thought..."

Vel glanced down at his attire—the tailored outfit Lady Halen had provided for his departure to the Academy. He hadn't considered how his appearance might be interpreted by others.

"It's complicated," Vel admitted.

"I'm from Elnor originally, but before that, a small village called Oakhaven. My family received patronage from Lady Halen after..." He paused, unsure how much of his story to share. "After some unfortunate events. Hileya was assigned to me when I left for the Academy."

"Patronage without noble connections?" Mira frowned. "That's rare for someone like her."

"My sister is a Saint Initiate with the Church. That probably helped."

"Oh?" Tomas perked up, then hesitated. "So you're... you're Church affiliated then?"

"Not exactly, but—"

"Saint Landre, right?" Tomas interrupted, eyes brightening. "I've actually heard about her! She's been mentioned in some of the Church announcements, and I read that she..." He trailed off, looking embarrassed. "Sorry, I read a lot."

"Having connections with one of the three major factions..." Tomas shook his head. "That's no joke. The Church, the Guild, the Kingdom—they all have serious influence."

He nodded eagerly. "That explains... well, you."

"What do you mean?"

"You seem to know things. More confident than the rest of us, I guess."

Before Vel could respond, a bell chimed across the courtyard. Instructor Lyvenna's voice called out over the murmuring students.

"Academy attendants, gather your materials! The Knowledge assessment begins in five minutes in the West Hall!"

As the bell's echo faded, Vel spotted Celia weaving through clusters of students toward him.

"There you are," she called, quickening her pace. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"How'd your assessment go?" Vel asked as they moved to a quieter spot beneath a gnarled elm tree.

"Fine. I fit in with my group well enough." Celia's jaw tightened slightly. "Had some... interactions afterward that ran longer than I'd like."

"Interactions?"

"Nothing worth discussing." She waved it off, but Vel caught the edge in her voice. "More importantly—are you alright? I saw them put you with the unstable attunements."

"I'm managing. Though I was expecting you to be among the elites."

Celia waved her hand dismissively. "That's only for dual elements or exceptional attunement strength like Kein's." Her expression darkened. "Speaking of Kein... I tried talking to him earlier. He looked right through me like we'd never met."

"I noticed. Something's off about that."

"We can figure out Kein later." She turned back to him. "But seriously, Vel—I know what you can really do. Why don't you just demonstrate your true abilities? You could get sorted into the standard class at least."

"I have my reasons."

"What reasons? You're stuck pretending to struggle with basic magic."

Vel leaned against the tree trunk. "The unstable group needs help more than the standard class does. And honestly?" He shrugged. "I'm enjoying slacking off. Being ignored has its own merits."

Celia stared at him. "You're choosing to be underestimated."

"Sometimes the best position is where no one expects anything from you."

"Just... don't get too comfortable. This place rewards results. Make sure you pass the tests first."

"Noted. Ready for the Knowledge test?"

"Not really, but I don't have a choice, do I?"