[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-strongest-student-of-the-weakest-academy":3,"chapter-the-strongest-student-of-the-weakest-academy-the-strongest-student-of-the-weakest-academy-chapter-230":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1027192,1339,"Chapter 230: Aestrea Against The World (VII)","the-strongest-student-of-the-weakest-academy-chapter-230",230,"\u003Cp>\"Yo~! Where were you, man?\" James called out the moment Aestrea stepped out of the woods, looking a little more... frostbitten than usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CLAP!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without warning, James slapped his hand against Aestrea’s back with his usual enthusiasm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CRACK!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"AGHHHH—!!\" James howled, yanking his hand back as if he’d just smacked solid steel while being an ordinary human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stumbled in place, shaking his palm wildly, his face contorted in exaggerated pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"WHAT THE FUCK?! Why is your back so damn hard?! Are you made of dragon scales now?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aestrea gave him a side glance, his glowing crimson eyes were calm as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stop hitting people without warning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>James clutched his wrist, half-laughing, half-crying. \"That wasn’t a back! That was amountain! I think I heard my bonescry!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Derek, who had been sipping from a flask nearby, snorted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Told you not to sneak-attack him after he’s been brooding in the woods. That’s when he’s extra sharp.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aestrea kept walking, brushing off the dust from his coat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ran into a rat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A rat?\" Derek raised an eyebrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...The kind that talks too much and bleeds theater.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>James blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Was it... that guy you told us about? That guy who practically dressed as a clown and wanted you to join the Dark Order?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aestrea didn’t answer. But the faint bloodstain on his collar and the cold aura still radiating faintly from his skin were enough of a reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Derek’s expression dropped a little, his eyes narrowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You okay?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah,\" Aestrea said shortly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>James lowered his hand, looking at Aestrea for a moment longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...If he shows up again, we’ll be there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aestrea only gazed at him with cold eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was practically saying that if he couldn’t make sure that Kagetaro dies, they probably couldn’t as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And James caught on, flinging his arm dramatically around Aestrea’s shoulder, though a little more carefully this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, edge-lord, enough with that. Come back to camp and eat. Derek made stew.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I made it,\" Derek said dryly, \"becauseyoutried to cook and nearly summoned a fire spirit out of raw onions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It was asummoning spell, okay? You wouldn’t get it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You lit water on fire.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t question my genius!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aestrea sighed softly, the barest smile threatening to creep onto his face as the twins bickered on either side of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as they walked back to the lights of the camp, his eyes flicked back once, toward the damn forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’...That guy doesn’t give up, does he?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He closed his eyes for a long moment before reopening them, and then followed James and Derek, before they arrived at some kind of campfire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crackle~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fire crackled gently, casting golden light across the small clearing where a pot of stew bubbled on top of the makeshift campfire grill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, Derek sat on a log, lazily stirring the thick mixture with a large wooden ladle, the scent of seasoned meat and herbs drifting through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, it’s ready,\" he announced, scooping generous portions into three wooden bowls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>James was already hovering behind him like a starved ghost. \"Finally! I’ve been emotionally wounded and physically crippled today. I need this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You touched Aestrea’s back. You did that to yourself,\" Derek replied flatly, handing him a bowl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aestrea sat a little further back, his black coat draped around his shoulders, expression calm but distant as he watched the fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Derek offered him a bowl wordlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thanks,\" Aestrea muttered, taking it with a nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three of them ate quietly for a moment, the fire crackling between them. A strange comfort lingered in the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mmm... not bad,\" James muttered between bites. \"You know what would make this perfect though?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" Derek said immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Spicy sauce.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" Aestrea repeated, scooping another spoonful into his mouth without missing a beat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You two are culinary cowards.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re sane,\" Derek replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You summoned a fire spirit with onions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was experimenting with the magical properties of sulfuric tears!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aestrea let out a small exhale through his nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe it was a sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe it was almost a laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the imperial palace, candlelight flickered across towering pillars and red carpets, and a quiet tension hung thick in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the center of the grand throne hall...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She walked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ella...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But not the sweet, snow-haired girl from before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, her hair was ink-black, flowing like dark silk to her waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her once-soft blue eyes now burned red like molten gems, mirroring the very same crimson glow that haunted Aestrea’s gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her steps were slow, yet strongly powerful. She wore a long black coat embroidered with swirling silver vines and blood-red petals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guards flanking the throne tensed the moment they saw her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the far end of the hall, seated upon her throne with cold poise, Empress Isabella narrowed her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Who are you?\" she asked quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ella tilted her head with a soft smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Does it matter?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sword Duke, who had been standing beside the Empress like a shadow, took one step forward, his aura flaring almost immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stand down, girl,\" he commanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Or I will be forced to subdue you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ella blinked slowly at his words, tilting her head with a mocking smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then... she raised a single hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>FSSSSHH—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black petals exploded from her palm like a cyclone, curling around the Sword Duke in an instant before he could even move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"—!?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He disappeared into the whirlwind of shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, the petals dispersed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sword Duke lay unconscious, gently cradled in a blooming bed of midnight flowers, his sword still glowing dimly beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...He’s lucky, he’s still useful,\" Ella whispered with a small giggle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guards instantly reached for their weapons, but...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stand down,\" Empress Isabella interruped them, her voice sharp and absolute, making the entire room freeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her emerald eyes studied the woman before her... this thing that wore Ella’s shape but carried something far more dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So. What do you need for me... Miss...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ella’s smile widened at her words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can call me... Yennefer~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So. What do you need from me... Miss...\" the Empress spoke carefully, choosing her words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ella tilted her head, letting her raven hair sway like a curtain of midnight silk. The red glow in her eyes pulsed once, faintly, just like a heartbeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that wasn’t a comparison, as her eyes tracked Aestrea’s beating heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can call me... Yennefer~\" she said sweetly, her voice laced with amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very well then... Yennefer.\" Empress Isabella didn’t flinch. \"Answer the question. What do you want?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yennefer walked forward slowly, her black heels clicking gently on the polished marble floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every step was soft... yet echoed like a drumbeat in the quiet tension of the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What I want, dear Empress, is... quite simple,\" she said softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stopped just a few feet from the throne, gazing up at Isabella without bowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no respect or fear in her gaze or voice...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only a beautiful, terrifying calmness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want you to listen,\" Yennefer continued, her voice light as feathers, \"and obey to me, this superior being.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Obey?\" Isabella’s brow arched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You seem to be confused about how this works.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh no, no~\" Yennefer cooed, clasping her hands in front of her. \"You’re the one confused.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CRACK!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The marble tiles beneath her feet shattered with a single pulse of mana.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black ring of pressure exploded out around her in a perfect circle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chandeliers above trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cracks spiderwebbed along the columns near the throne. The petals on the floor shimmered, then slowly withered from the dark pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yennefer’s voice never rose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not here to ask or to play politics like you ants do. I am simply... offering you a choice.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guards moved to surround her again, hands trembling over their swords.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can refuse me,\" she continued, red eyes glowing brighter, \"and I will paint this palace in silence and flowers. The kind that never bloom twice.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She smiled wider, her lips curved like a crescent moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Or...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The red in her eyes dimmed slightly, just enough to let a sliver of gentleness return to her expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...you can help me make this easy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what exactly,\" Isabella said coldly, \"do you want me to help you with?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yennefer turned her back to her briefly, walking a short circle through the throne room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she faced her again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want information,\" she said softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"On everything regarding the other continent’s rulers. The military movements. The negotiations. The black ops. The secret pacts. All of it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isabella narrowed her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And if I say no?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yennefer didn’t answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She simply raised her hand and...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>SWOOOSH—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the guards in the room dropped their weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not because they wanted to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the swords... had turned into petals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They gasped, falling to their knees as black petals wrapped around their necks and wrists like manacles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t want to hurt anyone,\" Yennefer said lightly, her eyes flicking toward one of the kneeling soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I will, Empress Isabella. I really will. For him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yennefer’s gaze darkened, her pupils narrowing ever so slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aestrea.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The name hung in the air like thunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t care about thrones. I don’t care about diplomacy. I care about him. I care about what’s going to touch his world. What’s going to scar it. And what I need to rip out before it poisons him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She took another slow step forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You see... unlike you, who sits in a castle and commands from afar, I’m the type of girl who would crawl through corpses just to keep his smile intact.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hall fell utterly silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the torches seemed to flicker lower, as if afraid to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Empress Isabella stayed seated for a moment, her eyes unreadable. But her voice, when it came, was sharp as a blade drawn from velvet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what happens when he finds out what you’ve done in his name?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yennefer’s smile faded just slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Then I’ll kneel in front of him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll let him slit my throat if that’s what it takes. But until then...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes flared again with that hungry crimson glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I’ll burn this empire with love if I have to.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she lowered her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The petals dispersed instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guards gasped as the strange magic around them vanished like mist, leaving behind only the faint scent of something sweet and wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well?\" she asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You really are different now,\" Isabella said quietly, her tone lacking even a trace of mockery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yennefer said nothing as if she had expected that she had realized her identity by now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isabella stood slowly, walking down the steps from her throne until she was at eye level with the black-haired woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’ll get your information. I’ll have it delivered in full detail by midnight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yennefer’s eyes lit up in amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now that’s more like it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But,\" the Empress added, leaning in just slightly, her tone colder, \"if you threaten me again...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then you’ll what?\" Yennefer interrupted sweetly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Send another Sword Duke?\" Her eyes glimmered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re running out of them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Empress didn’t reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only silence stretched between them, heavy and unbreakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yennefer giggled, then stepped back, turning with a lazy swirl of her black coat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good talk~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then she vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gone in a burst of black petals and crimson shimmer, like a curse whispered in a lover’s ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isabella stood in place for a long moment before turning back toward her throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her face stayed calm, but her hand... clenched just slightly at her side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...What have you become, Ella?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1935,"2026-06-03T09:18:17.304Z","2026-06-03T09:18:22.612Z",1,"novelbin.me","98d271bbcb685faf647dde176a90cfd7487c6d83b57472d8abb847acd2fb4c5c","the-strongest-student-of-the-weakest-academy-chapter-231","the-strongest-student-of-the-weakest-academy-chapter-229",547,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-strongest-student-of-the-weakest-academy-cover.jpg"]