Chapter 810: Got Her
Chapter 810: Got Her
The moment Lucian Kellor’s name left Liam’s mouth, Edith changed.It was almost too subtle to notice. Almost. Her posture did not jerk, and her expression did not twist into anything openly revealing. She did not drop her fork, gasp, or give the kind of obvious reaction that would have drawn attention from nearby students. But her fingers tightened against the edge of her tray for the smallest instant, and her eyes shifted away from Liam with a sharpness that did not match the casual noise of the dining hall.
She looked to her left first, then past Liam’s shoulder, then toward the nearest table where a group of second-years were too busy arguing over exam predictions to pay attention. The motion was quick enough that anyone else might have dismissed it as ordinary awareness.
Liam caught all of it while taking a bite of his food.
He chewed once, slowly, his eyes remaining on Edith as if he had not noticed anything at all. The reaction confirmed more than her words could have. Lucian’s name meant something to her. Not in the vague way a classmate’s name might. There was alertness there, caution, and something protective buried beneath the restraint. Whatever existed between Edith and Lucian, it was not merely the shallow familiarity of two students who had once shared a group during an assessment.
Edith looked back at him. "What do you mean by that?"
Her voice had lowered.
That interested Liam more than the question itself. Edith was not a careless speaker. If she lowered her voice, it meant she did not want the name, the topic, or her reaction carrying too far. The dining hall remained loud around them, filled with clattering trays, overlapping conversations, and students laughing too loudly over things that probably were not worth the volume. Even then, Edith treated the question as something that needed guarding.
Liam studied her for a moment, then leaned back slightly in his seat and sighed through his nose.
"I will go straight to the point," he said. "We do not have much time anyway."
Edith did not interrupt.
"You and Lucian knew each other before this academy," Liam said plainly. "Probably friends, or something close enough to it. There is no use denying it. I remember how both of you interacted during the Vlardia assessment."
Edith’s face remained composed, but the silence that followed was answer enough.
Liam continued, his tone even. "For the question I asked, I do not care much about his full background. I only need a few things."