Ch 29: Class 1-S
Lucien stopped in front of his classroom and glanced beside the door, where Connor Finlay stood—his attendant who had served him since childhood.
Connor immediately bowed to Lucien as soon as he saw him. Connor had black hair, black eyes, and fair skin, with a remarkable beauty uncommon for someone of attendant status. He had served Lucien since Lucien was just seven years old. Now, Connor was around twenty-two, having begun his service at the age of ten. There was an age gap of three years between them.
Lucien nodded. "You may rise," he commanded, his voice remaining as icy as ever. "Did you prepare everything I mentioned earlier?" Lucien had sent instructions to Connor before boarding the airship to the academy, communicating through a crystal.
Connor nodded. "Yes, my lord. I have prepared everything and stored them in my ring." Lucien had instructed Connor to prepare the materials that he needed to teach the students.
Lucien nodded slightly and glanced around the hallway, which was utterly empty—a clear sign that everyone else had already entered the classroom.
After meeting Eleena, Lucien had taken a detour to calm his racing heart. Old memories choked him; his trembling fingers only steadied after he wandered the long way around to the first-year classroom instead of taking the shorter path.
Lucien needed a moment to recover. Seeing Eleena again after so long, especially when she appeared just inches from his face, brought back the memory of the time his hands gripped her neck, and the sensation left him shaken to his core.
Lucien pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. Turning to the door, he placed his hand on the handle and, with a steadying breath, opened it to the classroom of 1-S.
He entered the classroom, hands tucked in his pockets, pitch-black hair slicked back, and silver eyes sweeping over the students seated at their desks. They looked ghastly nervous, as if holding their breath, eyeing him with a blend of reverence and fear.
Lucien allowed himself the barest hint of a smirk, so fleeting it would go unnoticed unless one looked very closely, and made his way to the front center of the classroom.
A wooden desk and chair were arranged at the front center of the classroom, with a whiteboard mounted on the front wall.
Melissa followed behind him, stopping a few steps away from Lucien and Connor. Lucien’s loyal attendant halted just behind Melissa and stood straight, his back pressed against the front wall beside the whiteboard.
Lucien gazed around the classroom. It was painted white, with windows lining the right side and walls enclosing the other three sides, the hallway running along the left. Student desks were arranged in sloped rows, each desk a step above the one in front for clear visibility of the board, creating the effect of a cinema hall, with stairs between each row.
There were five rows, each containing six desks with chairs. Some desks remained empty, likely because not all students were qualified to enter the S-rank class.
First years were divided into E, D, C, B, A, and S classes, with S being the cream of the crop and E reserved for those who barely managed to enter the academy. Second years were similarly divided, though without an E class, since anyone who failed to advance from E to a higher rank after their first year was expelled. Thus, the second-year classes included only D, C, B, A, and S, with D being the lowest, containing the lucky few who managed to rise from E and avoid expulsion.
Lucien surveyed the classroom from back to front, and, as he expected, the main character, Mark Kasper, the hero of the story, was seated in the very front row.
Mark had ordinary brown hair of average length and matching brown eyes. He was good-looking, with a regal, strong build, but what caught Lucien’s attention was not his appearance but the sharpness in those brown eyes—a look shaped by a rough and wild life and more than one near-death experience.
Lucien understood why Mark’s gaze stood out from the other students; few could match its intensity. In the story, it was said that Mark lost his family to a beast attack and survived only because knights arrived, though too late to save his parents. Only his little sister remained, but now she lay on her deathbed from an incurable disease that, no matter what Mark did, was not curable.
The knights had been sent by the house of Evaska, a baron family from the northern dukedom. The patriarch took a liking to Mark, allowing him to join the knights in training, where he excelled and formed a close bond with the patriarch’s daughter, Judy Evaska. Together, they entered the academy and passed the entrance exams with top marks.
Judy Evaska, Mark’s childhood sweetheart, sat beside him. She had flowing green hair tied in a single ponytail, matching green eyes, a porcelain-white face, and a slender, regal build. Her eyes, while intense, lacked the cunning forged by surviving in the wild and the hardships Mark endured.
Lucien found the silence in the classroom almost oppressive. He nodded in approval and pushed his thoughts aside for now, aware that every student was staring at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak. Yet he simply stood at the front, silent, and his mere presence made the atmosphere stifling. The students were too afraid to even whisper.
He felt a certain satisfaction seeing them cower in fear, so obedient to his presence.
Lucien turned to Melissa, who was nervously fidgeting with her hands. "Melissa, come here," he called, gesturing for her to stand beside him at the front of the class. She had been standing closer before, but when he looked away, she had edged further back, putting a comfortable distance between them.
Melissa slowly approached, seemingly self-conscious under the gaze of the others. Was it excitement or nerves that made her steps so light, so quiet as she drew closer? Lucien could not quite tell what drove her uneasy movements.
In the story, Lucien only knew Melissa as a quiet, dull girl who lost her sense of purpose after losing her parents. He did not know much about her true personality, so it was refreshing to witness the different sides she displayed. Everyone showed different facets of themselves depending on who they were with; some were kind to the world but ruthless to their families, while others were the opposite. So, it was only natural for Melissa to have a different personality with different people.
Melissa stopped just a few inches away from him and turned to face the class.
Lucien could see questioning looks on the faces of the students seated at their desks, some of them clearly unhappy that a girl who did not even take the entrance exam had gained admission to the academy, and not just anywhere, but into the S class meant only for the top-ranked first years. He did not care for their opinions. He had already decided Melissa would join Class 1-S, and he would not tolerate any objections.
Just as Lucien opened his mouth to announce Melissa’s place in the class, the doors slid open with a loud, shrieking sound.
Lucien’s eyes twitched at the interruption. He turned toward the door, where Amber and Eleena stood with their hands clasped in front of them and their heads bowed. "We are sorry for being late," they said in unison.
***
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