Ch 36: Luck
Melissa was so infuriated by her luck today that if she could find whoever was writing her fate, she would have punched that person square in the face and, in fact, would have spat on him while cursing with the same words she had only ever heard the girls from her village shout at boys who had broken their hearts or toyed with their affections, leaving them for someone else or falling in love with another.
Melissa was devastated by her luck today and was utterly overwhelmed by all that had transpired in such a short time since joining the academy. She had initially believed her luck had reached its peak and had imagined countless things she would experience at the academy, convinced she would be able to enjoy herself by slowly blending in with others and, if possible, forming friendships along the way.
But reality proved far more bitter than her dreams and imagination. Everything began to unravel after she entered the classroom—or perhaps it started even earlier, when the princess and Eleena followed Lucien and Melissa down the hallway. Melissa saw Lucien, who usually stood like an unyielding man who would never falter, actually waver, and he even seemed to retract that killing aura he so often projected everywhere around him. Whether he deliberately always released his aura around his body or it was simply in his nature, Melissa could not say. But he faltered, almost like a sheep caught by a wolf, when Eleena stepped directly in front of him.
Melissa was utterly shocked to see how Lucien’s fingers had trembled, which he immediately tried to conceal by stuffing his hands into his pockets, and she did not miss a single detail of it.
But the princess and Eleena, caught red-handed, had not noticed it either, perhaps because they were so shocked to find Lucien standing so close, or maybe because their focus was entirely on finding a way to escape the uncomfortable situation.
But Melissa, unlike them, was silently standing beside Lucien, so she had witnessed the slight trembling of his fingers and how he had immediately pulled his killing aura back into himself, as if trying to conceal from Eleena that he was not truly a killer. Yes, it was Eleena, not the princess, who caused this reaction, because the trembling of his fingers only began when Eleena came face to face with Lucien. Previously, when Eleena was still hiding behind the princess, Lucien’s fingers had not trembled at all.
So, from everything that had transpired in the hallway, Melissa began to suspect there was something between Eleena and Lucien. Her guess became even more certain when Eleena confronted her in the classroom and asked about her relationship with Lucien. Clearly, Eleena was not comfortable seeing Melissa previously walking beside him.
Melissa was a village girl, but she was not so naive as to miss something like that.
Melissa could not help but wonder what kind of spiral she had gotten herself into. And this was not even the end of her troubles, because when she thought she would receive a warm welcome from the classroom as a new student, Lucien—who had previously been impassive—became so angry at the lateness of those two girls and a boy that he ended up shouting at the whole class in a fit of rage, only introducing her after terrorizing everyone, which made her introduction far from pleasant.
Ugh, why does it have to be like this.
Melissa would have been more than happy if even one of the students had smiled to welcome her, but all of them were too petrified by Lucien to even blink, so her start at the academy was one of the most dramatic she could possibly imagine if she had to choose a word to describe her experience.
And just as she hoped everything would go smoothly from then on, Lucien had other plans. He flaunted his powers by transforming the classroom into his own mana expansion zone, filling the entire space with his mana, which was dark and gloomy like him. It was likely so dark because of his nature and his affinity for space, something she had learned from Lucien’s mother when she was boasting about his achievements—tales Melissa had already heard in the village to some degree.
And after Lucien’s dramatic showcase of power, when he finally exited the classroom, she slumped in her seat with sadness, wanting nothing more than to bury her face in her hands and cry over how her dream of studying at the academy had truly begun. Struggling to hold back her tears, she turned to look out the window, trying to calm herself, because she did not like crying in front of so many students who would become her social circle for the entire academy journey.
And just as she was gazing out at the sky, the actual princess of the empire—whom Melissa had previously thought was just another ordinary student, especially since Lucien had referred to her and others as worms—approached her desk and courteously introduced herself as a princess. Melissa was utterly shocked to find the princess coming to her desk.
And to make matters worse, all the attention in the classroom was then on her, and there was Eleena, confronting her just as she had confronted Lucien, asking about Melissa’s relationship with him. Melissa did not appreciate a single thing about that confrontation or the way the princess had casually walked up to her out of curiosity about Melissa’s origins, especially how their actions had brought the whole classroom’s gaze on her. Thankfully, a professor saved her from the uncomfortable situation as the princess, and Eleena hurried back to their seats.
Melissa, thinking about all that had transpired so far, lifted her head toward the sky and felt tears threatening to fall, for it seemed that every time one trouble was sidelined, another would come knocking at her door with even greater force.
She could not help but smile bitterly as yet another trouble presented itself before her as if to prove her theory.
A yellow-haired boy with a small ponytail stood before her and grandiosely introduced himself as Patrick Zendejas, his words full of pride as he pointed his long saber toward her face and demanded a duel. He was the student who had arrived late earlier, and she only now learned his name.
She could not help but ask herself, Why me? Was her luck really so bad that she could not even catch her breath for a moment?
“Professor, I don’t think I am ready,” Melissa pleaded, turning her head to the right to look toward the high platform, where a muscular man with tanned white skin stood, his arms crossed.
At the moment, all the students were in a training field with open space and a small raised platform. The students were scattered around below the platform, many already finding duel partners, while she, who was not interested in dueling, was challenged by this Patrick, who seemed strong enough—she could see a powerful aura radiating from him. Yet, despite the violence of his aura, Patrick’s heart seemed mostly pure, with only slight blemishes of gray, which meant he was generally kind and gentle.
“You can’t say no on the battlefield. It’s a matter of life and death out there,” the professor said, shaking his head and rejecting her plea. “And I want to teach you all that lesson, so you have to fight, girl.”
Melissa’s request was dismissed without a shred of kindness.
Mommy, please save your daughter from this hell. I do not want to study in this academy anymore.
***
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