I swear I am not a Villain

By the time Amos finally made his way back to the Hall of Stars, the last light of afternoon was already fading. The corridors had grown quieter—not empty, of course; Arianne Academy was far too big for that—but quiet in the way a place gets once the day’s energy has slipped into memory. Footsteps were muted, voices carried from a distance, and most doors stayed shut. Amos strolled along with his hands behind his head, looking completely pleased with himself.

It had been a good day. He’d wandered through the academy, met the people he’d be studying with, and even caught sight of Elena after months of only exchanging letters and stolen glances during the admission process. It was brief, yet somehow just enough to make the whole day feel worthwhile.

By the time he reached his suite, his shoulders had completely relaxed. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room welcomed him with the same neat, orderly calm as when he’d left. The bed was neatly made, the desk sat quietly beneath the window, and the faint sense of newness lingered, a reminder that this was still a place he was only just beginning to call his own. Amos glanced around once.

"Niceeeeee."

He slipped off his shoes, dropped his bag, and made a beeline for the bathroom. A long, relaxing soak was exactly what he needed.

***

The hot water was perfect. Amos leaned back until the warmth reached every part of him, then exhaled with complete contentment.

"...Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Steam curled lazily above the water’s surface, the room quiet save for the gentle splash whenever he moved. The day’s fatigue slipped away almost instantly, replaced by a pleasant heaviness that made serious thoughts feel far away—and he had no intention of chasing them. Today was for enjoyment. The academy, the new classmates, the shared suites, the sprawling grounds, the odd thrill of being surrounded by people who were young, gifted, and each a touch dangerous—it was all fascinating. Even the thought of tomorrow’s classes felt less like a chore and more like the beginning of something worth seeing unfold.

Amos slowly sank a little deeper into the bath.

"..."

He smiled to himself. If Elena were here, she’d probably call him lazy. Or wasteful. Or both. The thought made him chuckle quietly. But Elena wasn’t here now. She had gone back to her dorm after they parted earlier, and Amos had returned to his suite. It was the sensible choice. Arianne Academy had assigned them to different residential buildings, and for once, he hadn’t argued much about it. Just because he wanted to see her didn’t mean he had to cling to her like a child.

Though, admittedly, he did want to see her again soon.

He stayed in the bath long enough for his thoughts to go pleasantly blank, then finally sat up with a lazy stretch.

"Alright."

He washed up, rinsed off, and stepped out of the bath with a sigh of deep satisfaction.

A quick towel-dry later, Amos stood before the mirror in his room, running a hand through his damp golden hair.

He stared at his reflection for a long second.

"Still looking good, even better if I say so myself."

That wasn’t the problem.

He changed into clean clothes and headed back to the main room, feeling much better than earlier. Outside, evening settled in, casting the academy grounds in gentle hues of gold and blue.

Amos had only taken a few steps toward his desk when he spotted something waiting on it.

A letter.

He paused.

"...?"

The envelope was plain at first glance, but the seal at the back was unmistakable. Dark wax stamped with a mark he recognized immediately. The handwriting on the front was neat, crisp, and annoyingly familiar.

Amos leaned closer.

"A letter from Karos?"

He picked it up, turned it over in his hand, then glanced toward the door. An academy attendant must have dropped it off while he was in the bath. Figures. If the academy excelled at anything, it was interrupting him at the most inconvenient times. Amos broke the seal and unfolded the letter, his expression growing more serious with each line he read.

Then—

"...Ha."

He let out a slow breath through his nose. The message was brief, but the contents were anything but simple. There were people from the Broken Crown inside the academy. Karos had warned him to stay vigilant at all times, to watch his surroundings carefully, and to not let his guard down just because the academy looked peaceful on the surface. If anything, that was exactly the kind of place enemies liked to hide in.

Amos read the next lines once, then again.

And then he stared at the final paragraph for several seconds without moving.

The name Eoghan Rise was being considered for promotion to S-rank.

Amos closed his eyes.

"Of course it is."

He opened them once more and kept reading. He’d need to make time to receive it properly—in person—as Eoghan. Amos lowered the letter slowly. For a moment, he just stood there in silence, glaring at the paper as if it had wronged him. Then he let out a long, weary sigh.

"A future headache."

His fingers drummed lightly on the folded letter.

Broken Crown infiltrators at the academy. Suspicion. Caution. An S-rank promotion dangling just out of reach. And, somehow, the hassle of trying to fit his own success neatly between classes and assignments.

Amos lifted his gaze to the ceiling.

"And here I think I would have a peaceful student life."

The ceiling, naturally, had nothing to say. He let his head tip back farther and groaned.

"Why is my life already becoming busy?"

There was no reply.

Just the faint rustle of the academy beyond, and the warm, quiet room that now felt like it belonged to him.

Amos lowered the letter, eyes lingering on the seal.

Broken Crown.

S-rank.

Academy.

He’d been hoping for a calm beginning.

Instead, it seemed the world hadn’t forgotten him after all.

With a weary sigh, Amos folded the letter with care and placed it on the desk.

"...Fine."

He stretched his shoulders once and glanced toward the window, where the last light of day was disappearing beyond the academy grounds.

"If they want trouble so much..."

A smile touched his lips.

"They can have it."

Then he sank into his chair with the air of someone already resigning himself to a very annoying tomorrow.