Chapter 53 - Ava
"Thanks for the ride. Can you take that horse to the rental stable on your way back? Appreciate it, homie."
"H-Homie?" The random civilian looked at Vincent in confusion as he hopped off the horse.
When he finally passed through the grand iron gates, the central plaza was far quieter than it had been that morning. Students were lounging on the grass, studying, or chatting in small groups.
Vincent walked slowly, scratching the back of his neck as he looked around the campus. There were open fields and buildings in every direction.
"Okay... now how do I find her?"
"U-Um..." a tiny, trembling voice squeaked from right beside him.
Standing a few feet away was the same girl from the crowd of students earlier – the one who had watched his fight with the noble clique in mesmerized awe.
She had long, dark hair tied into messy twin tails and large hazel eyes hidden behind thick-rimmed glasses. A textbook plain girl.
She was currently fidgeting her fingers, twisting the cape of her uniform as her face burned a bright pink.
"Oh, hey there," Vincent offered a friendly smile. "Do you happen to know where..."
"H-Hi!" she took a big step forward and suspiciously breathed in deeply, almost as if she were sniffing him.
She immediately froze... then took a few quick steps back in embarrassment.
’Uhh... Is she okay?’
Her hazel eyes locked onto his, completely unable to pull away.
"Hellooo..."
"Y-Yes?! Ah! I-I mean!"
SLAP!
’The hell?!’
She slapped both hands over her blushing face then buried her nose in her sleeves.
"I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to be weird! You just... you smell really nice! W-WAIT! Forget I said that! Please don’t call the disciplinary committee!"
"Uh... thanks? Don’t worry about it, I’m not calling anyone. I’m actually looking for Princess Maelle Ebony’s class. Do you know where she is?"
The girl’s eyes brightened, though a flicker of reluctance touched her face. She clearly wanted to help him, but it almost seemed as if she was fighting with herself. She kept pulling and pushing herself to and away from him, until she finally came to a decision.
"I-I know where her lecture hall is!" she offered hastily, nodding her head so hard her glasses nearly slipped off her nose. "It’s... it’s a bit of a walk! I can show you!"
"That would be awesome. Lead the way."
"Y-Yes!"
As they began walking down the wide stone walkways, the girl kept adjusting her glasses every three seconds to look at him.
Vincent noticed she took agonizingly slow steps, as if she were stalling. He kept in stride with her however, so as to not lose her.
"S-So..." she began speaking nervously. "W-What’s your name?"
"Vincent. What’s yours?"
"Vincent...~ *Gasp* A-Ava! My name is Ava!"
"Nice to meet you, Ava."
She opened her mouth to ask another question, immediately bit her lower lip to stop herself, but then blurted it out anyway, "Do you like bread?!"
"Bread? Yeah, bread’s pretty great. Depends how you make ’em though."
"W-What kind of bread?!" Ava pressed on, her eyes darting to him before snapping back to her shoes.
"I like–"
"Do you like sweet rolls?! Or garlic loaves?! What about whole grain?! W-What’s your favourite bath oil?! What’s your favourite colour?! How many hours do you sleep at night?!"
"Uh... I...What?"
*Gasp*
She covered her mouth with both hands as her hazel eyes widened in self-horror.
’Stop it, stop it, stop it!’ she screamed internally. ’You’re being so weird! He’s going to think you’re crazy! But... I can’t stop asking... I just want to hear his voice!’
"Whoa, take a breath, Ava. I like my Mama’s bread, I don’t have a particular favourite bath oil, my favorite color is sky blue, and I try to get eight hours."
Ava stared at him, her chest heaving as a faint, desperate smile broke across her face. "Y-You all my questions... You’re... you’re really nice, Vincent..."
Before she could spiral into another barrage of uncontrollable questions, they rounded a corridor, coming to a stop outside a pair of double doors.
"Th-This is it. The back door. Her Highness is inside. It’s a free period today so you can just go inside..."
"Thanks a lot, Ava. I appreciate the help," Vincent said warmly, giving her a gentle wave as he turned the brass handle.
As she watched his back, her fingers twitching at her sides as she swallowed hard. She whispered his name under her breath as a strange, hungry glint flashed deep within her hazel eyes.
Stepping into the back of the spacious lecture hall, Vincent spotted Maelle sitting near the middle row.
Seeing him enter, Maelle quietly slipped out of her seat and walked over to the back corner of the room to meet him.
"Perfect timing. The class’s free period is just about finished. How’d it go?"
"Long story. Gwen’s sitting on the target at the sewer shack right now," Vincent whispered. "Lucianne is safely secured."
"Excellent work. The Academy announced an early dismissal for the students today, which explains why Lucianne skipped class to go shopping. We only have one final lecture to attend before we can leave campus without drawing suspicion. Come on. Last class is just next door."
Once inside the final lecture hall, Vincent stood quietly against the back wall, observing the room while the lecture was in session. The teacher, knowing who he is and who he is bound to, decided to ignore him and continue as if normal.
Vincent noticed that the seats directly surrounding Maelle were completely vacant; none of the other students dared sit near her.
As the professor droned on about elemental mana resonance and the geopolitical history of the five continents, Vincent listened carefully but understood absolutely nothing about what they were discussing.
’I guess even after 500 years some things don’t change. I still suck at academics.’
While looking at random posters on the wall, he suddenly felt an intense heat burning into the side of his neck.
He glanced across the hall. Sitting three rows down was Ava.
She was staring directly at him with unblinking eyes and her lips parted slightly as she breathed through her mouth.
The moment he caught her looking, she whipped her head away, her face flushing crimson as she buried her face in her textbook. But two seconds later, her eyes slowly peeked back, locking onto him once more.
’What is going on with her? There’s no way this is just social awkwardness, right?’
........
45 minutes later, the bell chimed across campus, signaling the end of the final class.
Hundreds of students immediately stood up, packing their bags and chattering as they flooded toward the exit doors.
"Vincent, we’re leaving." Maelle called him.
When moving out the door, Vincent accidentally bumped his shoulder against someone squeezing past.
Riiiiip...
The person he bumped into stumbled sideways, crashing hard onto the floor.
It was Ava.
"Ava? Oh shit, sorry about that! I didn’t see you."
"H-Ah... h-hnnn..."
Ava didn’t take the hand he offered. She collapsed onto her knees, clutching her chest as her breathing instantly turned rapid, shallow, and wild.
Her face was bright red, and her eyes became unfocused as she began to hyperventilate violently right there in the middle of the doorway.
"Hey! Are you okay?!"
"Make way! Move aside!" the elderly professor barked, pushing through the crowd of concerned students.
Seeing the girl hyperventilating on the floor, the professor immediately lifted Ava into his arms. "Severe anxiety attack! I’m taking her to the infirmary at once!"
The professor rushed down the hall with Ava, leaving the crowd whispering in confusion.
Vincent stared down the hallway, looking worried. "Man... I hope she’s alright."
"Ignore it," Maelle said dismissively. "We have other matters to attend to."
Nodding, Vincent followed Maelle out of the Academy, mounted behind her on the rented steed, and galloped off toward the sewer shack.
Meanwhile, inside the quiet, isolated Academy infirmary...
Seeing that she calmed down a little, the professor had placed Ava on a soft, curtained bed, leaving her alone to rest while he went to fetch a nurse who was currently elsewhere.
The moment the door clicked shut, the frantic breathing returned; only to shift into something else entirely.
They grew slow with primal heat.
On the bed, Ava’s skin burned with an unnatural temperature. Her delicate fingers reached up, clutching a tiny fabric – the small piece she had secretly torn from Vincent’s shirt during the bump.
She raised the fabric to her face, burying her nose into it and drawing in a big breath.
*Sniiiiifff*
’Oh shit... Haaah... ahh... his scent... his scent... What the hell is this~?!’
Her hazel eyes melted into a glowing, luminescent purplish red.
Crack-swish
With a soft, sickening sound of shifting flesh, two smooth, jet-black horns erupted from beneath her dark hair, curling backward over her head. From beneath her uniform’s red bodysuit, a long, slender spade-tipped tail burst out, whipping wildly against the bedsheets.
Her petite frame shivered as her hips and thighs swelled, expanding into voluptuous, hyper-feminine curves. Her messy twin tails came undone, transforming into long, cascading locks of vibrant-pink hair that spilled over her shoulders.
A succubus.
"Ah... ahnnn... Vincent..."
Driven wild by the unknown essence lingering on the torn fabric, her fingers trailed downward to clutch at her wet valley.
"Mmmph... ah!... what the hell~? So warm... haah... What’s happening to me? I shouldn’t... I’m losing control~"
She squirmed against the mattress, her back arching off the bed as her fingers moved desperately over her clothes.
She pressed the torn fabric tightly over her nose and mouth, inhaling his scent with ravenous greed while her tail thrashed against the bed.
"How can some random young– Ah~! Nnn... Vincent... make me yours... ahn~!"
Her hips bucked wildly against her own hand, and her gasps turned into helpless moans that echoed softly in the quiet infirmary.
"HA-AH! MMMM-AHHH!... VINCENT~!"
*Squirt~!!!*
With a violent, full-body shudder, her thighs clamped shut and her back arched up so hard it felt as if her spine popped. She climaxed. Hard.
Thud!
Collapsing on the bed, she laid there for a full minute with her chest heaving.
Slowly, her eyes flickered, looking down at the torn fabric sitting between her nose and upper lip. The scent was still there.
An unhinged smile spread across her flushed face.
Unable to help herself, she rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face deep into the torn fabric on the pillow. She raised her thick hips into the air, her spade tail swaying with insatiable lust as her fingers slid back to her slick valley.
"Nnnh... again..." she whispered, her voice dripping with madness. "...again... Vincent~"
........
"Achoo!"
"Ew."
"Sorry."
Miles away, Vincent and Maelle walked down the dark, dripping sewage corridor, stepping through the rickety wooden door of the hidden shack.
Inside, the dim room was illuminated by a single lantern.
Gwen stood firmly by the wall, instantly bowing her head as they entered. "Your Highness."
Tied securely to wooden chairs in the center of the room were their two captives. The unknown young man. And beside him, Lucianne, with a tear-streaked face and her red twirly hair wild.
The moment her eyes landed on Maelle standing before her, Lucianne’s eyes blew wide open in horror. The color completely drained from her face.
A cold, beautiful, and merciless smile spread across Maelle’s lips as she looked down on her.
She dropped her voice into a deadly whisper and said, "Good afternoon, Lucianne."