Chapter 242: The Black Lion’s Son
Chapter 242:The Black Lion’s Son
I woke up earlier than usual that morning. After changing and going outside, I found the paths in front of the dorms still fairly quiet. The thin frost on the grass sparkled in the first rays of sunlight, and the mist of my breath faded in front of my face as I walked.
I stopped near the entrance to the girls’ dorm and put my hands in my pockets.
I wanted to talk to Iris before classes started. Our conversation in the corridor yesterday hadn’t ended very well. I had thought that if I came early this morning, we could at least walk to the main building together.
A few girls coming through the door slowed down when they noticed me. Some leaned toward each other and whispered, but I paid no attention to them. My eyes stayed on the entrance.
After a while, I saw Iris.
She was coming down the steps with Myra. Both of their uniforms were neat, and Iris was carrying a few books. Their conversation stopped when I came into view.
I walked toward them.
"Iris."
Iris didn’t raise her head. She held her books a little closer to her chest and walked past me. Myra followed without a word.
I tilted my head slightly and watched them go.
’Didn’t she notice me?’
No, I was certain Myra had made eye contact with me.
And nothing in her expression suggested she was pleased to see me. Iris’s face was colder than usual too. Without speaking to each other, they had headed straight for the path to the main building.
I quickened my pace to catch up with Iris.
"Iris?"
Myra stepped sideways and blocked my path. Iris kept walking without even looking back.
I looked past Myra at her, then lowered my gaze to the girl standing in my way.
"What’s wrong?"
"You’ve disappointed me, Mr. Childhood Friend."
I frowned slightly.
"What are you talking about?"
Myra stared at me for a few seconds. Hearing my answer seemed to make her even angrier.
"Are you really going to play dumb?"
"If you tell me what I did, I can answer you."
Myra took a deep breath. She seemed to be forcing herself to stay calm.
"We know you went on a date with a first-year girl at the Golden Crown last night."
"A date?"
I remembered Layla’s expression as she looked at the prices on the menu. Then I thought about our conversation on the way to the restaurant.
I had invited her to dinner. I had reserved a table for two, eaten with her, paid the bill, and walked her back to her dorm.
My intentions had been different, but looking at it that way, it was hard to deny that what we had done resembled a date.
The longer I stayed silent, the harder Myra’s expression became.
"Do you remember now?"
"I had dinner with Layla yesterday."
"I’m not asking for the girl’s name."
She briefly glanced at Iris, who was walking ahead. Iris hadn’t stopped, but she was now holding her books with both arms.
"Iris tried to make time for you yesterday. Then you brushed her off and went out to dinner with another girl."
"I didn’t brush her off. She had things she needed to do."
Myra closed her eyes, then opened them again.
"Do you think that makes you look any better?"
As I thought about what to say, Iris moved farther away. Myra noticed too and stepped out of my way, but she did it to follow Iris, not to let me through.
"Leave her alone for now. And think about why she might be hurt."
She turned around and hurried after Iris. When she caught up, she said something to her, but I couldn’t hear Iris’s reply.
I stayed where I was for a while, watching them leave. I had thought coming early this morning would make things easier. Apparently, the situation had become much more complicated overnight than I had realized.
’I think I’m in trouble...’
---
Most of the students were already in their seats when I entered the classroom. A few people standing near the door stopped talking when they saw me. As I passed them on the way to my desk, I could feel their eyes following me.
It was a little strange that so many people were interested in dinner at a restaurant.
Before taking my seat, I looked at Layla.
She wasn’t watching me like she usually did. Her book was open in front of her, and she held the edge of a page with one hand while writing in her notebook with the other. She didn’t look up even when I passed her.
I took my seat and set down my bag.
Just as I was wondering whether everyone had agreed to ignore me this morning, Alicia suddenly leaned toward me.
"I’ll be rooting for you," she said with a smile.
Her voice was quiet enough that only I could hear.
I turned to look at her.
Alicia nodded. She must have thought her words were clear enough, because she leaned back into her own seat without explaining further.
I watched her for a few seconds.
Had I done something else?
Iris was clearly angry with me. Myra was upset for the same reason. But Alicia’s smile made me think there was something else I didn’t know about.
I shrugged and opened the book in front of me.
Maybe she was just trying to cheer me up. For now, I didn’t feel like questioning it.
Before long, a shadow fell across my desk.
I looked up and saw Fish Boy. He was staring at me with a serious expression, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Don’t lose."
I looked at his face. He didn’t seem to be joking.
"Okay," I said.
After looking into my eyes for a few more seconds, he gave a small nod and walked away.
My eyes followed him for a while. That conversation would have made a little more sense if he had told me what I wasn’t supposed to lose.
When I turned to Alicia, she still had a small smile on her lips.
Before I could ask what she had meant, the bell rang. The students standing between the desks returned to their seats. The professor entered shortly afterward, and the conversations in the classroom stopped.
I opened my book to the right page and rested my elbow on the desk.
Figuring out why everyone expected something different from me this morning could wait.
---
Most of the tables were full when I entered the cafeteria during lunch break. The sound of trays being set on the counter mixed with the hum of students all talking at once.
After getting my food, I was looking for an empty seat when I spotted Celine. She was sitting alone at a table near the window, staring at the coffee in front of her. Some of the food on her plate was untouched.
Lunox was with a girl a few tables away.
My steps slowed for a moment.
This must be her.
The demon agent tasked with getting close to Lunox. With her academy uniform and the smile on her face, she looked no different from any of the other students around her.
She listened closely as Lunox spoke, nodding now and then. Lunox was wearing a smile similar to the one he’d had yesterday when he told me she had asked him out.
Apparently, he had given her his answer.
After watching them for a while, I looked away. For now, I had no reason to interrupt their conversation.
I walked over to Celine’s table and set my tray in the empty spot across from her.
"Hi."
She raised her head and looked at me.
"Hello, Cassian."
I pulled out the chair and sat down. As Celine picked up her cup, I noticed the tired look on her face.
"Why are you sitting alone?" I asked.
"I’m not alone right now."
"I meant before I got here. Aren’t you supposed to eat with the other noble girls now and then?"
She glanced at a table on the other side of the room. One of the girls sitting there smiled as soon as she noticed her. Celine returned the greeting with a faint nod, then turned back to me.
"Listening to those girls suck up to me and chatter about stupid things is like torture," she said wearily. "I don’t want to spend an entire meal hearing about whose dress is more expensive or which family is more important than another."
She slowly turned her cup on its saucer.
"Besides, pawns are supposed to serve their masters. Hanging out with you two weirdos is a good excuse to get some peace."
Celine took a sip of her coffee. There hadn’t been the slightest hint of embarrassment on her face as she said that.
I glanced toward Lunox.
"One of your pawns looks a little busy today."
"I noticed."
Celine set down her cup as though she wasn’t particularly interested in the subject. Then she looked at me and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"By the way, don’t you have more important things to think about? Your opponent in today’s duel is Marven."
I tilted my head.
"A duel?"
Celine’s expression stayed the same for a few seconds. Then she blinked and leaned forward a little.
"Don’t tell me you forgot."
As I tried to understand what she meant, she let out a deep sigh.
"Remember the girl you harassed in the corridor, idiot..."
Her words brought back the encounter in the corridor. That girl, then the boy who had stepped between us, and the whole matter of a duel...
The strange conversations from this morning were finally starting to make sense.
"Was that boy’s name Marven?"
Celine put a hand to her forehead. After rubbing her fingers over her temple, she raised her eyes to me again.
"Marven Yvaren, son of the empire’s strongest general, Rolan Yvaren, the ’Black Lion.’"