"Ryan," was all the young man said before taking his seat.
Many in the room, including Ariana, frowned as they recognized him. The name change was significant—in noble circles, publicly declaring a new name meant only one thing: complete disownment of family and title.
Why did he change his name? Ariana thought, unable to understand his reasoning.
"Hey, Isa, what do you—?" Ariana reached for her friend seated beside her but stopped mid-sentence when she saw Eloisa's expression.
"Isa!" She shook Eloisa's leg vigorously.
Eloisa jolted back to awareness, gasping for air. "Haa… haa… hah…" she panted, squeezing her eyes shut to calm herself.
"…What's wrong, Isa?" Ariana frowned, concern etching deeper lines into her face. She couldn't deny it anymore—something was definitely wrong with her friend.
"I've just… been feeling weird lately," Eloisa admitted, taking a deep breath before regaining some composure.
That amulet… why does he still have it? she thought, her eyes narrowing on the trinket that had slipped out from beneath his cloak while he dozed off.
"Weird in what way? Does it have something to do with… him?" Ariana asked hesitantly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"…I just need some fresh air. It's nothing, really," Eloisa said as she stood, taking a moment to steady herself before asking permission to leave. She quickly stepped outside.
"Pardon my prying, but… what exactly went on between them?" Rizel asked, unable to hold back her curiosity as she watched Eloisa's retreating figure.
"I'm sorry. I can't tell you that—it's… sensitive," Ariana replied, casting a sharp glare at the young man who now sat with a completely indifferent expression.
He doesn't even care, Ariana thought bitterly. But that was fine. She was definitely going to make him feel what she had felt back then. And she knew exactly how to do it.
Let's see how you react to this, she thought, a calculating smile creeping onto her face before turning her attention back to the teacher.
Meanwhile, Rizel remained fixated on the mysterious young man. With each passing second, an abnormal, growing compulsion gnawed at her—a need to know who he truly was and what secrets he carried. Though manageable now, she feared what this urge might become in the days ahead.
I have to find out everything I can about him before this gets worse, she thought, already formulating a plan. If she didn't find a way to suppress or eliminate this growing curiosity, things were bound to get ugly.
And that someone wouldn't be her.
...
...
"Um… Why are you sitting here?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the green-haired guy who'd introduced himself as 'Silver.'
"…Because I want to?" he replied, raising an eyebrow like my question was the weird thing here.
I studied him for a moment. Something was off about this guy. "You said your name was Silver. You're a Pariceon, right?"
"Yeah."
"Funny thing—the Pariceon family only has two daughters. No sons. So where exactly did you come from?"
His expression darkened. "Are you… hitting on me?"
I blinked. "What the hell kind of response is that? How does asking about your family background translate to—never mind. Just answer the question."
"I don't know, man. The way you're interrogating me feels pretty intimate," Silver replied with an annoying smirk.
This had to be some kind of joke. "Are you actually stupid, or is this an act?"
"Definitely not stupid. And just so we're clear, I don't swing that way," Silver said, still grinning.
"I wasn't—why would you even—" I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Look, just tell me who you really are."
"Me? I'm human, obviously. What else would I be? A shape-shifting Gyrod spy working for vampires? Ha! Definitely not that," Silver added, laughing a bit too nervously.
Who is this fool?
[That's what I'd like to know too.]
So he's not human?
[No, he is. And ridiculously powerful—I can sense it. It's just… something's definitely off about him.]
I stared at him for a moment longer, then decided my sanity was worth more than satisfying my curiosity. Time to ignore him completely.
"…You're pretty perceptive," Silver said after a while, apparently realizing I wasn't buying whatever act he was putting on.
"Save your brain cells and stop talking," I muttered without looking at him.
[Was that supposed to be an insult?]
What?
[Nothing.]
"Lucas Macendial," announced a voice across the room.
My head snapped toward a young man seated next to a shy-looking girl with long purple hair and matching eyes, adorned with a flower.
[Let me guess—the protagonist and main heroine?]
"Close. The main protagonist and the major antagonist of the third volume."