Chapter 2 -An Unwanted attention
"I told you, I don't know him!" Lyra insisted for what felt like the tenth time, but Amy refused to let the matter go.
"Then why did you two look like lovers reuniting after centuries apart?" Amy shot back with a dramatic scowl.
Lyra stared at her in disbelief while trying to push through the overwhelming crowd flooding the academy corridors. Students brushed past from every direction, their excited chatter echoing beneath the towering stone arches.
After painfully forcing her way into a small open space near one of the windows, Lyra finally stopped.
"I don't care what conclusions you've created in your head," she said flatly. "We are not best friends. We learned each other's names five minutes ago."
Amy folded her arms.
"That is not the point."
"And as for that man," Lyra continued, ignoring her completely, "heaven knows. I don't even know his name."
Amy gasped so loudly several nearby students turned to look at them.
"You don't know who that was?" she whispered in horror. "That was Erix Valehart."
Lyra blinked once.
Nothing.
Amy looked personally offended.
"At least tell me you know the Black Crest."
Still no reaction.
Amy dragged a hand down her face as though enduring unimaginable suffering.
"How are you alive?"
Lyra shrugged.
"You came from Eryndale, so maybe the countryside protected you from hearing things, but the Valehart family was one of the great families that defended the Valemore Empire during the invasion." Amy narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You have heard about that, right?"
"Ah... Valehart." Lyra nodded slowly. "I think my history professor mentioned them once."
Amy looked at her like she had just confessed to living inside a cave.
"Girl," she said seriously, "this academy doesn't survive on talent alone. You also need to know who you absolutely should not provoke."
"I wasn't planning to provoke anyone."
"You accidentally offended Erix Valehart within your first hour here."
"...That sounds slightly exaggerated."
Amy pointed dramatically at her.
"That sentence alone proves you're unprepared for society."
Before Lyra could answer, a sharp voice echoed through the corridor.
"Students of Valemore Academy, please gather in the assembly hall immediately."
The crowd instantly surged forward.
Amy grabbed Lyra's sleeve.
"Move before all the good spots disappear!"
The two hurried into the massive assembly hall alongside hundreds of students.
The hall itself was breathtaking-towering black pillars lined the room, etched with glowing silver runes that pulsed faintly against the dim light of enormous chandeliers hanging far above. The atmosphere buzzed with nervous excitement.
At the front stood a tall woman dressed entirely in black.
"Students with magical affinity will follow Mr. Alison," announced Ms. Lisa calmly. "Students specializing in swordsmanship will proceed with Mrs. Bradmore."
The hall immediately split into two flowing crowds.
Amy leaned closer to Lyra.
"I'm in magic. What about you?"
Lyra froze beneath her hood.
"I... have both."
"What?"
"I said I have affinity for both."
Unfortunately, this time she said it just loud enough for the surrounding students to hear.
A brief silence followed.
Then came laughter.
"Both affinities?"
"For her?"
"Where did this country girl come from?"
"She probably doesn't even know how astral works."
The laughter spread quickly through the hall like wildfire.
Lyra felt every eye slowly turning toward her.
Her chest tightened instantly.
The sound.
The staring.
The whispers.
It reminded her too much of the past.
Even the instructors had heard the commotion.
Ms. Lisa raised an eyebrow before checking the list in her hands.
"...Interesting."
The laughter gradually quieted.
"We were informed a student possessing dual affinity would be arriving this year."
Murmurs immediately erupted again.
Ms. Lisa stepped forward through the crowd, students moving aside almost instinctively as she approached.
"Would that student happen to be Ms...?"
"Lyra Ashbourne!"
Amy's voice rang across the entire hall.
Lyra nearly collapsed from betrayal.
She slowly turned toward Amy with the expression of someone reconsidering friendship as a concept.
Amy gave her an encouraging thumbs up.
Ms. Lisa stopped directly before Lyra.
"Lyra Ashbourne..." she repeated thoughtfully.
Lyra nervously gripped the edge of her sleeve.
Above the assembly hall, hidden behind the shadowed second-floor balcony, five figures watched everything unfold.
"Lyra Ashbourne..." Erix murmured quietly.
His silver-gray eyes remained fixed on the girl below.
Beside him, Seren leaned lazily against the railing, messy dark hair falling over sharp amber eyes filled with amusement.
"So that's the girl?" he said. "I don't remember you ever looking at someone for that long."
"I don't remember him liking humans," Lucien added dryly.
Unlike Seren's careless appearance, Lucien looked perfectly composed. His ash-gray hair was neatly brushed back, and his icy blue eyes calmly observed the chaos below with visible judgment.
Riven snorted.
"Honestly, I'm more shocked she survived that stare. I thought you were about to psychologically murder her."
Erix slowly looked toward him.
Riven immediately straightened.
"...I value my life," he muttered.
Seren burst out laughing.
Further behind them stood Kaelen.
Tall and composed, dressed in an immaculate dark coat, he watched the hall silently from behind thin silver spectacles. His expression revealed absolutely nothing.
Which somehow made him the most intimidating person there.
"So?" Seren asked curiously. "Is she your type now?"
Erix looked unimpressed.
"I don't have a type."
"That is somehow more concerning," Lucien replied.
Ms. Lisa's voice echoed through the hall once more.
"Lyra Ashbourne, you may attend the swordsmanship assessment first. As for your magic..." She paused while reading the document again. "I have been informed your astral is currently unstable due to certain circumstances. The Headmaster will personally assess your magical abilities later."
Dead silence filled the hall.
Even the students mocking Lyra earlier looked stunned.
A personal assessment from the Headmaster was practically unheard of.
Lyra, meanwhile, wanted the ground to swallow her alive.
"Students," Ms. Lisa said sharply, "what exactly are you waiting for? Move."
The hall burst back into motion.
Amy gave Lyra a small smile before heading toward the magic division.
"Good luck."
Lyra looked at her for a moment before quietly replying,
"You too."
Above them, Seren stretched lazily.
"Well," he said, "this just became interesting."
"Not interesting enough to stay," Erix replied coldly as he turned away from the balcony.
The others stared at him.
Kaelen adjusted his glasses slightly.
"You're leaving?" he asked.
Seren grinned immediately.
"Oh? Don't tell me you're going to say something cliché like, 'I trust her completely.'"
Riven nearly choked trying not to laugh.
"No, no," he said dramatically. "'She does not require my support to overcome such trivial hurdles.'"
Lucien nodded thoughtfully.
"That definitely sounds like something an emotionally constipated protagonist would say."
Erix looked at all three of them with visible disappointment.
"If she cannot pass a basic entrance assessment," he said calmly, "then she was never worth my attention to begin with."
A dangerous silence followed.
Then Lucien smirked faintly.
"So you admit she has your attention."
Erix clicked his tongue and walked away without answering.
Kaelen followed after him silently.
Behind them, Seren looked delighted.
"Oh, this is going to be entertaining."