Chapter 14 - Public Humiliation
For three full seconds—
the entire training hall went silent.
Lyra's thoughts stopped functioning entirely.
Because instead of crashing onto the platform—
Erix caught her.
And now she was lying half on top of him on the training floor.
One of his arms was wrapped securely around her waist while his other hand still held the wooden practice sword loosely beside him.
Everyone was staring.
This was social death.
"...Oh," Rivan said softly nearby.
Seren looked far too satisfied already.
"Well," he drawled lazily, "that was a more dramatic ending than expected."
Amy physically turned away to hide her laughter.
Meanwhile Lyra realized something even worse.
Her hood had fallen back during the fight.
Meaning everyone could clearly see her face.
Which currently felt like it was burning itself alive from embarrassment.
Several nearby second-years had already started whispering.
"Did she just fell on him?"
"Erix caught someone?"
"I think the first-year wants the floor to swallow her."
"That's understandable."
Lyra immediately tried getting up.
That decision failed instantly.
The abrupt collapse of astral reinforcement had completely ruined her balance, and the moment she pushed herself upward—
her footing slipped again.
And she fell against Erix a second time.
Amy looked moments away from collapsing onto the ground laughing.
Lyra genuinely considered transferring academies.
Then—
something dark dropped over her head.
Her hoodie.
Erix had pulled the hood back over her before the surrounding students could continue staring at her expression.
The movement was quick.
Natural.
Instinctive.
And somehow—
that made the situation even more dangerous.
Seren slowly glanced toward Rivan.
"...Interesting."
Rivan nodded with complete seriousness.
"Erix voluntarily helping another human being..."
He paused dramatically.
"The apocalypse may be approaching."
"I want to disappear," Lyra muttered beneath the hood.
"This is incredible..." Amy admitted while visibly struggling not to laugh out loud.
Erix finally released her and stood.
Lyra followed a second later, pulling the hood lower immediately.
His expression remained unreadable.
Completely composed.
Like none of this mattered to him at all.
"You shut down the reinforcement too suddenly," he said evenly. "That ruined your footing."
Lyra stared at him in disbelief.
"That's what you say after all this?"
"What else would I say?"
That answer irritated her instantly.
Around the platform, students were still openly watching now.
Mostly because:
Erix Valehart almost never touched people voluntarily.
The dual-affinity first-year nearly collapsed during a spar.
And the entire interaction somehow felt oddly personal despite nobody understanding why.
Near the edge of the hall, Mrs. Bradmore watched the arena carefully.
Sharp.
Silent.
Observing.
Then finally—
"The spar ends here."
A pause.
"And class is dismissed."
Relief nearly hit Lyra hard enough to weaken her knees again.
Meanwhile Seren looked disappointed.
"That ended too early."
"You say that whenever something you enjoy stops," Kaelan replied calmly.
"Because it is."
Students slowly began dispersing afterward, though many continued glancing back toward Lyra while leaving the arena.
Perfect.
Rumors were absolutely going to spread through the academy now.
Amy eventually walked closer, still grinning shamelessly.
"Well," she announced proudly, "that was deeply painful to witness."
"At least fake your expression while saying that."
"Sorry my face is a bit honest. "
"Being honest doesn't mean I will forgive you."
Rivan stepped forward next.
"You lasted longer than I expected."
"...That somehow still sounds insulting."
"I was supportive in my mind.... maybe a bit..."
Seren crossed his arms nearby.
"Lucian will be crying after missing this."
"That sounds exaggerated," Lyra muttered.
"It's Lucian...after all" Kaelan replied.
Fair enough.
As more students left the hall, Mrs. Bradmore suddenly looked toward Lyra.
"Miss Ashbourne."
Lyra straightened instinctively.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Come here for a moment."
Amy immediately looked curious while
Lyra looked concerned.
Mrs. Bradmore stood near the far side of the platform, far enough from the others that nearby conversations covered most of their voices naturally.
Once Lyra approached, the instructor spoke quietly.
"You lost control of your astral reinforcement."
Not a question.
A statement.
Lyra's fingers tightened slightly beneath her sleeves.
Mrs. Bradmore continued calmly.
"The Headmaster informed several instructors that there was an incident involving astral flow before your arrival at Valmere."
Silence.
Lyra looked away briefly.
"...I understand."
"You're avoiding full reinforcement because you're afraid of it."
Again—
not a question.
Lyra stayed silent.
Because denying it now felt meaningless.
Mrs. Bradmore observed her for another moment.
"Fear during combat becomes dangerous when ignored," she said evenly. "Especially for someone with your potential."
Lyra lowered her gaze slightly.
"...I know."
The older woman crossed her arms.
"Starting tomorrow, in addition to the normal class you'll begin separate reinforcement training."
Lyra blinked once.
"...Separate training?"
"Yes."
"With who?"
"You'll find out tomorrow."
That answer immediately felt suspicious.
Before Lyra could ask anything else, Mrs. Bradmore stepped back already.
"As an instructor, it's my responsibility to make sure my students confront their weaknesses instead of hiding from them."
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"So don't run from this, Miss Ashbourne."
Then she walked away.
Leaving Lyra standing there quietly for several seconds before finally returning toward the others.
Amy noticed immediately.
"What happened?"
Lyra adjusted the hood lower again.
"...I'll be doing separate training starting tomorrow."
Rivan blinked.
"So you're abandoning us already?"
" I will attend the normal class, this is a separate training"
Kaelan remained silent beside them, though his gaze lingered briefly on Lyra before shifting away again.
Amy narrowed her eyes immediately.
"You're hiding details."
"It's called summarizing."
Before Amy could continue interrogating her—
the training hall doors suddenly slammed open.
"WAIT—"
A familiar voice echoed dramatically across the arena.
Everyone turned.
Lucian stood near the entrance breathing heavily like he had sprinted across the entire academy without stopping.
His hair looked slightly disheveled.
His coat hung half-open.
And he looked personally betrayed by fate itself.
"No," he said in horror while staring at the dispersing students. "Don't tell me I missed everything."
Seren immediately looked delighted.
"You missed everything."
Lucian looked devastated.
"I heard people in the hallways talking about Erix and Lyra fighting."
Rivan nodded enthusiastically.
"It evolved into something closer to a romance scene near the end."
"And there was even a dramatic falling sequence," Seren added helpfully. "Very cinematic."
"What?"
"It had emotional depth," Rivan confirmed.
Lyra looked genuinely exhausted.
"You people are inventing things."
"I heard imaginary background music personally," Seren continued.
Lucian slowly turned toward Lyra.
Then toward Erix.
Then back toward Lyra again.
"...I leave for ONE afternoon," he whispered, "and the academy turns into a novel."
Amy finally lost the battle against laughter completely.
Meanwhile Rivan moved beside Lyra with deeply dangerous energy.
"Ah , I forgot to mention the part where she fell on him twice."
Silence.
Lucian froze.
Then very slowly—
he looked toward Erix again.
"...Twice?"
Lyra closed her eyes briefly.
"I hate this place."
Lucian pointed accusingly toward Rivan.
"And YOU didn't send me a message?"
"You said your meeting was important."
"This was clearly more important!"
Rivan immediately dodged when Lucian tried smacking the back of his head dramatically.
"Violence!" Rivan shouted while escaping behind Kaelan. "Leader, protect me!"
"You created this situation yourself," Kaelan replied calmly.
At that point, Lyra had reached her emotional limit for the day.
"We're leaving," she announced immediately.
Amy nodded proudly.
"That sounds wise before his follow-up questions begins."
"Too late," Lucian replied instantly.
Lyra pointed at him immediately.
"Don't."
"I haven't even asked anything yet."
"That's exactly why I said don't."
Before Lucian could continue tormenting her—
Lyra grabbed Amy's sleeve and immediately started dragging her toward the exit.
Behind them, Seren's laughter echoed faintly across the training hall while Lucian continued loudly grieving the "greatest missed event of the semester."
And for the first time that day—
Lyra wants to run away to Eryndale.
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