Isabelle Astrapia stood inside the elevator of the S-rooms, its soft mechanical hum filling the quiet area in the early morning.

Contemplating for a few seconds, she tapped on the 20th floor on the pannel.

Whish~

With a slight jerk, the elevator began its upward ascent.

However.

Inside Isabelle's mind, her thoughts were anything but calm.

She leaned back slightly, arms folded, as the numbers passed on the panel.

A faint smile played on her lips.

'So I'll finally see Ezio today...'

She knew exactly how things had gone. The clan heir's annual meeting was just a cover-up for the actual discussion of the rift controls by the elders of the clan. So, even if all the clan heirs were present, they were not allowed to meet anyone else, except their respective subordinates. Remembering this, Isabelle frowned as she remembered her panic when she thought initially, she would get to meet Ezio, but those stubborn elders had prohibited her from staying in her room.

But today was a happy day. She wasn't going to ruin it by recalling those ugly moments.

Isabelle smiled once more at the thought of seeing Ezio's surprised face.

She knew that all of them had came late last night to their dorms. And Ezio? That guy could sleep through an apocalypse. There was no way that he had woken up yet.

She pictured him, half asleep, messy hair and a mouth full with his random gibberish.

The thought made her smile wider.

'How should I surprise him...', she wondered.

'Surely he wouldn't mind being woken up by a beautiful girl like me, right? Or should I just drag him out before the class?...no, no, a clan heir shouldn't be having these kinds of thoughts Isabelle...but still, he wouldn't mind, right?'

She glanced at the panel again on the elevator display. Classes would start in about half an hour.

"Perfect timing", she whispered softly.

The elevator continued to rise smoothly and quietly, as Isabelle straightened her posture, to maintain her pulic image of the 'lycoris heir'.

The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding.

Isabelle stepped out and walked down the quiet hallway which only had one room.

Room no. 2000

"Thank you, big sis Amy....", she said to herself.

Her mind replayed Amaryllis's words from their previous meeting.

'That doofus! can't take care of himself at all. Therefore please keep an eye on him for me.'

Well, lady Amaryllis had also said something else too— something embarassing.

"Nope. No way I am thinking of that now...of all times"

Shaking her head, she slipped the spare key, given to her by Amaryllis, into the lock.

Click.

The door unlocked, and Isabelle gently pushed it open.

The door closed softly behind her.

Before, Isabelle could mutter something. The figure in front of her eyes stole her breath away.

Isabelle froze for half a second, her heart was pounding desperately, she tried to forcibly control herself.

Because, the person on the couch was someone, whom, she could never forget.

Ezio lounged casually on the couch, caught off guard by the sound of the door, he was only in his training pants. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a golden glow on his broad shoulders and illuminating the way his black hair shimmered. His crimson eyes shot up to her, initially sharp with surprise, then widening in genuine astonishment.

He was just about to move, instinct taking over, mana flickering as if he was about to draw his sword —

Then he saw....truly saw, who was in front of him, before he could fully summon his sword.

He realised who it was.

"Isabelle...?".

For a moment he forgot how to breathe.

She stood there in her black academy uniform, golden hair falling freely over her shoulders like threads of gold, emerald eyes that seemed to contain all the world within them, and lips that looked as if they were covered in blood, so red they were. Her face looked calm, divine, even though she very much noticed him too.

Without thinking any further, Ezio crossed the distance between them in two quick steps and pulled her closer.

"I missed you, Isa," he said quietly.

She didn't hesitate, hugging him back just as firmly.

"Me too. Ez"

Then she leaned back slightly, looked at him up and down, and raised an eyebrow.

She added casually, "Though you should go get changed, mister. Your precious body is on full display."

It took a second.

Then Ezio realized.

His face went completely red.

Seeing him flustered, Isabelle smirked.

"I —wait—no— I mean— I forgot— I mean eat— Shi—" he stumbled over his words, panicking as he stepped back. "Please wait here. I'll wear something. RIGHT NOW!. Immediately."

He turned to rush toward the room through the hall, then stopped and glanced back at her.

"…Pancakes?" he asked.

Isabelle smiled and sat down on the couch like she owned the entire place.

"Yes. Please"

Ezio disappeared into the room, still flustered, while Isabelle relaxed on the couch, a small victorious smile lingering on her lips.

....

In the academy corridor.

Raviel was almost jogging through the corridors, his boots echoing off the walls as he lifted his wrist to check the map for the third time.

"Fuck....wrong wing again". Lowering his device, he scrambled ahead once more.

The place seemed too big now. Hallways were split into more hallways, even the lift was leading him to random sections today, every turn felt like added kilometer to his suffering. His body was still sore from last night.

"Why does the distance have to be this stupidly long? Jeanne I need answers" he groaned, breathing a little heavier as he picked up his pace.

Students were starting to show up now, more faces than which he saw yesterday. He caught bits and pieces of conversations as he passed by.

"Hey! Do you know the clan heir's have finally arrived."

"Dickhead, I am only waiting to see Cinnia"

"Fuck you, Rex, Valerie is better than that egoistic bitch".

Even Ezio and Aron weren't spared by the girls.

"A-aahn! I just wish Aron and Ezio to cuddle me the whole night."

"Don't you guys see, Isabelle and Ezio are practically the perfect match."

Hearing this, Raviel grossed out.

"Tch. I am already late, and the first thing I hear in the morning is this...".

Raviel clicked his tongue again. He knew his situation had gotten a lot more worse than it already was. If the clan heirs were here, Evelyn would definitely be on edge. And if he walked in late?

He rubbed his face with one hand while moving faster.

"Shit!… Evelyn's going to kill me today," he muttered under his breath. "I really shouldn't have gone to training last night."

Raviel finally found the right door and didn't bother to slow down. He pushed it open and almost burst into the classroom.

Every head turned.

All the new students who hadn't seen Raviel yesterday, were now checking him up.

Evelyn paused mid-sentence and looked straight at him, lifting one eyebrow slightly.

"Student Raviel," she said calmly, "why are you late?"

Raviel froze for half a second. His brain tried to scramble for an excuse.

"I was… um," he said, then blurted out, "eating breakfast."

There was a short silence.

Then someone from the back muttered, not very quietly, "Peak entrance though."

A few soft laughs followed.

Raviel felt his ears heat up. He stared at the floor, wishing it would open up and swallow him.

Evelyn sighed, clearly not in the mood to drag it out. "Take a seat."

"Yes, ma'am," Raviel said quickly and slipped inside.

He scanned the room and found an empty seat near the middle. As he sat down, he glanced to the side— and immediately cursed his luck.

Brown hair. Sharp face that could make girls bend over. Calm posture. Golden eyes.

Aron Voss. The rival of the protagonist and one of the major character in the novel who had taken fifty plus chapters for himself in the name of character development.

Raviel blamed his luck internally.

Why does this unsocial bastard have to be my deskmate?

Aron didn't even look at him. Just stared forward like Raviel didn't exist.

Raviel leaned back slightly, exhaled, and accepted his fate as he faced the front again.

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