Villain's Path System-Chapter 45: The Dual Part 2

Lucian nodded. "Thank you, Professor."

"Don’t thank me yet." Kael’s expression was stern. "If Miss Marsh’s testimony leads somewhere, there will be consequences. For everyone involved."

His eyes lingered on Marcus for a beat longer than necessary.

The crowd finally began to disperse, students breaking into excited clusters of conversation. The gossip would spread through the academy like wildfire.

Seraphina walked over to where Lucian stood, her practice sword still in hand. She wasn’t looking at him directly; instead, she was busy wiping an imaginary speck of dust off her sleeve.

"You okay?" she asked, her voice clipped and professional.

"I should be asking you that." Lucian gestured toward the ring. "You just fought a duel because of me."

Seraphina finally looked at him, but she immediately rolled her eyes, her classic ’annoyed’ expression back in full force.

"Don’t flatter yourself, It’s not like I did it for you or anything" she muttered, her gaze fixed firmly on a random stone on the ground rather than his eyes. "I-I only fought because Marcus is an arrogant coward who thinks he can threaten innocent girls and get away with it. It was an insult to the sword. I couldn’t just stand there and watch such... such distasteful technique!

Huh."

"Is that so?" Lucian’s eyes shut as a knowing smile spread across his face. "So it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he was trying to ruin me?"

Seraphina’s ears turned a faint shade of pink, though she tried to keep her face a mask of stubborn pride. Her fingers tightened around her sword hilt until the leather creaked.

"I-I already told you, Don’t get all full of yourself! I was just... using you. Yes, nothing more!" She huffed, her voice jumping an octave. "If you get expelled, who else is going to help me with the investigation? It was just to protect my investment. It would be absolutely a pain to find someone else with half a brain in this academy."

Lucian watched her for a moment, seeing right through the defensive walls she was frantically rebuilding. "Thank you, Sera."

"WHATT?!" she flared, her head snapping toward him.

She caught his gaze—those dark, ’ice demon eyes’ of his that seemed to see everything—and she totally flushed, the heat spreading from her neck to her cheeks.

"Stop... stop looking at me like that!"

Hiding her embarrassed face, she spun around and started walking away. She stopped for a split second, her back still turned to him, her shoulders tense. "Just... don’t make me do that again. It’s embarrassing to fight someone so much weaker than me. Hmph!"

She didn’t wait for his reply before she hurried off toward the weapon racks.

[AFFECTION INCREASED] Seraphina Ashenblade: 88 → 92 Status: Completely Fallen (In Denial About Depth) → Completely Fallen (Desperately Pretending Otherwise)

New Effect: [Public Champion] - She fought for you. Everyone saw it. There’s no hiding what she feels anymore - except from herself.

Lucian stood there, watching her go. *She’s falling apart. And she doesn’t even realize how obvious it is.

Adorable.

Seraphina didn’t stay gone for long.

She marched back from the weapon racks, her face furiously scrubbed of any emotion—though the tips of her ears were still suspiciously pink. Lucian blinked, genuinely taken aback by how fast she had rebuilt her walls.

"Come on," she said, abruptly grabbing him by the wrist—not quite his hand, but close enough to send a sudden jolt of surprise through him. She pulled him toward the courtyard exit without making eye contact.

"We should report to the administration before Marcus and his lackeys try to spin this differently."

Lucian kept a polite, knowing smile on his face, deciding to spare her any further teasing.

"Lead the way."

In their wake, conversations buzzed like a disturbed hive.

"Did you see how fast she moved—"

"She completely destroyed him—"

"Wait... maybe Valemont really was innocent—"

"Hold on, did she just grab his wrist? Are they... you know?"

And from her spot near the pillar, Elira watched them leave. Her ice-blue eyes tracked Seraphina’s protective stance, the way she stayed close to Lucian, the subtle shift in her body language.

Interesting.

[AFFECTION INCREASED]

Elira Frostveil: 25 → 30 Status: Curious.

New Status: "She watched Seraphina fight for Lucian, saw the dynamic, and became more interested."

Aria remained at the edge of the courtyard, feeling suddenly very small. She’d watched Seraphina draw her sword for Lucian the second he was threatened.

No hesitation without doubt. And what had Aria done? She had let a few ugly rumors make her question his character.

A cold knot of guilt formed in her chest.

She believed in him, Aria realized, her hands clenching into fists. I didn’t.

In the shadows near the back, Cassian’s perfect smile had faded.

He watched the bastard Valemont walk away with Seraphina Ashenblade at his side, and for the first time since arriving at this academy, he felt something he’d never experienced before.

Threat.

Not from Lucian’s power. The boy was still barely functional magically—a cripple.

Cassian looked at the shattered wooden sword on the ground. Then at the girl who had broken it for a boy who hadn’t even raised his voice.

Valemont hadn’t fought. He had simply pointed the most lethal weapon in the academy at his enemy and watched.

A slow, chilling smile spread across Cassian’s face.

Lucian Valemont was changing the story.

And Cassian Brightmore didn’t like variables he couldn’t control.

He’s doing it already, Cassian thought, his mind racing as he watched Valemont leave. He hasn’t even touched the Shra stage, and he’s already orchestrating the absolute ruin of a noble without drawing a single blade.

His nails dug into his palms. Fuck. I need to make a move fast. If he keeps accelerating like this before he actually awakens...

But even as the urgency spiked, a slow, terrifying smile stretched across Cassian’s lips.

"Hahh..."

His eyes gleamed with a sudden, dark thrill that he couldn’t suppress.

*You’re turning into a real threat in this academy way too soon, Valemont.*

He turned and left.

*Fuck. This is going to be annoying.*