The day that marked the beginning of Trafalgar’s second year at the academy finally arrived.

There was no ceremony for them like the one from their first year.

That part belonged to the new students.

In fact, Aubrelle was doing exactly what she had done last year, helping the new arrivals in the grand hall. Hundreds of seats filled the space, and hundreds of nervous, excited students waited there, wondering what would happen next. All of that was for the first years, of course. Soon they would go through the same first test Trafalgar and the others had faced a year ago.

’Those were the days,’ Trafalgar thought, watching from outside.

Once Kaelen finished sending the new students where they needed to go, the second and third years would enter the hall together for a brief introduction to the new year. Nothing as formal as the first time. Nothing grand enough to make the whole academy stop breathing. They already knew what waited for them this year and the next. A short explanation, schedules, class adjustments, probably a few reminders about not dying during supervised training.

That was usually how the academy worked.

For now, Trafalgar stood outside the hall with Vivienne.

It was her first time attending the academy.

Dravok had somehow arranged for her to begin directly in the second year. Age-wise, it made sense. Talent-wise and experience-wise, probably even more. If anything, Vivienne might already be much stronger than most people inside that room, and she almost certainly understood her class better than many students who had spent the entire first year here.

Trafalgar glanced at her.

"Nervous?"

Vivienne looked back at him, then toward the grand hall where the new students were waiting. Her fingers tightened lightly around the edge of her sleeve before she answered.

"A little. I do not really know what to expect. It is the first time I will be in an academy, and not just any academy either. This one is... a lot."

Trafalgar gave a small shrug, his attention moving briefly toward the open doors.

"You do not need to worry. You’ll get used to it quickly. There is nothing strange about it once you settle in. You’ll meet people, go to classes, hear professors talk longer than necessary, and somehow end up with more work than the schedule suggested."

Vivienne turned her head toward him with clear doubt.

"That does not sound very comforting."

"It was meant to be honest," Trafalgar replied.

"That explains it."

The corner of his mouth shifted faintly.

"Barth, Cynthia, Zafira and Xavier are good people, so you do not need to worry about them. Actually, Xavier has wanted to meet you for a while. I told him you had things to do."

Vivienne’s expression changed at once. The nerves did not vanish, but curiosity pushed through them.

"What did Xavier say about me?"

Trafalgar looked ahead again, clearly enjoying the chance to leave the answer just out of reach.

"If you are that curious, you can ask him today."

Vivienne held his gaze for a moment, then looked away as if weighing whether she actually had the courage to do that.

"Right. Maybe later."

"Brave."

"I said maybe."

"Very brave."

Vivienne ignored that, though the faint displeasure on her face made it obvious she had heard him perfectly. She took a small breath and shifted the conversation before he could continue.

"Anyway, Dravok wants to see you. If we can go after classes today, he asked me to bring you."

That caught more of Trafalgar’s attention. He turned his face toward her properly this time.

"Oh? So they are finally going to tell me what they have been doing after all this time. I still wonder why Dravok wanted Rhosyn and Caelvyrn."

Vivienne shook her head, the movement making a few strands of hair fall near her cheek.

"He has not told me much either. But they have been busy every day since they started. From what I understand, the project itself has not even truly begun yet. Once it does, it may take a year and a half, maybe two years, before it is finished."

Trafalgar stayed quiet for a brief while.

That was not a small project.

If Dravok, Rhosyn and Caelvyrn were involved, and the preparation alone had taken this long, then whatever they were building was not something ordinary. His curiosity deepened, though his voice stayed casual when he answered.

"I suppose we can go after classes. The first day usually does not have much. It is mostly introductions, schedules, and professors explaining how the year will work. They adjust things to your class and progress."

Vivienne nodded slowly. "That could be interesting."

Vivienne’s attention moved past him, and her posture straightened slightly.

"Oh... they are coming."

Trafalgar turned.

"Finally."

He lifted a hand to greet the usual group approaching from the side corridor.

Zafira walked with her usual proud calm, violet hair falling behind her and her expression carrying that half-bored, half-aware look that made it hard to tell whether she was uninterested or simply judging everything in advance. Cynthia was beside Barth, speaking to him in a low voice while he adjusted his glasses and nodded far too seriously. Xavier followed slightly behind them.

And Xavier looked nervous.

That alone was worth noticing.

Trafalgar had seen Xavier face sparring matches, exams, noble pressure, and plenty of situations where most students would have lost their nerve. But now, seeing Vivienne there, the bastard looked like he had forgotten where to place his hands.

Everyone knew why.

Xavier had been interested in Vivienne for a while. He wanted to talk to her, and because of that, he looked much less confident than usual.

Trafalgar watched him approach and felt a faint trace of amusement.

This might actually be entertaining.

Zafira reached them first and gave Vivienne a brief, polite nod.

"Welcome to the academy."

Vivienne returned the nod, a little stiff but sincere.

"Thank you."

Cynthia did the same, studying Vivienne for a moment before giving her a small nod.

"Welcome."

Barth pushed his glasses up and offered a nervous but genuine smile.

"W-welcome, Vivienne. I hope your first day goes well."

Vivienne smiled softly at him.

"Thank you, Barth."

Xavier finally stepped forward. He tried to act casual, but he was clearly more tense than usual.

"Welcome," he said. "It’s good that you’re here."

Vivienne looked at him for a moment, then smiled politely.

"Thank you, Xavier."

Trafalgar glanced at Xavier with clear amusement.

Xavier noticed immediately.

"Don’t say anything."

"I didn’t."

"You were going to."

"Maybe."

Vivienne looked between them, and the tension around her eased a little.

The doors to the grand hall opened farther ahead. Inside, the first-year introduction had already ended. The hall that had been full of nervous new students a while ago now looked almost empty, with only a few academy staff moving between the rows.

Vivienne blinked when she saw it.

"Where did everyone go?"

Trafalgar glanced toward the hall.

"Kaelen probably sent them to the first test. Last year, we were teleported out before most of us understood what was happening."

Vivienne looked at the empty seats again, as if trying to imagine hundreds of students disappearing from the room in an instant.

Cynthia folded her arms lightly, her attention moving from the hall to the group.

"Looks like it’s our turn, then." Her voice was calm, but there was a faint edge of anticipation there. "Come on. Second year begins."