Watch your tongue!" Professor Drax roared, stepping in front of Cedric. Mana flared around his body, a red aura of aggression.
"You are speaking to the heir of a Marquis! And you are speaking to a Senior Professor of Iron-Spire!"
He pointed a finger at her.
"I don't care if you are royalty. In this academy alliance, we are equals. You will treat us with respect, or I will file a formal complaint to the Ministry of Education!"
"Equals?"
Isabella stopped. The air around her suddenly became heavy. Gravity increased tenfold in a circle around her.
CRACK.
The ground beneath Drax's feet splintered.
"Drax"
Isabella looked up at him. Her eyes were glowing with a terrifying, violet light.
"You seem to be confused"
She stepped into his personal space. Drax tried to move, but the gravity pressure pinned him in place. He started to sweat.
"Your brother is General Krotos, yes?"
Isabella asked calmly.
Drax gritted his teeth. "Yes! He is the Iron-Blood King's Right Hand! He commands the Northern Legion! So you better—"
"He is my father's servant," Isabella cut him off.
She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper that echoed like thunder in Drax's ears.
"Your brother kneels when my father enters the room. He kisses the ring on my father's finger. He is a dog on a leash"
She tilted her head, looking at Drax with absolute contempt.
"And you think because your brother holds the leash of an army, that gives you the right to bark at me?"
BOOOOM.
She released a pulse of aura.
Drax's knees buckled. The Rank-B Berserker, a man of war, was forced down onto one knee by the sheer weight of her presence. He gasped for air, his face turning purple.
"Never forget your place, Drax," Isabella hissed. "I am not just a Professor. I am the blood of the King. If I wanted to, I could have you executed for treason right here, and your brother wouldn't dare to say a word"
She released the pressure.
Drax collapsed forward, gasping, coughing up saliva. Cedric was trembling so hard his teeth were chattering.
Isabella turned her back on them, adjusting her gloves.
"There will be no search party," she declared.
"W-What?" Cedric stammered. "But... Seraphina..."
"Seraphina Valerius is dead," Isabella lied smoothly. "If she was taken by a monster strong enough to scare you away, she is already gone. Sending students into the deep woods at night is suicide. I will not risk elite lives for a corpse"
She looked over her shoulder, giving Cedric a look that promised hell if he spoke again.
"Unless... you want to go back out there alone, Cedric? To prove your love?"
Cedric flinched. "N-No. No, it's too dangerous"
"I thought so"
Isabella waved her hand.
"Get out of my camp. Take your trash with you, Drax. If I see Iron-Spire students near my perimeter again, I will assume it is an act of war"
Drax stumbled to his feet, humiliated and furious, but too terrified to retaliate. He grabbed Cedric by the collar.
"We are leaving," Drax growled.
As they retreated into the darkness, Isabella watched them go.
"Fools," she whispered to herself.
She looked toward the distant mountains, where she knew Lysander and Seraphina were running.
"I bought you time, Zero," she murmured. "I buried the truth. Now... make sure she survives"
The journey back to the Iron-Spire Academy camp was silent and suffocating. Professor Drax walked with a heavy, limping gait, his chest still aching from the crushing gravity pressure Isabella had used on him. Cedric Vance walked behind him, wiping the mud off his face, his expression twisting from fear to petulant rage.
As soon as they were out of earshot of the Star-Haven guards, Drax snapped.
THUD.
Drax spun around and slammed Cedric against a thick oak tree. He grabbed the boy by his collar, lifting him off the ground.
"Are you insane?!" Drax roared, saliva flying from his mouth. "You little brat! Because of your stupidity, I almost died back there!"
He shook Cedric violently.
"Did you see her eyes? That was Princess Isabella! If she had decided to crush my heart, nobody—not even my brother—could have saved me! You dragged me into the lion's den because of your incompetence!"
Cedric didn't cower this time. The distance from Isabella gave him back his false courage. He slapped Drax's hand away and dropped to his feet, glaring at the professor.
"Don't blame me, old man!" Cedric shouted back, fixing his collar. "It was your fault we got humiliated!"
"What did you say?" Drax growled, a vein popping in his forehead.
"I asked for backup," Cedric sneered. "But you were the one who started barking at her! You were the one talking about 'Equals' and 'Respect'! You forgot she was royalty, not me!"
Cedric pointed a finger at the Berserker's chest.
"You let your arrogance do the talking, and she put you on your knees like a dog. Don't take your failure out on me just because your pride is hurt"
Drax's face turned purple. The veins in his neck bulged as he stepped into Cedric's personal space, his mana flaring with dangerous heat.
"Watch your mouth, boy," Drax growled, his voice vibrating with suppressed rage.
He stared down at the arrogant noble.
"Do you realize who you are talking to? You are a student. I am a Professor. Do not think for one second that your father's title gives you the right to insult me to my face."
Drax's face turned purple, but he didn't strike the boy. He couldn't. The Vance Marquisate was too powerful. instead, he spat on the ground.
"You are a fool, Cedric," Drax hissed. "All of this... for a girl? For a Rank-F piece of trash?"
He leaned in, his voice dripping with disgust.
"Why couldn't you control yourself? Why did you have to chase her into the deep woods tonight? Do you have no self-control?"
Drax shook his head.
"You are a slave to your lower half. If you had just waited... if you had just been patient... she would have ended up in your bed eventually. But no. You had to run off like a feral dog and get your team wiped out by a random bandit"
"She isn't just a girl," Cedric muttered, his eyes dark. "She is my property"
"Isabella knows," Drax warned. "She isn't stupid. She knows exactly what you tried to do to Seraphina. She knows you are a predator. If she reports this to the King—"
"Let her know!" Cedric interrupted, laughing manically. "Who cares if she knows?"
He dusted off his sleeves, regaining his composure.
"She won't do anything. She is a Princess, but she hates politics. She won't drag this into the court"
He smiled, a cold, confident expression returning to his face.
"And even if she does... I will tell my father. The Marquis has judges in his pocket. He has generals on his payroll. He will spin the story. He will say Seraphina was hysterical, and I was just trying to help her"
Cedric looked at Drax with dead eyes.
"My father always cleans up my messes. He covered up the maids. He covered up the commoner girl. He will cover this up too"
Professor Drax stopped walking. He grabbed Cedric's shoulder, his grip hard and bruising, forcing the boy to stop.
"You are a fool if you believe that," Drax hissed, his voice trembling with suppressed rage.
He leaned down, staring into Cedric's eyes.
"Do not live in this delusion that your father is omnipotent, Cedric. Yes, he covers up your messes. He silences maids. He bribes the guards when you break a commoner girl. But do not confuse a Marquis with the Royal Family"
Drax pointed back toward Isabella's camp.
"That woman is a monster. She is the Iron-Blood King's daughter. If she had decided to kill you tonight, she wouldn't have needed to hide it. She could have crushed your skull, and your father wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it except weep over your closed casket"
Drax shoved Cedric back.
"Keep your arrogance to yourself. Do not think for a second that your family name is a shield against her. If you provoke her again, she will bury you. And listen to me clearly, boy—do not drag me into your grave. I value my life more than your ego"
Cedric stumbled back a step, smoothing out the wrinkles in his leather armor. He didn't look scared. He didn't look humbled.
Instead, a lazy, mocking smile spread across his face. He swayed slightly, raising his hands in a loose, theatrical gesture—like a pirate dismissing a boring warning.
"Professor, Professor..." Cedric drawled, waving his hand in the air nonchalantly. "You worry too much. You are vibrating like a scared rabbit"
He stepped closer to Drax, his fear completely replaced by his inherent, spoiled rot.
"You don't get it, do you? Politics is a game. She didn't kill me tonight. Do you know why? Not because she is merciful. But because she can't"
Cedric tapped his own temple, grinning.
"She is bound by the Academy Treaty. She is bound by the Noble Court. Even a Princess cannot slaughter a Marquis's heir without a war. She is chained by rules, Drax. I am not"
He walked past the Professor, bumping his shoulder intentionally.
"My father pays your salary. He pays for your research. He pays for your protection. So stop lecturing me about survival"