Chapter 26:
School was finally over for the day, and students flooded the polished corridors of the Imperial Magic Academy with the kind of relieved energy only the last bell could summon.
Some laughed as they walked in groups, others yawned, dragging their feet toward the dormitories, while a few vanished in puffs of teleportation smoke—likely bound for their parents' lavish estates.
Jaxson, however, wasn't in a rush to be anywhere.
He strolled down the academy's marble hallways with a thick book tucked under one arm, his other hand brushing his messy black hair back from his face.
His emerald-green eyes flicked lazily from corridor to corridor, more out of habit than curiosity.
He wasn't watching anything in particular—just... observing.
There was something detached yet oddly magnetic about him.
With his lean frame and slouched posture, he didn't exactly exude discipline, but he carried a quiet confidence, like someone who knew he was good and didn't need to prove it.
Most people only noticed him after he passed, catching a second glance like they'd just walked by a mystery.
As the second-strongest student among the first-years, Jaxson wore the academy's crisp uniform like it was a bathrobe.
Unbuttoned collar, cloak slung lazily over one shoulder, and boots that had clearly seen better days—he was a noble's nightmare and a commoner's idol.
He turned a corner, not really expecting much, when he spotted two familiar figures sitting at a study table near one of the open-arched windows:
Ava Heart—shoulders tense, eyes locked on some notes—and Solana, waving her arms as she animatedly explained something Ava was clearly ignoring.
Jaxson slowed.
Huh, he mused, the corners of his mouth twitching into a small, intrigued smile.
I thought for sure they'd expel her after that stunt… Either she's lucky, or the professor has a soft spot for her.
He could've kept walking. He probably should have.
But curiosity, his eternal curse, got the better of him.
Trying not to look too interested (and failing spectacularly), he wandered over.
Solana caught sight of him first.
Her eyes widened like a child seeing fireworks for the first time.
"Jaxson's here!" she squealed, her voice launching to dangerous decibel levels.
Ava didn't look up.
She just sighed.
Jaxson reached the table and asked, voice smooth and easy, "Mind if I sit?"
"Not at all!" Solana beamed, scooting over like she'd just been waiting for him to ask.
He pulled up a chair, spinning it backward before straddling it like he owned the place.
He slouched forward, arms crossed over the chair's back, and glanced between the two girls.
"You're Solana, right?"
"That's me," she said with a grin, brushing her braids behind one ear.
She wasn't swooning—Solana wasn't the swooning type—but there was something comfortable about Jaxson.
Like he'd already accepted you before you even opened your mouth.
He turned to the other girl. "And you're Ava."
Ava gave a short nod, finally glancing up from her notes.
Her expression was unreadable, but Jaxson caught the flicker of curiosity in her eyes before she hid it behind her usual mask.
He exhaled slowly, tapping a finger on the table. "Okay, I'll be honest—I came over because I've got a question. You two mind sharing?"
Ava's brow arched. "Depends on what you're asking."
"Yeah, we're not giving you our lunch money," Solana added helpfully.
Jaxson chuckled. "Relax. It's about your spell. Ava, that thing you did—speed-chanting a powerful spell with barely an incantation? I've been trying to pull that off, but it's like teaching a cow to waltz. No offense to cows."
Solana turned to Ava, curiosity now written all over her face. "Yeah, actually… now that he mentions it, I've been wondering too. You said your brother helped you learn that spell a few days ago. How the heck did that turn into that?"
Ava leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.
"Honestly? I don't know. I was just… angry. Eleanor was being insufferable. I imagined the spell, said what I could remember, and—bam—it fired."
Jaxson's eyes lit up, not with excitement, but analysis.
He leaned forward, voice lower, thoughtful. "So… maybe emotion affects mana. Think about it. In a real fight, fully chanting a spell is a luxury. But if you've trained enough to understand its structure—mana flow, sequence, rhythm—then maybe your mind fills in the gaps subconsciously."
Ava blinked, the pieces slowly rearranging themselves in her head.
Solana blinked, too. "…You sure you're not secretly a professor in disguise?"
"I mean, he does look like he's 40 sometimes," Ava muttered under her breath.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Jaxson said dryly, smirking.
Solana shrugged. "Why don't we just ask our professor?"
Ava snorted. "Yeah, right. A noble professor giving actual answers to commoners? Not unless Jaxson flashes that smile of his."
Jaxson grinned. "Why bother with the others when we've got Professor Lucas? If someone he likes asks, I bet he'll spill everything."
Ava narrowed her eyes. "Wait… someone he likes?"
Jaxson and Solana didn't say anything.
They just turned—in perfect, dramatic synchronization—to look directly at her.
"…Why are you staring at me?" Ava asked warily.
"You know why," Solana said, grinning like a devil.
She wiggled her eyebrows.
"Ugh. Screw both of you," Ava groaned, throwing her head back.
"He doesn't like me."
"Sure he doesn't," Solana replied, giggling.
"That's why you're the only one who can walk away from that situation without getting expelled when an noble is involved. If it were me? I'd be booted faster than a broken broom."
Jaxson nodded slowly, eyes sharp. "Yeah. You're the only one he talks to like an equal."
Before Ava could fire back with another denial, a new voice cut through the conversation like a knife dipped in smugness.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
The group turned to see Ben—blue-haired, blue-eyed, and 100% too confident for his own good.
He strolled up with a half-eaten apple in one hand and all the swagger of a cat who'd just caught a mouse.
Without asking, he pulled up a chair beside Jaxson and dropped into it.
"Hey Ben," Jaxson greeted.
"Still surviving?"
"Always," Ben replied, taking a loud crunch from his apple.
"So, what's the gossip today?"
Ava rolled her eyes. "Why can't you ever mind your own business?"
"Don't be so harsh," Jaxson said lightly. "Ben just likes to stay... well-informed."
Solana smirked. "Hey Ben, don't you think Professor Lucas totally likes Ava more than the other students?"
Ben's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Absolutely. Honestly, sometimes I think she's either his secret niece or his secret fiancée."
Jaxson choked on his laughter.
Solana nearly fell out of her chair.
Ava groaned like she was dying.
"It's not funny! Stop spreading nonsense!"
Solana leaned in closer, voice gleeful. "Come on, Ava. Just admit it. Or better yet, use it. We should totally ask Professor Lucas to let us start our own club."
"A club?" Jaxson asked, tilting his head curiously.
"Yeah," Ben said, nodding. "One that isn't run by nobles. A safe haven for us regular folk."
"I'm a noble," Jaxson pointed out.
Solana grinned. "You're a nice noble. We'll let it slide."
"Great," Jaxson said, smiling slyly.
"Now let's all gang up on Ava to make it happen."
Ava slumped forward, letting her forehead hit the table with a dull thud.
Why me?
Why always me?