Saphine stood there for a full five seconds, hand still hovering in front of Eris as if she expected the world to crash or spark or at least offer some dramatic music.
Nothing.
Just Eris. Calm. Polite. A tiny bow. As if she'd simply asked him to pass the salt.
"…That's it?" she finally blurted.
He blinked. "That is the accepted procedure. You spoke the phrase. I acknowledged. Trial One is complete."
"No, I mean— you didn't even try to deny it. Or pretend I had the wrong person. Or disappear."
"I considered pretending to faint," Eris said with complete seriousness. "But that felt unnecessary."
Saphine opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"You're annoyingly cooperative, you know that?"
"With respect," he replied, "you spent three nights planning to accuse me in front of the entire courtyard. I assumed you were ready for confirmation."
She groaned and covered her face. "I hate that you're right."
Silence.
She lowered her hands. "So… what now? Do we start training? Sword drills? Echo resonance practice? Secret codes?"
Eris shook his head.
"You wait. The second stage of the Successor Trial begins in one month. Until then, I am in charge of your safety and immediate preparation. No public duels. No unnecessary risks. And— most importantly—"
He paused. His gaze sharpened.
"You need to become a full Echo-bearer before it begins."
Saphine's expression flickered, just for a moment, with something like uncertainty.
"…I've tried," she said quietly. "I don't think I can't hear it. It's just… far away. Like a voice calling across a desert."
Eris studied her for a long moment.
"The Echo will come," he said softly. "The question is whether it will come on its own… or be forced to awaken."
She didn't answer.
Instead, she glanced toward the courtyard walls — where she had felt that strange coldness, just hours ago.
"…And in the meantime?"
"In the meantime," Eris said, folding his arms behind his back, "we deal with whatever that Phenomenon was."
A gust of wind passed between them, carrying whispers from the trees — too faint to understand, but somehow watching.
Saphine nodded, straightening her posture. "Right. We hunt the problem."
"We contain it," Eris corrected."Then we hunt it."
For the first time, a small smile cracked across her lips.
"Fine. But when we catch it…I get to punch it first."
"Understood," he said.
She paused.
"…You're not joking?"
"I rarely joke about punching anomalies."
Elsewhere – Northern Courtyard. A different heir stood beneath the shade of an old silverleaf tree — Aerin Valmont, heir of House Valmont, known for having one of the highest recorded Echo resonances in the academy. Students whispered that he once silenced an entire lecture hall simply by turning his head.
Beside him, leaning casually against the tree trunk, stood a tall girl with white hair and a half-lidded bored expression. No crest. No name. Her presence alone made the air bend slightly, as if the world was uncomfortable around her.
Someone asked, carefully, "Is that… your shadow?"
Aerin didn't look at them. But the girl smiled without warmth, as though she already knew the person's last thought.
No one asked again.
To be continued...