Chapter 93: Amelia's Trust
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The air in the academy shifted in small, almost invisible ways, but Arios noticed them. Since the rumors about Amelia had taken firm root, the weight of them could be felt even in the corridors between classes. Students whispered more openly now. When Amelia passed, voices dropped but their eyes followed her, and the distance they kept was more obvious.
Arios hadn't ignored any of it. He knew how quickly small lies became larger truths in places like this academy, he was no stranger to fake rumours, for he was a victim of one in his past life. That was why he had decided to start his own quiet checks. He couldn't walk into the middle of the cafeteria and declare Amelia innocent; that would change nothing. He needed certainty, and he needed to know what Amelia herself wasn't saying.
He started small, speaking casually with a few students who had been present the day Regulus made his "accidental" scene.
