When someone asks about Kael Acedia, only a few impressions come to their mind.
"He's batshit crazy. No one's as insane as him."
"He sucks at studying — but that's fine, most of us do."
"I kind of admire him… for his shamelessness."
"There was never a boring moment with him around."
Kael Acedia was well-known in their class, not for their good traits, but for their eccentricities.
Class J was one of the lower classes. Obviously, there were eccentric students in the lower section. But for them... Kael Acedia was just different from others.
Yet all of that changed the moment they saw his back. The back of a man standing to defend them.
"Don't you feel ashamed?"
That sentence echoed in their heads, and from that moment on, their eyes refused to look away from him.
***
Chapter 7: Avoidance
Instructor Ariel glared at Kael, annoyance twisted her face. She wanted to say something... anything, but the words wouldn't come. The entire class watched her in silence, refusing to look away.
She's certainly felt embarrassed. He made her appear foolish.
Finally, she raised her hand in annoyance, and she raised her voice. "H-how dare you!"
Her hand swung toward Kael's face—
But stopped midair...
A sharp crack rang out as a wooden cane intercepted the blow.
"What do you think you're doing?" an old man's voice echoed from behind.
Everyone stared at who the voice belonged to. The class's expression brightened up upon seeing Professor Mayhem's arrival.
Everyone was pleased except Instructor Ariel. She ended up gritting her teeth as she put his arms down.
"I was disciplining your rude student, Professor," Instructor Ariel said stiffly.
"Disciplining my students is my job," Professor Mayhem replied coldly. "I don't recall ever giving you that authority."
Instructor Ariel bit back her words, gathered her belongings, and left the room in silence.
As the door clicked shut, the students began to rise one by one, quickly forming a circle around the professor.
"Professor, you wouldn't believe the audacity of that woman!" one of the boys shouted.
"The lion, the witch, and the audacity of that bitch!" another added, earning a few laughs.
"I thought we'd never see a day after this!" someone else chimed in.
From the back of the room, Kael watched as his classmate's energy slowly returned to normal. He let out a small sigh of relief.
Yes, this is definitely the view he was used to seeing.
Beside him, Chiisa nudged his sleeve and whispered, "Thank you. You were cool back there."
It wasn't that much, but that certainly made Kael shy.
He was so used to people speaking badly about him that hearing a genuine compliment made his cheeks flush a little.
('Well… to be honest, I wasn't even trying to defend anyone. I just got fed up with that woman's mouth.') Kael thought to himself, though he knew it wasn't the right time to say it out loud.
Just as Kael was about to step out of the room with the bell ringing in the background, a voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Kael."
Kael turned his back, startled. Professor Mayhem stood by his desk, arms crossed as his usual gruff expression softened... just a little.
"Good job."
For a moment, Kael froze. Then his eyes began to water as he rubbed at his nose, grinning like an idiot. "Hehe… hearing that from you Professor, feels so good! Not even my father's ever said that to me~"
The class erupted in cheers. In an instant, Kael was lifted off his feet, his classmates cheered as they tossed him into the air.
"Our savior, Kael! Hep hep... hooray! Hooray!"
('Okay… maybe that was a little too much.')
Flailing midair, Kael shouted for them to stop, but it was no use. Somehow, he had become the unexpected hero of Class J.
***
Stretching his arms above his head, Kael let out a tired sigh.
"I wanna go back to my dorm soon and sleep argh..."
It had taken him longer than expected to escape his overly happy classmates. The sky was already turning orange, dusk settled in, and in just a few hours, night would arrive at the academy grounds.
Chiisa walked beside him as they headed toward the gates. The two of them were simply laughing and chatting about nothing in particular. But as the gates came into view, Kael noticed something unusual.
A crowd had gathered.
"Huh… is it the royal guards?" he asked.
"I don't think so," Chiisa replied, tilting her head. "I heard the inspection ended already.|
They squeezed their way through the crowd, and that's when Kael saw her.
A woman stood by the gates, and the world seemed to emit this kind of fragrant vibe around her. She was like a walking garden... graceful, radiant, with long black hair cascading down to her waist. She leaned casually against the gate, idly examining her nails, yet her mere presence drew every gaze.
It was Marionette Lorentia.
Look at her, with her sheer presence, the squealing fan base screams at her. Yet she paid no interest, batting not a single eye to anyone.
"What's she doing here…?" Kael muttered under his breath.
Chiisa blinked at him. "You know Lady Marionette?"
"Well, yeah… she's my fiancée after all, I guess?"
"Fiancée?" Chiisa's voice cracked slightly as her eyes widened, "You… have a fiancée?"
"Yeah, apparently." Kael scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I only found out a few weeks ago — from a letter my father sent."
Chiisa stared at him for a long moment. She wasn't even sure what kind of expression she was making. Her lips parted slightly, but the only thing that escaped was a soft whisper.
"Ah… of course. I'm so happy for you."
Kael didn't hear her as his eyes were fixed on Marionette. He doesn't know; he was sure there was nothing to hide from. Yet he couldn't help but feel uneasy for no reason.
When their gazes met, she smiled so brightly.
But his blood ran cold. Because in his mind, that same face he remembered was a pale and lifeless face… a corpse drenched in blood.
His stomach churned violently. Panic clawed up his throat, unable to think straight. Before he even realized it, Kael turned on his shoes and bolted away.