NOVEL NEXT Chapter 37: PARTCHMENT
The chamber seemed to trap the air between them, holding it warm and heavy. Even the faint flicker of the mana lamps felt softer, as though they were intruding on something private.
Selene turned slowly, every step unhurried, every movement deliberate.The clinging fabric of her dress traced the curves of her form, hips swaying just enough to draw the eye without meaning to. She didn't rush, she let the silence breathe between them, the kind of silence that made hearts beat faster.
Halfway across the room, she glanced over her shoulder. Not with a smirk, but with that faint, knowing smile that always told Eran she was aware of every thought running through his head.
Eran hadn't moved from where he stood by the chair, but the way he leaned back slightly, one hand resting loosely on the armrest, was enough to make it clear he was watching. Calm and Relaxed.
The air carried the faint aroma of a meal, warm and rich... bread, spiced meat, something sweet lingering underneath. It was comforting, grounding, but it also felt like an invitation.
"I didn't expect this from you," Eran said finally, breaking the stillness with a calm voice.
Selene turned, letting her hair fall slightly over one shoulder as her smile deepened just enough to be called playful. "We need to feel warm," she said, voice softer now, "and full. Enough energy to carry out the day."
She took another step closer to the table, letting her hand trail across its smooth edge as though testing its surface.
Eran leaned back beside the chair, letting his fingers brush along its edge. A low chuckle slipped past his lips, not directed at her but at the thought that crossed his mind. The system keeps giving me more than just lust and desire, he mused. It's almost as if it's shaping me.
A faint smile lingered on his face at the thought, and Selene caught it.
"Eran…" she said softly, her voice almost curious, almost teasing, as she brushed closer to him. "Your smile makes me tremble."
His gaze shifted to her, calm but amused. He leaned slightly forward and whispered, his tone like a quiet dare, "Don't end up trembling too fast… or there'll be nothing left to enjoy."
Selene's laugh came low and warm, curling into the space between them. "Well, you caught my line."
The memory flickered between them, that moment long ago when she had said those words first... and now, hearing Eran throw them back, it felt like a small, private victory.
Eran leaned back slightly, letting the weight of the quiet settle between them before breaking it with a calm, low voice.
"You were out for a while ?" he asked, though there was a sharpness in his gaze that made it clear he wasn't just making an idle remark. "When they summoned you and Nyssa earlier…"
Selene's lashes lowered, her fingers tracing the rim of her cup before she set it down. She let the silence hang for a moment longer, then turned to him with a softer expression.
"It wasn't anything too alarming," she said finally, her tone even. "But it was official. A parchment came through. One that required both our attention."
Eran's brow lifted slightly. "A parchment?"
"Yes," she said, almost in a whisper now, as though the word carried its own weight. "Direct from the council. I was going to tell you later, once you'd had a moment to breathe."
Selene's voice softened like she was letting him in, on something deliberately kept quiet.
"I was going to tell you when you had a moment," she said, glancing at him from beneath her lashes. Then she let her tone drop just slightly, serious now. "They summoned us for a Dire's announcement. A new transfer student will arrive tomorrow, high noble, Grade C. The council still hasn't tested his mana level or his rank. That's what the parchment was about.. authorization to begin the formal process."
Eran's fingers drummed lightly against the armrest, his smirk faint but there. "So the council is pulling in fresh blood."
Selene nodded. "Fresh, yes. And dangerous, if the whispers are true. He's not just any noble, he's tied to one of the central houses, one that hasn't sent a student here in years. That's why the Dire called both, me and Nyssa. It isn't just about registering him. They want eyes on him the moment he steps foot here."
Eran's eyes glinted, the weight of the information sparking something quiet and calculating in his mind. "And you're telling me this because…"
Selene's lips curved, teasing but pointed. "Because, Eran... I figured you'd want to know."
For a moment, the room was quiet again, but it wasn't an empty quiet. It was charged, the way it always was when something important shifted into place.
Eran leaned back slightly, gaze still locked on her, and the corner of his mouth lifting. "Good."
His gaze lingered on her, unreadable as always, but in his thoughts, pieces were already shifting into place.
So the council is moving again. A transfer student, a parchment, a Dire's announcement… how many layers does this hierarchy hold? How much of this place is just a stage, and how much is a cage?
A slow tug of a smirk touched the corner of his lips, the kind that never fully reached his eyes.
Selene caught it instantly. Of course she did.
She turned her head deliberately, letting her gaze drag back to him, her steps measured, the clinging fabric of her dress whispering as she moved. her lips curved just slightly..
"You're thinking too loud again," she said softly, and teasing.
He chuckled low, that sound that always seemed to sit halfway between amusement and challenge. "And you're watching too close."
Selene only shrugged faintly, stepping closer until the air between them was barely a breath apart. "Maybe. But it's hard not to when you wear that look on your face. Like you already know what tomorrow will bring."
Eran tilted his head, his smirk deepening as he leaned back in the chair with deliberate ease. "Maybe I do."
For a moment, it felt like time stilled... just them, the quiet, the weight of the day still hanging over their shoulders, and the sense that whatever tomorrow brought, it would change more than just schedules