Reincarnated As The Villainess's Best Friend

The door to the chamber was wide open, and standing right in front of it was none other than Si Ya Lin.

"Come forward," Dean Zerella instructed, her voice rising a pitch higher.

Si Ya walked to the bench in short, careful strides, her hands folded behind her back. She stopped before the tribunal, just a few meters to my right.

"Speak honestly," the Dean said, flipping a page in her book and scribbling carefully into it. "Do you recall the match you fought yesterday?"

"I do," she replied.

"Who was your opponent?"

"Lucy Daevalia."

"Did you harbor any ill will toward your opponent?"

"I did."

"During this fight, did you intend to hurt her?"

"Yes," Si Ya responded. "I also intended to kill her."

The murmurs in the crowd swelled instantly. Professor Long patted down his long beard, while Professor Varyn wore a smile which seemed to say, 'I told you so.'

"Can you clarify why, Miss Lin?"

"I... resented her."

"For what reason?"

"I was... afraid of her."

Dean Zerella flipped to a new page in her book. "So, in your own words, why do you think Stormborn disrupted your match?"

Si Ya glanced at me for a second. On her face was a short smile, which quickly vanished as she turned back to the Dean.

"He jumped into the arena... to protect his friend."

The whispers in the crowd grew even louder.

"Silence!" Dean Zerella's voice boomed through the chamber. I never realized her dull voice was capable of such profound depth.

"Thank you, Miss Lin. You are free to go."

Si Ya gave a curt nod. Without glancing back, she marched straight towards the chamber doors and disappeared through them.

Professor Varyn leaned forward, his crystal wand spinning rapidly in his fingers. "I believe the boy's intentions were genuine. He sensed his friend was in mortal danger, and he intervened to help her."

"That doesn't mean he wasn't aware of the consequences," Professor Long leaned forward as well. "For all we know, saving his friend might have been just the excuse he needed to disrupt the tournament."

"Surely, you do not intend to expel a boy for simply helping his friend?" Professor Varyn asked, directing his question to the Dean.

Dean Zerella flipped back a few pages in her large book. "There are other charges he must answer to. He may not have wilfully ruined the tournament, but he has yet to prove his proficiency in magic, if he has any magic at all."

"If the boy has no magic, he must be expelled at once." Professor Long thundered. "It would be a shame to the entire academy if we admitted a noble without magic."

Professor Varyn disagreed. "The boy may have no magic, but he displays superb knowledge in the art. Surely, there must be a way to train him..."

"No!" Professor Long retorted. "Centuries of tradition will not be changed for one student. He must be expelled at once!"

"Enough!" I yelled in a firm voice – loud enough to fill the entire chamber and silence them all.

At the same time, a powerful gust of wind surged in all directions, sweeping everything off the tribunal table, and pushing anyone standing to the ground.

In the sky above, a low rumble of thunder could be heard. Barely audible, but undeniably real.

Seconds later, the crystal wand in Varyn's hand began to glow with a bright yellow light.

"Remarkable!" he uttered, his wide eyes darting from the wand to me, and back to the wand.

I had no intention of revealing my magic like this, but I just had about enough of their endless bickering.

"Are we done here?" I asked.

Dean Zerella blinked, then casually levitated her book back onto the table while adjusting her robe.

"Well, that was... unexpected," she said, her voice soft and shaky. "Anyway... The tribunal will now confer privately to reach a decision."

The second-year class president waved his hand in a circular motion, and a thick black veil rose around the members of the tribunal, swallowing them until they were out of view.

I turned around to the rest of the students in the chamber. A hundred faces stared back at me, but only one in particular caught my interest.

She sat with her arms folded beneath her large chest, and her long black hair was beautifully combed behind her back.

My face remained still, but inwardly, I was glad she came.

Soon afterward, the black veil faded. Like a slave ready to be sold to a bidder, I turned back to the tribunal.

In front of Dean Zerella, was a small brown scroll, and a writing quill appeared in her right first

"Aldrin Stormborn, you have been tried by the Imperium Tribunal for charges brought against you." she proclaimed. "This is our decision..."

*****

As soon as I left the chamber, a tall muscular figure stepped out in front of me.

"Aldrin Stormborn," he thundered in a deep hoarse voice.

"Baron Borain," I replied, tilting my head back. "Surprised to see you on your feet."

He stared at me, his eyes cold and unblinking. Eventually, his gaze softened, and he extended his right arm forward.

"Next time, you'll be the one who falls to the ground," he said, a cocky smile appearing on his face.

A quiet warmth spread through my chest and a smile broke across my face

Then, I took his hand in a firm handshake.

"Alright then... We'll see about that."

*****

I carefully climbed the last flight of steps that led to my dorm floor. My legs ached from standing at the tribunal, and my only solace was the long-needed sleep I hoped to get.

Just as I reached for the door, something below caught my attention.

Another white note lay neatly folded, wedged in the crevice beneath the door, leaving only a small part exposed.

I made a glance in both directions, before reaching down to pick it up. With one hand, I quickly unfolded it, my heart beating faster.

I didn't have to guess who wrote it. Right on the top edge of the note was a house crest in the form of a red hourglass, and the font was the same cursive writing that haunted me before.

The message was a single line, even shorter than the last.

"We need to talk. Now."