Terminally-ill Instructor in Romance Fantasy

The Grand Hall had grown louder as the afternoon passed.

Students still crowded Noel's table. But now, it wasn't only students.

"Ho?"

A voice carried through the chatter.

Professor Glenn, head of Alchemy, approached with a curious gleam in his eyes. His robes smelled faintly of herbs and powders.

He picked up one of the pastries without hesitation, sniffed, then bit in.

Crunch!

Sweetness followed by something mellow.

"Mm. Good balance. Not overwhelming. This kind of palate control…"

His brow furrowed, then rose again.

"Instructor Noel, you could've been an alchemist.

This kind of precision is… admirable."

Noel tilted his head slightly.

"…That so."

Glenn gave a short laugh, shaking his head as he moved on.

"Students could learn a lot from this. Hah!"

Soon after came Professor Seline, who taught elemental history.

"Oh my, this is delightful."

She sampled a taiyaki, her silver earrings swaying.

"Red bean? But smoother, richer.

And look at their faces."

She gestured to the line of students, cheeks stuffed with snacks.

"You've managed to charm them..."

Noel didn't answer.

Just poured tea into a cup and set it down.

Seline's eyes softened.

"You always were mysterious.

But I suppose… charm has its own form, doesn't it?"

He said nothing. Only lifted the teapot lid slightly, letting out steam.

Her chuckle lingered as she left.

Then another instructor came. Then another.

Compliments piled like the registration sheets on his desk.

"Instructor Noel, if you ever open a shop, I'll be your first customer!"

"Practical, delicious, and elegant. Students will fight to join your club."

"How enviable… why didn't I think of a Delights Club?"

The table was no longer just popular.

It was becoming… an attraction.

And then.

"Ahaha… so this is where you've been hiding."

The laughter came before the man.

Professor Brael.

Magic Engineering Tower's proud face.

The one who had taken patronage over the Magic Engineering Club.

The one people assumed Noel would take instead.

His robes were spotless, his hair slick, his frameless glasses shining with confidence.

He stepped forward with a smirk.

"Senior Instructor Noel.

Never thought I'd see the day.

You...of all people...reduced to handing out pastries."

Students nearby shifted uncomfortably.

Brael leaned forward.

"What's next? Perhaps embroidery with Professor Melissa?"

Melissa's brows shot up, but she said nothing.

Claire frowned, her hands tightening on the tray.

Noel didn't move.

His yellow eyes lifted once, half-lidded, to meet Brian's.

"…Reduced?"

His voice was quiet.

Brael blinked.

"What?"

"I chose and created this...You on the other hand...clung to what was left."

The air stilled.

Brael's smirk froze.

"…Pardon?"

Noel leaned back, propping his cheek against his hand lazily.

His voice stayed soft, but it carried.

"You scramble for what I didn't want...

That doesn't make you superior, Professor Brael.

Just… desperate."

The students nearby widened their eyes. Some even stifled laughter.

Claire bit her lip to hide her grin.

Brael's hand twitched against his sleeve.

For a moment, his glasses slipped slightly down his nose.

He adjusted them quickly, forcing his smile back.

"Fufu… sharp tongue, as always.

Well. Keep… enjoying your little booth."

He turned on his heel and left, his shoulders stiff, steps brisker than before.

The moment he was gone, murmurs broke out again.

"…Did you hear that?"

"He called Instructor Brael desperate."

"And he didn't even raise his voice…"

Meanwhile, two female instructors lingered by Noel's table.

"Instructor Noel..."

One with short auburn hair said, her tone teasing.

"If you weren't teaching, you could make a fortune.

Handsome face, golden hands."

Another, older, adjusted her shawl and laughed lightly.

"Indeed. If only you weren't so cold. You'd break half the professors' hearts."

Claire's lips puffed slightly.

"He's not cold.

He's… just Noel."

Noel didn't react.

He only reached for another tray of pastries, sliding them forward.

The line of students continued.

The compliments never stopped.

***

Nox's steps were slow.

The noise around the Grand Hall faded for him, like the buzz of insects he couldn't swat away.

When he reached the table, he didn't look at Noel.

He didn't even glance. His hand, stiff and pale, stretched out with a paper.

Claire blinked.

"…A registration form?"

Nox nodded once.

His jaw tightened.

From behind the table, Noel finally moved.

His eyes lifted lazily, catching the familiar features.

"…Nox."

The younger brother's shoulders stiffened.

But his eyes stayed locked on the table, never rising.

"…Didn't know you were registering to this club."

Noel's voice came low, quieter than the chatter of students behind.

"Weren't you already in one?"

For the first time, Nox's lips moved.

"…If you don't want me in, just say so...

...I'll look for another club."

Noel leaned back on his chair, expression unreadable. "…That's not what I meant asking that."

The silence that followed was so sharp even the students waiting in line felt it. No one dared to whisper. Claire fidgeted, her pen trembling in her hand.

Neither brother said a word.

Nox stepped back, slipping away from the table. Another student moved forward to take his place, and the moment ended just like that.

From across the aisle—

"Nox!"

Melissa's voice.

He turned his head slightly. She was standing at her embroidery table, her white brows knitted tight, her hands gripping the edge of the tablecloth.

"…Come here for a second."

Nox hesitated, then walked over. The faintest sigh left her lips.

'It's saddening to see their bond is still like that…'

When he reached her, she leaned forward.

"Why are you signing up for that club when you're already in mine?"

"…I'm not," Nox said flatly.

Her eyes widened.

"Excuse me?"

"I already left the embroidery club.

Didn't you get the letter I wrote?"

Melissa froze.

Her gaze cut to the side—straight at Lumi.

Lumi, caught like a rabbit in torchlight, stammered.

"…Uh…"

"…You had it?"

Lumi swallowed hard, pulling a folded envelope from under a stack of fabrics.

"…I was going to give it later…"

"WHAAT?!"

Melissa shot up from her chair, loud enough that three tables down, students turned their heads.

"Are you serious right now?!"

She stormed toward Noel's table, her long coat brushing the floor.

He looked up, face calm as ever, as if none of this noise concerned him.

"Why are you stealing my students?!"

Claire froze mid-writing.

Students murmured, exchanging glances.

Noel tilted his head.

"…Stealing?"

"Yes!"

Melissa's brows furrowed even deeper.

"Nox was in my club...now suddenly he's in yours..."

"I didn't steal anyone."

Noel cut her off smoothly, his voice low but firm.

"Students can leave on their own accord. Doesn't mean I instigated it."

Melissa's lips parted, but he went on.

"…The club isn't even a day old.

You think I have time to plot and scheme to poach members?"

The way he said it wasn't anger.

He leaned forward slightly, gloved fingers resting against the table.

"…Seeing how worked up you are about this… doesn't that just prove this is the best club in the empire?"

"Uggghhh!!"

Melissa groaned, stomping her foot before collapsing back into her chair.

Her face puffed like a sulking child's, but her eyes still burned holes into Noel's table.

***

"Oi, oi, you really told him that?" one of the boys snorted.

"I swear on the Founder's statue..."

Another replied, trying to hold back his grin.

"He was bragging that he could inscribe a rune with his eyes closed...so I handed him chalk and told him the board was in front of him."

"And?"

"He drew on the classroom door."

"Pfft!"

The red haired boy with blue eyes threw his head back, laughing so hard his shoulders shook.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"

Still laughing, he stepped back without looking.

Bump!

Something soft collided with him. He turned, still grinning, only for his laughter to cut short.

"…You again."

The red-haired girl with red eyes stood frozen, clutching her books like a shield.

Her lips trembled, caught between an apology and silence.

The boy blinked, then smirked.

"Do you make a hobby out of bumping into me, or what?"

She shook her head quickly, red ears peeking through her hair.

He sighed, reaching into his pocket.

"Anyway...You dropped this last time."

He opened his palm.

A small, light pink hearing aid rested there, catching the light.

Her eyes widened instantly.

He glanced at her ear and noticed the bare side, missing one.

"…Seriously?"

He muttered.

"Were you planning to survive academy life half-deaf?"

She lowered her head, fingers trembling as she accepted it.

The boy then looked at the line she was standing in.

It stretched forward, straight to a table piled with steaming plates of pastries.

His lips curved.

"Wait.

Don't tell me you're registering for the cooking club?"

The girl froze.

"Pfft...what, trying to win hearts with cookies?" he teased.

"Or are you just here for the free food?"

Her wide eyes blinked at him, lips pressed tight.

"…What, can you still not hear me even after I gave it back?"

He waved a hand in front of her.

"Testing, testing?"

But she didn't react.

No...she wasn't looking at him at all.

Her gaze had drifted past him, fixed firmly on someone else near the line.

The boy frowned and turned his head.

Nox.

Standing quietly at the side, the second-year with the expression that never seemed to change.

The girl's eyes didn't move. They stayed on him.

The boy narrowed his own eyes.

"…Tch. Figures."