NOVEL NEXT Chapter 124: Responsibility!
The air was still thick with whispers and tension when Celeste unleashed her aura to gather everyone's attention, her cool and commanding voice echoing out as she spoke,
"Enough."
The single word sliced through the courtyard like a blade. The students, human, elf, and demon alike, fell silent, their restless murmurs dying instantly under the weight of her authority.
Celeste let the silence linger for a breath before speaking again.
"This was only the first day of the exchange, usually used as an introduction, though we had some hickups," she said, her gaze, and the gazes of many others swept across the bruised and broken Valerian, then toward Albedo who still stood relaxed, as though nothing had transpired.
"Tomorrow, the real lessons begin."
Her lips curved, not quite a smile, more like the faint curve of someone who saw a storm forming and relished the thought of standing in its eye.
"Until then," she declared, "you are all dismissed. Explore and Relax. The Demon Kingdom welcomes you all with open arms. I hope you enjoy yourselves and are ready for the lessons beginning tomorrow,"
And with that, she flicked her wrist in dismissal. Professors rose, students began to scatter in uneven groups, and the tightly wound coil of tension unraveled into a thousand hushed conversations.
Albedo, however, noticed one particular figure had not yet left.
Lilian BloodHaven.
The heiress's crimson eyes burned like coals as she lingered at the edge of the crowd. When she finally turned her head toward him, she didn't speak aloud, but her lips moved in a whisper he could read easily.
'Follow me.'
Albedo's smirk widened faintly.
Without a word, he adjusted his coat and slipped into motion, his tall form weaving through the dispersing groups of students. He ignored the stares, the glares, the mixture of admiration and fear following his every step.
His focus was solely on Lilian.
She led him through a winding path beyond the main courtyard, into one of the lesser-used training gardens tucked behind a cluster of old stone archways.
The greenery here was shadowed, wild vines climbing the columns, the air heavy with the scent of damp leaves and roses gone untended.
The moment they were alone, Lilian spun on her heel.
Her hand whipped up, palm slicing through the air, a slap aimed squarely at his cheek. Albedo's hand shot up and caught her wrist with insulting ease, his smirk never faltering.
"Tch!" Lilian hissed through her fangs, crimson eyes flashing, "How dare you!"
"How dare I?" Albedo leaned closer, his voice low, steady, sharp enough to cut through her fury as his hand once again snaked around her waist, pulling her close and grasping her chin, forcing her to stare directly into his eyes.
"You're the one who shoved me into the line of fire. You used me as a shield in front of every noble in the courtyard. Don't think I didn't notice."
Lilian froze for half a heartbeat. Her lips parted as if to retort, but no words came. Her wrist trembled faintly in his grip, not from weakness, but from resignation, and a small blush appeared on her face as she felt herself once again in his arms.
However, he soon released her, stepping back with deliberate nonchalance. "So don't act like the victim. That little kiss?" He tilted his head, eyes gleaming with mischief, "That was payback. Nothing more."
Her cheeks flushed as she saw him lick his lips after speaking, the faintest touch of color rising against her pale skin. She clenched her fists at her sides, glaring at him with enough venom to kill a lesser man.
"You!" she spat, her voice breaking between fury and embarrassment. "That was… that was my first kiss!"
The words slipped out before she could stop them, hanging in the cool garden air like a confession torn from her chest. Her crimson eyes widened as if realizing too late what she'd admitted.
Albedo blinked once, then chuckled, running the tip of his finger against his nose as he spoke, the sound low and maddeningly amused, "Your first kiss, huh? Guess that makes it even more memorable."
"Memorable?!" Lilian snapped, stepping closer, her fangs glinting as her voice dropped into a sharp whisper, "Do you have any idea what you've done? My parents, the Grand Duke and Duchess will not be pleased when they hear of this. I'll be expected to explain. To justify. To.."
She cut herself off, her crimson eyes narrowing. Her breath came quick, shoulders rising and falling as she struggled between pride, anger, and something else tangled beneath the surface.
Albedo's smile softened into something sharper, almost wolfish. He leaned slightly closer, his voice a teasing murmur.
"Then maybe you should tell them the truth."
Her throat bobbed. "…The truth?"
"That you met someone who doesn't bow to your noble name," he said, eyes locking onto hers. "That someone kissed you, not because of who your parents are, but because of who you are."
Her lips parted, a retort trembling there, but no words came.
Instead, she turned her head, her crimson hair slipping like silk across her shoulder, hiding the faint flush on her cheeks.
"…You're insufferable."
Albedo chuckled, straightening his coat as though the matter was settled, "And yet, you're still here. With me, alone....Imagine what the others are thinking, maybe they think I've already..."
"Don't finish that sentence," Lilian said, knowing what he was going to say as her fists clenched tightly, but this time she didn't strike him.
She merely stepped past him, her perfume brushing his senses like smoke and roses as she whispered over her shoulder:
"You'll take responsibility for this. One way or another."
And then she vanished into the shadows of the archways, leaving only the echo of her footsteps and the faint heat of her presence lingering in the air.
Albedo tilted his head, smirk never fading.
"…Responsibility, huh?" he murmured to himself.
Then, almost under his breath, with a mix of amusement and curiosity:
"Guess I really am building a harem."
***
Meanwhile, the Demon Palace was alive with its own kind of quiet majesty. Black marble walls veined with crimson light rose like pillars of eternity, their carved runes glowing faintly as if the stone itself breathed with power.
Between the soaring arches, great chandeliers of floating crystal orbs cast their cold luminance across the hall, four figures sat at a table.
At the tables center was a board of Magic Chess. The pieces were sculpted from living mana, shimmering with faintly shifting runes, each movement was a clash of strategy, energy & thought.
Kael Nocturna, the Demon King, leaned back in his obsidian chair. His amber-gold eyes, searing as if lit by an eternal flame, studied the board with a predator's focus. Across from him, his queen, Ysvara, radiated quiet elegance, her pale violet skin luminous against the silken black gown draped across her form. Her silver-lined hair framed a face that could command armies or silence a battlefield with a glance.
Beside them sat the guests of honor: Vladamir and Raven BloodHaven, the Grand Duke and Duchess of their ancient line.
Vladamir's presence was like the sharp edge of a blade left to soak in poison. His tall, lean frame was clad in rich velvet lined with crimson, his crimson eyes holding the weight of countless years.
Raven, meanwhile, was his mirror and contrast: a beauty of untouchable grace, dark hair falling in ripples around her pale face, her fangs occasionally glinting as she smiled with composed elegance.
Ysvara shifted one of her pawns forward, its mana shimmer clashing faintly with Kael's looming knight. "I imagine the Exchange has already caused ripples," she said softly, her voice silk threaded with steel. "Celeste was insistent it would prove worthwhile."
Vladamir chuckled, the sound deep and sharp. "Ripples? It is a storm waiting to crest. Our little nobles cannot resist comparing themselves to the outsiders. And if they fall short, pride will turn sharp. It always does, even back when I was young, I saw many associates fall behind or rise up due to these exchanges,"
Kael made his move, a rook sliding with sharp inevitability. He did not look up when he said, "Pride will sharpen them, or break them. Either outcome has value. We have no use for the weak,"
"Spoken like a king who does not care how many bones litter the path," Raven said smoothly, her voice carrying the faintest French lilt. She moved one of her bishops, capturing one of Kael's pawns.
At that, Ysvara's lips curved slightly, her black eyes glinting. "Our daughter Celeste has already sharpened herself. I imagine even you, Vladamir, would be impressed."
The Grand Duke tilted his head, intrigued. "Oh?"
"She has been training… ferociously. More than usual," Ysvara explained, her delicate fingers idly adjusting a pawn as if her words were nothing of consequence. "At first I thought it was simply anticipation for the Exchange. But one of her shadow guards confessed that it began after a duel."
Kael's gaze lifted from the board now, sharp and deliberate, "A duel?"
"Yes," Ysvara said with measured calm. "Not with a demon. Not with one of her own kind. But with a human. It happened during one of her and Lilian's little escapades,"
A silence fell over the board. The pieces shimmered faintly in the pause, their mana restless as if feeding on the tension in the room.
"A human," Raven murmured, her crimson lips curving faintly, "Interesting. Few could provoke Celeste to such determination."
Vladamir's crimson eyes narrowed, his mind already turning over the implications, "Indeed, it makes me quite intrigued, and that brat Lilian didn't think to tell me either. I'll need to punish her accordingly,"
Almost on cue, the double doors to the chamber swung open. A servant, pale and trembling beneath the weight of four of the most powerful demons in existence, stepped forward. In his hands was a black tablet etched with crimson runes, a device that shimmered with conjured projection magic.
"Your Majesties, Your Graces," he said, bowing low, his voice nearly quivering. "A… recording. From the Academy's exchange grounds. You should see this."
Kael gestured lazily with one hand. "Show us."
The servant pressed his fingers to the runes. At once, a holographic projection shimmered above the chessboard.
The image came alive. Valerian Duskveil sprawled broken in the dirt. Albedo standing tall, untouched, smirking as his pistols gleamed briefly before being holstered. The crowd's gasps, the whispers, the stunned silence. And then,
The scene of him slipping behind Lilian in a blur of speed. The arm around her waist. The kiss against her neck, bold and unrepentant. The eruption of chaos in the student body. Lilian's faltering breath, her restraint wavering before she spoke.
The recording froze on that final moment, Albedo's lips brushing Lilian's pale skin, her eyes fluttered closed in shock and something else unspoken.
For several long seconds, the chamber was silent except for the faint hum of the magic.
Raven's lips curved faintly, her voice cool. "…Our daughter did not push him away."
Kael's amber eyes burned brighter, but his face betrayed no more than mild intrigue, "Bold."
Ysvara, however, chuckled softly, a sound like distant thunder cloaked in velvet. "So this is the human who made Celeste sharpen her claws."
At last, Vladamir leaned forward. His crimson eyes locked on the image, studying Albedo's posture, his smirk, his complete lack of fear in the face of nobility.
"That must be him," he said, his voice deep and final.
Then, a sharp edge entered his tone, cutting through the silence of the chamber like a blade unsheathed.
"…I will need to inspect this boy myself."