The Villain Professor's Second Chance

"Q-Question nine?" he repeated, his voice a mix of awe and incredulity.

Amberine didn't seem to notice his astonishment, too busy wiping grease off her fingers and piling more food onto her plate. She grinned at him through a mouthful of food. "Yeah, question nine is brutal. Draven's exams are always insane, though. This one? Complete nightmare."

Caelum, feeling small in comparison to her, sat back in his chair, still clutching his fork. His brain tried to keep up with the chaotic energy she radiated. Was she serious? How had she even gotten that far? He peeked at her out of the corner of his eye. She didn't seem like a genius—but then again, looks could be deceiving.

"What's wrong, kid?" Amberine asked, raising an eyebrow as she shoveled another spoonful of mashed something into her mouth. "You're looking at me like I just summoned a demon."

"Well," Caelum began, scratching the back of his head, "I'm still stuck on… well, I've been trying to get past question three for a while now."

Amberine snorted, nearly choking on her food. She pounded her chest, trying to clear her throat, and then shot him a look of amusement. "Wait, wait, wait. You've been stuck on question three?" she asked, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Oh man, that's adorable. You poor thing."

Caelum flushed, feeling his cheeks grow hot. "It's not like I'm not trying!" he defended, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just… I haven't had much help."

Amberine raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying this far too much. "No help, huh?" she teased, leaning across the table toward him. "What, you don't have some fancy tutors or fancy magic instructors or something? You look like you came from a noble family, after all,"

Caelum winced. The reality of sneaking out of the castle, disguising himself, and pretending to be a student at MTU suddenly felt incredibly foolish. He cleared his throat, trying to regain some semblance of dignity. "I wanted to figure it out on my own," he muttered, avoiding her gaze.

Amberine laughed—a loud, boisterous sound that turned a few heads in the restaurant. "You're serious, aren't you? That's cute. Really. But listen, Draven's exams? You don't tackle those solo unless you've got a death wish."

"I can do it!" Caelum protested, sitting up straighter. "I've been studying for weeks!"

Amberine waved her hand dismissively. "Sure, sure. I get it. You're one of those determined types. But trust me, Draven's tests are a special kind of torture. And question three?" She shook her head, smirking.

"That one's a killer for a lot of students. You're not alone."

Caelum blinked, some of the tension easing from his shoulders. Maybe he wasn't as hopeless as he thought.

Amberine leaned back, rubbing her chin as if in deep thought. "Tell you what," she said, her tone softening slightly. "Since I'm practically a walking disaster from all this exam stress, how about I help you out? I've got the solutions up to question nine all in my head."

Caelum's eyes lit up. "Really? You'd help me?"

"Yeah, yeah," Amberine waved off his excitement. "Why not? I could use a break from my own headache. Plus, it'll be fun watching you figure things out. You look like the kind of guy who takes things way too seriously."

"Hey!" Caelum objected, but there was no real malice behind it. He was too excited by the idea of finally getting past that infernal third question.

Amberine grinned, her fiery hair practically glowing in the dim light of the restaurant. "Okay, listen up. Question three, right? The Mana Weave Combination? The trick is in the timing. You're trying to blend fire and water, which is usually a disaster waiting to happen."

Caelum nodded eagerly. "Right! I was trying to figure out how to make them harmonize without disrupting each other."

"Exactly. Most people try to force the spells together, like shoving two angry cats into the same room and expecting them to get along." Amberine leaned in, lowering her voice as if sharing some grand secret. "What you need to do is weave them together slowly, let the water absorb the fire's intensity. It's not about fighting—it's about letting the water soften the fire.

Like when you let hot water cool down before you drink it. Get it?"

Caelum's mouth dropped open. That was… genius. "Wait… that's it?"

Amberine chuckled, folding her arms smugly. "Yup. The whole spell hinges on your ability to let them mix at just the right moment. Not too fast, not too slow."

Caelum immediately began scribbling the idea down on the back of his parchment, his brain working in overdrive to absorb the knowledge. His hand moved so quickly, it felt like the words were writing themselves. "I… I think I get it now!" he exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement.

Amberine grinned, looking more pleased with herself than ever. "I knew you would. You're not as hopeless as you look."

Caelum beamed, feeling the weight of question three lift off his shoulders. He felt like he could tackle the entire exam now. Maybe even catch up to question nine—if he was lucky.

Just as he was about to thank her profusely, Amberine suddenly slapped her hand on the table, nearly knocking over her drink. "Okay! Enough of that exam stuff for now. We're supposed to be relaxing, right?" She leaned back, arms stretched wide, as if she hadn't a care in the world. "Let's get dessert!"

Before Caelum could respond, she flagged down the waiter and ordered a round of extravagant desserts that he could only assume would be enough to feed half the restaurant. She caught his wide-eyed stare and shrugged. "What? I'm a stress eater."

Caelum laughed despite himself. "You sure know how to relax," he said, shaking his head.

Amberine winked. "Hey, if you're gonna fail, at least fail with a full stomach."

"That's… comforting, I guess?" Caelum said with a sheepish smile, though he couldn't help but admire her carefree attitude. She was unlike anyone he'd ever met before—so different from his structured life at the castle.

As the desserts arrived, Amberine's face lit up with childlike glee. Plates of cakes, pastries, and bowls of custard were placed in front of them, and Amberine wasted no time digging in. Caelum, though still feeling a bit out of his depth, couldn't help but join her. He took a bite of a particularly rich chocolate cake, and for a moment, all thoughts of the exam melted away.

"So, Caelum," Amberine said between bites, her voice muffled by a mouthful of cake. "What's your story, anyway? You just some random kid wandering into MTU to test your luck?"

Caelum froze, almost dropping his fork. He hadn't expected that question. He quickly tried to come up with a plausible answer, but his mind went blank. What was he supposed to say? "Oh, I'm just the prince of Regaria sneaking out of the castle to take Draven's exam for fun"?

"Uh… well…" Caelum began, his face heating up again. "I'm just… curious about the exams here. I heard they're really tough, so I wanted to see if I could solve them." Your next chapter awaits on empire

Amberine raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "That's it? You're just curious?" She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes at him. "You've got 'I'm hiding something' written all over you, kid."

Caelum swallowed hard, trying to keep his composure. "N-No, I just… I wanted to challenge myself!" he blurted out, his voice a little too high-pitched.

Amberine stared at him for a moment longer, her gaze piercing. Then, to Caelum's relief, she leaned back and shrugged. "Eh, whatever. We've all got our reasons for being here. Just don't get yourself into too much trouble."

Caelum let out a silent breath of relief, grateful she hadn't pressed further. "Right… no trouble," he muttered, taking another bite of cake.

They sat in relative silence after that, both enjoying their desserts in their own way—Amberine devouring everything in sight with reckless abandon, while Caelum picked at his food, still mulling over what had just happened.

As they finished up, Amberine leaned back with a satisfied sigh, patting her stomach. "Now that was a good break," she said, grinning. "Feel like I could take on question nine again. Or maybe sleep for a week."

Caelum chuckled. "I bet you could do it."

Amberine waved him off, standing up from the table. "Nah, I'll figure it out eventually. Draven's exams are all about making you suffer before you get it right."

She glanced down at him, her fiery hair glowing in the dim light. "You ready to head back?"

Caelum nodded, feeling more confident now. "Yeah, I think I am."

Amberine grinned, slapping him on the back with enough force to nearly knock him off his chair. "Good! Let's get back to that nightmare of an exam."

As they made their way out of the restaurant, Caelum felt a strange sense of camaraderie with the fiery red-haired girl who had somehow become his impromptu tutor. He still had a long way to go before he could catch up to question nine, but with her help, maybe—just maybe—he'd survive Draven's mid-term exam after all.

And as they walked side by side through the halls of MTU, Caelum couldn't help but smile. This adventure was turning out to be more than he ever expected.