NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74 : More Than Lies
The first question still mocked him.
"Calculate the trajectory of a Tier 3 fire spell in a crosswind with forty percent humidity, factoring in the Aetheric resistance of a standard defensive barrier. Show your work."
He smirked. 'Sure. I'll show my work.'
He bent over the paper and drew a long, curving arrow. Then he sketched a stick figure waving its arms and wrote under it: This is me running away when the fireball comes.
Another arrow crashed into the stick figure. Under it, he scribbled: This would be the trajectory.
He leaned back, biting his lip to keep from laughing.
Tssk.
The silence of the hall made every scratch of his quill sound like a hammer.
He flipped to the next question.
"List the five kingdoms that border the Sand-Wastes of Jora."
He tapped his chin.
'Do I look like a geography teacher?'
He wrote: Five kingdoms? No, the Sand-Wastes border pain, misery, death, poverty, and sand.
Satisfied, he moved on.
The next question was worse.
"You are the head of a small farming village in the Pelagios Isles. A sea beast destroys half your crops. Outline your three-step recovery plan."
He grinned and wrote:
Step one: Kill sea beast.
Step two: Eat sea beast.
Step three: Retire as the richest headman in the Isles.
He added a fat sea monster with sharp teeth and a smiley face.
The girl in the row ahead of him coughed softly, trying not to laugh. He knew she was peeking. He smirked wider.
Question after question, he answered in the same way.
"Explain how Aether channels function in the human body."
Answer: Like plumbing. Clog it, and everything explodes.
"Discuss the political importance of Valerium's royal bloodlines."
Answer: Important because they can't stop making drama. Someone please lock them in a room until they work out their family issues.
"Design a strategy for defending a mountain pass against an enemy three times your size."
Answer: Step one: Don't be in the pass. Step two: Roll boulders. Step three: Laugh.
By the time he reached the end, his paper looked more like a comedy sketchbook than an exam. Kaelen with exaggerated golden hair. Seraphina with fire bursting out of her ears. Selvara drawn as an ice cube.
When the final bell rang, he stretched with a loud crack. Clench. His neck popped too.
'That was the most fun I've ever had in an exam,' he thought.
He scribbled Batman as his name and handed the sheet to the professor. The stern woman raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Stepping into the corridor, he finally felt his head clear.
Two soft hands suddenly slid over his eyes.
"Guess who, senior," a playful voice sang.
He sighed. "Stop these childish games, Isolde."
She pulled back, smiling. Pss. "Senior, without you the academy was dead. No entertainment at all."
He gave her a sideways look. "So I was just entertainment for you?"
"No," she said quickly, eyes glinting sharp before softening. "You're much more than that."
Her mask cracked. For a moment, something real showed through. Then her gaze dropped to his arms. His sleeves stretched tight, fabric pulled by muscle.
She brushed his arm with her fingers. "Tell me, senior… where were you?"
He smirked faintly. "As you can see just training."
She tilted her head, fingers sliding to his stomach, tracing firm abs. Her grin returned. "Senior, you've changed. You might even scare beasts now."
Before he could answer, a cold voice cut through the corridor.
"I haven't seen a more foolish princess in my life."
Selvara leaned against a pillar, pale eyes fixed on Isolde.
Isolde smiled, unfazed. "Senior, look at him. Even she notices."
Selvara's gaze lingered on Azrael. Her words came sharp, but unsteady. "He is still a weakling. Muscles don't change that."
Isolde bowed lightly. "Well, I have business. It was nice seeing you again, senior." She left, her glance dragging on him until the last moment.
The air chilled as Selvara walked closer. "She's a mystery," she muttered.
"I think the same," he replied.
But for the first time, he noticed hesitation in her pale eyes.
"I need to ask you something. Something I realized late… and you just vanished before I could."
He forced a crooked smile. "Go on, but I'm charging per question now."
Her voice cut him off, steady but trembling at its edges. "At the festival… you said you don't waste lies on people who matter."
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I did."
Her words came low, almost a whisper. "Do I matter to you?"
The grin on his lips faltered. He froze.
"You're serious?"
She nodded once. "Always."
He rubbed his neck, his throat dry. "Because… I like you."
Her eyes widened, a soft flush painting her pale cheeks.
He coughed, waving his hand. "Not like that. Don't kill me with ice. I just… don't lie to you. Because you matter more than most people. That's it."
Her lips curved faintly. "That's all?"
He groaned. "Why do you always push?"
"Because I wanted to hear it," she said, softer now. "And because… I feel the same."
His chest tightened. "You… what?"
Selvara's gaze locked on him. "I used to think it was foolish, what you said about going to any lengths for the people you care about. But now…" She paused, her voice fragile. "Now I think I understand. Because I found someone like that too."
Azrael's fists clenched. His pulse raced.
Selvara stepped closer, lowering her voice. "Two months. For two months, I wanted to see you again. And I hated how much I wanted it."
The silence between them thickened, trembling with words unspoken.
He almost reached for her, but stopped himself, his hand curling instead into a fist at his side.
Around the corner, Elvara hid in the shadows. She hadn't meant to follow, but her feet had carried her. And now she had heard everything.
Jealousy stabbed through her chest. But why? Why Selvara? Why him?
He was someone she had once hated. Someone who had been her ex-husband. And yet… seeing them together, hearing his voice soften for her it burned.
She pressed her hand against the wall, breath quick and uneven. 'Why does this hurt?'
No answer came. Only the storm in her chest.
And in that moment, Elvara realized she no longer understood her own heart.