"Ah!" William gasped as his eyes parted with a start.
His chest was heaving, sothing warm wrapped around his torso.
The ceiling was unfamiliar—his vision was hazy, but he could tell.
"Are you awake?" A voice, not quite familiar, ca from his left.
The young adult turned and found the familiar brunette standing there.
"Yes..." he nodded. "Where am I?" he asked.
The sound of her thoughts reached William, but his senses were too dull to make out the words swirling inside her head.
Dolla calmly stepped forward and took a seat.
Once settled, she inford the young man, "You are in the infirmary, currently getting treated."
William blinked. "How long was I out?"
The other one replied, "A day."
William steadied his breathing before realizing his left arm was being held by soone; fragile, but undeniably human skin.
He turned and found a sleeping Nana resting there, her head leaning against the chair’s backrest as she slept soundly.
"She has been with you this whole ti, refusing to be taken away. Even during her dical assessnt, she resisted separation."
William’s heart lted at those words.
The little girl’s neck must have gone stiff, but exhaustion had pulled her into a deep sleep.
Just then, William flinched. "Where is Emma?" He was about to get up in a panic when Dolla pressed her smooth hand against his bare shoulder, stopping him. She pointed toward the bed positioned diagonally from his.
William turned his head and saw another sleeping figure.
Her silver hair was a ss, covering half her face, yet she appeared so soothingly beautiful that his heart—restless until now—finally cald at the sight.
He let out a quiet sigh before asking, "Is she fine?"
Dolla nodded. "Yes, she is. And no offense, but we are very curious... how is that possible?"
William looked at her. "What do you an?"
The older woman stated calmly, "You three were standing before a General-ranked Devil, and yet none of you incurred a single scratch."
Leaning back, she added, "I am very curious to know what exactly happened inside the do."
For a mont, several mories flickered in William’s mind.
The Devil cornering Emma... then the appearance of that being who had completely taken over William.
A General-ranked Devil cornered like a rat and erased from existence.
And it all happened—none of them were hard—because of that being.
"William?" Dolla called out, seeing him space out.
The blond turned toward her before shaking his head. "I don’t rember anything after the Devil appeared. I lost consciousness because of the negative energy."
Dolla narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you really didn’t see anything?"
William shrugged. "Well, you can request a telepath to co check my mories... if you even have one."
Dolla gave a wry smile at the poor sarcasm before hearing the younger one ask, "What about the contest? When is the third round beginning?"
Dolla sighed. "Well... unfortunately, the Goblet of Honor has been called off."
William was genuinely surprised. "Because of the Devil? I an, none of you considered this could happen?"
They had chosen a curse-bearer—Nana—to be part of this contest. Surely soone, out of a hundred, should have ntioned the possibility of a Devil appearing during the event.
So were they always planning to cancel the tournant if that one-in-a-hundred possibility ca true?
Dolla exhaled a sigh. "We would have continued with the contest, especially since all the injured students recovered fairly well—including you and student Emma... but then we received orders from soone we cannot defy."
William humd, "I thought Arthur didn’t have enough authority to go against the Council itself."
Dolla shook her head. "It was the Archon."
William blinked in surprise. "You an... the Head of the Council? One of the Three Sages?"
His shock was justified. The Archon rarely intervened in Council affairs, trusting the Seven-Seated mbers and the counciln to handle matters on their own.
For him to suddenly interfere—"This incident even got his attention?"
Dolla shrugged. "It appears so. That is why the Goblet of Honor, for the first ti in history, has been cancelled halfway through."
Hearing those words, William gave a wry smile. "So all the effort we put into this contest... especially and Emma... all went to waste."
Dolla cleared her throat before assuring him, "We will extend a formal apology and provide compensation to every academy for the unexpected outco."
William narrowed his eyes. "You put us against a criminal, and later we had to face a Devil. Don’t you think Emma and I at least deserve sothing more?"
Dolla exhaled again. "Is there anything specific you need to forget this unfortunate incident?"
William didn’t think long before saying, "I want to take this kid with ."
Dolla was startled. "You an to say... this cursed child?"
William glowered slightly as he raised Nana’s hand and showed her palm. "Is she now?"
Dolla didn’t need to look to confirm—the Devil’s mark was gone, no matter how surreal it still felt.
How many tis had it ever happened?
Soone contracted by a General-ranked Devil, the contract terminated... and the host survives?
Maybe one in ten thousand—if not rarer.
William continued, "You would have put her in an orphanage anyway. I’ll take responsibility for her."
Dolla shook her head. "I can’t make that decision alone. There must be a reason the Devil approached this kid in the first place... that factor could cause trouble."
William shrugged. "That’s your problem. I’m taking her ho with ."
Dolla frowned. "You don’t have the authority to make that decision."
William grinned. "But you do. So use it and grant this wish."
"And why do you think I would?"
William t her gaze. "Because you know I’m an asset you can’t afford to offend. I’m sure you’ve already thought about how to recruit into the Great Hall... so surely, you won’t let this relationship turn sour from the very beginning, will you?"
Dolla narrowed her eyes at the boy...but as if he had read her mind—wait, did he?—he guessed things right.
Sighing, she got up from the chair and said, "I will talk to the Council. No promises though."
William smiled, "That’s enough for ."
°°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading.
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