Noah stuttered, the words catching in his throat as he felt the weight of her intense gaze. He quickly turned his head to the side, unable to maintain eye contact as his face heated up.
The silence of the small sitting room suddenly felt suffocating, punctuated only by the distant, rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall.
"I... didn’t want you to worry," he finally muttered, his voice barely audible.
Emily’s brows knitted together, her frown deepening into an expression of disbelief.
"You... didn’t want to worry?" she repeated, her voice rising slightly with a mix of exhaustion and indignation.
She took a half-step toward him, her hands clenching into small fists at her sides.
"Do you have any idea how much I’ve searched for you all over the academy? I went to every classroom, the library, even the training grounds... until I finally learned from an instructor that you’ve been suspended!"
Noah’s heart skipped a beat at her words. The image of her running through the halls, frantic and searching for him while he was out fighting for his life, hit him with unexpected force.
When he had first received the news of his suspension, he had indeed planned on telling Emily.
He had even drafted the words in his head, wanting to spare her the confusion of his sudden absence.
But the chaos of the last few days had swallowed his intentions whole. He had been entirely consud by the System, and the many things that had happened since he got it.
There was also the practical danger to consider. He couldn’t simply walk up to her house; the risk of running into her parents or her older brother was too high.
Her brother, in particular, made no secret of the fact that he hated seeing them together, viewing Noah as a stain on their family’s reputation.
At the end of the day, he had convinced himself it was better to remain silent.
He felt that it was best he didn’t worry her, reasoning that if she were seen associating with a "delinquent" who had been kicked out of the academy, it could land her in serious trouble with her own professors and family.
He hadn’t expected her to go to such lengths to find him, let alone trek all the way to his house.
For so reason, a sharp pang of guilt resonated in his chest at her words.
It wasn’t the needles of the mana backlash this ti, but a human ache that made him feel more vulnerable than any monster ever could.
’How did she even find this place...?’ he thought to himself, his mind racing. ’She has never co here before.’
The path to this house isn’t even on the main maps. He looked at her flushed face and the way her breathing was still slightly labored from the journey.
Noah turned back toward her, his posture softening as the defensive walls he usually kept high began to crumble.
"I’m sorry..." he said, the words quiet but sincere. "I really didn’t an to make you go through all that."
Emily’s irritation seed to lt away, replaced by a sudden, flustered energy.
She pouted, her cheeks reddening even further until they matched the sunset glow outside the window.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, clutching her bag a little tighter.
"I-it’s okay..." she muttered, her voice dropping to a shy whisper. "Just... don’t do it again, okay?"
Noah watched her for a mont, the logistical part of his mind finally catching up.
"How did you actually find this place, though?" he asked, his curiosity piquing. "It’s pretty far from your house, and the forest paths around here can be confusing for soone who doesn’t live nearby."
Emily stuttered, her gaze darting toward the cracked wall and then back to the floor.
"You... you once told where you live," she said, her voice small. "A long ti ago. I rembered the general area, so I simply... asked around for it once I got to the outskirts."
Noah’s eyes widened slightly as the mory resurfaced.
He vaguely recalled a conversation they’d had months ago, tucked away in a quiet corner of the academy library, where he had described the old house behind the treeline.
At the ti, it had felt like idle chatter, a way to pass the ti between study sessions.
He hadn’t actually expected her to morize those details, let alone use them to locate his ho in a mont of crisis.
Emily’s expression shifted suddenly, the bashfulness disappearing as a flash of righteous anger took its place.
She looked him square in the eye, her voice growing firm.
"I know you didn’t do anything to deserve getting suspended for a whole week, Noah," she said, her tone laced with conviction. "I know you. I’m sure those three idiots did sothing again and made it look like it was your fault!"
Noah smiled wryly, the image of the academy bullies flashing briefly in his mind.
Compared to the shadow assassins and ancient dragons he was currently dealing with, those school yard antagonists felt like mories from a different life.
"Yeah," he said, his tone dismissive but tired. "But it doesn’t matter now. The week will soon be over, and I’ll get back to school like nothing happened."
Emily shook her head vigorously, her eyes narrowing with concern.
"Is that what you really think?" she challenged, her voice dropping into a more serious register. "Do you really think they’ll just let it go? Especially after what happened the last ti... when they pushed you too far?"
Noah’s brows furrowed, and the temperature in the small room seed to drop by a fraction of a degree, a physical manifestation of his hardening resolve.
"Of course not," he said.
Emily stepped forward, her worry overriding her usual shyness as she reached out and firmly held his shoulders.
Her grip was surprisingly strong, her eyes burning with a protective fire.
"That’s it..." she said, her voice dropping into a determined whisper. "Son of the count or not, there is still sothing we can do."
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