"Does it sting?" Olivia asked gently, pressing a cotton swab soaked in dicine against Allen's wound.
He shook his head slowly. "Not much. It's been two days… it's all numb now."
Two days. That's how long it had been since chaos erupted at the academy.
Acolytes and beasts had poured in, attacking like shadows in the night, all searching for sothing no one could na.
Thankfully, no one died, but they ca close. Too close.
If it hadn't been for Professor Adrian, the Headmistress might not have made it. She and Senior Elana suffered the worst of the injuries. A few other professors were hurt too. But nothing compared to the wounds those two carried.
And Allen? He hadn't actually fought to the best of his abilities. He remained hidden.
"Blaming yourself again?" Olivia asked softly, her green hair falling over one shoulder as she looked at him. She saw it in his eyes.
The guilt. The sha.
Allen sighed, long and tired. "What else can I do? While I crouched behind a wall, hiding, Professor Adrian stood alone against them. Sylvie—she jumped in without hesitation to help him. She didn't even think twice."
He gave a hollow laugh, bitterness creeping into his voice.
"If Adrian had fallen, we might all be dead. He even said things would've turned ugly if Sylvie hadn't stepped in when she did. And I…"
He looked at her, his voice cracking.
"I could've helped. I should have helped. But I just sat there. Injured. Crying. Hiding like a child."
He yanked at the bandage on his arm with a snarl. "Fucking coward."
Olivia didn't speak. She just sat there, her shoulders slumped, lips parted. She wasn't surprised. She wasn't afraid of what he'd said. She had known—she had seen this eating away at him for two days straight. And now, finally, he was breaking.
Allen hadn't forgotten. He couldn't.
The look in the Headmistress's eyes as she fell, the way her body hit the ground… it had burned itself into his mind. Their strongest shield had been shattered before him.
And all he did was watch.
He had co to this academy to search for the truth about himself. He had made a vow to destroy the believers of the evil god. But when the mont ca, he couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
He had leaned so heavily on others that when one of them collapsed… he fell with them.
And what could be more pathetic than that?
"If you consider yourself a coward, then what should I call myself?" Olivia asked.
Allen frowned, "It's different between you and -"
"What is different? Am I not a warrior? Am I not here to fulfill my dream? Or am I not capable enough to stand on a battlefield?" She asked, her tone unusually heavy, and the girl seed like she had been wronged.
Allen, usually, would have coaxed her and apologized, but he was too wounded at the mont to say anything nice.
"Look, Olivia, you are interpreting those words in the wrong way, and I am not in the right head to tell you what I ant."
Olivia stepped past him wordlessly and left the room.
Allen stared at the door, his fists clenched as he picked up the lamp, held it high...but then he stopped himself.
The lamp was expensive.
He threw a pillow to vent.
°°°°°°°°°
Adrian was currently in his office, working on the mid-term paper.
The news of the ambush has already been released to the world, and he has been hearing things from many places.
A letter from the Tower arrived, addressed to him, to ask about his well-being.
The Tower has provided additional security to the academy, and so did the Capital.
There was a high chance that they would co here to et Ariana and discuss the incident.
...and that would be quite hectic.
For now, Adrian sent a letter to his father telling him what happened recently and using the opportunity to delay the eting.
He still hasn't decided what he would do with his family.
The recent visit of his stepmother allowed Adrian to know more about her character.
After Adrian's disappearance from the story, the Lockwood family gets barely ntioned, one or two tis, in the whole story. That's why he couldn't have expected her devotion towards her husband.
Genuinely, he felt nothing towards lissa or any of the Lockwoods. There was compassion for his father, but just that. Considering his safety, Adrian wanted to remain away from the Lockwood family.
However, now that he has a ans to defend himself, should he actually et his father once and get done with it?
He was thinking of having so coffee to recharge his head when suddenly, soone burst into his room.
"Trouble." Ariana was panting and looked pale.
Adrian instantly got up and asked, "What happened?" He thought there was another ambush. But the matter was more serious.
Ariana shook her head and first closed the door.
Approaching him, she spoke in a hushed but panicked voice, "The Staff ...it is stolen."
"Huh?!" Adrian's eyes widened as he heard those words.
Ariana gestured to him to stay silent as she said, "I went to check the locker...and it was gone. No evidence left behind."
Adrian's brows drew closer, "Did you check properly?"
Ariana clicked her tongue, "Of course, I did. It's not there or anywhere around. The locker was broken, so naturally, soone stole it."
Adrian looked down, a contemplative frown marring his face, as he asked, "Did you share the locker location with anyone?"
"None. I have always been silent about it, except for the last ti." Last ti, she was about to tell him about the locker, but Adrian stopped her.
That ans the information was only limited to her...as such, "An Acolyte stole it. While they kept us busy with an ambush, soone went to the vault."
Ariana nodded, "...it must be the case." She couldn't believe it, though, that soone reached the locker so easily.
But whom she could bla when only she was the living entity who knew where the staff was.
"In my opinion, they had a way to sense the staff. After all, they are better at magic." Adrian shared his conviction.
Ariana nodded, "I also think so."
A brief mont of silence passed by before she asked, "Should I ask for the Capital's help to bring the staff back?"
Adrian shrugged, "You can...but did they know that you had such a tool until now?"
Ariana paused....shoot.
Adrian continued, "If they got to know that you were hiding a tool which could have helped them research more about magic...forget about the Capital, the Tower would conduct interrogation on you."
Ariana grew troubled. "You are right. I am fucked." She covered her forehead, now feeling completely helpless.
Adrian got out of his seat, holding a glass, as he said, "Look, don't take any rash step which could put you in trouble. We both know that the Tower is looking for a way to cast you back into the hunting field."
Ariana took a few small sips of water before asking, "So...what should I do?"
Adrian suggested, "Don't do anything right away and wait for them to strike first. No one has the evidence that you had the staff, so even if they use the magical staff to attack civilians, they won't be able to bla you."
Ariana's eyes widened, "Do you want to-'"
"Yes, Ariana. I want you to wash your hands of this matter and wait for the right opportunity to take the staff back."
Ariana lowered her head as she continued to listen to him, "Decision is up to you, but this academy needs you...I need you, Aria. So please take your decision carefully."
The silver head remained silent for a few monts.
What Adrian said was all true and plausible. The Tower and the Capital would surely bla her and use this opportunity to snatch her position from her.
After so mont of silence, she nodded, "I will stay silent and secretly try to find the staff."
Looking up at him, she smiled faintly, "Thanks for the advice..I might have fucked up a big ti on my own."
Adrian patted her back, "You can rely on from ti to ti."
Ariana froze for a mont, her eyes turning soft, which took Adrian off guard.
But soon she shook her head and walked towards the door, "I will sleep for now. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah..." Adrian said as he saw her stepping out and closing the door on her way out.
Heaving a sigh, he returned to the seat and softly mumbled, "Sorry, Aria..." A wooden staff started to shimr to life as he muttered, "But I needed this for what is to co."
The staff never went out of the academy. It's ownership just shifted from the Headmistress to a Professor.
°°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading. Leave a comnt.
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