Walking with Eira was not like walking with a human being. It was like walking next to a natural disaster that had been paused mid-catastrophe.
As Lucius and Eira stepped out of the silent sanctuary of the Great Library and into the bustling corridors of the main academy building, the atmosphere didn't just shift; it shattered.
It began with the sound. The Academy was usually a cacophony of life—swords clashing in the distance, students laughing over gossip, the hum of magical experiments gone wrong. But the moment Eira's boot touched the hallway flagstones, a wave of silence propagated outward, moving faster than the wind.
It was the silence of a predator entering a grazing field.
He could feel the eyes. Hundreds of them. They weren't the mocking eyes he was used to—the eyes that saw "The Pebble," the clumsy, mana-less failure. Those eyes held pity or amusement.
These eyes held terror. And hate. Visceral, churning hate. Lucius was trembling, he was scared, he remember those eyes, the eyes that despise him, the eyes that were ready to kill him any moment, seeing those eyes gives Lucius PTSD, he was scared, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
"Those eyes wasn't directed at you, no need to be scared."
Eira knew well that those eyes were looking straight at her, everyone was in fear and disgust of her.
"It's her," a whisper hissed from the shadows of a pillar. It sounded like steam escaping a valve.
"The princess who killed her own father."
"Why is she out of the library?" another voice trembled.
"I thought the Dean told her to stay hidden."
Eira was a princess from a ally country with Aelthelgard, lostwartz, a country where its main season is winter. And there was a rumour that Eira had killed her own father, the king of lostwartz and was exiled to aethelgard and assigned to be a student of the royal academy as the last mercy from her family, therefore she was considered a monster and every student fear her, a girl who killed her own father is even worst than a demon.
Students didn't just step aside. They scrambled. A group of first-year squires, usually boisterous and arrogant, pressed themselves flat against the stone walls, holding their breath as if she were carrying an airborne plague. A senior Fire Mage, who usually walked with a strut, turned pale and ducked into a classroom, slamming the door shut.
Lucius glanced back at her.
Eira was walking with her head bowed so low her chin touched her chest. Her silver hair hung like a protective curtain, shielding her face from the world, but it couldn't shield her from the malice. She walked with jagged, uneven steps, her hands clutching the sleeves of her oversized grey uniform so tightly that Lucius worried the fabric might tear.
"Don't look at them," Lucius whispered, his voice low and urgent. He tried to sound confident, but his heart was hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird, Lucius remember this eyes, even though he knew it wasn't directed at him, he was still scared, but he tried to act brave.
"Just look at my back. Follow me."
"Is that Pebble?" a voice sneered, louder than the rest. "What is the Pebble doing with the Patricide?"
"Maybe he wants to die?"
"Even if its Pebble, I feel bad for him."
The word "Patricide" hung in the air, heavy and ugly. It wasn't just an insult; it was a verdict. In a kingdom built on lineage and loyalty, killing one's father—killing the King—was the ultimate blasphemy. It stripped away humanity.
Lucius grit his teeth. He wanted to shout at them. He wanted to ask them if they knew her. But, he himself didn't know her too much as well, he wanted to believe that the rumors was false, that everything was just a rumors, so he kept reassuring himself, no way, any human would ever do that, something so inhuman.
The entrance to the Grand Hall loomed ahead, a massive archway of obsidian and gold. Usually, the registration line spilled out into the corridor, a chaotic snake of students jostling for position.
Today, the entrance was empty.
Inside, the crowd had parted. It was a biblical separation. On the left, the Knights. On the right, the Mages. And in the center, a wide, empty aisle leading straight to the Registration Desk, paved with fear.
Lucius took a breath. "Almost there, Eira. Just fifty more steps."
They reached the Registration Desk. The registrar, a nervous woman with thick glasses, was trembling so hard her quill was shaking.
"N-names?" she squeaked, looking between the boy with the iron necklace and the girl radiating death.
"Lucius Fable," Lucius said firmly, slamming his hand on the desk. "Knight. Class D."
"Eira."
"Miss Eira, I ne-need your full names."
"Eira is enough."
"But, the ru-rules."
"Write anything you want after that."
"Just use my last name if needed, it's alright" Lucius saves the girl who is scared to death facing with Eira.
After signing the registration form, she leaves the hall back to her personal space in the library as there were eyes watching her from everywhere. Lucius watched the girl, all he could felt was pity, she was like him, because of an unknown rumor, people were comparing her to a demon. 'No one, even how wronged they've done, should be called a demon'.
As Lucius was also leaving the registration hall,h e stepped across the threshold.
"Lucius!"
The voice cracked through the silence like a thunderclap. It was sharp, authoritative, and laced with a desperation that made Lucius freeze mid-step. He knew that voice. It was the voice that had cheered him on during laps. The voice that had offered him chicken when he had nothing but stale bread.
Lucius looked up.
Blocking his path, standing in the exact center of the aisle, was Kaelen Valiant. The Golden Boy looked different today. His posture wasn't relaxed. His hand rested on the pommel of his sword, knuckles white.
He looked at Lucius with a mix of horror and betrayal.
"Resign your registration from, there's still time," Kaelen said. His voice was low, vibrating with suppressed emotion.
Lucius puzzled by Kaelen emotion. "Kaelen, are you okay?"
"I said resign it!" Kaelen shouted, his composure shattering.
He marched forward, closing the distance in three long strides. He grabbed Lucius by the shoulder, his grip like iron, and physically hauled him sideways.
"What do you think you're doing Kaelen?"
"No! What are YOU doing? You're desperate, I know. I know you don't want to fail. But this? This isn't failing, Lucius. This is suicide." Kaelen shout, leaning in close, his blue eyes burning."
Lucius planted his feet, resisting Kaelen's pull.
"I need a partner, Kaelen. Nobody else would take me. She's the only one."
"I could help you find one, anyone is better than that devil!"
"She has a name, Kaelen."
"She has a body count!"
"Do you know what she did? Do you actually know, or are you just ignoring the it because you're scared of failing?"
"I know about the rumors,"
"They aren't rumors!"
"She killed King Frosht."
Kaelen looked deep in the eyes to Lucius, gripping his shoulders with both hands, shaking him.
"She didn't kill an enemy, Lucius. She didn't kill a demon. She killed her own father. The man who raised her. The man who tucked her in at night."
Kaelen's voice cracked, tears of frustration pricking his eyes.
"If she can kill the man who gave her life, what do you think she'll do to you? You're nothing to her. You're just a tool."
Lucius looked past Kaelen's shoulder.
"She's not a monster,"
"She is a demon Lucius!"
"Come on. I'll help you. I'll talk to Dean Cornelius. I have influence. I can ask any mage for a favor to help you. Anyone. Just... not her."
Lucius stood frozen. He felt the warmth of Kaelen's hand on his arm. It was a safe warmth. A golden warmth. Kaelen was everything Lucius wanted to be. Loved. Respected. Righteous, Kaelen was what when people imagine what a knight is, and Lucius is just a background character. But this time, Kaelen was wrong.
Kaelen looked at Eira and saw a crime. He saw the act. He didn't see the person.
Lucius touched the iron necklace at his throat. The Null-Stone hummed against his pulse, a constant reminder of his own secret.
'She killed her father, Kaelen said. My mother died giving birth to me. My existence killed her. Does that make me a monster too?'
Everyone looked at Lucius and saw "The Pebble." They saw a useless, mana-less waste of space. They judged him on what he couldn't do, and now everyone is judged Eira on what she had done. Lucius had looked at Eira eyes, he knew that eyes, the eyes that reflect his own self in the mirror when he was young, the eyes of a young boy who wanted everyone to give him a chance, for him to show he is not a bad person.
But nobody... nobody looked at them. Nobody asked why.
"No!"
Kaelen blinked, his smile faltering.
"What?"
"You're wrong, Kaelen. You don't know her"
"And you talk like you know her? At least I know she killed her father, I know that much, what do you know?"
"I know she didn't do it!"
Lucius turned, he slap the arm that is holding his shoudler. He draw out his sword, challenging Kaelen.
"I won't allow you to bad-mouth her like that!"
"You say she's a monster?" Lucius challenged Kaelen, his eyes flashing with a dangerous intensity.
"Don't twist my words Lucius, she's a demon." Kaelen draw out his sword pointing to Lucius face, his aura starts to overwhelm the room. Students gather around them, but stayed 10 meters away because of Kaelen overwhelming aura.
"I'm not giving up on her Kaelen."
Swoosh
Kaelen swing his sword faster than Lucius could react, Kaelen sword resting on Lucius shoulder, an inch of his neck. Lucius stand there, all his bravery suddenly dissapear, Lucius watch the sword inches from his neck, he wanted to give up, but if not for aunt Sera being with him, Lucius would be a nobody now, he knew Eira need somebody to trust her.
"You know I can dodge that easily right? I just know you don't have the balls Kaelen." Lucius start to bluff hoping Kaelen would just let him go.
"I won't let you have your way, Lucius"
"I fought on par with you Kaelen, you think I can't do it again?"
"You said it yourself, it was pure luck!"
"Then you lack the skill of being lucky, prodigy!" Lucius staring straight into Kaelen eyes, with the sword still inches from his neck.
Kaelen withdraw his sword to its sheath, slicing a bit of Lucius neck in the process, enough to bleed, but not enough to injure him.
'shit, he is actually serious' Lucious almost peed his pant, his leg feeling numb, trying to keep himself standing.
"You do have some balls after all." Lucius tried keeping his composure.
"Have it your way, I'll find her in the forest, and eliminate her myself, we can have our rematch there."
Kaelen walks away, furious, students who was just gathering up start clear up a path for him to go, lucius stand there, touching his bleeding neck. 'I just don't want to be expelled, why is life doing this to me.'