“On Bell...”
“...there is the scent of another woman.”
Those words were light, yet they carried the weight of a thousand pounds as they crashed into Bell's heart.
The hallway was empty.
The dim light stretched their shadows long, tangling them together until they were indistinguishable.
It was over.
That thought exploded in Bell's mind.
She saw it. She saw everything.
Fear surged like a tide, nearly drowning him. He wanted to retreat, but his legs felt as if they were filled with lead, refusing to move.
In that suffocating silence, Bell's survival instinct overrode everything else.
He made a reaction that even he had not anticipated.
“No, you are overthinking it.”
Bell forced a smile, his voice as dry as sandpaper.
He reached out, his movements stiff as he stroked Cecilia's soft, golden hair.
This action was a form of comfort he had practiced countless times.
He tried to use this intimacy to hide his heart, which was nearly pounding out of his chest.
Cecilia did not dodge.
She simply tilted her perfectly flawless face up, quietly accepting his touch.
Then, she opened her arms, asking for a hug.
She did not speak.
It was a simple gesture.
Yet it was an order that could not be refused.
Bell's breathing stalled.
He knew exactly what she meant.
But could he refuse?
What would be the consequences of refusal?
Would Tia die in an “accident” in the clinic the next day? Or would Lilian's remaining fang be pulled out as well?
He did not dare to think about it.
He could not gamble.
Slowly, inch by inch, Bell leaned down.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely.
Every second was agony.
In Cecilia's clear eyes, he could see his own pale, distorted face reflected vividly.
There was a faint, lingering sweet fragrance.
And... the sour bitterness of lemon that remained in his mouth, belonging to another girl.
A moment later, he abruptly straightened up.
Bell gasped for air, not daring to open his eyes.
“The scent on Bell... it is lemon flavored.”
Cecilia's voice carried a trace of innocent curiosity.
“Sour.”
Bell's heart sank to the bottom.
However, in the next second...
“But...”
Cecilia's tone suddenly became light, filled with uncontrollable joy.
“Bell's hug.”
“It is sweet.”
Then, she let go of the hem of Bell's shirt, turned around, and ran toward the classroom with light, skipping steps.
With her back to him as she hummed a tuneless melody, she looked no different from any ordinary girl who had just received candy.
The hallway returned to a deathly silence.
Bell remained standing where he was, motionless.
A long time passed.
He raised his hand and used the back of it to rub his lips fiercely and repeatedly.
His skin was rubbed red, even stinging slightly.
That scent, a mixture of lemon sourness and her cloying sweetness, seemed to have seeped into his very blood.
“Sweet...”
He wanted to vomit.
No.
It could not go on like this.
The so called “agreed” time was not a buffer at all.
It was like being carved up by a blunt knife.
She would use this time to slowly, bit by bit, crush his personality, his dignity, and his soul, and then swallow them whole.
He had to resist.
He needed power.
Leovet Victor.
That man's face surfaced in his mind.
He was his only hope.
Bell snapped his eyes open, no longer hesitating. He turned and strode in the opposite direction of the classroom.
He was going to the Ignis Branch.
He was going to find that man.
Now, immediately, right this second.
Bell's pace was fast, nearly a run. He crossed the courtyard, ignoring the surprised looks from the surrounding students.
Just as he was about to rush out of the Terra Branch area at a corner...
A figure suddenly blocked his path.
“Bell! Are... are you alright?”
It was Kyle.
The red haired youth's face was written with worry.
“I saw Senior Tia supporting you as you left. You looked very unwell...”
Bell stopped. He looked at Kyle's sincere face and the concern in his eyes.
Once, he had also yearned for such a friendship.
But now, this kindness would only become a lethal poison.
Bell took a deep breath, suppressing all his emotions.
“Get lost.”
The two words were squeezed through his teeth, devoid of any warmth.
Kyle was stunned.
“Bell, I just...”
“I said, get lost.” Bell looked up, gazing at him with a coldness that was almost malicious. “I do not need friends, and I certainly do not need your self centered concern. Do you understand?”
“I...”
“Stay away from me, or I cannot guarantee what I will do to you.”
After saying that, Bell no longer looked at Kyle's hurt face and shoved past him.
At the moment their shoulders collided, he could feel Kyle's body stiffen.
I am sorry.
He whispered it in his heart.
Then, he completely extinguished this last trace of weakness.
He had no more time.
The Ignis Branch area was completely different from the steady style of the Terra Branch.
The buildings here were more flamboyant, and even the air seemed to carry a trace of scorching heat.
Most of the students walking to and fro had arrogant expressions, their movements carrying a flame like aggression.
Bell stopped a passing student.
“Excuse me, where is Instructor Leovet Victor's office?”
The student looked him up and down, his gaze sweeping over the Terra Branch uniform.
“Looking for Instructor Leovet? Who are you?”
“I am his student,” Bell responded firmly.
The student seemed intimidated by Bell's aura. He curled his lip and reluctantly pointed toward an independent pointed tower in the distance.
“Right there. The top floor.”
“Thank you.”
Bell thanked him and immediately ran toward the tower.
It was a solitary black stone tower, devoid of any decoration, with only a heavy wooden door.
Bell stood before the door, calming his ragged breathing.
He straightened his somewhat messy uniform, then raised his hand and knocked hard on the door.
Thud, thud, thud.
The dull sound of knocking echoed before the empty tower.
He waited.
A few seconds later.
There was a slight movement from inside.
The hinges turned, and the heavy wooden door opened a crack.
Bell's heart rose to his throat.
However, the person who peeked out from behind the door was not Leovet.
Instead, it was a face he was equally familiar with, one that should definitely not be here.
The person had short blue hair and a cold, arrogant expression. Upon seeing Bell, he froze for a moment.
It was Leon Wolfgang.
The son of Duke Barton Wolfgang, the genius whose ice crystal butterfly had been destroyed by Cecilia at the opening ceremony.
Why was he here?
Before Bell could speak...
Leon had already stepped aside, clearing the space behind the door.
Inside the room, Leovet was sitting behind a large desk. He was not wearing his instructor robes, but only a simple white shirt, and he was fiddling with an azure wind blade in his hand.
He looked up and saw Bell at the door, seemingly unsurprised.
Then, he spoke to Leon in the room.
“Leon, it looks like your sparring partner has arrived.”
Rate on N.U.
