Saint Andros Academy – Wood Seal Arena.
With Zervanie’s appearance, the opening ceremony reached its peak.
“Ahhh! The surprise guest really is Lady Zervanie!!”
“I’ve never done anything bad in my life and now the gods are rewarding me! I got to see a divine blessing!”
Felyn stood at the entrance of the tunnel, watching Zervanie hopping and dancing at the center of the arena.
Her singing was full of energy and passion, igniting the excitement of the entire crowd.
Her outfit today suited her perfectly, and her silver-gray hair was styled into princess braids. She looked like a princess inspiring her army before battle.
Zervanie was highly professional. Felyn had stayed up practicing with her many times until two or three in the morning.
But after those practices, she would always torment Felyn.
“Everyone, be careful not to get hurt during the matches later!”
Zervanie waved to the sea of cheering fans, and even the arena trembled from their roars.
“Otherwise!”
Zervanie suddenly turned toward Felyn’s direction at the tunnel entrance and winked at him.
“Otherwise, Zervanie would feel sooo heartbroken~”
Viloti, standing next to Felyn, definitely noticed Zervanie’s little tricks.
She was dangerous.
More dangerous than any of the girls around Felyn.
Adeline was just a pitiful girl secretly in love with Felyn but couldn’t win his heart. Felyn would never like her.
But this Zervanie in front of them—she was a cunning and charming girl who knew how to hide her true self. She was always opening her jaws to seduce Felyn. If he wasn’t careful, she’d swallow him whole—and never spit him back out.
It had been so hard to finally become friends with Felyn and spend time with him. Viloti would not let Zervanie take him away now.
But even Viloti had to admit—Zervanie was really popular.
So people really do prefer girls who can smile like Zervanie?
Viloti turned to look at the mirror beside her. She patted her cheeks and tried hard to copy Zervanie’s smile.
Her cold face instantly softened, and the smile actually fit Viloti’s face quite well.
But the moment she let go, the smile vanished.
She tried a few more times and realized—she just couldn’t hold that smile for more than three seconds without help.
This won’t do.
Viloti looked at the stage lights shining on Felyn’s face.
The light seemed to be slowly swallowing him. One day, she would no longer be able to reach him.
Viloti let out a quiet sigh.
If only Felyn could have a place in his heart for her, even just a little, that would be enough.
The performance ended. The matches began.
Zervanie moved to the VIP seats.
She was the first special guest who would stay to watch all the matches. Normally, guests just showed up for the opening and left.
She waved to her fans behind her, then sat down.
What’s so fun about watching people fight?
If my Felyn hadn’t drawn a later number, I would’ve left already!
I’m waiting for him to lose so I can run up and comfort him.
The first two matches ended quickly.
Zervanie yawned quietly. Too boring.
Each match only used up to three high-grade wood seals, and one team usually surrendered halfway.
They had to save seals for later matches, after all.
As the third match began, Felyn and his team walked out from the entrance.
“Isn’t that Miss Viloti? And she’s with Felyn!”
“Damn it, he’s got that transfer student Miss Bernice with him too! Why does he get all the good stuff? If he’s so great, why not win over Lady Adeline and Lady Zervanie too, see if he explodes!”
“Whoa, don’t jinx it!”
Zervanie perked up the moment she saw Felyn. Her eyes followed his every move.
“Miss Zervanie, that’s our academy’s genius, Viloti Silafiel.”
The headmaster pointed at the pink-haired Viloti.
“Silafiel family’s young lady?!”
Zervanie rubbed her eyes. She hadn’t expected the pink-haired girl to have such a powerful background.
Viloti hadn’t appeared much in public over the past three years, so Zervanie didn’t recognize her.
But she definitely knew the name of the Silafiel family.
Knowing Viloti’s identity made Zervanie nervous.
A girl like that liked Felyn?
Zervanie had always believed there was no threat around Felyn. He was like a black sheep she could play with freely.
Now it looked like Viloti might take him away.
Zervanie bit her finger, eyes locked on Viloti in the arena.
Still, she wasn’t out of luck. Once Felyn lost, she could run up and comfort him.
At the very least, that would leave a bit of an impression on Felyn.
Viloti might be a wildcard, but no matter how strong she was, she couldn’t beat three opponents alone.
“The match begins...”
“Miss Zervanie, which side do you think will win?”
“I think both sides are strong. If we’re talking pure skill, the team from Blueclarity Academy has more strength—after all, all three of them come from well-connected fami—”
BOOM!
Bernice’s Sixth-Order Wood Seal exploded, cutting Zervanie off mid-sentence.
“Using a Sixth-Order Seal right away—definitely trying to boost morale. But now it’ll be tricky to manage their seal use for the rest of the fight...”
Zervanie’s voice grew quieter and quieter.
Like everyone else watching, she couldn’t close her mouth.
Zervanie saw Bernice throwing out wood seals like snowballs, pulling them endlessly from her pocket.
The nonstop bombardment silenced the entire arena.
What the heck, what’s with this woman?!
Does she think she owns a seal factory or something?!
But Bernice wasn’t just throwing randomly.
Though she rarely used seals, her control over them was flawless.
In her hands, the wood seal lines glowed brighter and unleashed their full power.
“This is bad…” Zervanie whispered.
Her plan had completely fallen apart.
Felyn didn’t even need her comfort anymore?!
And what was with that short-haired girl?
She looked all pure and innocent, yet fought like a monster!
She didn’t care about burning through seals—was she another rich girl from a powerful family?
“What kind of joke is this…”
Zervanie’s face still held her perfect expression, but the way she clenched her clothes revealed her panic.
She felt a deep sense of crisis.
Zervanie’s long-standing confidence and pride began to waver.
She had always believed no girl better than her would ever appear around Felyn.
If Felyn were just a normal guy, that belief might have worked.
But now the girls beside him—one was the Silafiel family’s young lady, the other was throwing seals like candy.
And they both liked Felyn.
When Bernice released her final seal, the explosion made the whole arena rumble.
Blinding white light swallowed everything. The audience all covered their ears, but the deafening sound still pierced through their hands.
Zervanie felt her body shaking—she wasn’t sure if it was from the blast or from fear inside.
Just like the defeated team on stage, she felt something in her heart crumble during that wild barrage.
“We surrender!”
In just one minute, three young noblemen were completely defeated.
Zervanie felt like her world was collapsing. Everything was slipping further and further from her.
She bit her lip so hard it left a faint mark.
No, no, no!
This isn’t how things are supposed to go! Felyn should be following me obediently! His eyes should only see me!
Only I can comfort him. Only I can save him.
“Match over. Please clear the arena.”
Watching Felyn’s back as he left the stage, Zervanie jumped up in panic.
The growing fear inside pushed her to act. She had to know whether there was still a place for her in Felyn’s heart.
She stared at him, afraid he would vanish into the crowd.
That familiar back got further and further away. Zervanie walked faster and faster.
But a feeling of chaos and urgency she had never felt before blinded her.
Her heel caught on something. Zervanie stumbled in the air, losing her balance.
Her eyes went wide as a powerless feeling rushed in.
She reached out, trying to grab something.
Just like during those three months when Felyn was gone—desperately trying to hold on to something.
But she grabbed nothing.
Nothing at all.
Zervanie fell hard to the ground. Her knee slammed into the cold floor, and pain shot through her entire body.
Her silver-gray hair spilled out messily, and her carefully styled princess braids came loose.
“Miss Zervanie?!”
Zervanie struggled to get up. The sparkle in her eyes from just minutes ago was gone.
She stood up with difficulty. Her scraped knee burned with pain.
But Zervanie didn’t care about that pain anymore.
Felyn must still care about me, right?
He wouldn’t be completely taken by those other girls, right?
I still have a chance… right?
She feared that Felyn had become a kite with a broken string—picked up by another woman, never to return.
(End of Chapter)