The vines of ice rose magic had just faded from view, leaving behind a bone-chilling chill in the outdoor training arena.
However, the next second, the atmosphere turned tense as Lucien coughed violently and fresh blood spewed from his throat.
The drops of blood stained the white collar of his uniform, causing widespread panic among the first-year students.
They assumed it was the high price of his god-level mana consumption, draining his soul.
On the other hand, Grand Mage Zeonly Knightley frowned.
Objectively, as a high-ranking mage, Zeonly knew that the magic power was indeed above average for a teenager his age, but for a high-ranking noble from the Duke’s family, it wasn’t enough to cause such devastating damage.
However, there was one thing that made Zeonly feel extremely uneasy: a heavy pounding in his chest.
He hadn’t even known the white-haired teenager for half a day.
Zeonly, who was still putting up a mental defense barrier to protect himself from the mysterious psychic attack without knowing that it was the effect of Lucien’s magnetic aura, couldn’t stay still.
Without warning, Zeonly immediately grabbed Lucien’s body and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Hey!
What the hell is this?!
Put me down!” Lucien protested desperately, feeling his dignity as a nihilist who wanted to live in peace being instantly destroyed.
“Shut up, your health is more important,” Zeonly replied coldly, taking long strides towards the academy’s health room.
Several students who were scared and worried, including Aryosha, jogged behind them.
Upon arriving at the academy’s infirmary, Zeonly immediately performed a thorough examination of Lucien’s condition.
However, the results were beyond expectations.
There was no damage to the magic pathways, no mana anomalies, and no underlying disease that could have triggered the coughing up of blood.
“How are things, Master Zeonly?” Aryosha asked worriedly.
Zeonly sighed in confusion.
“Physically, there’s nothing wrong.
The mana pathways are clear.” “Of course it’s nothing!
I’m fine, I’m used to it!” Lucien snapped from the bed, holding his throat, which was still a little sore.
“The blood vessels in my throat are very thin!
If I cough even a little bit too hard, I’ll definitely bleed!
This isn’t a magical injury or an ancient curse, you idiot!” Lucien said in his heart, he was too lazy to explain because he knew it would end in another misunderstanding.
Before Zeonly had time to digest the explanation that sounded forced, the door to the medical room opened wide.
A group of classmates who had accompanied him immediately rushed in because they were overcome with a feeling of worry that was doubled due to the influence of the magnetic aura.
“Young Master Lucien!
Are you alright?!” one of them exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with adoration and worry.
Lucien massaged his temples, feeling incredibly dizzy.
Their noisy presence was far more deadly than his coughing up blood.
“Can you guys stop screaming?
The back of my head is about to explode from hearing your voices.” “Sorry, Young Master!
We were just worried!” Amidst the commotion, one of the students suddenly paled.
“Ah, that’s right!
I just sent a magical message to Senior Reichardt to inform him!” Lucien’s eyes widened.
‘Damn.’ “I told Senior Reichardt that you coughed up blood during class,” continued the student innocently.
“He must be heading here with the others!” ‘That’s bad!’ Lucien’s mind screamed in horror.
Reichardt was an overprotective older brother.
If Reichardt found out, the news would automatically reach Prince Seilas—who had already been exposed to the magnetic aura so severely that his excitement was acute—And Rayland might want to take advantage of the situation to collect on his promise.
If these two sides meet, this infirmary will turn into a battlefield of cheap drama.
And the one who will suffer the most is his composure!
Without thinking, Lucien immediately jumped down from the bed.
“Young Master!
Where are you going?!
You need to rest!” the students shouted in panic, trying to hold him back.
“Get your hands off me!” Lucien growled.
He no longer cared about their warnings.
As soon as he saw an opening, Lucien ran helter-skelter out of the infirmary, ignoring the shouts of those chasing him.
“Hey, where is that kid going!” Zeonly immediately got up and chased after him, followed by Aryosha who was running in a hurry.
In the crowded academy corridor, a small chase ensued.
Zeonly and Aryosha managed to block Lucien’s escape route near the park intersection.
“Go back to the infirmary, Lucien.
Your condition is not yet stable,” Zeonly interrupted with the authority of a Grand Mage.
“I hate the infirmary!
There’s going to be a lot of noisy people coming in any minute!” Lucien said breathlessly.
“Then, do you know where the safe place you’re talking about is?” asked Aryosha, confused.
Lucien thought for a moment, then his eyes gleamed slyly.
“Your dorm room, Aryosha.” Aryosha choked on his own spit, his eyes widening in shock.
“Huh?!
My dorm room?!
But…
that’s a regular dorm for scholarship students!
The place is cramped, and completely unfit for a Young Master from a Duke’s family!” “I don’t care about Duke status or whatever.
Just show me the way,” Lucien urged without needing to argue.
Zeonly, who felt he had nothing more important to do than satisfy his strange curiosity about the teenager, suddenly chimed in, “Then I’ll come with you.” “Huh?!
Master Zeonly wants to come to my scholarship dorm?!” Aryosha almost fainted on the spot.
A few minutes later, the three of them were in a small room in the scholarship dormitory building.
As soon as the door closed and locked tightly, Aryosha immediately stood stiffly in the corner of the room, feeling uneasy.
“I…
I’m sorry, Young Master.
The room is very small, there’s no proper seating, and…” Aryosha swallowed nervously.
However, his sentence stopped when he saw Lucien’s reaction.
Instead of disgust or anger, Lucien’s face beamed with relief.
He immediately lay down on the only single bed in the room.
“This place is perfect,” Lucien murmured with a faint smile of satisfaction.
“Narrow, secluded, and no one in their right mind would look for nobility in this place.
Absolute tranquility.” Zeonly glanced around the small room.
As a Grand Mage accustomed to living in a grand magic tower, being in a cramped scholarship student’s room was a first.
However, strangely, seeing Lucien sleeping peacefully there made Zeonly feel the atmosphere around him calming down too—even though his mental barrier was still up.
“Because it’s break time now and I think Young Master must be hungry…” Aryosha offered with a voice trembling with nervousness, glancing at Zeonly and Lucien alternately, “Let me go out for a moment to buy some food from the canteen.” “Good.
Buy me something that isn’t sweet,” Lucien replied from the bed, already ready to close his eyes.
A few minutes later, Aryosha returned with a tray of warm soup and simple wheat bread.
The three of them sat down in the cramped room to eat in peace.
In the middle of his meal, Lucien suddenly felt thirsty.
Without bothering to get up, he raised his right hand and cast a thin ice spell over his wooden cup, cooling the drinking water until it emitted refreshing cool steam.
Zeonly, who was sitting on a wooden chair next to the bed, watched this with a mixture of amazement and curiosity.
The authority of a Grand Mage who was usually great and respected suddenly collapsed completely in front of Lucien.
“Hey,” Zeonly called softly, eyeing Lucien’s cup.
“Can you get me some ice cubes for my drink too?
It’s too hot today.” Lucien stared at the Grand Mage blankly, then snorted softly as he created several small ice cubes into Zeonly’s cup.
“Don’t call me ‘hey’ and don’t order me around, Master Zeonly.
I’m not your subordinate.” Aryosha who was sitting on the floor almost suspected his own hearing.
‘An Imperial Grand Mage asked a first-year student for ice, and was rejected without a trace of fear?!’ Aryosha felt like he was having a nightmare or being dragged into another dimension.
Meanwhile, elsewhere—around the academy’s health room—the atmosphere was tense.
Reichardt came in with hurried steps and a pale face with worry, accompanied by Rose who was biting her lower lip because she was also feeling anxious.
“Lucien, I’m so worried about him,” Rose said in a trembling voice.
“I hope that naughty little brother is okay,” Not far from there, Seilas walked with an aura full of tension, his eyes gleaming sharply looking for Lucien.
In the corner of the same corridor, Rayland stood with his arms crossed, a sinister smile concealing a deep curiosity.
Hearing that Lucien was coughing up blood, Rayland planned to find an excuse to approach and demand his “promise,” occasionally glancing at Rose.
Unfortunately for them, the room where Lucien was hiding was now far from reach, and the lazy Young Master was enjoying absolute silence on Aryosha’s narrow bed.