A little shift in the time of Aesther's punishment drastically changed some minor events of her future.
In her previous life, her 'sins' were told to the alpha at night. Kazmir had her brutally punished before he grounded her and left to attend some significant meeting of the elderly council.
Since this time he couldn't deliver the punishments himself, he had left a list which shall make her repent and realize the scandalous nature of her actions.
This time, Hazel reported everything to the Alpha.
And he commanded Inez to oversee a part of Aesther's punishment until Ezrahl returned from his important mission.
When the sun rose the next morning, Aesther woke up with a sore body. Her back hurt, her legs hurt, and her mind hurt even more as she thought about the time she will have to spend with that devil of her nights.
In these circumstances, her punishments have turned mild because the Alpha was not directly involved.
All Aesther had to do was transcribe copies of scriptures and scrolls, organise the thirty thousand books of a small library, forage the misty woods for crystal flies, and give the abandoned gardens a proper cleaning and trim.
But she was not sure how long her weak body would be able to keep up with all that. Her earlier days were passed living a sheltered life.
As soon as Aesther finished her breakfast, she was summoned to the Mistfall Manor. And with great bitterness brewing in her heart, she slowly walked up there.
It was a small residence located near the very edge of Alkazar, bordered between the castle and the woods that were forever trapped in mystical mist. During the dark hours, this mist was said to be haunted by the spirits of the deceased disciples.
This earned the manor another name; Ghostfall Manor.
Secluded and entrapped in solitude, it was a place avoided by the sane people of the castle but when offered a choice, Ezrahl chose to reside there.
Aesther made her way towards the place surrounded by trees and bushes all while trying to endure the throbbing ache of her limbs. But the more she went closer, the more she thought about Ezrahl and his condescending gaze.
He had a way of igniting someone with his calm cold gaze of his.
And every time she thought about that, Aesther wanted to kick him in the groin.
He must be thinking what a pathetic creature she is, how foolish she was to try and lie in front of him. But as Aesther fumed and cursed Ezrahl in her mind, she suddenly remembered some old tales she had heard about the Mistfall Manor.
He was more than just an elite disciple, Ezrahl was also one of the youngest knights.
And being a knight inside Alkazar meant he had the duties of maintaining discipline and was often tasked to watch over punishments. Knights carried absolute authority over other disciples and the only hindrance to them was a disciple with a higher social status.
But since Ezrahl was required to be on missions most of the time, he had performed those duties only three times. And each time was well known throughout the castle.
The first disciple to be punished by him was a girl. She was naturally delighted to be watched over by such a mesmerizing young man. But some audacity she had, because that girl tried to sneak on him bathing instead of properly fulfilling her punishment.
Not much is known. But she collapsed cold for a week. After waking up, the girl swore maidenhood for life.
It was sad news to her parents who had only one daughter.
After this incident, the manor was nicknamed Virgin Manor.
The next tale was that of two twins who were notorious for causing a mess everywhere. They have caused their previous prefect a great deal of trouble and one of the former prefects even broke her arm because of their pranks.
Knowing how 'well' Ezrahl had handled the last rule breaker, Kazmir sent the twins to Ezrahl.
They returned back with broken legs.
These little incidents earned the manor a new nickname, Broken Legs Manor.
"Now, you see?" Aesther whispered to no one in particular, "He is such a loathsome man! Why be so cruel and heartless to some minor offences? The cool and peaceful Ezrahl is just an illusion and I know he likes nothing more than making other people miserable."
There have been a number of naive and foolish young girls who, thinking that they were girls, hoped Ezrahl won't be harsh with them. A couple of them have gone far enough to flirt with Ezrahl but after the incident with that certain maiden, no one dared to bother Ezrahl ever again.
He was indiscriminate when it came to losing his temper. After all, the differences within Alkazar weren't based on gender but on the titles.
Aesther walked the last few steps to the manor with great reluctance, remembering all those tales once again. But as long as she does what she is told, and ignores his existence, everything should be right…right?
There was not a single soul within miles around the Mistfall Manor.
It was not late in the morning, but the sun didn't grace these areas thick with woods. Mistfall Manor, as the name suggested, was shrouded with a soft layer of mist. The small secluded building was rather humble-looking and yet it emitted an air of grace.
But no matter how ethereal this place looked, it only evoked grim feelings inside Aesther. Ezrahl lived there, how could she feel anything else?
Too bad she couldn't just set fire to the entire place and end Ezrahl and his sinful soul once and for all.
With a bitter heaviness, she entered the manor.
There was a vast empty hall, it appeared untouched and too empty. An air of loneliness was lingering over the mahogany floor.
Aesther made her way to the room whose door was slightly ajar.
She could see Ezrahl from there, sitting elegantly behind his desk as his slender fingers moved a brush into elegant practised strokes.
The hazy light of the sun fell over him from the large glass windows behind. Ezrahl's hair appeared a little messy as they were still wet from a bath. They made him appear less cold and more human.
His dark gaze was focused completely on the work at hand.
Aesther curled her fingers.
The golden sunlight, this rare moment of delicateness, and his intense gaze caused her bitterness to thicken.
But she forced a smile, and concealed her stirring emotions as she knocked on the door.
"Good morning," the gentle sweetness she faked made her feel disgusted.
Ezrahl paused, his eyes lifting towards her for a slight moment before he reverted them as if she wasn't worth his esteemed attention.
"Mn," his reply was curt and low, "Enter."
The study room was drastically different from what Aesther had seen before. It was way too clean and proper. Did Ezrahl even use it or was he pretending to study just for the sake of it?
Aesther couldn't dismiss his academic qualifications and so she dismissed those thoughts away.
But the room was still very much like what she had expected.
There was a gleaming collection of daggers and knives. He always had a preference for them, only because with a sword, he was much more lethal.
Art held little interest for Ezrahl but for some strange reason, he had always kept this painting of the sacred groves. It showed the temple of the goddess and was a gift to Ezrahl by the high priestess after he was made Aesther's sworn knight.
She looked back at him and noticed that he was doing astronomic arithmetics, a subject Aesther hated most after Ezrahl.
He creased his brows and bit the tip of the brush between his lips.
Ezrahl glanced at her with those cold eyes devoid of any emotion. The brush was still between his lips as he gestured at the chair.
"Come here."
Aesther played the role of an innocent harmless girl as she took a seat. She folded her arms over the table and curiously peered over at his work. She knew he gets irritated when someone is watching for no valid reason.
"Can you not solve that problem?" she asked with astonishment.
Ezrahl's eyes slightly narrowed at that, he bit his lips, dipped the brush in ink, and continued to work over the problem. His gaze was unwavering as he scribbled things too complex for Aesther to understand.
The problem couldn't have belonged to the curriculum since Ezrahl seemed too serious in solving this. Since Aesther had seen him working with the dragon pillar last night, she assumed it has to do something with the barrier.
Her heart dipped.
Kazmir had done a grave mistake by making Ezrahl in charge of―
Aesther froze.
Ezrahl was looking at her with that same mysterious gaze he carried last night. She immediately feigned her emotions and asked sweetly as dread stabbed her heart.
"So what do I do?"
He isn't using the Sight, she consoled herself, he can't know her emotions.
Ezrahl took two books from the side and silently placed them in front of her. The fake smile fell faster than one could blink. Aesther looked at him in disbelief.
"Arithmetic? Of astronomy? That's not even in our course!" she complained.
"They are not," Ezrahl said as he reverted his gaze, "These books are from your previous semester."
Aesther looked at the strange books.
Her face must have expressed the pain in her heart because Ezrahl soon added with some barely concealed disappointment.
"You don't have to get them all right. But you need to attempt all questions with proper method and formula."
As if that made her punishment any less severe.
If she were to follow all the rules there, one problem would stretch on to one whole page at least and the books looked too thick.
"How many questions are there?"
"Three hundred and seventeen," Ezrahl calmly replied.
"..."