::How. dare. you. touch. my. Aria.::
The words echoed through the air, silencing the crowd of students who had been watching the scene unfold.
Avendial's voice, filled with raw intensity, lingered in the courtyard like a storm cloud, drowning out even the sound of Lin's painful collapse.
For a brief moment, no one dared to breathe.
'Oh my God,' thought one of Aria's friends, her hands covering her mouth as if she could hold back a gasp.
Her mind raced, struggling to process the sudden shift from confrontation to what felt like a romantic proclamation.
"Did the professor just say Aria is his?" a student whispered, wide-eyed, too focused on Avendial's words to notice Lin, who was now writhing in agony on the ground.
"Professor and Aria? Together? No way!"
"Woot woot!" a student whistled, breaking the tension, and cheers erupted from the crowd, their enthusiasm infectious as they fed off the potential scandal unfolding before them.
