I prayed and prayed.
I prayed to every god out there in the universe.
I prayed for their mercy, for even the faintest possibility that Jake and Michael hadn't done the unthinkable.
But my prayers went unanswered like always.
It was my fault.
I should have seen this coming.
I should have predicted it.
But I didn't.
Bursting into the hall, I was greeted by a scene which could only have been the aftermath of a brutal fight.
Chairs lay overturned, tables splintered beyond recognition, and the once-grand silver chandelier dangled precariously by a single chain from the ceiling, creaking under its own weight.
The fountain was in ruin, water spilling across the marble floor in a slow but inevitable flood.
The acrid stench of charred wood and smoke filled the air, stinging my nose.
And in front of me, a crowd of Cadets was gathered, encircling the two most likely culprits of this disaster.
I shoved my way through, elbowing Cadets aside until I finally reached the front and saw the two of them.
Jake was on his knees, gasping for air as if he'd just run a marathon uphill.
His face was red like a ripe tomato, and his white tuxedo was now riddled with tears, scorch marks, and a grimy layer of ash.
Michael, in stark contrast, stood tall and unbothered.
His outfit was flawless, not a single scratch or blemish to prove he'd just been in a fight. His composed posture and calm demeanor made it hard to believe he was one of the perpetrators.
All around them, the crowd cheered and chanted, enjoying the fight like bloodthirsty spectators at a gladiator match.
Ignoring them, I bolted forward.
"Noooo!" I screamed as I ran, and my voice echoed through the hall like a warhorn.
The room fell silent in an instant. Chants faded, cheers died, and a hush settled over the Cadets.
Even Michael and Jake turned to look in my direction.
The protagonist seemed a bit surprised by my entrance, but his expression quickly hardened into a steely glare.
He looked ready to fight me if it came to that.
Jake, on the other hand, lit up like a firework at my arrival. Relief flashed in his emerald eyes, and a wide, goofy grin stretched across his pig-like face.
The crowd collectively held its breath.
Everyone knew what was about to happen.
As Jake's friend and the Ace, it was only natural that I would use my authority to punish Michael for what he had done.
Michael, of course, wouldn't go down without a fight. It could only mean one thing—
Another duel was about to occur.
…But what happened next was something no one could've ever expected.
I ran past Michael.
Then I ran past Jake, whose hopeful smile froze mid-expression.
Under everyone's confused gaze, I ran up to the banquet tables — or what had remained of them.
It was all just wreckage now.
Exotic food that I didn't even have the chance to taste yet lay trampled on the floor.
The multi-tiered cake that was supposed to be the evening's crown jewel was splattered face-first on the marble tiles, its sugary entrails spilling out in an unholy mess.
It was a scene that would have made a grown man weep.
"No…" A solemn whisper escaped me as a single tear slid down my cheek. "You were so sweet and so young… W-Why? Why did you have to go like this?! Why?!"
I sank to my knees, staring at the desecrated remains of a once-magnificent cake.
Then I looked up at the heavens — of course, above me was just a ceiling, not the sky — and screamed with the anguish of a man cursing the gods themselves.
"My life has been unfair since the day I was born! You've taken everything from me! Everything I ever held dear was stolen in both my lives! I never experienced parental love, or romantic love, or even platonic love! But I held on! I thought you were testing me, gods! But this… this is too much!"
I turned my tearful gaze back to the splattered cake. My voice broke as I sobbed, pointing an accusatory finger at its remains. "This is just too cruel! The heavens are unfair, and so I deny them! Do you hear me, gods? I deny the heavens! I deny your divinity! I deny your superiority! I deny you!"
Determination flared in my eyes as I reached out and scooped up a handful of the ruined cake from the floor.
"I won't let you ruin my life, heavens. Not anymore!" My voice rang with defiance as I held the crumbled dessert in my trembling hand. "Your sacrifice will not be in vain, my love!"
And then I ate.
I ate as everyone stared at me in stunned silence.
Wide-eyed, slack-jawed, utterly baffled, they couldn't believe what they were witnessing.
The Ace of the first-year Cadets… was a lunatic!
Okay, maybe I did seem a bit crazy there.
But in my defense, I love sweets. And I'd been waiting all evening to taste that cake!
•••
What happened last night at the party was… unfortunate.
And no, I don't mean the cake. That wasn't merely unfortunate — that was downright tragic.
What I meant was the fight between Jake and Michael.
Don't get me wrong, I knew they'd end up fighting. But I didn't expect them to even lack the decency to take it outside, far away from all the food.
And honestly, I didn't think it would happen so quickly.
I mean, what was Jake even thinking? He'd already fought Michael twice before and lost. He knew he couldn't take him.
But maybe that was the problem — Jake wasn't thinking. At all.
Anyway, after I was finished mourning the tragic loss of that multi-tiered cake, some members of the Cadet Council showed up and dragged the two of them off to face the President.
I was also politely asked to come along.
Vereshia Morrigan, the Cadet Council President, was not happy about what happened.
She reprimanded the two of them for violating the Code of Conduct — specifically, the rule that prohibited unsupervised fights among Cadets.
Once Michael was dismissed and Jake was hauled off to the medical hall, it was my turn.
Vereshia scolded me.
Oh, yes. She scolded me.
She used words I didn't even recognize, though I was fairly certain they were curses from Sahnli language.
Then she reminded me that it was my responsibility to keep everyone in my batch, including those two, in line.
She spoke slowly and dragged out her words, as though she was explaining something complex to a particularly dumb child.
The lecture was so tedious that after a few minutes, I stopped listening to her entirely. Hey, I have ADHD! Sue me!
Anyway, the real problem was that the duel had already sparked some conflicts between the nobles and commoners.
Yes, the very scenario I wanted to avoid was happening.
Jake, bless his idiotic soul, had inadvertently stepped into original Samael's role, igniting events similar to one of the game's story routes.
But while I wanted to avoid this scenario entirely, deep down, I knew something like this was inevitable.
That was why I had a backup plan prepared to stop this event from escalating into a full-blown feud should it ever happen.
So, I assured Vereshia I'd handle it and promised nothing like this would ever happen again under my watch. Then I took my leave.
Which brings us to today — the first official day of the Academy.
Yes, our classes were set to begin starting today.
Yes, the academy arc was commencing.
Right now, it was nine in the morning and I was fully dressed in my uniform, complete with my golden-embroidered robe.
Ah, my sweet, sweet robe.
After styling my hair and grabbing my communicator, I exited my room, locked the door behind me, and left the dormitory building.
At the entrance, I spotted someone waiting for me.
She was a white-haired young woman in the Academy's uniform. Her icy blue eyes looked detached and her expression seemed as impassive as ever.
Juliana was still living in her old dorm since I hadn't offered to buy her a room in my current building.
She didn't show it, but she was definitely not very happy about it.
"Oh, there's my wonderful Shadow!" I said as I approached her, my tone syrupy sweet — until I dropped it and started spitting venom. "Where the hell were you last night?!"
Juliana turned to face me, though she must have sensed my presence long ago.
"Good morning to you too, Young Master," she said, her tone as calm as ever. "Last night, I was at the Alchemist Society's party. It was nice. Since there were many alchemists there, they concocted some… stuff. Why do you ask? Did something happen in my absence?"
She said those last words with the faintest hint of amusement in her voice. It made my blood boil.
"You know exactly what happened," I snapped. "If you'd been at the party to de-escalate that situation, it wouldn't have spiraled out of control like it did!"
In truth, I'd planned to use her to stall Michael.
Juliana's lips curled ever so slightly, the closest she ever came to a smirk. "I wouldn't have stopped it, actually. I'd rather stay as far away from Jake as possible."
Then her face turned slightly green, as if just the memory of Jake's face was enough to sicken her to her stomach.
"Fair," I conceded, before narrowing my eyes. "But wait – what were you doing at the Alchemist Society? I didn't know you were interested in alchemy."
She shrugged. When she spoke again, her tone was as composed as ever, though her words sounded suspiciously rehearsed… almost like she knew I'd ask something like that so she prepared her answer in advance:
"Someone handed me an invitation on my way over, and I thought it wouldn't hurt to check it out. Why? Am I not allowed to study alchemy? I've already applied for the class. But of course, if you forbid it, I'll respect your wishes, Young Master."
Wow. She really knew how to butter someone up while slipping in her own requests. I should take notes.
"Do whatever you want. I don't care," I said, feigning disinterest.
In reality, it was all I could do not to laugh in her face.
She didn't know it yet, but she was already dancing in the palm of my hand. Before long, it would be too late for her to escape, and I'd be able to kill two birds with one stone.