"Ryan…" The young man's voice barely rose above a murmur before he took his seat. Several people in the room, who recognized him for who he truly was, frowned—Ariana included. Why did he change his name? she wondered, unable to grasp the reasoning. Among nobility, publicly declaring a new name was no trivial matter. It was tantamount to disowning one's family and heritage.
"Hey, Isa, what do you—" Ariana reached for her friend seated beside her and Rizel but halted abruptly when she caught the expression on Eloisa's face.
"Isa!" she called again, shaking Eloisa's leg vigorously. The girl snapped back to reality, gasping for breath.
"Haah… haa… hah," Eloisa panted, squeezing her eyes shut in an effort to compose herself.
"What's wrong, Isa?" Ariana's brow furrowed with concern. There was no denying it now—something was definitely wrong.
"I've just… been feeling weird lately," Eloisa admitted, taking a deep breath as her trembling subsided.
Ariana followed her gaze and noticed an amulet dangling loosely from Ryan's neck, exposed while he dozed. That amulet… why does he still have it? Eloisa's eyes narrowed.
"Weird in what way?" Ariana pressed cautiously. "Does it have something to do with… him?" She hesitated, but her voice was soft and gentle.
"I just need some fresh air. It's nothing, really," Eloisa responded quickly, rising from her seat. She requested permission and left the room.
"…Pardon my asking, but what exactly happened between them?" Rizel couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and glanced at Eloisa's retreating figure.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that. It's… sensitive," Ariana replied, her voice clipped. Her eyes shot a glare at Ryan, who had long since settled into his chair, his expression as indifferent as ever. His nonchalance only served to stoke her anger further. He's going to feel exactly what I felt back then, she resolved, a wicked smile tugging at her lips. Let's see how you react to this. She turned her attention back to the teacher, but Rizel's gaze remained fixed on Ryan.
With every passing second, an inexplicable need gnawed at her—a burning curiosity about him, his secrets, and what lay beneath the surface. For now, it was manageable, but she had no idea how long she could maintain control. I have to find out everything about him before this escalates. A plan began forming in her mind. If she didn't curb or eliminate this growing obsession, things would get ugly. And it wouldn't be her facing the consequences.
"Um… Why are you sitting here?" Ryan—no, Lorelle, corrected himself mentally—asked the green-haired young man who had just introduced himself as 'Silver.'
"Because I want to." The stranger raised an eyebrow, clearly bemused by the question.
"…Right." Ryan scrutinized him for a moment before leaning back in his chair. "You said you were a Pariceon, right?"
"Are you… racist?" Silver asked with a frown.
"What?! No! Why would you even ask that?" Ryan exclaimed, bewildered.
"I don't know. Your questions seem to be heading in that direction," Silver replied with a shrug.
"But racist in what way? You're human… right?" Ryan's eyes narrowed, now slightly wary. He couldn't recall any character like this from the game.
"Of course I'm human. What else would I be? A shape-shifting Gyrod spy working undercover for the vampires? Definitely not," Silver chuckled nervously.
Who is this fool? Ryan's mind reeled.
[Yeah, this guy's strange,] came the familiar voice in his head.
So… he's not human?
[No, he is. And absurdly powerful, I feel. But… something's off about him.]
Ryan studied Silver for another beat before deciding it wasn't worth the headache. He leaned back further, crossing his arms.
"You're pretty sharp," Silver commented after a pause, seemingly impressed by Ryan's silence.
"Just shut up and save some brain cells," Ryan muttered, no longer sparing him a glance.
[Was that supposed to be an insult?]
What?
[…Nothing.]
"Lucas Macendial," a voice called, pulling Ryan's attention. His gaze shifted to a young man seated with a shy girl beside him. She had long, lustrous purple hair held back by a matching flower, her violet eyes downcast.
[Let me guess—the protagonist and main heroine?]
"Close…"
[Huh?]
"The protagonist… and the major antagonist of the third volume," Ryan corrected grimly.