After Rahiya's class at the church, she headed straight to the hospital to check on Zandro's condition and, more importantly, to ask him something she hadn't been able to bring up with Andrei.
When she arrived at the hospital room, she saw Wyndel sitting beside Zandro, deep in conversation. From the serious expressions on their faces, it was obvious they were discussing something important.
'So, he's still here?' she thought, surprised that Wyndel lasted more than an hour at the hospital—alone with Zandro. She knocked lightly on the wall to announce her presence.
Both men immediately stopped talking and turned to look at her.
"Rahiya." Wyndel stood up quickly, looking startled—almost guilty.
His reaction made her narrow her eyes. He looked like a husband caught cheating on his wife. 'What's with that reaction?' she wondered.
"What were you talking about?" she asked, walking over and settling onto the couch.
Zandro sighed, clearly annoyed. "About you going to the church," he muttered. "Just don't continue it, Rahiya. You might hurt yourself."
Rahiya frowned, leaning forward. "I'm not a kid anymore, Zandro. I can take care of myself."
Zandro exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."
Wyndel just remained silent, trying not to get involved in their conversation.
"I'm not going to stop just because you told me to, Zandro," she said stubbornly. "I'm determined to be an exorcist." Now that she was in a bad mood, she couldn't even ask him what she came here for.
She couldn't give up just yet—she had barely started!
Silence settled over the room. Zandro knew he couldn't convince her, and Rahiya knew that no matter how much she insisted, Zandro wouldn't just let her be.
Wyndel, on the other hand, was torn between the two. After talking to Zandro, he wasn't sure which side to take anymore.
~~~
After class, Wyndel went ahead to the hospital to visit Zandro, but the first thing Zandro asked when he walked in his hospital room was—
"Where's Rahiya?"
Wyndel hesitated. "She's going to be late," he answered vaguely, hoping to avoid the real question.
"I said, where is she?" Zandro repeated, his sharp eyes piercing through Wyndel's weak attempt at dodging the topic.
Wyndel sighed, avoiding his gaze. He felt like a traitor for even answering. "She's at the church."
He didn't need to explain why—Zandro already knew.
For a long moment, Zandro said nothing. The air between them grew heavier.
Wyndel sat down beside him, debating whether he should attempt small talk. Maybe ask how Zandro's day was? But the tension was suffocating.
In fact, for him, Zandro is scary.
But then Zandro broke the silence, asking him the question he couldn't ask Zandro. They talked like they used to when they're alone—without Rahiya—just boy talk.
Laughing, making fun of each other, and reminiscing their childhood memories.
However, Zandro suddenly changed the topic. "I know you want to follow Rahiya and support her," he said, his tone is calmer now. "But help me convince her to stop pursuing this."
Wyndel tensed. He wanted to argue, but Zandro wasn't finished.
"You've seen a ghoul before. You know what it's like to be attacked by one," Zandro continued. "You don't want Rahiya to get hurt, right?"
Wyndel swallowed hard. Zandro is right—he didn't want Rahiya to get hurt.
But at the same time, how could he stop her from chasing what she wanted?
~~~
That evening, Rahiya returned home with some good news—the doctor said Zandro could be discharged the day after tomorrow. That meant he was healing faster than expected and would be able to attend school again soon.
Which also meant she had one last day of freedom before Zandro could scold her endlessly for doing something dumb.
She flopped onto her bed, her mind still filled with unanswered questions. She hadn't asked Andrei, and she hadn't asked Zandro.
Maybe she could look into it herself.
Grabbing her laptop, she started searching. If she can't ask someone about what she wants to know, maybe she can just find out on her own.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard before she typed—
Why hasn't Mauve Roux High been attacked by ghouls, despite so many students experiencing negative emotions?
She had seen people bullied at school. She had witnessed despair, anger, loneliness. And yet, not once had there been an attack.
Her search results loaded, and she clicked on the most relevant link.
"Mauve Roux High is blessed and protected by the church."
Rahiya frowned. Protected by the church?
She scrolled down, looking for more answers.
Then she noticed a comment section.
1016: There's a theory from my grandfather that the school is protected because someone is paying the Church.
1107: I heard that too! I wonder who it is.
1213: Maybe the owner of the school themselves???
Rahiya's eyebrows furrowed. Someone was paying the church to protect the school?
Was that where their tuition fees went?
She sighed and shut her laptop. No use overthinking it tonight. She needed sleep because she was too tired today.
The next morning, Rahiya woke up late.
She groaned in frustration. There was no way she was making it to class on time.
So, rather than rush, she took her time getting ready. Running wouldn't change anything.
By the time she finally reached the classroom, she barely knocked before pushing the door open.
And immediately, she felt the weight of every eye on her except for one student in the room.
Standing at the front of the class, right beside their teacher, was a tall man with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He was wearing eyeglasses and a bland face expression while facing their classmates.
Her teacher turned to acknowledge her, but Rahiya barely registered it.
She was too busy staring at the new guy.
"Good morning, everyone," he said, his voice smooth yet firm. "My name is Lucius Haven. Nice to meet you."