The chirping of birds was heard from the window as rays of sunlight peeked into the room between the curtains. Callista woke up groggily, her eyes still half-closed from sleep.

She lay there silently, staring at the wall for a few seconds before deciding to sit up. "It's that dream again," she muttered, leaning her head against the wall with a sigh. The visions of her dream flashed in her mind as she groaned and got out of bed to prepare for the day.

Callista was in a daze when she entered the Spell Casting classroom. She automatically took a seat beside Denovan, who shared the class with her.

"Did something happen? You look deep in thought," he asked, studying her face.

"Is that so?" she murmured before forcing a smile. "I'm fine."

Denovan wasn’t sure whether to believe her but chose to shrug it off.

"I heard from Lady Ana that you have three older brothers and a younger sister?"

"Yes, but I'm not very close to them, so I don’t have many stories to tell," she replied, resting her chin on her palm.

She glanced at Denovan. "Do you have any siblings, Denovan?" she asked, and he noticed how she was trying to change the subject. He smiled.

"My family consists of boys, so I grew up without a sister. I’m the fifth child," he explained.

"That must have been tough. My siblings and I always fought, and we never bonded much," she said with a slightly forced smile.

"We fought too. Being all boys, there were plenty of misunderstandings and conflicts. But even with how much we annoyed each other, we still managed to get along," he said with a grin.

"That must be nice," she said softly, looking down at her hands.

Sensing her distant expression, Denovan quickly decided to change the subject. "By the way, the Emperor said he would personally take Sir Viktor with the Grand Duke to deliver his punishment," he stated.

"Really? He must be furious about what happened," she replied, her face looking livelier.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"It’s understandable. If I had a daughter, I’d be angry hearing about something like that," he said.

"Denovan, you like Anastasia, don’t you?" she asked suddenly. He was taken aback but smiled.

"That’s right. I’m surprised you noticed," he chuckled softly.

"Why wouldn’t I? I’m not that oblivious," she huffed.

"Right. So far, the only one who noticed is Ignis," he admitted.

She tilted her head. "What did he say? He may not seem like it, but he’s protective of Ana," she noted.

"He warned me, of course. I understand his concerns. My family serves the Emperor, and being in a relationship with the Emperor’s daughter would be... complicated. Ignis made that very clear, so I’ve decided to know my place," he said, his tone resigned.

"Just because it’s wrong doesn’t mean you can’t go after it," she said.

"That advice is wrong on so many levels," he said, shaking his head.

"If you truly like her, you’d do anything to protect her, right?" she asked suddenly.

Denovan furrowed his brows but nodded. "Yes, of course."

"That’s nice to hear," she said with a small nod.

"Why are you asking all of a sudden?" he asked curiously.

"Because I can never do that," she replied with a smile.

---

A man walked across the campus, his cane hitting the ground with every step. He stopped in his tracks, turning toward the Rose Garden, where butterflies fluttered and landed on flowers.

"Such beautiful things," he murmured before a red butterfly caught his eye.

"Oh? And who might you be?" he said, raising a finger as the butterfly landed on it. "Who is your master?" he asked. The butterfly fluttered its wings before flying away, and he watched it until it disappeared.

---

Callista happily took a bite of her cupcake, chewing with delight.

"Where are you even getting your food?" Anastasia asked, confused.

"She stopped by the cafeteria before we came here," Ivan explained before turning to Callista.

"Do you have another one?" he asked.

"Do you see another one?" she retorted, raising an eyebrow. Ivan glared at her.

"By the way, didn’t the Magic Committee want Callista to join?" Anastasia asked.

"I got the recommendation letter earlier," Callista said.

"They did," Ivan confirmed. "They want her to join so that two prodigies are part of the committee," he added, referring to himself.

"You’re joining the Magic Committee?" Denovan asked, glancing at Callista, who shook her head immediately.

"I’d rather not. I wouldn’t have time for Ignis if I joined," she shrugged.

What kind of reason is that? they all thought.

Callista finished her cupcake, cleaning her hands as Wendy suddenly landed on her shoulder. Through Wendy, she saw everything the butterfly had witnessed.

"I’ve got bad news!" Denovan came running toward them. "The Emperor’s here, but Sir Viktor is missing from the Faculty’s Dormitory!"

"What? How? Are they going to hunt him down?" Anastasia asked, surprised.

"He deserves it, though," Ivan shrugged.

"Do you know where Sir Viktor might be hiding?" Ignis asked Denovan.

"No," Denovan replied, shaking his head. "All the professors have stopped their lessons to look for him."

"My father must be furious. He hates it when people run away from their mistakes," Anastasia sighed.

"Ana," Ignis suddenly called her name, his expression alert.

"What the hell is that?" Ivan asked, sensing something in the surroundings but unable to pinpoint it.

Callista froze, staring between the trees as if inspecting something.

Then, in the next moment, they heard a sharp whistle in the wind.

"Ignis—" Denovan began, but Callista launched herself at Anastasia, shoving her to the ground.

Anastasia winced at the sting in her palms and hips. "What was that for!?" she demanded, only to freeze when she saw Callista lying on the ground.

"Callista!" Anastasia cried, crawling to her. Her eyes widened when she saw the arrow lodged in Callista’s chest.

"Denovan!" Anastasia shouted. He sprinted off immediately, chasing after whoever had fired the arrow.

"Ivan, call the Emperor!" Ignis ordered. Ivan hesitated briefly before nodding and teleporting away.

"Ignis, what do we do? Something’s wrong with her!" Anastasia said desperately.

Ignis stared at the black liquid seeping from Callista’s wou

nd instead of blood. Her complexion turned pale, and her lips began to darken.

"I think the arrow was poisoned!" Anastasia cried.