Chapter 77: _ An Unexpected Ally

Out from behind a pillar stepped an unfamiliar noble girl with long, silver and pale violet hair pinned up with pearl clips. She had a council crest on her uniform which suggested her family carried a noble title.

Miriel gasped loudly behind me, leaning over to whisper into my ear with awe. "Elira... that’s Lady Lyra! Daughter of Baron Vane! Her family commands half the western trade routes! What is she doing?!"

Lyra didn’t glance at Miriel. She walked right up to the bully, her hands folded neatly in front of her.

Elsie blinked, thoroughly stunned. "Lyra? What are you doing? Why are you stepping in for a markless—"

"I am advising you to step back," Lyra interrupted. Although Elsie was also a noble, Lyra was still her senior here. "And I suggest you take your snide remarks elsewhere before someone decides to report your conduct to the Discipline Warden."

Elsie gasped, her eyes widening in pure disbelief. "Are you taking her side?! She’s a glitch! A trench rat!"

"She is a fellow initiate at this academy," Lyra replied, her voice dropping into a tone so icy it made Elsie and her friends flinch. "And more importantly, her safety is not something you should be foolish enough to threaten. Leave. Now."

The silence in the hallway was palpable.

I didn’t understand what Lyra meant by my safety wasn’t something to be threatened when from every corner just today, my safety had been threatened relentlessly.

The surrounding first-years stared with bewildered eyes. It was a well-known fact that every noble loathed my presence, yet here was the daughter of Baron Vane standing between me and another noble’s venom.

Elsie glared at Lyra before she swept her furious gaze over me. "Unbelievable," she spat through gritted teeth. "You’re all insane."

She spun on her heel, her silk skirts sweeping the stone floor as her sycophants scrambled after her like frightened ducklings. The surrounding crowd of students quickly melted away, whispering among themselves.

I stood there, completely confused, staring at this noble girl I had never spoken to in my life.

Bren held her dagger ready at her waist, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Alright, what’s the angle here, Lady Vane? Why are you playing bodyguard for someone you don’t even know?"

Lyra turned around slowly but as her eyes met mine, a nervous flicker crossed her face. She had tried desperately to hide it behind her regal composure but I knew what anxiousness looked like way too well to not catch it.

"I am merely ensuring that order is maintained," Lyra sheepishly cleared her throat. She turned directly to me, giving a polite head tilt. "My name is Lyra Vane. Second-year initiate."

"I... don’t think we’ve met," I said carefully, my hand resting against my inner pocket where the threat note sat.

A faint blush of sheer embarrassment swept over Lyra’s cheeks, though she kept her chin high. "At the Gala... when you fell while walking up to P-prince R-r-r-remus... I... I was the one who used telekinesis to trip you."

I gulped down hard. Well, that was a weird thing to confess. Here’s my bully chasing off other bullies and confessing their crime to me.

Why?

Did an angel suddenly plant consciousness inside of this brat?

"A temporary lapse in judgment," Lyra added quickly, shuddering imperceptibly, as if remembering something terrifying. "...for which I have been thoroughly, unforgettably corrected."

"Corrected? By whom?" Miriel’s brow furrowed.

Lyra gasped like she had just made a very huge mistake.

"Urh... I mean... erh, well, it’s nothing important."

I squinted my eyes in stupefaction. "Hm?"

The Baron’s daughter took a small step closer. "Regardless of how foolish I was a night ago... if you ever require assistance, Elira, or if anyone in this hall attempts to harass you again, you may come directly to me. I will ensure it is handled."

Miriel’s jaw dropped so far it practically hit the floor. "Wait. The Lyra Vane is offering to be Elira’s personal protection service?! Am I hallucinating?! Did I faint during Vespera’s lecture?!"

"I am offering my support. Keep your guard up, Elira. The academy is a dangerous place even if you have powerful protectors who look out for you."

With a final nod, Lyra turned and glided down the corridor, leaving the three of us standing by the shattered pillar in speechless shock.

"Okay," Bren muttered, slowly sheathing her hunting knife. "That was officially the weirdest thing that’s happened to us all week. Whoever ’corrected’ her definitely put the fear of the gods into that girl."

"They must have threatened her entire bloodline!" Miriel whispered excitedly. "Elira! You have secret enforcers working for you now!"

Who on earth would do that for me? It didn’t make any sense what Lyra was saying.

Before I could process the surreal moment, the bells high in the academy watchtower began to chime, repeating six times in rapid succession.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The entire corridor froze. Students looked up at the ceiling in confusion as glowing golden runes materialized along the stone walls, lighting up with a pulsing emergency light.

Professor Vespera’s voice boomed through every archway in the academic wing:

"Attention all initiates and first-year scholars. All remaining lectures, practical labs, and weapon drills for the remainder of the day are hereby suspended."

A wave of excited gasps echoed through the crowd.

Vespera’s voice continued, "An emergency has emerged and some of your brave seniors have been mobilized for an emergency mission. Any initiate wishing to observe the Senior Honor Walk may assemble immediately in the Portal Hall. Attendance is optional. That is all."

The magical charm snapped off with a static pop.

Instantly, students cheered, throwing their codices into their satchels and sprinting toward the central staircases.

"SUSPENDED?!" Miriel shrieked, clutching her face in pure bliss. "Classes are cancelled?! The gods are real! They heard my prayers!" She grabbed my arm, her eyes shining with manic excitement. "Elira! The Senior Honor Walk! Do you know what that means?! The seniors who are at the top of the Academic Levels are going to march through the Portal Hall in full battle armor! I guess Prince Ivar will be leading the mission! We have to go right now! I need to see him in full plate mail before I die!"

"Miriel, no," I said, shaking my head and pulling my arm free. "I’m not going to the Portal Hall."

Miriel looked at me as if I’d just suggested we jump into a volcano. "Are you out of your mind?! It’s Prince Ivar! In armor! With a broadsword!"

"I don’t care about broadswords," I said firmly, clutching the note in my hand before tucking it into my inner pocket. "I need to get to the apothecary vault in the lower courtyard."

Bren frowned, turning to face me. "The apothecary? Why?"

"I need Starlight Lotus tea," I said, keeping my voice low so the passing students wouldn’t hear. "Prince Zev recommended it earlier. He said if I steep it during a quiet hour, it softens mental blocks and helps clear the fog in my head."

Bren’s brow furrowed into a hard line. She grabbed my wrist, carefully avoiding Ajax’s bracelet, and pulled me into an empty alcove away from the rushing crowd.

"Elira, are you serious right now?" Bren whispered angrily. "You’re taking advice on magic herbs from Prince Zev? The same Tiger Prince who just started a violent riot in the Great Hall this morning?!"

"He wasn’t lying to me, Bren," I insisted. "I could tell."

"Oh, you could tell?!" Bren scoffed, throwing her hands up. "Just like you could tell that this darn bracelet from Prince Ajax was a harmless gift?! Look at your arm, Elira! It literally shocked you into numbness five hours ago when you tried to take it off! It’s a blood-locked tracker, or worse! These princes aren’t your friends! They’re playing chess with you, and you’re letting Zev hand you unpredictable herbs!"

"Bren, I just want to clear my head!" I hissed back, holding my ground. "Zev gave me a recommendation, and the Starlight Lotus is a standard herbal tea. I’m going to the apothecary."

Bren stared at me for a long moment. She let out a sigh.

Bren growled, rubbing her forehead. "Fine. But I’m coming with you to make sure the apothecary doesn’t sell you poisoned weeds. Miriel, go drool over your armored prince in the Portal Hall."

"Wait, you guys aren’t coming with me?!" Miriel pouted, looking back and forth between us and the stream of students running toward the entrance doors. "But... but Prince Ivar in plate armor!"

"Go, Miriel," I smiled faintly. "We’ll meet you back at the dormitory."

"If Prince Ivar looks at me again, I’m going to faint and you won’t be there to drag my body away! Don’t drink anything suspicious without me!" Miriel called out dramatically as she turned and began jogging backward down the hallway, waving her hands.

She spun around and disappeared into the crowd of screaming initiates.

Bren turned back to me, crossing her arms over her tunic. "Alright, glitch. Let’s go buy your dragon-tea."