Chapter 183: ¹⁸³: dangerous

Chapter 183: 1?3: dangerous

I looked up, already knowing who it was. I recognized that voice far too well, and besides, who else would be influential enough to obtain an invitation for someone like me, a nobody in this empire?

"I don’t remember ever asking for one, Mr. Louis Dreven," I replied, looking directly at him, thankfully not like a looser that I these days looked infront of Kael.

I was painfully aware of the curious glances and barely concealed glares coming my way. Apparently, I had only managed to escape the attention surrounding me for a week, and now it was back in full force. Wonderful. Just what I needed.

Louis, meanwhile, seemed entirely unbothered by the attention he was attracting. He left the envelope on my desk with the casual confidence of someone who had never once questioned whether the world would make room for him. Then he crossed his arms over his chest, keeping his gaze fixed on me with that infuriatingly familiar expression.

"Invitations are given, Athena, not asked for." His famous smirk appeared, tilting the corners of his mouth upward as though he had just made some particularly clever observation.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes, the way these Dreven brother never failed to get under my skin would always amaze me.

"And don’t tell me you didn’t want one," he continued, tilting his head as his smirk widened. "No one in this entire empire would turn down such a wonderful opportunity if it were offered to them."

He paused before gesturing toward Rose.

"Ask your friend."

I turned to look at her. Rose, who had apparently forgotten every ounce of dignity she possessed, was nodding so enthusiastically that I half expected her head to fall off.

Her eyes practically sparkled as she looked between Louis and the envelope, resembling a hamster who had just discovered an unlimited supply of seeds.

Traitor.

I turned my attention back to the envelope. For the first time since Louis had placed it on my desk, I allowed myself to look at it properly.

The invitation was beautiful. There was no other word for it. Elegant gold lettering adorned its surface, the elaborate script radiating an unmistakable sense of prestige, It was so fancy that I wanted to roll my eyes at the fact.

Even without opening it, I could practically feel the authority behind the invitation. Everything about it screamed royalty, from the quality of the paper to the careful arrangement of the words.

It was exactly what I needed. An invitation to the Eclipse Ball. A way to get inside without having to convince Kael to take me with him.

For one brief, treacherous moment, I wanted nothing more than to reach out, snatch the envelope from my desk, and tuck it safely into my bag before anyone could change their mind.

But then my gaze shifted back to Louis. And reality came crashing down on me. This wasn’t simply an invitation. It was an invitation from him.

Louis Dreven was the sort of person I needed to be careful around. There was no way I could afford to go in his direction, that is just too dangerous for me.

I might have been willing to take the risk of sneaking into the ball on my own. At least then, if something went wrong, I would only have myself to blame.

But accepting this envelope from Louis?That was an entirely different matter.

No. I couldn’t take it from him. Not when the price of accepting it might turn out to be far greater than the invitation itself.

"Maybe I’m the odd one out in this entire empire, but I don’t want this invitation," I said at last.

It took considerable effort to tear my gaze away from the golden lettering, but I managed it. I lifted my chin and met Louis’s eyes, determined to make my refusal sound convincing.

For just a fleeting second, his smirk disappeared. It was so fleeting that I might have missed it if I hadn’t been watching him so closely. His expression shifted, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes before his usual amusement settled back into place.

"Your eyes are telling me something else, Miss Moonvel." His smirk returned as though it had never left.

I pressed my lips together. Of course, he had noticed. Why wouldn’t he? The invitation was practically everything I needed at the moment, and I had probably been staring at it like a starving person looking through a bakery window.

"If you’re refusing because of me," Louis continued, his voice taking on a deceptively reassuring tone, "then let me tell you that this is simply an invitation from a friend. Nothing more. Nothing that should make you uncomfortable."

I very nearly rolled my eyes. A friend Seriously? After everything he had said to me, after all the trouble his antics had put me through, how could he possibly expect me to believe that there was nothing more to his sudden generosity?

This shit screamed danger.

That was the only thought running through my mind as my gaze drifted back to the white-and-gold envelope resting on my desk.

I wanted it. Gods, I wanted it so badly. But every instinct I possessed was screaming at me to stay away from it.

I was still debating whether my desperation to attend the Eclipse Ball was worth the potential consequences when a sharp nudge against my floating ribs snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Ouch!" I jerked sideways, turning to glare at Rose, who was sitting beside me with an expression of utter disbelief.

Rose shot me an exasperated look before glancing toward Louis. Her expression immediately transformed into an awkward chuckle, as though she hadn’t just assaulted my ribs to make a point.

Then, she just turned back to me and grabbed my arm. "Athena, are you mad?" she whispered fiercely, pulling me closer.

"I could die for this opportunity, and you’re playing hard to get?" she continued, her eyes widening with every word. "Girl, it’s THE Louis Dreven giving you an invitation to THE Grand Eclipse Ball!"

She spoke as though I had just been offered the crown of the empire and had somehow developed the audacity to refuse it.

I stared at her in disbelief. "Rose, have you already forgotten everything I had to go through just because I was remotely associated with Louis?" I whispered back, trying desperately to knock some sense into her. "Do you want me to go through all of that again? I’ll be eaten alive if I accept this!"

I could practically feel the imaginary teeth sinking into me already. I had barely managed to get a little breathing room, and now Rose wanted me to throw myself straight back into the fire because the invitation happened to be pretty.

She opened her mouth to argue, but before she could say anything, a familiar voice interrupted us.

"I told you this is an invitation I’m giving you simply as a friend." The voice was cold. Not loud, or anything close to aggressive, but so devoid of warmth that the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Louis...Louis’s cold voice, something I had almost forgotten he possessed since the day he had talked to me in the bathroom that day.

He heard that. Every single word I’d whispered to Rose. How could I have forgotten? My head snapped back towards him so quickly that I could sprain my neck.

Louis wasn’t just some ordinary student standing beside my desk. He was a royal wolf, Kael’s brother, and someone whose hearing was undoubtedly far sharper than anyone here.

Apparently, my attempt at whispering had been about as effective as announcing my concerns to the entire classroom. Fantastic, Athena. Absolutely brilliant.

I opened my mouth, intending to say something or anything to explain myself, but the words died on my tongue when I noticed that Louis wasn’t even looking at me anymore.

His gaze had shifted toward the classroom door. And the expression on his face made my stomach tighten. Standing in the doorway was Maria Vale.

I looked between her and Louis, momentarily confused by the sudden change in his demeanor. His usual smirk had vanished completely. His jaw was set, and his eyes had turned so cold that I instinctively straightened in my seat.

Honestly, if an ordinary wolf had been on the receiving end of that glare, I suspected they might have forgotten how to breathe.

Maria seemed to be experiencing something very close to that. Her shoulders had stiffened, and the papers in her hands were trembling ever so slightly.

I looked back at Louis. What exactly is happening here? Was he trying to reassure me that accepting his invitation wouldn’t cause any trouble, or was he sending Maria a warning?

Because the way he was looking at her suggested that his words weren’t meant for me alone. And if I had entertained even the slightest doubt about it, his next sentence erased it completely.

"If you’re worried about what happened to you last time," Louis said, his voice carrying a chilling calmness, "then let me assure you of something. Nobody in this entire empire will dare to say a single word to you. And if anyone dared, that would be their last day in this empire."

He delivered the promise while staring directly at Maria. Not at me. At her. The meaning behind his words settled over the classroom like an invisible weight.

Maria visibly swallowed. I watched her throat move as she struggled to maintain her composure, but the confidence she usually carried so effortlessly seemed to crumble beneath Louis’s unwavering gaze. Her eyes glistened, and for a brief moment, she looked as though she might actually burst into tears.

Then, without uttering a single word, she marched toward the teacher’s desk. The papers in her hands came crashing down onto its surface with a sharp slap.

She spun around and hurried out of the classroom so quickly that her heels clicked frantically against the floor, as though the devil himself were chasing her.

I stared after her, my mind struggling to catch up with what had just happened.