Chapter 74: ⁷⁴: Who do you think you are?!

I found myself smiling unknowingly as I remembered how Kael had insisted that he didn’t care about the matter. And yet, he had somehow solved it overnight.

Last night, I had felt that he was behaving strangely. All those cold answers and detached words had made me wonder what was going through his mind. But now, a small hint of hope stirred inside me.

Perhaps his coldness was only on the surface. Perhaps my plan was still working.

I shook my head lightly, refusing to let myself get carried away. I couldn’t afford to forget why I had entered into this agreement with him in the first place.

...

"Athena, you must be the Moon Goddess’s favorite!" The moment I sat down beside Rose in our classroom, those were the first words I heard.

I chuckled at her over-the-top expression.

"Why? What made you think so?" I asked, taking my books out while she arranged hers on the desk.

"If not that, then what?" she exclaimed dramatically. "Just overnight, the Alpha himself took action on this case and your suspension was cancelled! You know what else happened? A committee has even been set up to investigate the matter of favoritism. Principal Whitmore is in serious trouble for what he did to you!"

I froze. "A committee was set up against him?" I asked, still struggling to believe what I was hearing. "Such strict action?"

I had heard countless things about the fairness and greatness of this Academy, but seeing how seriously they were willing to handle something like this left me speechless.

No wonder this Academy had such a good reputation throughout the Empire.

Rose however rolled her eyes at my reaction. "What strictness is there in this? He dared to show blatant favoritism. This was bound to happen the moment the higher authorities found out."

I nodded slowly. Maybe she was right. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to Maria. "What happened to Maria, then?" I asked.

Rose immediately gave me a disappointed look. "She was suspended for ten days too. Apparently, her punishment was kept relatively light because she’s from the Vale household. Elder Vale himself called the Alpha this morning."

"How do you know he called the Alpha?" I asked, smiling at the disappointed expression on her face.

Even though I had wanted Maria to receive a harsher punishment, I couldn’t deny that I was satisfied with this outcome. At least she hadn’t gotten away completely.

"My dad works in the council. Of course I know the inside gossip!" Rose replied proudly.

My eyebrows shot up. "Your dad works in the council?!" The surprise in my voice made her laugh. "Well, that explains how rich you are!"

Rose immediately gave me a side-eye.

I burst out laughing at her expression. "Hey, I wasn’t insulting you!"

"You absolutely were," she muttered, opening one of her books.

I grinned, shaking my head. Despite everything that had happened over the past few days, sitting here with Rose almost made things feel normal again.

Almost. Because somewhere in the back of my mind, one thought continued to linger.

Kael had done all of this. And I couldn’t help wondering why.

All of a sudden, Rose turned toward me, her usual gossip-driven curiosity shining brightly in her eyes.

"The real question now is... how did the Alpha come to know about this?"

"How would I know?" I replied, trying my best to keep my expression neutral. "Maybe he has people everywhere who inform him whenever an injustice happens. Otherwise, how do you explain this?"

"I don’t know." Rose shrugged. "Some people were speculating that it must have been Louis who intervened for you."

My eyes widened at her words. Before I could even refute her, Rose threw another question at me.

"Tell me honestly, Athena, what is happening between you and Louis? First, he danced with you out of nowhere, then that day at the Academy he pulled you away like that, and now he’s posting your video. Don’t tell me there is nothing between you two because I’m not dumb enough to believe that!"

"There is nothing between us, Rose!" I quickly replied. "It is just that Louis is doing all this because he hates me for being the one who got the Dravera! I—"

I stopped midsentence.

My gaze had fallen on the classroom doorway. Louis Dreven stood there, looking straight at me. The moment I saw him, anger surged through me.

Everything I had endured yesterday was because of him. Because of him, I could now lose my wolf if something like that happened again.

The more I looked at his face, the more my anger intensified. And, of course, he looked completely unaffected. That smug, carefree expression was still there, as though none of the chaos he had caused had anything to do with him.

I couldn’t take it anymore. Without thinking about the consequences, I pushed myself out of my chair.

I knew the entire class was watching me now. I knew this would probably lead to even more baseless gossip and ridiculous rumors.

But I didn’t care. Someone needed to put an end to this nonsense. I strode across the classroom and stopped directly in front of Louis.

He simply looked down at me with those amused eyes, as though I were nothing more than an entertaining little distraction.

Just like the day he had grabbed my arm. Except this time, I was the one grabbing him. I seized his arm and pulled him toward the door with all the strength I could muster.

To my surprise, he didn’t resist. Not even once. I dragged him down the hallway and into an empty washroom, then finally released his arm.

I turned toward him, my eyes burning with anger. Yet somehow, even now, he didn’t seem remotely bothered. Instead, that irritating smirk returned to his face.

"Were you missing me so much that you couldn’t stop yourself from pulling me here?" he asked, his voice dripping with amusement.

I scoffed at his audacity. This man really had no idea when to stop. I stepped closer and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Who do you think you are, Louis Dreven?"