Chapter 233: Poor Fools

Chapter 233: Poor Fools

Another day had passed, and I was sitting in the back row of the classroom with my chin resting on my palm as I stared out the window.

The professor was drawing long formulas about mana circulation on the board, while most of the students tried to copy everything into their notebooks so they could keep up. Even Alicia, who was sitting beside me, had her full attention on the lesson and was carefully taking notes on every word.

I knew I should be doing the same, but putting effort into something that would never be useful to me felt both boring and exhausting...

Besides, something else was bothering me.

Layla had been watching me throughout the entire lesson.

She normally looked at me whenever she got the chance, then turned away the moment our eyes met and pretended nothing had happened. Sometimes, when I caught her staring, she would frown and silently move her lips as if my mere existence had ruined her entire day.

This time, however, her gaze was far more persistent.

I could see her clearly in the reflection on the window. Her lightly freckled face, framed by her brown hair, looked more serious than usual, while her eyes seemed deep in thought. I turned my head several times to make it obvious that I had noticed her, but she didn’t look away.

She continued staring directly at me.

What I had told her a few days ago, on the bench in the snowy garden, must have affected her one way or another. I had plainly warned her that other girls would gather around Felix and that she would lose him if she didn’t take action.

I had expected my words to push her into doing something, but after remembering the slap she had given me before running away in tears, I wasn’t sure what conclusion she had reached.

Maybe she had taken my advice, or maybe she now hated me even more than before.

Either possibility could be useful to me.

As the professor continued explaining the lesson, I turned my attention back to the window and decided to wait for Layla to tell me what she wanted. If all she intended to do was stare, there was no point in thinking about it any further.

After a while, the bell rang to announce the end of the lesson. The professor finished the last formula on the board, told us which Chapters we needed to read before the next class, then gathered the books and left.

The students immediately rose from their seats and headed for the door, but I closed my book without hurrying. I didn’t have much to put away, so it only took me a few seconds to pack my things and stand up.

I could still feel Layla’s eyes on me.

However, she made no attempt to speak to me. When her friends approached and asked her something, she turned toward them and began acting as though she hadn’t spent the entire lesson watching me.

Ignoring her, I left the classroom and headed toward the training grounds where our next lesson would take place.

The next class wasn’t one of the theoretical lessons held indoors. It was a combat practice class shared by several first-year classes, and it would take place on the wide-open training grounds on the eastern side of the academy.

After leaving the main building, I followed the snow-covered stone path and reached the training grounds within a few minutes.

The area was large enough for several hundred students to train comfortably at the same time. Most of the ground consisted of hardened earth, while protective runes had been carved into the surrounding stone walls to keep the students’ attacks from leaving the area.

Wooden targets of various sizes and training dummies stood in rows along one side. On the other side, long weapon racks held blunt swords, spears, axes, and training staves.

Since the area wasn’t completely full yet, I moved beside one of the stone walls and waited in silence.

Within a few minutes, students from different classes began arriving in small groups. Some spoke excitedly about the upcoming lesson, while others discussed which weapons they planned to use during training.

Before long, Layla entered through the gate as well.

Unexpectedly, she was alone.

Her bag hung from one shoulder, while she carried her staff in her right hand. She entered without speaking to anyone and chose an empty spot some distance away from the other students.

Felix’s class would also be attending this lesson, but he wasn’t with her.

Under normal circumstances, even though they belonged to different classes, they always arrived together for shared lessons and searched the entire academy for each other during breaks. Now, however, Layla had come alone and seemed to be making a deliberate effort not to look toward the entrance.

It was obvious that things between them had gotten bad.

’Was this because of me?’

I had to admit that the possibility was quite high. I was the one who had planted doubt in Layla’s mind by telling her that Felix might grow closer to Rose. Although I hadn’t seen what she did afterward, it wasn’t difficult to guess that she had gone straight to Felix and argued with him.

Even so, if a few simple sentences could ruin a friendship that had lasted since childhood, their bond must already have been weaker than they believed.

As I turned my attention away from Layla, two more familiar students entered through the gate.

I had seen them with Celine in the forest during the entrance exam.

Veris was walking in front. With his neatly kept black hair, perfectly straight posture, and the long sword at his waist, he resembled a knight on duty more than a student. He had been raised as Celine’s personal knight since childhood, and the watchful way he constantly surveyed his surroundings made that obvious.

A brown-haired girl walked several steps behind him. She had served as the group’s support during the exam, and I immediately recognized her from her timid gaze and the short staff she clutched tightly with both hands. She probably specialized in healing and support magic, but I still didn’t know her name.

I didn’t pay much attention to the girl, but Veris was different.

My notes contained some rather important information about him. He had been in love with Celine since childhood, but he had never managed to openly confess his feelings. Later, when Celine fell in love with Felix, jealousy and anger would drive Veris down a dark path.

Although he was initially introduced as a loyal and honorable knight, he was eventually supposed to become one of the most dangerous enemies Felix would face.

That made it worth keeping track of his development.

Just as I was about to stop studying him, I noticed that Veris was staring directly at me as well. The hostility in his eyes went far beyond ordinary curiosity, and he was glaring as if I had personally wronged him.

’Did I do something to him?’

When I thought back to what had happened during the entrance exam, I couldn’t remember a single moment when I had harmed Veris. During the battle against Daemon and his group, I had attacked neither him nor Celine. If anything, I had eliminated the threat the fish boy posed to Celine’s group.

Logically speaking, Veris should have been thanking me.

Even so, the expression on his face made it clear that he didn’t agree.

It was probably something to do with Celine. Considering his feelings for her, he might not have liked that Celine had been spending more time with me than necessary lately.

If he was willing to resent me over something like that, he was even more of an idiot than I had expected.

Veris walked toward the other side of the training grounds without taking his eyes off me, while the brown-haired girl silently followed him. I lost interest in both of them and looked toward the entrance again.

That was when I saw Felix.

His blond hair made him easy to spot among the crowd, and the warm, peaceful mana radiating from his body caused the people around him to relax without even realizing it. He wore his usual cheerful smile, but Layla wasn’t beside him this time.

Instead, he had arrived with Rose.

Rose was strikingly beautiful and cheerful enough to speak easily with anyone around her. She chatted nonstop as she walked beside Felix, and he listened attentively while laughing from time to time.

Although they hadn’t known each other for very long, they had grown close far too quickly. Knowing Felix’s foolish tendency to trust people easily, this didn’t surprise me.

Still, their rapid closeness would cause trouble in more than one way later on.

The first effects were already beginning to show.

When I looked toward Layla, I saw that she was also watching Felix and Rose. Her fingers had tightened around her staff, and all the color was slowly draining from her face. When Felix leaned closer to Rose and laughed at something she said, Layla’s lips pressed into a thin line.

Despite that, she didn’t approach them.

Felix had noticed her as well. His eyes shifted toward Layla for a moment, and the smile on his face weakened. However, when Rose began speaking again a few seconds later, he turned his attention back to her.

If either of them had taken only a few steps forward, they could have resolved the problem between them. Instead, one remained where she was because of her pride, while the other did the same because of his stupidity.

"Poor fool," I whispered.

I wasn’t entirely sure which one I meant, but I was certain it suited both of them.