Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Rejection

Chapter 205 – Rejection

"I decline." Teacher Kai said in a flat tone, then continued playing with his sphere. Now it was invisible, as if it were space itself.

Seconds later, it became visible again, but now taking on the nature of magma.

The sight was mysterious, but everyone in the arena and those still watching remained frozen on his words.

Even the teachers beside him, the Dean, and the Vice Dean — who was invisible despite being present — couldn’t help but spare him a confused glance.

It wasn’t as though this situation had never happened in the history of the Academy.

It actually had.

But never for the Palatine.

Cassius’s heart was pounding in his chest, his blood roaring in his ears, the rejection all the more brutal for how unexpected it was.

He reined in his feelings and looked at Teacher Kai with all the composure he could still muster.

The arena was dead silent. So his next words echoed far and wide, heard by all.

"May I know why?" He asked, genuinely confused.

He had assumed that Teacher Kai only accepted the best of any generation. Because of that, Cassius had believed being Palatine would secure him a sure acceptance.

It seemed he had been wrong.

"Why?" Teacher Kai echoed, arching an eyebrow. "Do I need to give you a reason for my refusal?"

"As the Palatine of this generation, I believe I deserve an actual explanation for it."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, sir."

Teacher Kai let out a faint smile. "Then I shall satisfy your desire. It is simply, little Desdemona, that you do not match my nature at all. I am not saying you are not talented enough. Saying that would be a blatant lie, considering the spectacle you put on for us. However..."

Teacher Kai slowly opened his eyes for the first time, revealing silver eyes that looked like cracked glass, fissures running all over his irises.

Cassius suppressed a shudder at the sight of them. For a brief moment, he seemed to see different versions of himself in each fragment of the Teacher’s cracked eyes.

That impression didn’t last as Teacher Kai closed his eyes again.

"Did you see? I have never been fond of the innate nature of your family. You are different, yet you are the same."

Cassius’s eye narrowed.

"And to add," Teacher Kai now looked at Emrys, pointing at him, "I want this young man as my disciple."

"Huh?" Emrys exclaimed, surprised at being pointed at so suddenly. "Me?"

"Yes, you, Emrys Stormblessed." The teacher nodded. "Take me as your master, and I shall guide you along your path."

Emrys was quite speechless, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.

Under normal circumstances, he would have accepted instantly without a second thought. After all, the reputation of Teacher Kai was well known to those of high standing in the Kingdom.

He was a reclusive teacher who was only a teacher in name. The old man taught nothing at the Academy.

How and why he was still a teacher despite that was a mystery to all. That fact alone made him special.

Added to that, there had once been a student who was his disciple. His only disciple. A student who later became known as the First ranker in the Hall of Flame at the Academy.

Not even Morgan, Dorian, or any other monster had managed to take over that man’s spot in all these years.

No one even remembered his true name anymore. Not surprising, in the Elysia Academy, top rankers were mostly known by their titles.

And that man, who had disappeared suddenly after his fourth year, held the title of Moonlight.

A ridiculous monster who had become who he was thanks to Teacher Kai. And it was also a known fact that Teacher Kai had reached the fabled realm of {Master}.

Having him as a master would be a great leap toward becoming the best of one’s generation.

It was no surprise that Cassius had chosen him. And it was, also, no surprise that Emrys, after a brief moment of reflection, bowed his head toward the Teacher, accepting his offer.

"I am eternally grateful for this opportunity, Master." He said, his voice full of emotion, thinking that even though he had lost, nothing was truly lost.

His face now bore a wide, confident smile.

Anesthesia watched the scene with her cold purple eyes, setting her jaw tight. Her disgust for Emrys only increased, despite him having done nothing.

’Always getting his way, huh? Some things never goddamn change.’ She cursed, snapping her head away to control her boiling fury.

The other watching students felt exceedingly awkward, not knowing how to react to such an unexpected scene. But some of them knew very well how to.

Isolde, just like her sister, was outraged, and her good mood turned to ash faster than thought. A surge of anger and murderous intent washed over her as she glared at both Teacher Kai and Emrys.

The Twins were the same, but their reactions were colder. Lucian had lost his smile, and half of his face liquefied, transforming into shadows that patted the ground. Each pat made the students around him shudder.

Lilien’s face was the same. But her shadow rippled sporadically, and sometimes the growls of beasts could be heard within it.

The other third years choked on their breaths, suffocating under the pressure of their top three rankers.

Among the second years, Aaron placed a hand over his mouth, doubling his body over, snuffing out a laugh.

"This year’s Entrance Test is truly full of surprises." He managed to whisper through his shaking body.

Nicole shook her head with a wry laugh.

None of them had expected such a scene.

The Palatine refused, while the third ranker was accepted without even asking.

Seraphim Hood was doing her best not to destroy everything around her. However, her gaze on Teacher Kai was anything but smiling.

It was true she was annoyed her pretty baby hadn’t chosen her, but she had accepted his choice like the best aunt she was.

’But how does this old fossil dare to refuse my pretty baby?’ Seraphim’s pupils began to rotate.

However, at that moment, Cassius finally spoke.

"I see." He said, forcing out a stiff smile that hurt the hearts of those who supported him and brought a smile to those who hated him.

"I can’t say I understand your reasons, but I suppose having a preference is good enough, isn’t it?"

Teacher Kai didn’t bother to answer.

There was a silence, an awkward one.

The Dean, meanwhile, was watching all of this with calm eyes on the surface. Inwardly, none of it was a true concern to her.

All she was thinking about was how she could learn more about Cassius’s eye, and how she would gouge it out of him.

’No one deserves his power.’ She grated inwardly. ’And I want to know who killed you too. Who was strong enough to kill a Dragon Saint and his entire people? Just who!’

The more that thought churned in her mind, the more she lost control over her own emotions.

She had always believed she had succeeded in forgetting that man. In getting over him after so long since his death.

But seeing a part of him still alive in this world had awoken feelings she thought long dead. And those feelings rose alongside a thirst for vengeance and hatred.

’Me? Hatred for a human?’

It was ridiculous. Completely nonsensical, even.

’But I can’t lie to myself, can I? I want his head.’

In the past, her anger had no target to focus on, and so she had eventually spent all kinds of negative energy with no outlet.

Now that was no longer the case.

A target was right in front of her.

A pitiful Imbued rank human she could kill with her presence alone if she so wished. Yet a human with an annoying background.

The Dean still remembered the day the Queen had come to her to change the Entrance Test. And she still remembered how lovingly the Queen had spoken of her grandson.

Cassius Desdemona was loved. And because of that, she would need to be more subtle in how she sought to see him dead.

The King and Queen of the Kingdom might be children before her, but she knew of the existence of certain immortal monsters lurking beneath that Death-blessed family.

Because of all that, and her inability to keep her emotions in check, the Dean of the Academy parted her lips and said words that would shake the entire Academy.

"I will be your master." The Dean forced out of her throat, smiling as best she could, trying not to look at his left eye. "I will be your master, Cassius Desdemona. Do you have any objection to that?"

All the teachers — even Teacher Kai — snapped their heads toward her with flabbergasted expressions.

The students gasped. And the nobles rose from their seats, shaken.

Cassius’s face fell.

Unexpected things were happening over and over again.

He had never expected to be proposed to by the Dean. She had never taken a disciple, after all.

So why him?

To add to that, there was a sinking bad feeling crawling up his throat. A feeling that told him accepting to be her disciple would be a terrible, dangerous decision.

However...

’Do I have a choice here?’

He had been rejected by the one he wanted, and rejecting the Dean this openly meant placing the most powerful person in the Academy at his back.

That would be foolish.

’But then why this bad feeling?’ Cassius cursed under his breath, feeling as though he was caught between two hells no matter what he decided.

Knowing that, he accepted the one he deemed the lesser evil.

And so, in front of everyone, Cassius bowed his head toward the Dean.

"I wholeheartedly accept."

And became the First Disciple of Mallory Octavia Claweye.

—End of Chapter 205—