Chapter 50: Teacher Bella

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Teacher Bella

Walking leisurely out from the arched colonnade at the side of the bridge was a woman who looked as though she had stepped straight out of a master painter’s daydream.

?She was easily in her early twenties, blessed with a tall, breathtakingly voluptuous figure that the tailored black-and-gold uniform of an Imperial Academy Instructor could barely contain.

Her long, shapely legs were clad in sleek dark riding boots, and a cropped velvet capelet rested over her shoulders, leaving the upper curve of her snow-white neckline exposed to the cool morning breeze.

Much like Aria, she had cascading waves of luminous silver-blonde hair, though hers was pinned up loosely with a ruby hairpin, framing a Mature, devastatingly gorgeous face with alluring sapphire eyes and a tiny beauty mark just beneath her left lash.

?As she strolled onto the bridge, half of the teenage boys watching from the railings swallowed hard, their faces turning bright red as they forgot to breathe.

?However, when Cassian Morlan and his four Third-Year companions recognized the woman approaching them, the color drained from their faces for an entirely different reason.

?The heavy Circle 3 mana auras they had been using to press down on Aegon vanished in an instant. All five of them snapped their heels together and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

?"G-Greetings, Instructor Bella!" Cassian stammered.

All of his arrogance evaporated into thin air.

?Among the faculty of the Imperial Academy, Instructor Bella was a famous figure. Not only was she the undisputed goddess of the teacher’s roster, pursued relentlessly by dozens of young lords and military commanders across the capital, but she was also a terrifying 6th-Circle Arch-Sorceress with a notoriously fiery temper.

?Bella didn’t even spare Cassian a glance at first.

?Walking right past the five bowing upperclassmen, she stopped directly beside Aegon, bringing with her a rich, intoxicating scent of blooming night-roses.

Looking down at the calm ten-year-old boy in the black S-Class coat, the icy majesty on her face melted away into a warm, dazzling smile that made the surrounding students gasp aloud.

?"So you are Aegon Noiré," Bella said sultrily.

Reaching out a slender, white hand, she gently brushed a speck of morning dew off the golden griffin embroidered on his collar.

"You look even more handsome in person than you did on the water-mirrors yesterday. And quite brave, too. Five older hounds are barking in your face, yet your heartbeat hasn’t sped up by a single beat."

?Aegon blinked once, looking up into the stunning instructor’s sapphire eyes.

?Even with the [ Ring of the Focused Mind ] keeping his thoughts crystal clear, he was genuinely puzzled. Today was his very first morning inside the Academy, and he was certain he had never met this woman in his life.

So why was a high-ranking instructor acting so openly partial toward him in front of everyone?

?"Thank you for the compliment, Instructor Bella. I was merely waiting for a friend so we could attend the ceremony."

?"Ah, so you’re a good boy who follows the rules," Bella chuckled, patting his shoulder affectionately before slowly turning her head toward Cassian Morlan and the four other Third-Years.

?The moment her gaze left Aegon, the alluring warmth in her sapphire eyes vanished, replaced by a bone-chilling frost that made the temperature on the bridge drop by ten degrees.

?"Well, Cassian Morlan? Care to explain to me why five Third-Year Combat Department students are blocking the Grand Pegasus Bridge on the morning of the Opening Ceremony?"

?Cold sweat beaded on Cassian’s forehead.

"Instructor Bella, you misunderstand! We weren’t trying to cause trouble. This freshman walked past his seniors without saluting, and we were simply offering to give him a friendly instructional pointer according to Academy tradition!"

?"A friendly instructional pointer? My ears must be getting old, then. Because from where I was standing behind that pillar, I distinctly heard you tell the top freshman of the year to get on his knees and hand over the fifty High-Grade Mana Crystals the Academy rewarded him with yesterday."

?Cassian’s face turned as pale as paper.

"I... That was just a figure of speech to test his resolve, Instructor!"

?"Is that so?" Bella took a single step forward.

Buzz!

She didn’t even summon her Grimoire, yet a terrifying wave of Sixth-Circle mana flashed briefly around her heels, cracking two marble tiles beneath Cassian’s boots and forcing all five Third-Years to their knees with a heavy thud.

?"Let me make something very clear to you, Cassian. Yesterday in the forest, fifteen boys from your families ganged up on four ten-year-olds to rob them, and they got what they deserved. If your House Morlan still hasn’t learned how to lose with dignity and wants to send fifteen-year-olds to bully a ten-year-old child, you are welcome to try. However, since you like ’instructional pointers’ so much, why don’t the five of you step into the combat ring with me this afternoon so I can test your resolve?"

?"N-No! We wouldn’t dare, Instructor Bella!" Cassian choked out, his knees shaking against the cracked stone.

Entering the ring with a Sixth-Circle instructor would leave him in the infirmary right next to his younger brother for the next three months.

?"Fifty academic credits deducted from each of the five of you for attempting to extort a lowerclassman. Now get out of my sight before I make it a hundred and throw you into the gravity chamber for the rest of the week!"

?"Yes, Instructor! Thank you for your mercy, Instructor!"

?Without daring to look back at Aegon or wipe the sweat from their faces, Cassian and his four companions scrambled to their feet and practically sprinted off the southern end of the bridge, disappearing into the crowd amid the quiet snickers of the watching freshmen.

?Watching the five bullies flee with their tails between their legs, Aegon turned back toward the gorgeous woman beside him.

?"You saved me the trouble of dirtying my uniform before the ceremony, Instructor Bella. Though if you don’t mind me asking, why did you help me?"

?Bella showed a mysterious smile.

"Why? Perhaps I simply have a soft spot for talented little boys who aren’t afraid to break a few noble bones."

?Before Aegon could decipher that cryptic answer, the sound of light, hurried footsteps echoed from the northern end of the bridge.

?"Aegon! Sorry to keep you waiting, the attendant had more notes than I expected..."

?Aria’s melodic voice paused as she stepped onto the bridge and saw the tall, curvy woman standing right next to Aegon.

A heartbeat later, Aria’s crystal-blue eyes lit up with joy.

?"Cousin Bella! What are you doing at the Pegasus Bridge so early? I thought the senior instructors were already seated on the main platform."

?Cousin?

?