Chapter 273: Study time...or is it?

"What is she doing here?" Chloe demanded, fixing an expressionless stare on the red-haired girl sitting on the opposite side of the short-legged table.

"That’s what I want to ask," Seraphina muttered, her eyes narrowing at Chloe in annoyance before shifting to Vlad, who was sitting in the middle between the two. "I only agreed to tutor you. Why is there an obvious disturbance here?"

The trio sat on the clean carpeted floor around a low, rectangular table inside the small, enclosed room. A glowing slab embedded in the ceiling illuminated every corner, bathing the room in soft, even light. Small vents along the walls circulated fresh air throughout the room while gently warming it, keeping the temperature comfortably cozy.

It was one of the many study rooms that the academy offered students for rent so they could study in peace.

"You can’t tutor me in the subjects related to the Order of Blade, so I invited Chloe to teach me those," Vlad explained to Seraphina before turning his gaze to Chloe.

"Chloe, she is our senior, so she has an idea of what kinds of questions might appear in the exam and can teach us accordingly," he coaxed her.

Neither of them looked convinced.

"I thought we would have some teacher-student time alone," Seraphina muttered, disappointment clear on her face.

Chloe’s glare at her only deepened at those words. She wasn’t foolish enough to miss how Seraphina was trying to seduce Vlad with her double-meaning statement. Chloe still hadn’t forgiven Seraphina for filling her mind with all those dirty things before her date with Vlad. And now, Seraphina was making it sound like Chloe was third-wheeling her tutoring session with Vlad.

Seraphina was thoroughly underestimating Chloe, the girl who had spent more than a decade with Vlad. Chloe knew Vlad like the back of her hand.

She took her bag from her storage ring and murmured, "I prepared notes on every lecture for you, Vlad."

She drew several notebooks for different subjects from her bag. "No need to disturb Senior. She also has exams. I will relay to you everything that the professor taught us. Come here."

Chloe patted the seat beside her. Vlad hadn’t even shifted from his place when Seraphina glared at him, daring him to move. "I have already finished my studies, so I have time for my lovely junior," Seraphina stated.

She pointed at Chloe and ordered, "You focus on your own studies!"

The two girls began shooting daggers at each other with their eyes, with Vlad caught in the crossfire.

He pressed the bridge of his nose. He hadn’t even started studying, yet he already had a headache. He already regretted inviting them into the same room.

Chloe’s head lowered as if she were sulking. "I spent so much time preparing notes for you. How could you ask an outsider for help?"

"O-outsider?" Seraphina gasped, her eyebrows rising and her lips parting at the audacity of Chloe’s words.

Chloe grabbed Vlad’s hand, pulling him to her side. "Be a good boy and study with me."

Vlad’s body had only slightly shifted from his spot when Seraphina grabbed his other hand. "I have collected the question papers of the last ten years and even spent two hours sorting out the frequently asked questions," Seraphina revealed in a proud tone. "Come here, let me show you."

At first, Vlad’s arms were only extended to either side by their pull. But when Seraphina realised that Chloe was far stronger physically and had already pulled Vlad to her side, she materialised a vine around his arm, pulling him to her side.

Vlad’s body shifted towards her. Chloe’s eyes widened. Her grip tightened on Vlad’s arm as she pulled even harder.

At this point, Vlad’s arms were completely stretched to both sides, his face unreadable as if he were nothing but a mannequin.

"Study with me, Vlad!" Chloe ordered with a tightened jaw, putting more strength into her pull.

"Let me tutor you, Cutie," Seraphina’s voice came from the other side with equal strength.

The girls only stopped when Vlad’s shirt ripped at both shoulders from their pulling. They realised that they were hurting Vlad in their spite against each other.

"Vlad," Chloe called, worried, immediately releasing his wrist. Seraphina’s vines also vanished from the other side, where reddened marks were left on Vlad’s wrist.

"I-I’m sorry," Seraphina said from the other side in a guilty tone. "Did I hurt you?"

Although Vlad was obviously completely unharmed thanks to his monstrous physique, this was an opportunity to teach these wild cats a lesson.

"So now you two realise that you were hurting me," Vlad finally spoke, his tone cold, his brows knitted in annoyance.

He rose from the table, grabbed Chloe’s notes and Seraphina’s papers, and moved towards the door. "Thank you both for giving me the study material. I will treat you two later. I’m going back to my room."

He looked back over his shoulder with a narrowed glare at the two girls, who were still seated in their spots with their eyes dropped to the floor in guilt. "I don’t think I can study here."

He had only grabbed the doorknob when two hands tugged at his shirt from behind. The corner of his lips rose slightly in a hidden smirk.

"Don’t leave. I will be a good girl," Chloe requested in her usual even tone. But Vlad could feel she was genuinely reflecting on her mistake.

"I will behave," Seraphina’s low voice came from the other side. "I will also teach both of you, so please stay."

Vlad looked back at them, his brows still furrowed. "Promise no more fighting?"

"Yes," Seraphina nodded obediently.

"No fighting during the study session," Chloe agreed, while also making her stance clear. She still had to take her revenge on Seraphina.

"Good," Vlad released a sigh of relief. His hands moved to Seraphina’s shoulder on one side and Chloe’s on the other as he returned to the table.

The trio settled once again, but this time, all three of them sat on the same side: Vlad in the centre, with Chloe and Seraphina on either side.

Thus began their long hours of study sessions. It didn’t take long for the poor girls to realise that they had volunteered to tutor someone who didn’t even have the basics of the theory down.