"Will he accept me as his wife?"

Valeriana gazed at Zeph, her thoughts muddled with confusion over whether he would accept her or not. The woman standing beside her offered a faint smile.

"He’d be an idiot not to accept my dear niece," Deventhia remarked teasingly, tapping Valeriana’s forehead playfully.

In that moment of contact, Valeriana looked at Deventhia blankly, but her aunt’s attention shifted as the golden-eyed boy’s gaze met hers. "And, I don’t think he is an idiot."

Pursing her lips, Valeriana tried to decipher her aunt’s words before turning to her. "Aunt, you’re teasing me, aren’t you?"

"Am I?" Deventhia feigned ignorance, tilting her head while observing Valeriana.

"Then, is he interested in me?" Valeriana fell for her aunt’s playful banter once more, genuinely seeking clarification.

’I don’t want my innocent sweetheart to fall for that man’s child, but...’ Deventhia turned towards Zeph, who stood gazing at Valeriana in a daze, before continuing, "He is definitely interested in you. Look at how he’s waving his hand towards you."

Startled by her aunt’s words, Valeriana turned to see Zeph greeting her by shaking hands, leaving her bewildered by this unexpected gesture from him.

To avoid making him uncomfortable, she hesitantly waved her hand in return.

"But he isn’t interested in me." She slowly loosened her hand, wanting to tell her aunt truth but feeling it inappropriate to disclose someone else’s preferences. "He isn’t even interested in any girls."

"Pfffttt, Hahaha, Oh my, this kid!" Deventhia burst into laughter, finding the misunderstanding highly amusing, clutching her stomach in mirth.

Confused by her aunt’s sudden laughter, Valeriana gazed at her.

While it wasn’t unusual for Deventhia to be whimsical, this reaction left her perplexed.

She then shifted her attention to Zeph, who was heading their way, hoping he would release the third-year student and not make her feel uncomfortable in his embrace.

Overwhelmed by Estelle’s curse-filled thoughts, Valeriana sensed the discomfort but felt lost as Zeph remained oblivious to it.

Zeph’s POV

"Now, your curses should be in control," I remarked, observing Estelle burying her head into my chest, realizing her pride had taken a considerable blow, precisely what I aimed for.

I needed to convey a message to her using this situation.

Considering her haughty attitude, I was well aware of her embarrassment or else she might have ended me.

Contemplating Estelle’s behavior as mentioned in the novel, I couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to maintain distance from her, but now that her possession of future memories had been revealed.

’It will be challenging, but I desire this woman’

Her possession of future knowledge could be advantageous to me, offering insights into minor details omitted in the novel.

"Leave me, Zeph, or you’ll see your dead body.", Estelle’s face was Twitching, already feeling her anger surging to a limit.

’Like I care,’ I thought. I had already faced death once; her empty threats held no sway over me, particularly within the academy’s confines.

’!?’

’Is that Valeriana?’

Suddenly, my attention turned to my seatmate and also a potential soulmate.

’No, my eyes must be deceiving me.’ I couldn’t trust what I was witnessing at that moment.

Valeriana Hedrian was waving at me of her own volition, appearing quite cheerful.

Was I dreaming?

’Don’t tell me her misunderstanding about my preferences in males made her guard down.’ I couldn’t help but consider the benefits of her assuming I had an interest in men—making her open with me.

It was impossible for me not to wave back at her.

Slowly lifting my hand, I returned the gesture.

"Kyaaa~!! You bastard, hold me, hold me!"

"Oh, shoot!" Swiftly, I moved my hand to support her, placing it beneath her to prevent her from falling,’ damn this girl’

"Cough, release my neck!", I felt suffocated being held like that all of a sudden.

Just as Estelle was about to lose balance, she clung tightly to my neck to steady herself.

Although my initial thought was to drop her, I refrained, realizing the presence of numerous students—it would have been too much, even for Estelle. ’After all, I can’t harm a beauty, except perhaps in the bedroom.’

"Haah..." It felt refreshing feeling her grip loosening.

I moved towards where Valeriana had stood alone a while ago, though now the professor had also arrived.

....

"Good morning, Zeph," Professor Deventhia greeted Zeph with a smile, which left him puzzled.

"How are you, Arianna?" Zeph’s words made Valeriana narrow her eyes, attempting to remind him not to use such titles. "Zeph, you can’t use—"

"Leave me, you bastard!" Estelle shouted, feeling things were escalating beyond what was acceptable.

It had been manageable when only students witnessed her in this embarassing position, but now...

Looking at Professor Deventhia, who was also her mentor, her mind snapped.

WHOOSH

In that fleeting moment, her hand conjured a small ice crystal, holding it like a knife, as she lunged it towards Zeph’s face.

SCHLKT

"Aggghhh!"

Suddenly, she found herself on the ground, witnessing Zeph holding his eyes, falling to his knees in excruciating pain.

"Ughhh, I can’t see!"

thump

Seeing Zeph scream and blood drip from his eyes, Estelle’s heart skipped a beat.

’No, no.’ Her mind raced as she saw his body contorting in agony.

Swiftly holding him, she began pleading, "Z-Zeph, I am sorry, please, hey, listen to me."

"Ughhhh, it hurts."

Witnessing his pain, her eyes welled up, regret swirling within her.

Biting her lips, she pleaded, "I understand, Professor Deventhia! Please, stop it."

Having lived several lives and always being taught by the same teacher, she had learned enough to discern potential illusions.

Though unable to detect it now, understanding Deventhia’s personality, she knew it was possible for her mentor to teach her a lesson by invoking regret.

"Oh, you seemed to improve, Estelle," Deventhia genuinely expressed surprise, noticing the girl’s ability to see through her illusion.

Hearing Deventhia’s words, Zeph turned to the girl in his embrace.

Estelle already overwhelmed with that illusion, calmed down her protest, and softly, she murmured, "Please, leave me."

Understanding he had gone too far, Zeph loosened his grip and slowly released her to the ground. "Yeah, here you go."

Standing there, Estelle bowed to Deventhia before greeting her, "Good morning, Professor."

"I guess we need to talk, Estelle." A small smile formed on Deventhia’s face as she noticed her student’s expression trying to convey something.

Turning to Zeph and Thalia, who seemed to be intently observing her niece, she sighed, sensing Valeriana’s deliberate ignorance of Thalia since the beginning.

"I’m taking my leave then," she said, turning to leave.

Estelle followed her, her legs feeling better than before but still causing her to walk slowly. As she left, Deventhia glanced back at the trio. ’I can only do this much’

It was she who created the situation where, when Zeph looked towards Valeriana, he could only see her waving at him with a smile.

She manipulated her illusions to make her niece believe that Zeph waved at her of his own accord, initiating the interaction to further their relationship.

Feeling the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, Deventhia made her way into the Academy, while outside, the three people were lost in their own worlds.

Thalia intensely observed Valeriana, contemplating how to deal with her, but her thoughts were not favorable for Valeriana’s ears, causing her to avert her gaze.

"Valeriana, what happened? Are you alright?" Zeph asked, feeling the need to swiftly enter the Academy premises.

"Nothing. By the way, what were you guys doing in Thallasar?" Valeriana inquired, aware of the ship belonging to the Royal Family of Thallasar, making it plausible for them to be present in that kingdom.

"We just got a lift," Zeph replied, making an excuse that Valeriana was unlikely to believe.

"In mid-air?" Valeriana questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Cough, I mean—" Zeph tried to explain but was interrupted by Thalia.

"We were on a honeymoon," Thalia stated with a straight face, leaving Valeriana stunned and glancing at Zeph in disbelief.

Observing her reaction, Zeph nodded in agreement, trying to navigate the situation without divulging any details.

Valeriana was taken aback, finding it difficult to comprehend.

’how can she do this’, She couldn’t understand why Thalia would subject Zeph to such an awkward scenario.

"’ sigh, I just wanted to decline it, why are you making things difficult for me Thalia "’

Zeph’s thoughts revealed his dilemma—he wanted to decline but found it challenging due to Thalia’s involvement, atleast this was what Valeriana understood.

He didn’t want to spoil Thalia’s image, nor did he wish to ruin his chance to impress Valeriana, making him think something that was true in a sense.

The thoughts transmitted to Valeriana hinted at the complexity of Zeph’s situation.

Aware of Thalia’s cunning nature, Valeriana’s mind started concocting scenarios about what Thalia might have done to coerce Zeph into agreement.

Her imagination ran wild with the possibilities.

’I had a feeling she was dangerous,’ Valeriana thought, ’But this is beyond my expectations!’

Believing that Thalia might be blackmailing Zeph with some secret regarding his preferences, Valeriana couldn’t help but react.

"Thalia, I already know Zeph is interested in men. Stop manipulating him!"