A collective laugh escaped from the group, finally breaking the heavy tension in the air as Meldora’s gritty mouth slowly began to fade back into Zenith’s pale skin.

"I will remember you, Lucian..." the demonic voice echoed faintly, right before completely vanishing without a trace.

Now that the curse was officially lifted, Aria could finally leave the damp cove and return to the academy. However, there were still some lingering practical doubts, which Kaelen quickly pointed out.

"It’s been two whole days..." Kaelen muttered, his anxiety creeping back in. "What if someone got suspicious? I mean, the infirmary staff, or other students..."

Before he could spiral any further, Lucian instantly cut in to ease his worries.

"Don’t worry, Kaelen. I already left someone on guard duty for exactly this reason. All we have to do now is sneak her back in and act as if she was sleeping on that bed the entire time."

Right after the second exam had ended, Lucian had secretly instructed Cassian to handle the situation at the infirmary. Knowing full well that Cassian was basically Aria’s loyal puppy who would do absolutely anything for her, Lucian had taken full advantage of the boy’s devotion. Cassian had cast a continuous hypnosis spell over the room—anyone who walked through those doors simply saw a convincing illusion of Aria resting peacefully on her bed.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Lucian firmly clasped his hands together.

"Alright, everyone... thank you," Lucian began, breaking the silence. "First, Lyria, Zeri, and Kaelen—thank you for taking care of Aria. And Zenith, Viktor... thank you both as well. I couldn’t have pulled this off without your help."

Offering a surprisingly elegant, formal bow, Lucian looked at them with genuine gratitude.

Caught completely off guard by the graceful gesture, Zenith’s cheeks flushed a light shade of pink.

"T-There’s no need for that," she stammered, waving her hands slightly. "I was just... ahem, I mean, I just wanted to help because all of this was our—"

Before Zenith could even finish her sentence, Sera casually slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"Yeah, yeah... ’our team member Adrian’s fault,’ blah blah blah. Give it a rest," Sera interrupted dismissively.

Then, leaning in dangerously close to Zenith’s ear, Sera lowered her voice into a sneaky, teasing whisper...

"You aren’t taking an interest in my man, are you? Is that why you—"

Before Sera could even finish the sentence, Zenith snapped out of her grip. She immediately took two huge steps backward and spun completely around, facing away from the group.

Whatever expression was currently plastered across her face... there was absolutely no way she could let anyone see it.

Everyone just stared at Zenith in silence, completely baffled by her sudden, weird reaction. Breaking the awkwardness of the moment, Lyria turned her attention back to Lucian and asked the lingering question.

"So... what is your plan now? Are you still going to Zandar?"

Everyone’s eyes immediately locked onto Lucian, trying to read the expression on his face. However, Sera and Elira exchanged a subtle glance, looking as if they already knew the exact answer.

Aria, as if she had already read his intentions too, stepped forward too and spoke up hesitantly.

"Lucian, please... don’t go anywhere right now. Just let this exam finish first. I promise I will take full care of myself from now on..."

Lyria immediately chimed in, nodding in agreement. "Yes, Aria is right. Just wait for this exam to pass. Once it’s over, we can all come with you too..."

Standing beside them, Kaelen and Zeri also nodded in strong agreement.

Zenith finally turned back around, her face masked once again with her usual, dead-serious expression.

"They are right..." she said firmly. "Once the exam is over, we can approach the situation legally. I can help you with that... from my side."

However, Lucian had something else entirely on his mind. He glanced around at all of their concerned faces.

Why do they think I would just charge in there right now without a proper plan? he thought to himself. My first priority was always Aria’s safety. Now that she’s safe, dealing with Liebe after the exams is definitely the most logical step... still.

He frowned slightly. System, what do you think? he asked inwardly.

[Idiot, think for a second. Are you really going to just waste this four-day weekend, or are you going to use it to rest and prepare for the final tournament?]

Hmm... fair point.

"You’re all right," Lucian finally said out loud, his frown softening. "We should just relax and enjoy this weekend."

"Yeeupp!" Sera cheered, excitedly jumping up from behind him.

Elira just stared at her with a completely flat, judgmental expression.

"Heh... what?" Sera muttered defensively, crossing her arms.

A light chuckle rippled through the rest of the group. Seeing the usual banter return, even Viktor allowed a faint, rare smile to grace his face.

...

..

.

The rest of the day passed by normally. Lyria and the others headed back to their dorms, and Zenith eventually took her leave as well.

When Cassian finally saw Aria fully recovered and back in her room, he immediately dropped to his knees, grabbed the hem of her dress, and started bawling his eyes out while apologizing profusely. Aria, being her kind self, forgave him, which caused his affection level to instantly jump by 10 points, bringing it to a solid 82.

Still, Aria made it crystal clear to him that there would be no engagement, nor would things ever go back to the way they were before. Despite the harsh boundary, Cassian simply pleaded for her not to stay mad at him, asking only that she allow him to continue protecting her.

Neither Aria nor anyone else could really understand Cassian’s overwhelmingly devoted, almost dog-like nature. However, since he had actually been a huge help during this whole crisis, Lucian decided to just tolerate his presence without overthinking it too much.

Besides, Lucian was already well aware of just how much his own girls’ affection levels had spiked recently...

Later that night, the moment Lucian stepped into his room, Leon suddenly pounced, jumping right onto him.

"Papa, papa! I want food..."

Sigh. I completely forgot about him... Lucian thought, catching the little guy.

"Alright, kiddo, wait," Lucian said gently. "I have something just for you."

Leon looked up at him with wide, sparkling, expectant eyes.

"First, close your eyes..."

"’Kay..." Leon mumbled, tightly squeezing his little eyes shut.

Looking down at him, Lucian couldn’t help but soften. Aww, he is so adorable... with a face just like his mother’s... ahem, I mean, Aria’s...

Reaching his hand behind his back, Lucian focused his energy, and something slowly began to materialize in his grasp...