Free Web NovelChapter 122: Chapter 120
The demo class had been conducted Friday morning, and because the schedule got rearranged afterward, combat training was moved to the afternoon.
Which meant the entire class was now heading towards the open grounds half-awake and complaining.
Unfortunately, Blanca had completely finished the coffee milk Silvano made earlier and now she wanted more.
Desperately.
While the others were talking amongst themselves, Blanca quietly drifted away from her group before appearing beside Silvano like a caffeine-starved ghost.
"Hey, Sylvie."
Silvano ignored her immediately.
"Sylvie," she said again while lightly tugging his sleeve, "make me another one."
"No."
"Come on," Blanca whined softly while shaking his arm. "I promise not to annoy you anymore."
"Tempting," Silvano replied flatly, "but no. That was the last of it."
The surrounding students stared at them in stunned silence, the sight in front of them was deeply unnatural.
The same Blanca Frostine who once threatened to throw a chair at someone for breathing too loudly near her carving was currently clinging to Silvano’s sleeve while whining softly.
"Please?" she tried again. "Just one more cup..."
Silvano looked like a man actively fighting for his sanity. "No."
"My hardworking, talented, handsome assistant—"
"No."
"My sweet Sylvie—"
"Absolutely not." ƒrēewebnovel.com
She looked genuinely heartbroken. "You’re so cruel..."
"You’re terrifying," Silvano shot back immediately. "This morning you flirted with half the academy and now you’re acting cute for caffeine!"
"I’m not acting."
Silvano pinched her cheeks in desperation. "Stop looking at me like that! Go back to being unhinged!"
"Ow! Sylvie it hurts!" she complained while trying to pry his hand away. "You’re bullying your own master!"
"Good! Maybe pain will bring the real Blanca back!"
"I am the real Blanca!"
"No you’re not! The real Blanca would’ve bitten me by now!"
"What are you talking about, Sylvie?" Blanca mumbled softly while rubbing her cheeks. "That hurts..."
To Silvano’s absolute horror, her eyes started watering slightly.
"I’m sorry!" he said instantly before gently rubbing her cheeks instead. "It’s because of the—" He groaned in defeat. "Just don’t drink coffee anymore!"
Meanwhile his entire group was staring at them like they had accidentally entered an alternate dimension.
"...Why is Blanca acting like that?"
"Why is she not threatening violence?"
"Why is Silvano the loud one today?"
"Did they swap personalities?"
One student slowly pointed at Blanca. "She even has tears in her eyes..."
Everyone looked horrified.
Blanca never cried.
Ever.
In fact, she was usually the reason other people cried.
So the sight of tears forming in her eyes was deeply disturbing to everyone witnessing it.
Blanca finally stopped the tears before glaring weakly at him. "You’re so mean..."
Silvano stared at her for a long moment then immediately looked away while covering part of his face. "...Oh this is bad."
"What?"
"You’re becoming even more unbearable."
She blinked innocently. "Is that your way of saying I’m cute?"
"No! It’s my way of saying I miss the violent version of you!"
"...I think Silvano likes being bullied," One of the students suddenly whispered.
"I HEARD THAT!" Silvano snapped instantly.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Ravian, who had been leading the class toward the open grounds, finally stopped walking when nearly half the students behind him stopped too.
He glanced back. "...What is it now?" he muttered under his breath.
Most of them were either whispering, staring somewhere behind him, or outright standing still like spectators waiting for the next episode of a drama series.
At this point, dealing with Altaire Class felt less like supervising classmates and more like supervising escaped zoo animals.
Ravian sighed tiredly before glancing at Vivienne beside him. "Viv, lead the class ahead first. I’ll go check what’s happening."
Vivienne nodded calmly before turning toward the others. "Keep walking," she said gently. "Combat training still exists unfortunately."
The students groaned but obeyed.
Meanwhile Ravian headed toward the commotion but the closer he got, the weirder his expression became.
Because in the middle of the hallway stood Blanca and Silvano looking like the leads of some painfully dramatic romance series.
Silvano currently had both hands on Blanca’s cheeks while Blanca laughed at his increasingly frustrated reactions.
"...Go back to normal," Silvano groaned.
"But I am normal."
"No, you’re emotionally terrifying."
Blanca only laughed again.
Ravian stopped walking.
Since when did Silvano get comfortable touching women? More importantly, why was Blanca allowing it?
Normally if someone grabbed her face like that, they would lose their hand privileges permanently.
Yet now she was just standing there smiling brightly at him.
And somehow, she looked prettier while laughing.
That realization alone annoyed him for reasons he didn’t want to examine too deeply.
Before Ravian could process it further, he noticed the students around him still standing there shamelessly watching everything unfold like unpaid background actors.
One of them was even eating chips while watching.
Ravian’s smile twitched dangerously. "...Are you all here to participate in combat training," he asked pleasantly, "or watch a romance drama unfold in real time?"
The students flinched instantly.
"S-Sorry!"
"We were just curious!"
"Silvano looked like he was about to cry!"
They quickly scattered and ran toward the open grounds.
Soon the hallway became quieter, leaving Ravian standing there alone.
Ahead of him, Blanca suddenly leaned closer toward Silvano again with that same playful smile.
"Sylvie," she teased softly, "you really like touching my face today."
Silvano looked horrified immediately and let go of her like he had touched fire.
"I DON’T!"
Blanca burst into laughter again.
Ravian stared at them silently for a few seconds longer before finally approaching them.
"Silvano, why are the both of you still here?"
Before Silvano could answer, Blanca immediately spoke first.
"Don’t blame Sylvie," she said sweetly. "It was my fault. I’m sorry."
Ravian froze.
He slowly looked at Blanca.
She admitted fault first?
And apologized voluntarily?
This was deeply concerning.
Normally Blanca blamed the environment, society, destiny, and occasionally gravity before admitting she did something wrong.
Ravian looked at Silvano for answers.
Silvano looked like a hostage begging silently for help.
Before Ravian could question further, Blanca suddenly stepped closer, tugging on his sleeve while looking up at him expectantly.
"Ian, do you know how to make coffee?"
Ravian stopped functioning for a second. "...What."
She tilted her innocently. "Coffee?"
"Not that part," he said immediately.
"Oh." She smiled sheepishly. "Ian?"
"...Yeah."
"You told me to call you that before, remember?" she said while giggling softly.
He did tell her but it was months ago and she ignored him every single time after that.
"...Although I don’t remember when exactly. Sorry about that," she continued.
Ravian immediately looked away for a second.
She apologized again.
’What kind of cursed beverage did she drink this morning?’
Meanwhile beside them, Silvano looked one second away from screaming.
"DON’T ENCOURAGE HER!"
Ravian ignored him completely.
Instead, he looked back at Blanca, whose fingers were still lightly holding onto his sleeve.
Something warm settled unpleasantly comfortably in his chest.
Fine.
If this version of Blanca existed temporarily, he might as well take advantage of it before she transformed back into her usual violent self.
"Promise me something first," he said calmly.
"What?"
"Call me Ian whenever we meet."
Silvano immediately snapped his head toward Ravian. "You too?!"
Blanca smiled brightly without hesitation. "I promise!"
Ravian felt absurdly satisfied by that answer.
Then she immediately ruined the moment. "So can you make coffee?"
"...That’s all you care about?"
"Yes."
He was about to answer when Silvano suddenly coughed loudly.
Very loudly.
COUGH—!
Ravian looked at him.
Silvano was standing behind Blanca frantically shaking his head like a man trying to stop a national disaster.
He even crossed both arms dramatically into an X while silently mouthing:
NO.
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Ravian stared at him for a moment then slowly looked back at Blanca.
She was still waiting expectantly, completely unaware that the people around her were currently treating caffeine like a forbidden substance.
"...Maybe," Ravian said carefully, "it’s better if you stick to milk only."
Blanca blinked. "How did you know that?"
Ravian smiled faintly. "You literally carry milk everywhere you go."
Come to think of it, he had never actually seen Blanca without milk nearby.
She drank it during lectures.
During carving.
During breaks.
There was even one time she threatened a student for touching the last carton inside the cafeteria fridge.
"You really like milk that much?" he asked.
Blanca looked personally offended. "Like?" she repeated. "Ian, milk is a lifestyle."
Silvano covered his face. "See? That sounds more like the Blanca we know."
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Open Grounds
"You’ll be competing with the rest of the class again today," Dmitri announced from the front while students gathered around the open grounds.
Instant groans immediately spread everywhere.
"Again?!"
"Can’t we fight emotionally instead?"
"I still haven’t recovered from the tower incident..."
Dmitri ignored every complaint expertly.
"We’ll be conducting combat training under low-light and simulated night conditions," he continued. "So today’s training will take place inside a dungeon."
The moment he said dungeon—
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Some students looked excited.
Others looked nervous.
Meanwhile I was barely listening to Dmitri anymore and instead kept yawning while absentmindedly playing with Sebastian’s fingers.
I was still thinking about coffee. Specifically, the tragedy of not having more coffee.
"Why won’t you let me play with your hair, Seb?" I asked while tracing circles on his palm.
Sebastian snorted. "Because I enjoy having a functioning neck."
"...Sorry." I slowly loosened my hold on his hand. "It seems like I’m bothering you too much."
The moment I tried pulling away, Sebastian immediately tightened his grip around my hand instead.
"It’s not bothering me," he said casually. "If it was, I would’ve moved away already."
Then he glanced down at our hands before looking back at me.
"That’s why I let you play with my hand, Bella."
"Aww. You’re too sweet, Seb," I smiled brightly. "I really wish girls would realize how nice you actually are."
Sebastian immediately looked alarmed. "What is wrong with you today?"
He even placed a hand against my forehead to check my temperature.
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I said, laughing softly before pulling his hand away. "Nothing’s wrong. I just drank coffee this morning."
"But you always drink milk."
"Sylvie mixed coffee into it," I answered happily. "And it tasted amazing."
Sebastian went silent for a moment then looked towards Silvano. "You idiot."
"I KNOW!" Silvano shouted back. "DO YOU THINK I WANTED THIS?!"
Nearby students kept glancing at me nervously because while unhinged Blanca was terrifying, coffee Blanca somehow felt even more dangerous.
At least the violent version threatened people openly.
This version smiled sweetly while psychologically confusing everyone around her.
