Free Web NovelChapter 52: Star Four Knight
"D-did he just call out Senior Noah by his name?"
"Great. While we were doing our best to avoid him, that idiot called him out upfront."
"Do they know each other? If not, it would be fun seeing that commoner get beaten by Senior Noah."
The students’ murmurs, filled with confusion, annoyance, and anticipation, echoed through the hall.
Noah raised his head, his eyes moving toward Vlad in the distance. A frown appeared on his face as Vlad continued to wave at him. His expression hardened.
He lowered his head again, completely ignoring him.
And the next moment, a hand was placed on his shoulder. The fabric of his uniform rustled under the sudden weight.
"Yo, why didn’t you wave back?" Vlad asked, standing beside him. He had crossed the room with surprising speed.
Another wave of gasps rippled through the students at the sheer audacity of Vlad placing his hand on Noah’s shoulder. Eyes widened across the hall. He would not walk out from this even if he was a Crownbearer.
"Why would I?" Noah retorted, shrugging his shoulder to remove Vlad’s hand. "Stop acting as if we are close."
"Man, we slept together last night," Vlad said with a convincing tone. His voice carried just enough for the nearest students to hear.
They did what last night!???? Jaws dropped. A few students leaned forward, straining to catch every word.
"I thought you weren’t mad at me anymore for throwing your clothes out of the window."
Why would he throw Noah’s clothes out? What were they doing? The whispers grew more frantic.
"I even offered to buy you new cloth—"
"Shut your damn mouth, bastard!" Noah snapped, his hand clasping Vlad’s mouth tight. His palm pressed firmly against Vlad’s lips.
Veins bulged across his forehead as the boys looked at them with eyes bulging out of their sockets and jaws touching the floor, while girls looked at them with hands placed over their mouths, their cheeks blushing furiously. A few had stars in their eyes.
They were eager to know what happened next.
"You deliberately did it, didn’t you?" Noah muttered, his grip around Vlad’s mouth tightening. Wasn’t his reputation already bad enough without becoming the centre of one more rumour? And that too on the very first day of the semester. His temples throbbed with frustration.
A hand grabbed Noah’s wrist tightly. The grip was surprisingly strong.
"Remove your hand," Chloe muttered, her fingers digging into Noah’s skin. Her knuckles were white with tension.
The frown on Noah’s face deepened. He retreated his hand with a jolt.
And that was when he was hit by another question.
"What did you do with him last night?" Chloe demanded. Noah could already hear her knuckles popping as she clenched her fists. The sound was sharp and threatening.
"I-is this a love triangle?" a girl gasped from among the students, while several others jumped in excitement at the drama unfolding before them. Their hushed squeals filled the gaps between sentences.
Noah wanted to cry now. He realised these rumours would haunt him until the day he graduated. His silver hair fell across his face as he lowered his head in defeat.
"We did nothing. He is my roommate, for God’s sake," Noah tried to clear the misunderstanding as best as he could. His voice carried a desperate edge.
He was convincing no one. The girls were already looking at him like a mistress caught by the wife of a cheating husband. Sympathy and scandal mingled in their gazes.
Chloe turned a sharp glare at Vlad and ordered, "Stay away from stinky white."
"Hey! What did you just call m—"
"Chloe, he isn’t a bad guy... except for the part that he stinks," Vlad said, trying to convince Chloe, cutting the question in person mid-sentence. His hands rose in a placating gesture.
Chloe looked back at Noah. His blue eyes narrowed behind the strands of his silver hair, his long sharp eyebrows twitching in annoyance.
Stinking was the least of Chloe’s problems. She absolutely did not want this pretty boy near Vlad. Something about him made her instincts bristle.
She was about to say something when suddenly the double doors of the hall opened again. The heavy wood swung inward with a deep groan, drawing every eye toward the entrance.
A man with short cyan hair, deep black eyes, and a short beard that was not properly shaved, covering the lower half of his face, walked in. His muscular frame was draped in formal attire, the top three buttons of his shirt opened, revealing his chest hair underneath. The fabric strained slightly against his broad shoulders.
The chaos inside the hall instantly died down. The only sound that echoed was the heavy sole of the man’s boot hitting the marble floor, each step deliberate and commanding.
The students moved sideways, paving the way for him to reach the platform at the centre.
"Good Morning, Professor Victor."
"Good Morning, Professor Victor."
The students greeted him with slight bows as he moved past them. Their voices were respectful, almost reverent.
"Good Morning, Mileva."
"Good Morning, Albert."
Victor greeted them back with a smile. Even though it was his first lecture with the first-years, every student already knew him, as he had overseen their admissions alongside Professor Dorin. The surprising part was that he responded with the first name of each student that greeted him, bringing smiles to their faces.
Once he reached the platform, he began,
"Good Morning, Everyone. What a lovely day to begin seeing the energetic faces of my dear students.
How is the academy life faring you?"
"It’s been wonderful, Professor!"
"We are adapting well, sir!"
"The facilities are incredible! The food in the cafeteria is even better than the cook back home." freёwebnovel.com
The students responded enthusiastically, sharing their brief experiences of the academy. Their voices overlapped in a cheerful chorus.
"Lovely, lovely," Victor chuckled, giving an expression to each of the answers he received. His eyes crinkled at the corners.
"Now then, let’s begin the lecture with my favourite part."
Victor folded his arms, his head rising high in pride as he revealed,
"I’m Victor Vael, a Star Four knight, also known as The Bulwark Knight.
I am your Instructor and Professor for The Mastery of Combat and Weapons for the next three years."
Murmurs swept through the hall, growing louder with every passing second. Students exchanged stunned looks, their expressions ranging from disbelief to awe.
Even Vlad was left with parted lips and widened eyes.
"He is a Star Four knight?"
