Lucifer: Godless Reawakening-Chapter 252: Smug queen

Knock.

With a tired sigh, Dorothy got up and opened the door.

Three familiar female students stood on the other side.

Natalie raised a brow. "Where is she?"

Dorothy rolled her eyes and stepped aside to let them in. "Still lost in her dreams. Go ahead. Help me burst that bubble."

Natalie chuckled as she entered, Gizel and Mia trailing behind, though it was obvious they had been dragged here by Natalie’s insistence.

Inside, the short haired girl spotted Emma seated at her desk. A quill rested loosely in her hand, her chin propped against her palm as she stared out the window with a distant, dreamy smile.

Natalie crossed her arms. "What’s got you grinning like that?"

Emma let out a soft laugh. "You wouldn’t understand."

The silver haired girl shook her head lightly, closed her diary, and turned toward them.

Gizel hummed. "It seems the journey was quite... fruitful for you. You and William looked closer than ever during lunch."

Emma’s smile deepened. "Well, that’s love. It only grows stronger with each passing day."

Natalie and Dorothy both winced and instinctively exchanged a glance. One had yet to confess her feelings to the man she liked, and the other had recently been rejected by her crush. Their reaction said enough.

"See?" Dorothy groaned. "It’s like she’s been inhaling sweet air ever since she came back."

Mia simply smiled warmly. "I’m happy for you, Emma."

Emma beamed at her. "Only you understand me, Mia. Anyway, when did you all return?"

She had come back to the academy directly from the mission site instead of returning to the base first. That was why she had no idea about the movements of the other teams.

"We returned last night, actually," Gizel replied. "After coming back from our respective missions, we were given the option to rest for the night or leave instantly. Most of us chose to leave. The atmosphere there was quite... how should I put it..."

"Suffocating," Natalie finished for her. "Being a warrior is one thing, but everyone needs a breather now and then. I wouldn’t say the Great Hall feels like a graveyard, but the new environment definitely weighed on us."

Mia nodded quickly. "Right. I remember when I first joined the academy, I couldn’t sleep properly for several nights either."

Gizel let out a breath. "Compared to that place, where every minute feels like something could go wrong, the academy feels peaceful."

Emma hummed and leaned back against the wall. Studying their tired expressions and the faint wounds still visible on their skin, she said quietly, "You all had it rough, didn’t you? The rescue missions were meant to be our first real step into the world of danger... but we faced things none of us were prepared for."

Mia’s shoulders slumped slightly. "To be honest, I was spared from the worst of it because of William. He handled most of the chaos. I just did what I was told to do. Rescue people."

But then, she shook her head slowly. "Even so... the whole experience left a mark on me."

"Listening to people cry as they were dying... watching them get torn apart and being unable to do anything..." Natalie muttered. "I felt that too."

Her voice lowered.

"For the first time, being rational felt like a crime. No matter how much Kevin and the others tried to comfort me, I couldn’t erase those images."

She sat down on the bed, her head bowed as the emotions she had been holding back finally surfaced.

Gizel turned toward the window, her expression distant. "This entire training program is something I think every student should experience before joining one of the five major academies. It forces you to understand the path you’ve chosen and what you must be ready to face."

Emma silently agreed.

She had participated in missions before. She had saved people. She had fought monsters.

But those operations had always been under her father’s supervision.

There had always been a safety net. If something went wrong, someone stronger would step in.

This time, there was no such reassurance.

It had been an awakening for her as well.

"And that’s why I respect William even more now," Mia added softly, a faint smile curving her lips. "Hearing that Count Delimore raised him like a warrior was one thing. But seeing him fight..."

Her eyes lowered slightly.

"I realized not every noble child grows up sheltered."

Everyone in the room silently agreed, and that alone made Emma smile without realizing it.

Dorothy caught it and snickered. "Look at that smug face. You’re very proud, aren’t you?"

"Of course I am," Emma replied without hesitation.

Gizel let out a slow breath. "I did notice something, though. Things seem... much more intimate between you two after returning from the mission."

Natalie nodded. "Exactly. Don’t think we missed how you were acting in the common hall. Him feeding you, wiping your mouth, hovering around you like that... A guy only becomes that attentive when... wait."

She suddenly shot up from her seat and spun toward Emma.

"You’re pregnant?!"

"Emma is pregnant?!" Dorothy gasped in horror.

The silver haired girl rolled her eyes. "I wish. But no. Not right now."

Mia’s face turned bright red, yet she forced herself to ask, "Not yet... means... you and William... already...?"

Emma’s grin widened mischievously. "What do you think?"

This time, every other girl in the room visibly winced.

Facing the smug queen today was truly impossible.

....

On the other side of the dormitory, William was in the middle of his workout, steadily doing pushups on the wooden floor of his room.

Loid sat comfortably on the bed, a book in his hands, though his attention drifted more toward William than the pages.

The pink haired boy glanced at William’s bare upper body and muttered, "You know, I’m quite a fan of battle scars. And your body looks like a trophy rack to me."

William let out a low hum, finished his set, then lowered himself flat onto the floor before tilting his head up to look at him. "Then go out and challenge something strong."

Loid rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I dislike pain, though..."

William rolled his eyes and pushed himself back up, resuming his workout without another word.

He had two full days of break, and he had no intention of growing rusty. For now, he couldn’t challenge a dungeon or join a raid. An examination was approaching as well.

If he couldn’t test himself outside, he would sharpen himself here.

"Ah, right. Have you prepared your notes for the written exams?" Loid asked, already reaching beneath his pillow.

William didn’t even look at him. "I’ll start tonight."

As expected.

Loid pulled out a neatly compiled notebook and extended it toward him. "I had some spare time, so I revised the syllabus and wrote everything down. It might help."

William reached out, took the notebook, and finally rose to his feet.

He stood at around six feet, his frame lean yet powerfully sculpted. After half an hour of intense training, his muscles were firm and defined, veins faintly visible beneath his skin. His abs were sharply outlined, his collarbone pronounced.

Loid nodded in open appreciation. "If I had even half your personality, I might’ve confessed to my crush by now."

William paused mid page. "You have a crush?"

Loid nodded. "Yeah. She was part of the training program too."

William froze.

Slowly, his eyes narrowed.

The atmosphere in the room shifted so abruptly that Loid felt the air thin in his lungs.

He waved his hands frantically. "I-It’s not Miss Emma!"

"Oh."

William simply shrugged and returned to reading the notes.

Loid released a long breath, his chest finally relaxing.

After a moment, William asked without looking up, "So? Who is it?"

Loid shifted awkwardly. "You have to promise you won’t tell anyone... It’s Miss Natalie."

William let out a short chuckle. "That knucklehead?"

Loid pouted. "Hey. Don’t insult her like that."

William raised both hands in surrender. "Alright, my bad." Then he added casually, "Why don’t you just talk to her? You’re good looking, and you’ve got a decent personality."

Loid’s face brightened. "You think so?"

But just as quickly, his shoulders slumped. "It doesn’t matter though. Miss Natalie is already in a relationship with Kevin."

William scoffed. "That’s a misunderstanding."

He flipped a page and continued, "Before I spoke to Emma, I also thought she and Kevin had something going on. That guy just has a habit of acting overly caring toward the girls around him."

Loid’s eyes lit up. "So... you’re saying I might have a chance?"

William shrugged. "Go talk to her. If she’s uncomfortable, be a gentleman and step back. But if she isn’t... there’s no harm in trying."

Loid sat there for a second, then clenched his fists with renewed determination.

After consulting William, he felt unexpectedly motivated.

Nodding, he muttered, "Then...I will approach her during dinner."

Just then,

*Knock*

There were two knocks on the door.

William glanced at the other guy before Loid got up and approached the door

Opening, he found a Professor standing there.

"Professor Ghast?"

The bespectacled man asked, "Is William inside?"

William parted the door more and asked, "Yeah?"

Ghast clicked his tongue seeing his half naked form before saying, "Get dressed. You have some visitors from the royal capital."

William frowned...now, what was this about?

He wanted to ask the man more but he had already stepped back and turned away.

William exhaled a sigh and stepped back in the room and approached the wardrobe.

It feels like this day is going to be long for some reason.

°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.