Chapter 70: 070: PROFESSOR/ARCHITECT CAELUM

I walked to the entrance with Lilith clinging to me. "My magic increased a few weeks ago. I made a plant grow, and I was complimented. Sister, I’m doing everything you said I should do," Lilith said, but my mind was clearly somewhere else...

Elowen and the Duke..... The Duke tucked Elowen’s hair behind her ear, and Elowen clung to her, holding her hands and smiling.

"Sister, don’t look," Lilith said, and I shifted my gaze to her.

"Don’t worry, I’m not even hurt in the slightest," I mumbled, and she hugged me. "You have me," she said, and I gently caressed her hair. Everyone was present with their parents, hugging and practically narrating everything to them. Except Liora, why wasn’t she present? Then I remembered, her stepmother actually didn’t want her... we are on the same page.

I gently stretched and yawned, walking towards them. I noticed the way the Duke’s face darkened even before I could say a thing.

"Why have you been bullying your sister?" she said, and I rolled my eyes.

"Bullying?" I laughed and stepped closer. "Dear mother, this is bullying," I said and raised my hands in the air. No one expected it, but a slap landed on Elowen’s face. Before she could react, my hand grabbed her hair...

"This is bullying!" I said, staring straight at my mother. Her eyes darkened, and she raised her hand in the air, but then—

STRIKE

Lightning struck straight into the ground, and everyone froze. I stared up at the clouds. I thought this world hadn’t been protecting Elowen for a while now... what is happening?

Before I could think of anything, I saw the lightning bolt strike toward me. I let go of Elowen’s hair and dragged Lilith back, shielding her with my body. It struck the ground in the middle, boring a hole there. I stood frozen.

Dust particles lingered in the air.

Cough, cough...the others let out, yet I stood there shaken. I bit down on my teeth. The lightning had struck me. I felt blood drop from my left arm to the ground.

Elowen stood there frozen, but the Duke had shielded her.

"Ravennn!" the Duke called in anger, but I didn’t answer. I wiped the blood off. Luckily, it had just grazed me.

"Are you hurt?" Lilith asked, and I shook my head.

The dust cleared, and everyone stared, not saying a word.

I didn’t have time for this. "I have things to do," I said to Lilith. "I’ll be busy, go rest" and walked off. Even as the Duke called, I ignored her.

I had already promised the Architect. I was going to visit the laboratory and start my first lesson today, so I headed towards my room. I had stashed some gems and coral necklaces they cost a fortune and jewelry the original villainess didn’t use but boasted about.

I came out with two sacks holding them when I spotted Liora. She was walking to her room.

"Liora," I called, walking toward her, and upon seeing me, she immediately panicked and turned to leave, but I was faster than her. I stood right in front of her, and she lowered her gaze.

"Why are you running away?" I asked, and she looked up. Her eyes were swollen, she must have cried.

"Why did you cry?" I asked, my voice cold. Even the temperature around us dropped.

"I’m sorry, I’m such a disgrace for crying," she mumbled, and my eyes darkened. "Your body gets to calm down by crying. Don’t hold it in. It’s okay to cry. I cry too," I said, and she looked up at me.

"I doubt it," she said, but I sighed. "I wouldn’t lie," I said, and before I could utter another word, she hugged me. I froze....I couldn’t hug her back as I was holding the sacks.

"It’s okay," I said softly, and she smiled. "Have you apologized to Bibi?" she asked, and my smile faltered. So she remembered.

I sighed. "Not yet, but I will," I said, and she pulled away from the hug, giving me that sassy look.

"She’s in the laboratory. You can apologize there," she said, and I groaned in displeasure, but since it was for Liora... sure.

"I’m headed there too!" I said, and her eyes sparkled.

"Why?"

"Today I start my lesson. The Architect will teach me a few things, and I invested in a really good weapon he’s making. I brought gems that could help with the machine synchronization. Plus, I’m going to purchase potions tomorrow," I ranted while walking, not realizing Liora was staring at me with a smile. She had wiped her tears and looked better now. I wanted to ask, but if I did, she might get sad again, so there was no need.

"I’ll join you," she said, and I stopped in my tracks. "Really?" I asked, and she nodded.

"You seem to enjoy it. It must be fun. I want to try... and be good at something," she said, and I smiled.

"Bibi’s there to learn too, isn’t she!" I said, and Liora gazed at me in shock.

"How did you—"

"She seemed to know a lot about gems and all," I said, and Liora smiled. We arrived at the entrance. She pushed the door open, and I led her to the professor’s study office. There I saw Bibi already inside. She placed down an application on the table. I stepped forward and saw she wanted to be a gem expert. I smiled.

"Well done," I said...

I placed the sacks on the table. "It’s for the funding of the project we talked about!" I said, and the professor nodded.

"We could make use of two others. Bibi and Liora could help us," I said, and watched as the professor stared at both of them, then softly.

"Then you are accepted. You can resume tomorrow or now," he said, and they nodded joyfully.

"Professor, what’s your name?" I asked, and he paused, as if calculating whether he would give me his name. He flashed a smile.

"Caelum. You can call me Professor Caelum," he said. No wonder his name sounded familiar, I had heard it before but had totally forgotten it.

Apart from that... the D-day. I shouldn’t forget what today was. The academy would completely be destroyed... but aside from that, there were still a few minutes left before that actually happened. I turned to Liora.

"What did Azrael do when I was away? I heard he caused a ruckus!"

Liora froze at my words and stared at me. "Actually, it’s my fault. He protected me and ended up hurting another beast-man. Don’t worry, it’s settled... kind of," she said, and the relief in my eyes turned dark.

"Azrael can protect himself... plus if anyone dares touch him... they will have me to contend with!"

"Oooh, that felt so badass," Bibi said, and I smiled at her.

Professor Caelum, hearing our words, couldn’t help but stare and scribble something down on paper.

He stood up, went to the shelf, and pulled out a journal. He handed it to Bibi. "Read this when you are here. Get familiar with the gems and their powers."

He gestured at Liora to step forward, and she walked toward him. He handed her a book. "Read it. It’s about chemicals and potions. You will do the mixing," he said.

I waited for my turn, but instead, he simply walked back to his seat and continued drawing.

Huh? Was I not going to be given anything?