Before I could even open my mouth to formulate a believable deflection, Tobias completely cut me off.

"You are deliberately ignoring her," Tobias stated, his tone leaving absolutely no room for debate.

"And you have been acting more than a little strange these past few days. Sneaking off after lectures, vanishing between periods, and returning to the dorms well past curfew."

I kept my expression perfectly blank, refusing to let the mask slip. And casually rolled my shoulders, offering him a dismissive, half-hearted shrug.

"Am I?" I replied flatly.

I didn't wait for his analysis. Just stepped right past him.

"If that is the only thing you stayed up this late to say, Tobias," I said, opening the door.

Click!

"Then I'm going to sleep. It's been a long day."

Tobias didn't try to stop me. He didn't grab my shoulder or raise his voice to argue the point.

Instead, he simply pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose, his voice dropping into a quiet, deadly serious murmur.

"If you want help with whatever it is you are doing..." Tobias said to my back. "Meet me in the old astronomy tower tomorrow at midnight."

I paused, my hand completely freezing on the cold brass doorknob. Iquickly turned my head, but Tobias was already leaving.

His dark uniform blended seamlessly into the gloom of the corridor as he walked away, his posture impeccably straight, not looking back even once.

I stood there in the empty hallway, watching him disappear around the corner, genuinely thrown off balance.

What?

My brow furrowing in deep, analytical confusion.

How much does he actually know? Did he see me tracking Marcus?

I let out a slow, tight breath and shook my head, forcibly pushing the question out of my mind. I couldn't afford to get distracted by Tobias's terrifyingly sharp intuition right now.

I pushed the door open and stepped into my dark room.

Instantly, the profound, rumbling sound of a localized earthquake greeted me.

I turned my head toward the other side of the room.

Kyle was completely dead to the world, sprawled out on his back with his blankets kicked halfway off the mattress.

He was sleeping like an absolute log, his mouth hanging slightly open as he let out a series of loud, obnoxious snores that practically rattled the windowpanes.

All the heavy, high-stakes tension of merchant guilds, bridge demolitions, and Tobias's cryptic midnight invitation momentarily melted away into sheer, exhausted exasperation.

I stared at him for a long moment in the dark, letting out a slow, deeply resigned sigh.

"How anyone sleeps through that is beyond me," I muttered under my breath.

I didn't bother walking over to punch his shoulder or tell him to roll over. I was simply too tired.

So instead, I stripped off my uniform jacket, tossed my heavy boots into the corner, and collapsed onto my own mattress.

The moment my head hit the pillow, the mental and physical exhaustion of the day finally caught up with me, pulling me down into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

******

{Third Person POV}

"Ngh~"

A quiet, exhausted sigh escaped Cassandra's lips.

She leaned back in her high-backed leather chair, raising her arms high above her head to stretch.

Her spine popped softly in the quiet room as she rolled her stiff neck, trying to work out the deep knots forming in her shoulders. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"It's almost midnight," she murmured, her icy grey eyes drifting toward the large, arched windows of the Student Council office.

The campus outside was completely draped in darkness, illuminated only by the faint, scattered glow of the courtyard mana lamps.

She had been sitting at this massive mahogany desk since noon, buried under a literal mountain of documents.

Cassandra let out another heavy sigh, neatly tapping a stack of parchments against the desk to align their edges before sliding them into a leather folder.

"This year's Academy Festival is going to be an absolute logistical nightmare," she muttered to herself.

Then lifted her gaze from her desk, looking across the spacious, dimly lit office. Most of the desks belonging to the council members were completely empty, perfectly cleared of their daily tasks.

Only two other people remained in the room, bathed in the soft light of a single desk lamp.

Vice President Jessie Rose was just capping her inkwell, while Katrina Voel, the head of the disciplinary committee, was meticulously sorting her final stack of sealed envelopes.

"Jessie, Katrina," Cassandra called out, her voice regaining its usual cool, authoritative cadence.

"Are the vendor permits and the perimeter patrol schedules finalized?"

Jessie looked up, her bright eyes practically sparkling with residual energy despite the late hour.

"Yes, President! All signed, sealed, and ready for the academy faculty to review tomorrow morning."

Katrina simply gave a crisp, professional nod, sliding her completed files to the edge of her desk. "It is done."

"Good," Cassandra said, leaning forward to organize her own remaining ink pens.

"You two have done enough for today. You can leave."

Jessie pushed her chair back and practically bounced to her feet, stretching her arms with a dramatic groan.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and looked over at the head desk.

"What about you, Cass? You're coming back to the dorms with us, right?"

"Not yet," Cassandra replied without looking up, pulling a new ledger toward her.

"I still have the internal budget allocations to balance for the elemental pavilions. I will come back after I finish this last section."

Jessie pouted playfully, resting her hands on her hips.

"Okay, okay. But seriously, don't push yourself too hard! If the Ice Princess collapses from exhaustion, the entire student body will panic."

Jessie winked, bringing her hand to her lips and blowing an exaggerated, dramatic flying kiss across the room.

"Don't stay up too late~!"

With a melodic giggle, the Vice President turned and skipped eagerly toward the exit.

Katrina just stood up, letting out a long-suffering sigh as she shook her head at her fellow council member's endless antics.

She gathered her things, maintaining her strict posture as she followed right behind Jessie.

Just as Jessie reached the heavy double doors of the council office, cheerfully grabbing the brass handle and yanking it open.

She stepped through, and immediately let out a sharp yelp.

She had barrelled straight into a tall figure standing just outside the threshold, completely losing her footing.

She squeezed her eyes shut, fully preparing to hit the hard stone floor.

Instead, two strong hands gently caught her by the shoulders, effortlessly absorbing her momentum and steadying her before she could fall.

"Easy there... Lady Jessie," a smooth, charming voice chuckled.

Jessie blinked, her eyes snapping open.

Standing right in the doorway, handsomely dressed in a pristine Academy uniform and flashing a perfectly disarming, relaxed smile, was a boy with slightly messy dark hair and sharp eyes.

Jessie caught her breath, stepping back to smooth her jacket.

"Killian?"