As soon as Cassian left, Lucian stood frozen in place, his mind spinning in circles around a single question.

What did he mean by ’you don’t know anything’? and Why did he sound so sure of himself? Does he really think Aria won’t care

Resting a hand on his chin, Lucian sank so deep into his own thoughts that he completely tuned out the voices of the two girls standing right next to him.

"Lucian, What the heck was that? Did you know that was going to happen? Is that why you brought us here?!" Sera blabbered, waving her hands around in a vague, panicked gesture.

Watching her impatient behavior, Elira spoke up with absolute bluntness.

"Sera... didn’t you see how big it was?" She held up her wrist to demonstrate the rough size to Sera.

"Y-yes I know—No! I don’t know! I didn’t see anything, and stop making those dirty gestures!" her face flushed a deep pinkish-red, and she crossed her arms, looking the other way.

"Mmm... So if it goes in from here... it would reach all the way up to... here. Right."

She basically placed a hand just above her own navel to measure the estimated depth.

Seeing that.. Sera flushed, Her eyes practically rolled back as imaginary steam blew out of her ears, she couldn’t control her degenerate thoughts hitting at once.

Meanwhile Lucian finally snapped out of his brainstorm and snapped his fingers.

If Cassian really doesn’t care, then I need to ignore his bluff and confirm one thing for myself. I just need to ask Aria in the chapel, sweet-talk her a bit, and find out exactly how much she actually knows about Cassian.

Having made up his mind, he opened a portal.

"Girls, both of you head back to class. And stick together, I have some business to take care of."

"Okay," Elira replied while holding her hand against Sera’s stomach, still trying to measure.

Sera bashfully tried to push Elira’s head away.

"Shameless, move! What are you doing? He is watching.

Lucian just let out a heavy sigh and stepped through the portal.

He stood outside the chapel library for two minutes, gathering his thoughts. Then, with the familiar creak of the heavy wooden doors, he stepped inside.

He glanced around the quiet hall. Aria was nowhere to be seen; only a few other students were scattered around, reading their books. He walked over to Aria’s usual seat — the spot where he had read up on healing theory last time. It was empty.

Nearby, Lucian noticed two of Aria’s "believers" — the girls who usually followed her around. He closed the distance with them.

"Excuse me. You two are usually with Aria, right? Would you mind telling me "Why aren’t you with her today?"

One of the girls blushed slightly under his direct gaze.

"Ah.. Aria’s sick. She came down with something, so she’ll be absent for the next two days. She already let us know."

The second girl leaned in a little closer, giving him a bright smile.

"Why do you ask, Lucian? Were you looking for her? If you need something, I’d be happy to pass along a message."

Lucian simply smiled politely.

"No, it’s nothing. I’ll just meet her when she gets back."

As he turned to leave, the two girls immediately started whispering and gossiping behind his back.

"Did you see that? Lucian definitely likes our Saint too..."

"Yeah! Who do you think is better for our Saint, Lucian or Cassian?"

"I’d always want to see Cassian with our Saint."

"Nah, I’d rather see her with Lucian. His black hair matches so well with Aria’s blonde hair..."

"Hehe."

Lucian completely tuned out the meaningless gossip fading down the hall. His eyes drifted back to Aria’s usual seat near the stained glass windows.

Aria wasn’t there, but the seat wasn’t empty.

Lucian observed her from behind. She sat with perfectly straight posture, a book in one hand and a teacup in the other, radiating the undeniable presence of a high noble.

Something about her felt strangely familiar. Without overthinking it, Lucian closed the distance and approached her.

"Excuse me..."

The girl paused midway through turning a page. She set her teacup down on the saucer with a soft, precise clink.

Her short blonde hair shifted slightly in the faint breeze as she turned her head to look at him. A simple silver earring caught the light, but it was her eyes that locked him in place—deep, piercing emerald. They were entirely unreadable, studying him as if she were inspecting a fascinating, rare gem.

"You’re not the one who usually sits here," Lucian asked gently.

A slow smile touched her lips.

"Yes..."

And you are looking for a Saint who isn’t here. Isn’t that right, Lucian Valemont?"

Lucian’s eyes narrowed.

"I don’t remember introducing myself. Do I know you? Or have I suddenly become that popular?"

She picked up her cup and took a slow sip of her tea. "You could say that. The infamous Valemont taking a sudden interest in the academy’s precious, untouchable Saint. It makes for very entertaining gossip."

Lucian only smiled faintly.

"Well, since Aria isn’t here, I should be going now."

He turned to leave.

"Looking at you right now, I can tell you aren’t here for her blessings, are you?" her voice stopped him. "Sit. We can have a talk. Even if Aria isn’t here, I know her quite well. My name is Iris."

Lucian turned back. He scratched his temple, playing up a harmless, sheepish act to deflect the tension.

"No, actually, I really need to go. I have some urgent business to take care of. Well... nice meeting you, Iris."

He turned his back on her and took a few steps toward the chapel doors. But before he could get far, Iris’s voice cut through the quiet air one last time.

"So you really aren’t going to keep me company instead? What a pity, I was very curious, Lucian... about exactly what you are planning to do with the Hero."