Ryan stormed out of the lecture hall like an arrow, his rapid steps striking the marble corridor like an angry rhythm. He was annoyed, even angry. Lyana's words still echoed in his head: "selfish," "only thinks of himself." How dare she? He was the one who nearly died because of her selfishness, and now she was accusing him?
He walked quickly, not looking back, so much so that some students in the hallways stepped aside to avoid colliding with him.
"Ryan! Ryan, wait!"
Edan's voice came from behind, but Ryan kept walking for several more steps before suddenly stopping. He stood there, his back to Edan, shoulders tense.
Edan caught up, panting slightly. He looked at Ryan, then spoke in a calm voice.
"Are you really going to take their words to heart?"
Ryan didn't reply.
Ryan didn't reply.
Edan continued. "It's just talk, Ryan. Most nobles speak like that when they're jealous. Lyana is angry because you didn't listen to her back then, and Kai is just trying to look smart in front of the professor. Don't let their words get to you."
Ryan took a deep breath. Then he exhaled slowly, trying to calm his nerves. He turned to Edan, his face still rigid.
he asked in a dry voice.
"Do we have any other lectures today?"
Edan shook his head. "No, this was the last lecture of the week. Next week, we'll start according to everyone's personal schedule."
Then he paused, as if remembering something. "Didn't you see the paper hanging outside the dormitory?,There was a note there stating that there would be no lectures after today's lecture this week. ."
Ryan answered coldly, "No, I didn't see it."
Ryan looked towards the far end of the corridor, where light streamed through a large window. Then he said,
"Since there are no more lectures, I'm going to my room."
When Edan heard that, he felt a little sad. He had hoped they could spend some time together, especially after everything that had happened.
Edan asked cautiously, a faint hope in his voice.
"Do you want to... train and hang out together later?"
Ryan thought for a moment. He couldn't find a real reason to refuse. Edan was practically his only friend here. But he needed to be alone right now. He needed to sort out his thoughts.
Ryan said, then turned and walked away without waiting for a reply.
"Let's hang out tomorrow,"
Edan stood there, watching Ryan leave, then muttered to himself, "Alright... tomorrow."
********
Ryan entered his room. He closed the door quietly behind him, then lay down on the bed. He covered his face with his hands, staring at the pristine white ceiling.
he muttered in a low voice.
"This is annoying..."
He began thinking about the training battle. Maybe he should have pretended to be weak. If he had shown weakness, if he had lost convincingly, none of this controversy would have happened. But he didn't want that.
He didn't want people to think he was weak.
Because weakness in this place attracts wolves. If he showed that he couldn't defend himself, they would start bothering him, testing him, exploiting him. And perhaps worse.
So he fought. Not with everything he had, of course. He didn't reveal all his cards. But he fought just enough to make them believe he was capable of defending himself. No more, no less.
"Just... fought enough."
He lay there for a few minutes, eyes fixed on the ceiling, thinking about Lyana, about Kai, about Professor Darius's words. Then he heard a knock on the door.
Ryan got up and opened the door. In front of him stood his little sister, Eri. Her long silver hair fell over her shoulders, and her blue eyes sparkled as usual.
She didn't wait for permission. She walked right in, as if it were her own room. Ryan didn't mind. Eri was the only one who allowed herself that.
Eri entered and sat on the edge of his bed, then patted the spot beside her with her hand, signalling for him to sit. Ryan obeyed and sat next to her.
Eri took out a small crystal from her pocket. It was a communication crystal. Moments later, a voice came from inside the crystal.
"Eri? What's the matter? I thought you wouldn't call until tomorrow."
It was their mother's voice – warm, but curious.
Eri looked at Ryan and gave a small smile.