The moment Kyle stepped into the classroom, the air shifted.
Whispers slithered through the room like startled mice. A group of girls near the window immediately ducked their heads cheeks flushed, pretending they hadn't just been staring.
A couple of guys glanced at him, then quickly looked away, muttering something under their breaths.
Kyle frowned.
'What the hell?'
He made his way to the back, ignoring the weight of eyes on him, and dropped into his seat beside Reo.
"Okay," he muttered, leaning in. "Why is everyone acting like I grew a second head?"
Reo, sprawled across his chair like a lazy cat, smirked. "Oh, so you haven't looked in a mirror lately?"
Kyle blinked. "What?"
Reo sighed dramatically, waving a hand at Kyle's face.
"Buddy. Look at you. You were already one of the prettiest bastards in our year, but after your breakthrough? You're basically glowing." He leaned in, grinning.
"If I was a girl, I would have proposed to you by now."
Kyle recoiled. "What the fuck is wrong with you—"
Luna, perched on the edge of Reo's desk, burst into giggles.
"Oh my gods, look at his face!" She pointed at Kyle, her black eyes sparkling with mischief.
"He's disgusted!"
Kyle scowled. "I am disgusted."
Reo clutched his chest, feigning hurt. "Rude. And here I was, ready to get down on one knee—"
"Stop." Kyle shoved him, but Reo just laughed, dodging easily.
Luna wiped imaginary tears from her eyes.
"Oh, this is gold. Kyle Valemont, the oblivious heartthrob." She leaned in, lowering her voice to a stage whisper.
"You do know half the girls in our class have been sighing over you since the ranking matches, right?"
Kyle stared at her. "No, they haven't."
Reo snorted. "Oh, they have."
Luna nodded sagely. "Yep. You're tall, you're stupidly pretty, and you kicked Kaelith's ass without breaking a sweat." She smirked.
"That's, like, the holy trinity of crush material."
Kyle opened his mouth, then closed it.
'That can't be right.'
He glanced around the room. Sure enough, a few girls were still sneaking glances at him—some shy, some outright bold.
One even winked when she caught his eye, making him stiffen.
Reo cackled. "Oh, this is priceless. The guy who can take down a Silver-rank monster with his eyes closed is terrified of girls looking at him."
Kyle shot him a glare. "I'm not terrified. I just—" He gestured vaguely. "Why?"
Luna patted his shoulder, grinning. "Welcome to being hot, Kyle. It's a tragedy."
Reo nodded solemnly. "Truly, a burden to bear."
Kyle groaned, dropping his head onto the desk.
'This was going to be a long day.'
****
One week had passed since the Vaylen incident, and Eleanora still couldn't shake the unease crawling under her skin.
'Crimson Maw.'
The name echoed in her thoughts like a curse. In her past life, she had never heard of them.
'The puppet incident never happened before.'
The timeline was shifting, warping in ways she couldn't predict—and that terrified her more than she dared to admit.
But right now?
Right now, she had a different problem.
Her fingers tapped impatiently against the desk as she watched the classroom door, waiting.
Beside her, Serena Blackthorne, Rank 4—ever silent, ever observant—flipped a page in her book without looking up.
"You're staring" Serena remarked, her voice cool.
Eleanora forced her expression neutral. "I'm not."
Serena's amethyst eyes flicked toward her, unimpressed. "You have been glaring at the door for five minutes."
Eleanora opened her mouth to retort—
Then the door slid open.
Kyle Valemont walked in.
And just like that, the entire atmosphere in the room shifted.
Whispers erupted.
Girls straightened in their seats, pretending not to look while absolutely looking.
Even some of the boys glanced his way, though they at least had the decency to pretend it was out of rivalry rather than... whatever this was.
Eleanora's jaw tightened.
'This is ridiculous.'
She had seen this before, of course. In her past life, Kyle had always drawn attention—quietly charismatic, effortlessly skilled.
But this? This was something else. His Bronze-rank breakthrough had sharpened his features, brightened his presence, and now half the student body seemed to have collectively lost their minds.
And it was 'Kaelith's fault.'
If that idiot noble hadn't challenged him, if he hadn't forced Kyle to show off in front of the entire academy—
'I should have stopped it.'
The thought burned.
She could have intervened.
A word, a glance, even just standing beside him would have been enough to make Kaelith back down.
But she hadn't.
She'd let it happen.
And now?
Now she had to sit here and watch as girls giggled behind their hands, as their eyes followed Kyle like he was some kind of prize.
Serena turned another page. "You're doing it again."
Eleanora forced her fingers to unclench. "Doing what?"
"Glaring." A pause. "At her."
Eleanora followed Serena's subtle nod toward Elara Bennett—who was currently leaning over her desk, red hair spilling over her shoulders as she very obviously smiled in Kyle's direction.
Eleanora's eye twitched.
Serena sighed. "Pathetic."
Eleanora wasn't sure if she meant Elara or her, but she didn't ask.
Instead, she watched as Kyle took his seat, completely oblivious to the attention.
Reo immediately elbowed him, grinning like an idiot, while Luna cackled at whatever stupid thing he had just said.
Kyle's responding expression—half exasperated, half amused—made something in Eleanora's chest tighten.
'Stupid.'
She tore her gaze away.
She had bigger things to worry about than a bunch of infatuated girls.
The Crimson Maw, the shifting timeline, the fact that Vaylen had been a puppet—
But still.
Still.
A quiet, traitorous fire burned in her chest as she watched them—all those eager eyes, all those whispered giggles.
'He was supposed to be mine.'
The thought hit her like a blade between the ribs. Not in the way those silly girls wanted him. Not as some fleeting crush or trophy to chase.
But hers.
Her ally.
Her Partner.
Her Lover.
The man who, in another life, had stood beside her when the world burned.
And now?
Now he didn't even know her.
Serena's voice cut through the silence. "You're gripping your stylus hard enough to break it."
Eleanora blinked.
Looked down.
Sure enough, her knuckles were white around the stylus, the tip trembling against the screen.
She forced herself to breathe.
To let go.
But the ember in her chest refused to die.
'He was always meant to be at my side.'
And she would make sure he remembered that.
****