The third-floor observatory lounge was quiet at this hour. The kind of quiet Adrian Lancaster liked—clean, untouched, the stillness of polished glass and untrodden paths. The windows overlooked the library courtyard, and from here, Regalia felt like a dollhouse. Perfect. Controlled.
His sanctuary.
Until now.
He stood in the shadows, hands folded behind his back, watching the steps below. Watching them.
Julius Sterling walked beside Elena Hart, half a step behind at first, then in sync. His posture was casual—lazy to the untrained eye—but Adrian knew better. Julius only relaxed when he wanted people to believe he wasn't hunting.
Elena said something. Julius laughed. Not his showman's laugh—the big, echoing one he used at events—but a quiet chuckle. Real.
That was new.
Adrian watched them walk. Close. Not touching, but too aware of each other. When they reached the library doors, Julius stopped. Said something else. Elena tilted her head, almost smiled.
Then she went inside.
Julius lingered at the entrance for a moment before walking away, that signature swagger in every step. His jacket flared in the breeze like some kind of preposterous cape.
Adrian exhaled—slow and silent.
He should've left it alone.
She was no one. A scholarship girl. Background noise.
But somehow, she'd become a glitch in the matrix.
He turned from the window and walked to the lounge's corner terminal. With a flick of his wrist, the glass interface blinked awake.
Regalia Internal Tracking Dashboard
— Access Level: Board Heir, Level 1 —
— User: A. Lancaster —
He pulled up the week's social metrics. Julius was trending again. No surprise.
But Elena?
Her name had surged in the "Organic Mentions" list. Highest growth since the start of term.
ELENA HART
+892% Interaction Uplift
Tags: #ScholarshipGirl #SterlingPairing #RebelClassmate #StrikingBack
He closed the screen with a swipe, face unreadable.
This wasn't just noise anymore.
This was movement.
In a place like Regalia, where reputation was currency, even the whisper of scandal could trigger an avalanche.
And Julius wasn't just whispering.
He was baiting.
Adrian ran a hand down the front of his blazer, smoothing a wrinkle that didn't exist. Then he left the lounge without a word.
---
Ten Minutes Later — South Garden Courtyard
Julius Sterling was exactly where Adrian expected him to be: sitting like a king on the curved stone bench beneath the marble fountain, sipping from a copper thermos he definitely hadn't paid for.
"Fancy seeing you outside your iceberg, Lancaster," Julius said without looking up. "Here to enjoy the sun like the rest of us peasants?"
Adrian walked up slowly. Calm. Composed. "We need to talk."
Julius smirked, raising his brow. "Wow. Did the stars align or are you finally realizing I'm great company?"
"This isn't a social call."
"Oh, it never is with you," Julius said, capping the thermos and standing. "So? What's the problem?"
Adrian didn't blink. "You're making a spectacle."
Julius feigned shock. "Me? A spectacle? At Regalia? Unheard of."
"Elena Hart."
Julius's smile froze for a second.
Then it shifted. Sharpened.
"Ah," he said softly. "So this is about her."
Adrian didn't answer.
Didn't need to.
"She's just a girl, Lancaster."
"No one is 'just' anything at this school."
"You're overreacting."
"You're drawing attention. To yourself. To her. That's not overreaction. That's observation."
Julius tilted his head. "Since when do you care who I talk to?"
"Since you started using her."
Julius blinked, caught off guard. "Using her?"
"You're bored," Adrian said flatly. "You found a new toy. Something you haven't broken yet. I get it."
Julius's eyes narrowed. "You think that little of me?"
"I think you get careless when something interests you."
"And you're not interested?" Julius challenged.
A pause.
Adrian's jaw tightened. "She's irrelevant."
"You're watching her like she's a threat."
"She's a disruption."
"And you don't like disruptions," Julius said, voice quiet now. "They make the board unpredictable."
"Exactly."
"So let me get this straight," Julius said, stepping closer. "You can interrogate her in class, ignore her like she's invisible, and that's fine. But I walk her to the library, and suddenly we have a problem?"
Adrian didn't move. "Yes."
Julius exhaled a slow laugh. "Wow. You really are obsessed."
Adrian's gaze turned ice cold. "Careful."
Julius met his stare evenly. "I should be saying that to you."
A tense silence stretched between them. No raised voices. No threats. Just the quiet war of two kings staring across an invisible line.
"Whatever you think this is," Adrian said finally, voice low, "end it."
"And if I don't?"
Adrian's expression didn't change. "Then I'll treat you like any other threat."
Julius grinned—dangerous, effortless. "Then I guess I'll see you on the battlefield."
Adrian turned and walked away.
Julius watched him go, hands still in his pockets, eyes unreadable now.
Because this wasn't about Elena anymore.
This was about them.
And the line had been drawn.
---
Later That Night — Adrian's Dorm Suite
The Lancaster wing was quiet. Adrian stood in his private study, the lights low, the room bathed in soft silver from the garden lights outside. The screen on his desk was open, but he hadn't looked at it in twenty minutes.
Instead, he sat in his leather chair, eyes distant.
He could still see her.
The way she'd looked at him after their first collision. Unafraid. Unimpressed.
She didn't flinch the way people usually did. She didn't grovel. She challenged.
It had annoyed him.
It had… interested him.
And that was unacceptable.
Adrian prided himself on control. Precision. Discipline.
He didn't get interested.
Especially not in unpredictable variables.
But Julius?
Julius was already tangled.
And if Adrian didn't cut the thread soon, it would unravel everything.
He stood, walked to the window, and stared out at the lights of Regalia Academy.
No more distractions, he thought. No more games.
If Elena Hart was going to be a piece on the board—
Then he was going to move her himself.