The moment Aveline yelled his name directly into the doorway, the entire B-Class lecture hall went dead silent.
Conversations cut off mid-sentence. Chairs stopped scraping. Even the students who had been peeking in from the hallway froze.
Every pair of eyes in the room locked onto the doorway where the two of us were standing.
Lucien's face stiffened. For a second I thought he was about to lose it— but he bit down on his lower lip hard enough that I saw the muscle in his jaw jump, then slammed his palm flat against the desk as he stood up.
'Woah. Is he actually about to throw a tantrum?' I thought, watching the way his expression twisted.
But he didn't. Instead he took a slow breath, reached up, and adjusted the collar of his perfectly pressed blazer with one elegant motion.
The anger smoothed out of his face like someone had wiped it clean.
What replaced it, was that polished, high-society smile that never quite reached the eyes. 'High-society perfect noble mode, activated.' probably.
He chuckled once— soft, controlled —and started walking toward the doorway at an unhurried pace.
The smile he wore was affectionate on the surface, the kind you give a child throwing a cute little tantrum.
Every few steps, though, those blue eyes flicked toward me with pure, undisguised irritation. He stopped a few feet away from Aveline and looked down at her like she was something mildly entertaining.
Anyways. About him glaring at me, that somehow pissed me off, but I kept my mouth shut. I mean… this was her fight. I was just here.
"Lucien!" Aveline's voice was loud enough for it to carry to the back of the room. Her hands were clenched at her sides. "I… I wanna break up with you!"
Lucien's face froze for a split second, the twitch near his eyebrow betraying his irritation before melting back into a perfectly controlled, pitying smile.
"Aveline, darling... did you forget to take your medicine today?" He let out an exasperated, theatrical sigh, running a hand through his neatly layered brown bangs as if dealing with a tired child. "You're making a public scene in front of my entire class."
"Medicine?! Even in a moment like this, you're still making jokes and trying to mock me?!" Aveline yelled, her feet unconsciously shuffling backward a half-step. "I'm being completely serious! I want to break up! I am so damn tired of this relationship!"
A soft, dark chuckle mixed with a low growl rumbled in Lucien's throat as he ran his hand through his hair again, stepping closer into her personal space. "Is this about yesterday?"
Aveline shook her head rapidly, her eyes flashing.
"Oh, so it's about the other time then?" Lucien sneered softly, keeping his voice low and smooth as he took another pressuring step forward, causing Aveline to retreat another inch.
"Come on, Aveline. I was just teaching you how the world actually works for people of our status. Don't be so dramatic. Let me take you outside and we can talk about this like civilized adults."
Wow… that's, crazy…
I expected Aveline to back away but Aveline held her ground. She planted her feet firmly on the carpet, reached out, and pointed a finger directly at his chest. "We are done, Lucien! I am breaking up with you right here, right now! I told you, I hate this! I hate everything about this, and I hate how you've changed!"
That word— changed —struck his fragile, high-noble pride like a whip.
Lucien's calm, rehearsed smile twitched violently, his blue eyes darting frantically around the classroom and toward the growing crowd of onlookers gathering out in the hallway.
Seeing the way his eyes panicked over the crowd, I immediately pinned his exact character archetype: a fragile, insecure narcissist who cared more about his public reputation than anything else in the world.
This guy couldn't stand being publicly embarrassed.
What a retard.
"Why aren't you saying anything?!" Aveline's voice cracked again, but underneath the emotion there was a strange calm. "Give me an answer!"
Lucien opened his mouth to utter a condescending retort, but the words died in his throat as he realized every single student in Class 1-B including the one outside the room was staring at his public humiliation.
Desperate to deflect the embarrassment, he finally pivoted his sharp blue eyes directly onto me, scanning my manaless state, my slightly messy black hair, my rumpled collar, and my completely unbothered, relaxed posture.
A look of profound, absolute disgust washed over his immaculate features.
What the fuck...? Did this guy really just look at me like that? ಠ_ಠ
"And who the hell is this pathetic peasant standing behind you?" Lucien sneered, his smooth voice cracking slightly as his composure frayed. "Isn't he that manaless charity case from A-Class?" A low, hollow laugh escaped his lips. "What, did you actually hire a Lucky homeless commoner as an escort just to try and make me jealous?"
I looked at him, flat expression, and casually threw up a peace sign. ಠᴥಠ.
Seeing my completely nonchalant reaction,
Lucien seemed to convince himself that he had figured it out. He let out a loud, confident laugh, his pristine noble swagger returning in full force. "Haha! For a second, I almost believed you were serious... Okay, Aveline, that is actually so really pathetic."
Aveline froze, staring at Lucien's restored, smirking composure.
She instinctively took a quick glance over her shoulder at me, her face pale. "N-No... I didn't hire him! I... I chose him! He's a hundred times better than you'll ever be!"
Lucien seized that exact second to take a large, aggressive step toward her, towering over her with a predatory smirk.
"Really? You didn't hire him? You're claiming you actually chose this trash as my replacement? Then go ahead and prove it, Aveline."
Aveline spun around to look at me, her eyes wide and glossy with a desperate plea.
I could read every single emotion swirling in her gaze: intense vulnerability, stubborn determination, and a silent, helpless plea for me to bail her out of this nightmare.
'Wait… ah... Oh my god….' I let out a long, soul-tired sigh, mentally cursing my terrible luck. 'Fuck my life, I just realized I'm literally always sitting right in the middle of some academy noble drama lately.'
I stepped forward, closing the distance between us in a single stride, and wrapped my arm firmly around Aveline's slim waist.
I pulled her hard against my chest, crushing her body flush against mine before Lucien could even process the movement.
She made a small surprised sound but didn't resist
"What is that supposed to mean?!" Lucien snapped, his voice pitching higher as a flicker of genuine panic cracked through his voice. "That doesn't prove a damn thing!"
I didn't bother giving him an answer.
Using my free hand, I gently cupped Aveline's jaw, tilting her face upward, and leaned down to press my lips directly against hers— in broad daylight, right in the doorway of Class 1-B, in front of Lucien and a crowd of 50 gaping students.
Aveline's eyes fluttered shut almost immediately the instant my mouth touched hers. She melted into it, and after a second her lips surprisingly parted.
Her tongue met mine without hesitation.
I sighed against her mouth, returning the gesture with a slow, deliberate rhythm that felt like a heavy punch straight to Lucien's gut, keeping the kiss slow and deliberate while I locked eyes with him over her shoulder.
The look I gave him was completely flat, cold, and openly disrespectful.
And you could say… the silent message was simple: She's not yours anymore.
She's Now Mine.