Chapter 124: A Letter From Luminear
Before she could move, Ivan stopped her by gently grabbing her hand. When she turned back with questioning eyes, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he took out his handkerchief and tied it around her neck. "The scent of your blood is spreading through the air," he murmured quietly.
"Oh," she breathed, touching her neck—only then realizing she was bleeding where Leah’s nails had dug into her skin. A faint blush rose to her cheeks as she noticed people still watching her. "Thank you," she said softly.
With that, they followed Dante.
Damien, Cece, and Edward exchanged worried glances, wondering why Eve had been called to the Headmaster’s office, but their concern eased when they saw Ivan walking beside her. Meanwhile, the rest of the students couldn’t help but run their mouths once the pair left.
"Oh my god! Did that just happen?" one of the students whispered, his hands shaking.
"Princess Evelyn...is that powerful?! And Prince Ivan actually had to step in to stop her?!" another gasped, eyes wide.
"No way...no way! She looked...like something not of this world!"
"She looked like a Goddess descended on this planet!!" another one exclaimed in reverence.
"She looked so otherworldly! No wonder she is a lumen royalty!"
"Of course, she’s lumen royalty! I mean...did you see the golden light? The aura?"
"Where were her powers before this? I thought she was weak!"
"Weak?! She calmed down Prince Ivan himself during her first week here! No one else has done that when he was enraged!"
"What a terrifying couple to behold!"
"I know, right! Not only are they gorgeous to look at, but their powers are monstrous!"
"Who in their right mind would want to mess with them?" another one quipped.
"It’s like those crazy ladies like Leah! Did you not hear Lady Leah confessing that she rubbed a beast attraction potion on Princess Evelyn?"
One of the humans asked, "I couldn’t hear anything properly! I want to know what just happened there."
Another vampire student, whose voice was trembling with awe, explained, "I heard during physical examination, someone had put a beast attraction potion on Princess Evelyn, because of which they were attacked by multiple beasts, leading her to get injured."
"Oh yes, I heard that too. But I thought it was only Prince Ivan who must have taken them down. But witnessing what I witnessed just now, I am sure that she must have obliterated them herself."
"Good gods! What powers! I still have goosebumps."
The gossip continued on a full swing, which the Silver siblings, Edward and Oliver, heard but chose to ignore it. Their concern for Eve overshadowed everything else, so without a word, they moved to wait outside Headmaster Charles’ office, to wait for any news about her.
Damien muttered, "This is surely going to be talked about for a long time."
Cece sighed softly. "I just hope Evelyn doesn’t get into any trouble."
"I’m sure she won’t, since His Highness is with her," Edward replied.
"Let’s hope it all goes smoothly...otherwise, that guy, when angered, knows no bounds," Damien said.
"Honestly, what a formidable pair," Edward remarked with a smirk.
"They are," Cece agreed, smiling and shaking her head.
...
Inside Headmaster Charles’ office, Eve and Ivan sat before him. Charles had a curious look in his eyes as he studied Eve. She appeared as composed as ever, though her heartbeat betrayed her calm exterior. Ivan, on the other hand, looked like he could freeze hell itself, as his molten gaze fixed sharply on the Headmaster, who continued to regard Eve with interest,
Several tense seconds passed before Ivan broke the silence, "Did you call her just to stare at her?" His voice was laced with annoyance.
Headmaster Charles shifted his gaze to Ivan, who looked like he would burn him alive if he stared at her any longer, and surprise flickered in his eyes, looking at the usually indifferent prince being so protective of the princess. Composing himself, he cleared his throat and said, "Forgive me if I appeared rude, Princess Evelyn. I couldn’t help but be curious about how you did it and what exactly it was that you did back then."
Evelyn blinked in confusion and asked, "Did what?"
"You made Lady Leah confess her crimes," Charles said, his tone tinged with fascination. "How did you do it?"
"What makes you think she did that?" Ivan questioned in return.
Charles raised a brow, "Prince Ivan, I’ve lived long enough to know what I saw."
"And I haven’t lived as long as you," Ivan replied coolly, "so my patience wears thin. I’ll ask again, what are your intentions in questioning her?"
Eve glanced at Ivan in surprise, thinking that if anyone could speak to the Headmaster in such a manner, it would definitely be him. When her gaze shifted to Charles, she noted that, like many lumens and vampires, he appeared to be in his late thirties, though she wondered what his true age might be. Regardless, she was glad Ivan was here with her.
Headmaster Charles smiled faintly, "I have no intention of harming her, Prince Ivan. You can rest assured of that."
"Even if you did, I wouldn’t let you," Ivan replied sharply, his tone was cutting enough to make Eve wince inwardly.
To her surprise, Charles chuckled softly, "We’re all aware of that, Your Highness. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here when I had only asked for Princess Evelyn."
"Hm.." came Ivan’s usual response.
Charles’s attention turned back to Eve as he asked again, "So, Princess Evelyn, are you implying that you had no idea that you made Lady Leah confess to her crimes?"
"I truly have no idea," Evelyn replied honestly. "All I remember is that she mentioned that I should have died by the beast’s. That’s when I connected the dots to our earlier encounter during the physical examination, when she deliberately touched the sleeve of my coat. We had to discard that very coat later when we were attacked again."
"Hmm.." Charles leaned back slightly, his eyes thoughtful. "I recall receiving reports that Lady Leah was in the infirmary recovering for the past week. Apparently, she kept lashing out at the infirmary staff, saying that some ball of a jacket had hit her with force, followed by the attack from dozens of beasts."
Ivan’s lips curled into a faint smirk at that knowledge, "I didn’t know karma would catch up to her so quickly. I only threw the jacket in a random direction to distract the beasts."
Headmaster Charles also felt no remorse for her. "I agree," he said with a nod. Then he continued, "Princess Evelyn, now that it’s clear you possess tremendous powers...powers that I haven’t witnessed in a long time, I hope you understand the responsibilities that come with such strength. The responsibility is not to misuse it, and since it is now revealed to others, many eyes will be watching you. So I advise you to exercise caution, though I’m certain His Highness must have already mentioned as much."
Eve met Headmaster Charles’s eyes and replied softly, "Yes, I understand. I’m training to control it."
Charles didn’t ask how or whom she was training with; he merely gave her a thoughtful nod. Then, reaching into his drawer, he retrieved a sealed scroll and said, "The other reason I called you here was because of this."
He placed the letter on the desk, which had a seal they both instantly recognised.
"This came from the Kingdom of Luminear today," Charles said, "it is written by the king himself."
Eve’s heart skipped a beat, and she asked warily, "What does it say?"
Charles studied her expression for a second, but when he didn’t find what he was looking for, he responded, "This is actually the second letter I received today. I got another one a couple of days ago, demanding that you be sent back to your kingdom."
Eve’s eyebrows shot up as panic rose in her chest. She turned to Ivan, whose expression darkened at the thought of her being taken away.
"Why?" Eve asked in a tight voice. "What was the reason?"
"King Solan didn’t specify," Charles said calmly. "He only mentioned that, due to his people’s wishes, you should return to the kingdom to continue your studies there." When he heard her heart race in panic, he added reassuringly, "Of course, I replied that wasn’t possible. Once a student is accepted into the academy, even a royal cannot disregard the rule that binds them here till their education is complete."
He paused briefly before continuing, "So he sent a second letter, this one requesting that the upcoming excursion take place in the Kingdom of Dartmouth."
"Because of security reasons concerning our students, we won’t be forced to comply with the request," Charles said evenly. "However, I wanted to know your thoughts on it before I send a reply."
His gaze shifted to Ivan as he added, "Rumours has it that King Solan intends to marry you off to the Prince of Dartmouth."
Eve felt as if an avalanche had crashed over her. Her voice barely above a whisper, "What...?"
