Leon leaned casually against one of the pristine columns in the courtyard. Celeste was struggling with a spell. “Ugh, useless,” Leon muttered, his voice dripping with exasperation. The words were quiet. Celeste stiffened, her hands balling into fists at her sides. Slowly, she turned to face him, cheeks puffed in defiance. “Leon,” she called, her voice echoing louder than intended. “If you’re just going to insult me, you can leave.” Caught off guard,A faint flush rose to his cheeks, and he quickly averted his gaze. “I’m not insulting you,” he shot back defensively. “I’m… giving you advice.” The words came out sharper than he’d intended, and he instantly regretted the tone. He kneeled beside her to guide her. From afar, Alistair observed the pair with an unreadable expression. His silver hair shimmered under the sunlight, his icy blue eyes flicking between Leon’s awkward gestures and Celeste’s shy yet determined expression. A faint sigh escaped him. Kael plopped down beside Alistair on the stone bench, an apple in hand. His easy grin stretched across his face as he bit into the fruit. “You’re going to give yourself wrinkles with all that scowling,” he teased, his voice light and melodic. Alistair didn’t react immediately. “I don’t scowl,” he finally replied, his tone as measured as his movements. Without missing a beat, he added, “Perhaps if you spent less time flirting with everyone and more time studying, you wouldn’t need me to cover for you during exams.” Kael snorted, clearly unfazed. “Touché,” he admitted with a laugh, leaning back on the bench. “But I like to think my charm makes up for it.” Darius lingered, his presence almost imperceptible. His crimson eyes glimmered beneath the fringe of his dark bangs, his posture relaxed though his mind was anything but. He shouldn’t have been there. He wasn’t supposed to involve himself with the others, yet something about Celeste..“Tch,” he muttered to himself, turning away sharply. “This is a mistake.” The bell rang.