Chapter 2

For the entire time at the academy, Charles had almost never come to find me first.

So yesterday, when he suddenly said he'd go with me to register as training partners, I was happy for hours.

That night, I spent ages picking out what to wear for registration day.

Before bed, I couldn't stop imagining what it would be like, training side by side.

But in the end, he didn't stay to finish the college application with me. He didn't wait for me at the banquet.

And he'd registered with Annie instead.

I stood there, and the little spark of hope I'd been carrying felt like someone had ground it under their heel. I couldn't recover for a long time.

The instructor was still flipping through her records, talking casually.

"Charles and Annie, those two really are impressive."

"They've been ranking near the top in the last few combat assessments. I hear they're applying to the same academy. They practice together all the time."

She smiled.

"They really do look good together."

That last line went through me like a thin needle.

I forced the corners of my mouth up. "Do they?"

The instructor didn't notice anything off. She even threw in a compliment. "It's pretty impressive that you've known them since childhood though."

"Although you seem like... you're not exactly on the same path as them."

I didn't answer. I just looked down, gripped the training booklet tighter, turned, and walked away.

I thought I'd gotten used to this feeling by now.

But walking out of the training grounds, the shame hit me harder than I expected.

To keep up with Charles, I'd put in more effort than anyone.

Other people could rest after one round of training. I'd stay until deep into the night. Courses that everyone else considered sufficient, I'd go back and have the instructor teach me again from scratch.

Because I knew my talent wasn't exceptional. So the only option was to work harder than everyone else.

This past year, I barely had a single full night of sleep.

I thought that if I just kept chasing, someday I'd catch up and stand where he was.

Now it was looking like I was the only one who ever took that seriously.

I called a school car and went to the banquet hall alone.

When I got there, I realized it was nothing like what Charles had said about everyone being there. The hall was mostly empty. Just a handful of people scattered around.

When I walked in, Charles and Annie were sitting by the window.

They were both hunched over, studying some kind of wolf crest badge. Annie said something, and Charles suddenly laughed.

It was relaxed. Easy. A smile I hadn't seen from him in a long time.

"Lilith?"

He heard the door and looked up.

The next second, he waved me over, same as always.

"What are you standing there for? Come sit."

I hesitated. But I walked over anyway.

Some habits don't break just because you want them to.

Even after being left behind moments ago, one word from him and my legs carried me to his side.

The second I sat down, a few classmates nearby noticed us.

One of the guys looked at me, then at Annie, and grinned.

"You three have been inseparable since freshman year. I honestly thought it'd stay that way forever."

Another one piled on.

"It's getting interesting though. Charles and Annie train together every day. Lilith's always trailing behind by herself."

The group cracked up.

Charles didn't seem to notice anything was off. He reached one arm around Annie's shoulder, and with the other, casually draped his arm over mine.

"She's always been like this. Slow at everything."

"And she's too soft. Her wolf spirit's unstable too. If she ends up at a different academy from me and Annie, I'd honestly worry about her."

He said it like it was the most ordinary observation in the world.

Annie picked up right where he left off.

"You know how she is. This past six months, she's thrown every minute into training just to keep up with us."

"Remember when she couldn't even do basic wolf spirit control? Then she started going to the instructor for extra sessions every single day, just so she wouldn't hold us back."

She said it like she was sticking up for me. Her tone even carried a kind of familiar warmth.

But after she finished, someone was already laughing.

"That dedicated?"

"I thought she was just lucky to be hanging around you two."

Another classmate let out a knowing chuckle.

"Am I the only one who thinks the person Charles actually wants to protect isn't Lilith?"

The air went still for a beat.

Charles instinctively glanced at me.

It was a quick look. But in that fraction of a second, I understood everything.

Because what I saw in his eyes wasn't surprise. It wasn't denial. It was the brief, panicked look of someone whose secret had just been touched.

The next moment, the teasing erupted.

"So they've been together this whole time? Then what does that make Lilith?"

"Ha, she's been trailing after Charles for years. She's basically just a simp."

"Those two are a couple, and she still insists on squeezing herself in the middle. It's honestly pathetic."