Chapter 8 Ill-Intentioned Celine

I was deep in thought, trying to figure out what that sentence meant, when someone tapped me on the shoulder. "Catherine."

I instinctively closed the book and turned around to see who had come up beside me.

It was Celine.

The moment I saw her, I was reminded of that awful experience in the library with her and her boyfriend. She had clearly despised me back then, so why would she suddenly come talk to me today?

I'm not a hot-headed person. I treat people based on how they treat me. Like right now, since Celine didn't seem to be looking for trouble, I decided to stay calm and hear her out.

"Celine, what do you want?" Even so, my voice came out cold.

At the end of the day, I had no interest in getting involved with her.

Out of nowhere, Celine smiled at me, a sweet smile, but one that felt completely hollow. It made me uncomfortable.

I turned to face her. Her gaze dropped to my neck, and she raised an eyebrow slightly. "Nice necklace. Did someone give it to you?"

Her attitude was strange, but she seemed friendly enough.

I forced a stiff smile. "What do you want?"

Celine rested her chin in her hand, eyes curving as she smiled. "I had one exactly like it, but I lost it a while ago. When I saw yours, I just had to come ask."

I completely missed the implication behind her words. My mind was still stuck on that book, turning that sentence over and over.

"Is that so. What a coincidence. Class is over. I'm heading back to the dorm." The bell rang, and I grabbed my book and moved to leave. Celine didn't stop me. She smiled and stepped aside.

"It really is a beautiful necklace, isn't it?"

I ignored her. God only knows what she was going on about.

Lynn was already waiting at the door, just as I expected.

Students filing out of the classroom instinctively gave Lynn a wide berth, and he had long since stopped noticing. If anything, his relaxed, unhurried posture only made him look more like a refined nobleman, everyone else just became background noise around him.

If he had been born into the human world, people wouldn't see others looking down on him or fearing him. They would only have eyes for Lynn.

And Lynn only had eyes for me. The thought came to me out of nowhere.

"How was class today? Getting used to things okay?" Lynn took my bag, then tilted his head, puzzled, at the book in my arms.

"Why didn't you leave this in the classroom? It looks heavy."

Should I ask Lynn about it...

I thought it over for a moment, then decided to test the waters. "Lynn, you're a full mixed-blood. I just read something that said you have the potential to master every kind of ability..."

I watched his expression carefully. He looked confused. "That's impossible. Where did you read that?"

"Mixed-bloods just have high combat power. There's never been anything about having abilities from every race, my parents never mentioned anything like that."

"Right now, my dragon bloodline is the strongest, which is why I can shift into a dragon. But the rest of it..."

Impossible! I was stunned. I quickly flipped to the title page to show Lynn, but something even more alarming happened.

The words on the title page were gone.

I froze.

Lynn didn't notice my shock. He looked at the blank page for a moment, then gave me what seemed like a reluctant compliment. "Not bad... very clean."

My face went completely red. "No, I wasn't trying to show you a blank page! And I did take notes!"

Lynn laughed and tried to reassure me. "Okay, okay. Let's go eat. You really do love studying, don't you."

I was still reeling, unable to shake it off.

Why had the words disappeared? I checked again and then the text slowly reappeared, glowing gold.

Okay.

I thought it through calmly. I didn't need to test it again. Those words could only be seen by me.

But why was I meant to see them?

"Stop spacing out. Aren't you hungry?" Lynn tapped my shoulder. "The necklace looks great, doesn't it?"

I nodded without thinking.

"Did the Awakening Control professor mention anything about Unawakeners like you today? There must be a fair number of them. She would have brought it up."

I nodded. "She did mention it. Her answer basically came down to one thing, be patient."

Lynn looked a little exasperated. "That's almost worse than saying nothing. I think we should keep trying things..."

"Lynn, you seem really curious about me. Am I like a puzzle you're trying to solve?" I couldn't help asking.

Lynn looked at me directly. "I am curious about you, Catherine. I want to understand you."

I want to understand you too. I said it quietly, only to myself.

Liam Hammer's POV

My attention to Catherine kept growing, day by day.

Catherine sat with her head down, eating slowly, cheeks puffed out like a little hamster. Her golden curls fell beside her ears. I watched her.

She had no idea I was watching her every moment, studying her.

It was hard to explain this strange behavior, even to myself. For the first half of my life, I couldn't bring myself to care about anything or anyone.

I had never been willing to stand in anyone's shadow.

And yet here I was, standing behind Catherine, looking like some kind of bodyguard — and I didn't mind at all.

I stared at the necklace around her neck. It was a magic necklace she couldn't remove on her own. My mark was on it. Only I could take it off.

Catherine would sleep with it on. Every night, from now on.

The spot on my chest, beneath my clothes, kept burning in waves. I didn't know why. But every time I got close to Catherine, that same fixed spot would heat up, tracing what felt like some kind of pattern.

And my heart would beat faster because of it.

"Should we head out? The welcome dance is in a few days. Should we start thinking about formal wear?"

I snapped back to the present. "The academy should have something prepared, but if you want more options, we can go back to the dorm and have the carrier pigeons send over a few more."

Catherine was excited the whole way back to the dorm. I had never seen anyone so full of life, moved by things both small and grand, bright and quick, radiating energy.

By the time we got back, ten formal gowns had already appeared in the wardrobe.

I was actually pretty familiar with the whole process of watching a woman try on formal gowns. My mother loved dragging me along whenever she did, and I was usually the one standing there like a coat rack.

But because it was Catherine trying them on today, I found myself genuinely interested for the first time.

"I love this deep blue one. What do you think?"

The gown she was pointing to had an open back and a long train, covered in tiny diamonds.

Of course. The carrier pigeons — and the entire academy, it seemed — adored Catherine. It was the first time I had seen a gown here that met royal family standards.

"It works. It'll show off my necklace perfectly. It's beautiful."

The moment Catherine stepped out in the dress, time seemed to slow down. She spun in a circle like a proud little swan, admiring herself.

And that was when I noticed the intricate markings on her chest.

"Wait, Catherine, those markings on your chest... what are they? A birthmark?"

"Yeah, kind of. Aunt Lassey said I was born with them."

I pressed my hand to my own chest, where the heat still hadn't faded. There were no markings there, but it felt like there were about to be.

That was strange.

I gave up trying to figure it out and turned my attention back to Catherine. "You look stunning. Truly. But you're missing something, a bracelet, aren't you?"

"The one that goes with the necklace."

Catherine immediately spun around and looked at me, eyes bright and expectant, clearly waiting to see what I was going to do next.

There it was again. I was more certain than ever. Catherine had an extraordinary pull toward treasure.

An uncontrollable, almost irrational fixation.

Lucky for me, that was a good thing. Because I had more wealth than most kingdoms combined.