William woke up the next morning still thinking about yesterday's disaster. His ribs felt better and the affinity gates were continuing to open steadily, but none of that mattered when he'd created a mess with both Lyanna and Seraphina.
He got dressed and headed to the dining hall for breakfast. Lyanna was already there sitting with some House Luminara students, and when their eyes met briefly, she looked away immediately.
William grabbed food and found a spot at the House Ascendant table. Mira appeared a few minutes later and sat down across from him.
"So I heard gossip that says you're having drama with Lyanna Stormweaver and Seraphina Ashenheart," she said while stealing food from his plate. "Want to tell me what actually happened or should I just believe the rumors that you're secretly dating both of them?"
"That's the first thing you tell me in the morning?" William said tiredly. "Well, it was just a misunderstanding that got blown out of proportion."
"Mm. Well, whatever happened, Seraphina looked annoyed during combat training this morning and Lyanna has been cold to everyone since yesterday." Mira took a drink. "You have a talent for making simple things complicated."
William finished his breakfast and headed to magical theory class. He took his usual seat and Lyanna arrived shortly after, but instead of sitting beside him like normal, she chose a seat three rows away.
Professor Ashcroft started her lecture about advanced elemental manipulation and William tried to focus while being very aware of Lyanna's presence and pointed absence from her normal spot.
After class, William tried to approach her but she was already leaving with other students. He caught up to her in the hallway.
"Lyanna, can we talk about the project? We still have work to finish."
She stopped and turned to face him with that carefully neutral expression. "We can discuss it during our scheduled study session tomorrow. I have class now."
She walked away before he could say anything else and William stood there feeling frustrated.
Dawn combat training the next morning brought another complication. William arrived at the arena complex and found Seraphina already there practicing alone. He approached carefully.
"Morning," he said.
Seraphina acknowledged him with a brief nod but didn't stop her practice forms. Her movements were sharper than usual, almost aggressive.
"You're cleared to resume training?" she asked without looking at him.
"The healer gave me approval yesterday," William confirmed. "Thanks again for the help with recovery."
"It was nothing." Seraphina finished her form and finally turned to face him. "You went after Lyanna yesterday to explain right?."
It wasn't a question. William realized she'd either seen him or heard about it through academy gossip.
"I did," he admitted. "She was upset and I wanted to clarify what she'd walked in on."
Seraphina's expression was hard to read. "And did it work? Did your explanation make her or you feel better?"
"Not really," William said honestly. "She's still avoiding me."
"Mhm." Seraphina turned back to her practice. "You should focus on your own recovery and training instead of worrying about other people's feelings."
There was an edge to her voice that suggested she was annoyed, though William couldn't tell if it was directed at him or the general situation.
"Are you upset that I tried to explain things to her?" he asked directly.
Seraphina paused mid-form. "I'm not upset. I just think it was pointless to chase after someone who already made up their mind about what they saw."
"She's my project partner. I can't just ignore that she's hurt."
"Then don't. But don't expect me to keep helping you navigate relationship complications you're creating." Seraphina resumed her practice with more force. "Your gates are opening fine and your ribs are healed enough. You don't need my assistance anymore."
She walked toward the main training area where other students were gathering, effectively ending the conversation.
William stood there processing the fact that apparently both Seraphina and Lyanna were now upset with him for different reasons, and the curse was probably making both situations worse than they needed to be.
[Seraphina Ashenheart: 13%]
[Warning: Target experiencing conflicted emotions]
[Possessive tendencies developing alongside competitive instincts]
William dismissed the notification with frustration. The curse was turning normal friendship complications into something more intense and harder to navigate.
Combat training proceeded with Valdris putting them through sparring rotations. William was paired against a House Valoris student and won after a solid match that showed his recovery was progressing well.
After training, William headed to his morning classes. The day passed slowly with William very aware of both Lyanna's continued avoidance and Seraphina's new coldness whenever their paths crossed.
By evening, William was back in his room trying to focus on assignments when Kai spoke up from his couch position.
"You know both of them are acting possessive right?" his roommate observed. "Seraphina is annoyed you went after Lyanna because she feels like you're choosing Lyanna over her, and Lyanna is upset because she thinks you and Seraphina have something going on. Classic jealousy triangle."
"I'm aware," William said while not looking up from his textbook. "But knowing the cause doesn't help me fix it."
"Probably can't fix it," Kai said. "The best you can do is try not to make it worse."
The next morning at breakfast, Headmistress Nectaris made an announcement that got everyone's attention.
"In one week, all first-year students will participate in a mandatory educational expedition," she said while her voice carried across the dining hall. "You'll be traveling to Vale for practical field experience in essence manipulation, survival tactics, and combat application."
Excited murmurs spread through the students. William had heard about Vale from other students—it was an area with natural essence concentrations that made it ideal for training but also potentially dangerous.
In short it was a sort of vacation for the students.
"The expedition will last five days," the Headmistress continued. "You'll be divided into mixed-house groups of six students each to encourage cooperation across house lines. Group assignments will be posted tomorrow. Attendance is mandatory and counts toward your semester rankings."
After the announcement, the dining hall erupted in conversations about the upcoming trip. William noticed both Lyanna and Seraphina were at their respective tables, and both seemed to be listening to their housemates discuss the expedition.
Mira appeared beside William with her usual energy. "Field trip! This should be interesting. I hope we end up in the same group."
"Knowing my luck, I'll end up grouped with people who already don't like me," William said.
"Don't be dramatic. Most people don't actively dislike you, they just think you're weird for attracting the attention of multiple dangerous women." She grinned. "Which is actually a fair point."
That afternoon was William's scheduled study session with Lyanna. He arrived at the library auxiliary room they usually used and found her already there with books and notes spread across the table.
"Hi," William said while sitting down across from her.
"Hello," Lyanna replied without looking up from her notes. "I've completed my sections of the research. Here's what we still need to address for the final report."
She pushed papers across the table and William looked at them. Her work was thorough as always, but her tone was purely professional without any of the friendly banter they'd developed over previous sessions.
They worked in tense silence for about twenty minutes before William couldn't take it anymore.
"Are we going to talk about what happened or just pretend everything is normal?"
Lyanna finally looked up. "What is there to talk about? You and Seraphina were having a private moment and I interrupted. I've already apologized for overreacting."
"You didn't overreact and it wasn't what it looked like," William said. "We were just messing around while she finished treating my injuries. There's nothing romantic between us."
"You don't owe me explanations about your relationships," Lyanna said while going back to her notes. "Can we just focus on the project?"
William wanted to argue but he could see she wasn't ready to actually discuss it. They finished the study session in mostly silence and Lyanna left immediately after without the usual conversation about their next meeting.
[Lyanna Stormweaver: 16%]
[Warning: Emotional distance is paradoxically increasing curse influence]
[Target's suppressed feelings intensifying]
The next morning, the group assignments for the expedition were posted. William checked the board and found his name listed with five others:
Group 7:
- William Cross (House Ascendant)
- Seraphina Ashenheart (House Arcturus)
- Lyanna Stormweaver (House Luminara)
- Claire Hivolt (House Luminara)
- Sara…
William stared at the list and felt his vision blur upon noticing the pair he was grouped up with. He was grouped with both Seraphina and Lyanna, plus Claire who was also affected by the curse, for a five-day expedition into potentially dangerous territory.
"Well," Kai said from beside him while reading the list. "That's unfortunate timing. Five days trapped together while two of them are upset with you and the third one is actively trying to seduce you."
"Thanks captain obvious" William said sarcastically.
He looked around and spotted both Seraphina and Lyanna checking the lists. Seraphina's expression was unreadable but Lyanna looked briefly distressed before schooling her features to neutral.
This expedition was going to be a disaster, and they hadn't even left the academy yet.
----
For the love of God the MC is not a SIMP:(
2 chapter out tmmrw
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Eroge Online: I,The Extra will break every heroine into a Yandere