Mira learned three things the next morning:
1. Aristella students woke up at ungodly hours.
2. Aristella gossip travelled faster than oxygen.
3. Aristella students had absolutely no shame.
She barely made it out of her dorm before a group of girls swarmed her like sparkly piranhas.
"There she is!"
"The Lucky Star!"
"The Prince's nemesis!"
"Can I touch your sleeve? You stood up to royalty with that sleeve!"
Mira took a step back. "If you touch me, I'm screaming."
They froze like she'd threatened their inheritances.
A girl with long curls leaned forward. "Is it true? Did the prince glare at you during reconciliation?"
Another whispered, "Some say sparks flew."
"Some say knives flew!"
"Some say…"
Her voice dropped to a dramatic whisper.
"…he likes you."
Mira almost choked. "Likes me? He barely tolerates oxygen."
More giggles. More whispers. More delusions.
Mira shoved through them and escaped down the hallway before someone attempted to ask for her autograph again.
She found Leo waiting by a golden lion statue, waving like a one-man welcome committee.
"There's my favourite chaos generator!" he announced.
"I am not chaos," Mira grumbled. "I'm normal. This place is insane."
Leo looped an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry, Mira. Nobles gossip because they have no hobbies."
"What about reading?"
"We have people to read for us."
Mira blinked. "…I hate it here."
They made it halfway to class before another group formed, this time, boys. Tall, well-dressed, and extremely dramatic boys.
One stepped forward. "Miss Lawson, may I ask, what does it feel like to challenge Prince Adrian?"
Mira stared. "Normal. Like talking to a very expensive wall."
Leo snorted so loudly one of the boys flinched.
Another boy leaned in. "Are you planning a rematch?"
"She doesn't plan anything," Leo said cheerfully. "It just happens."
Mira elbowed him.
The boys whispered among themselves as she walked off.
And then she realized,
Someone was staring at her.
More precisely, two royal bodyguards were staring at her from across the hall.
Watching her.
Following her.
Like she was a potential assassin.
She narrowed her eyes. "Why are they stalking me?"
Leo whispered, "Because you emotionally traumatized their prince."
"I did not!"
"You threatened him with a beverage."
Mira groaned, "I want to go home."
"Nope," Leo said, pushing open the lecture hall door. "You're a campus legend now."
Students turned the moment she entered.
Every seat on the left side? Taken.
Every seat on the right side? Taken.
The row behind Adrian's usual seat? Completely empty.
Leo nudged her. "Sit there."
"I refuse."
Adrian walked in at that exact moment.
The hall fell silent.
He looked… perfect, polished, and annoyed that perfection wasn't enough.
His eyes scanned the room,
Then stopped.
Directly on Mira.
Her spine stiffened.
He walked to his seat without a word, but his gaze lingered one heartbeat too long.
Several girls squealed.
Leo whispered, "Oh, he's watching you."
"He's watching me because he hates me."
Leo hummed. "Or he hates that he doesn't hate you."
Mira threw him a look.
Leo pretended innocence.
Class dragged on. Mira wrote notes. Leo drew doodles. Adrian pretended not to look back at her every few minutes and failed miserably.
When the bell rang, Mira tried to escape.
Tried.
Because a hand caught her bag.
Not Adrian's.
A girl's.
Tall. Pale. Elegant. Terrifying. Dressed in white silk like she was going to a royal funeral.
Lady Seraphina Rousseau.
The prince's betrothed.
Her smile was sweet.
Her eyes were sharp knives dipped in perfume.
"Mira Lawson," she said smoothly. "A word. Now."
Leo whispered from behind Mira, "Abort mission. We're going to die."
Mira pulled her arm back. "What do you want?"
Seraphina stepped closer, maintaining that perfect noble posture. "A warning. Be careful."
Mira raised a brow. "Of you?"
"Of this place."
Seraphina's smile tightened.
"And of the prince."
Mira stiffened. "I'm not scared of him."
Seraphina's eyes glimmered. "No. That's the problem."
She leaned in, whispering so softly only Mira could hear:
"He doesn't tolerate people who challenge him. He breaks them."
Mira didn't flinch.
She didn't look away.
She didn't bow.
"Good thing I don't break easily," she said.
Seraphina's jaw twitched.
Leo exhaled, "Okay, Mira, very cool, very bold, but maybe we should leave before she summons dragons."
Seraphina stepped aside gracefully. "Take this as kindness."
Mira walked past her. "I'll return it when I see some."
Leo stared at her in awe. "You're fearless."
Mira exhaled shakily. "No. I'm tired. And annoyed. And very close to throwing myself into that fountain."
Leo draped an arm over her. "Come on. Lunch will distract you."
They headed toward the courtyard, Mira's nerves finally calming.
Until she turned a corner,
And walked straight into a very solid chest.
Not Leo's.
Not a random noble.
No.
The Crown Prince.
Adrian caught her elbow before she stumbled, his grip firm and steady.
Their eyes met.
And the world, even the air, hesitated.
She jerked her arm away. "Don't touch me."
Adrian straightened, eyes narrowing. "Watch where you're going."
"Maybe stop blocking hallways like a royal statue," she snapped.
His jaw ticked. "You have a talent for disrespect."
"You have a talent for being in my way."
Leo watched like he was enjoying premium drama.
Adrian stepped closer, not enough to touch, but enough to send a pulse of tension through the corridor.
"Miss Lawson," he said quietly, "we need to talk."
"No," she said immediately.
"It wasn't a request."
"Still no."
Adrian exhaled slowly, the kind of slow that meant he was using every ounce of royal patience he had.
"Tomorrow morning," he said, "meet me at the south gardens. Alone."
Mira raised a brow. "What for?"
He didn't answer.
He just looked at her.
Too long.
Too intensely.
Like she was something he needed to understand, or control.
"Don't be late," he said.
Then he walked away, cape, or whatever he wore, fluttering dramatically behind him.
Leo gasped. "Oh my God. Mira. The prince just asked you… alone… garden… morning, "
"He wants to yell at me," Mira said.
Leo snorted. "Or he wants something else."
Mira shoved him.
But her heart,
Her annoying, traitorous, rebellious heart,
Gave a tiny, suspicious flutter anyway.