The music fills the great hall along with laughter and the sound of wine glasses, all the students and professors seem to be enjoying themselves very much, but not as much as Theo and Sarah, who dance excitedly in the center of the crowd.
While many only watch them from afar, no one actually approaches. But when Theo extends his hand to grab a new glass of wine from a tray, he sees another pair of new students smiling at him.
"Theo!" The girl in a beautiful, luxurious outfit smiles adorably when she sees Theo, and the man beside her also smiles friendly. Those are Hermes and his sister, Clarice.
"Hey friends," Theo greets the siblings with a slight bow, and they do the same, but then Sarah appears beside Theo and hugs his arm while casting a proud look toward Clarice.
The girl ignores Sarah and keeps looking at Theo with her eyes shining, but Hermes quickly pulls her by the hand while making a sorry expression to Theo. "We won't disturb you. I hope you enjoy the night."
"You should enjoy yourselves too," Theo smiles to Hermes as he pulls his sister away, leaving Sarah with a satisfied smile on her face. "Looks like he learned the lesson."
"You look lovely when you're jealous," Theo smiles at Sarah and then kisses her lips. She blushes a little but smiles too, then grabs another glass of wine and pulls him by the arm. "Come on, I want to explore the castle."
Theo follows Sarah through the hall while noticing some familiar faces: Professor Luke and Professor Vera, who both seem to be drinking together while talking to new students. The pair waves at Theo, but Sarah pulls him upstairs to the second floor.
Sarah leads Theo through several corridors to large rooms filled with more statues and trophies of former students and Professors of the Academy. She shows everything to him with enthusiasm since it is also the first time she sees all of it outside the books.
Theo enjoys hearing Sarah's stories, but especially kissing her sweet lips every time she looks at him with that excited and adorable expression. The couple always returns closer to the Hall of Stars when they run out of wine and go back to exploring the surroundings when they grab new glasses.
The more they drink, the faster time seems to pass, and after almost two hours, the duo runs into a group coming out of one of the side rooms. "Oh, Lady Malveryn, Lord Theo…" The Professor leading the group is the gentle old Alaric, the same one who conducted Theo's magic test.
Theo straightens his posture while Sarah leans on him and smiles at the Professor. "Professor Alaric…" She gives a slight bow, and the old Professor smiles. "Are you two exploring the castle? Haha, it's good to see the younger generation interested in the history of those who came before."
"Of course, Professor," Sarah nods gracefully, making the students behind Alaric look enchanted with her. Alaric's eyes also shine with expectation. "Actually, we were going to the library to see some collections. Perhaps Lady Malveryn could join us and talk about your books there?"
"Ah," Sarah smiles proudly for a moment, but then shakes her head while hugging Theo's arm more tightly. "I'm sorry, Professor, but—" Before she finishes speaking, Alaric makes a pleading expression. "The night is still far from over, Lady Malveryn. Perhaps giving just a little of your time won't make Lord Theo too upset, will it?" The old Professor smiles at Theo in the end.
"Hmm…" Sarah looks at Theo. "It might be boring for you." She makes a sorry expression, but he smiles and kisses her lips in front of everyone. "It's fine, I'll eat something while I wait for you to come back."
"I won't take long," It is Sarah who kisses Theo now before following Alaric and his group to the library, leaving Theo in the corridor. He looks around and sees a servant carrying a tray of food, then approaches to grab something.
"My Lord," The servant is a middle-aged man who offers the tray to Theo with a respectful attitude, making Theo smile friendly. "Everything smells so good…" He looks at some of the foods on the tray, but he has absolutely no idea what they are.
"The spicy fish cakes are delicious," a male voice sounds behind Theo, and he turns around, seeing a tall young man smiling friendly. "Matheo?" Theo is surprised to see the young man he met at the inn, especially because his face looks impeccable after receiving that brutal punch from Sarah.
Matheo approaches the servant beside Theo and grabs two fish cakes. Theo also grabs five of them and some pastries and a piece of pie, clearing the rest of the tray. Then he sits on a bench beside Matheo to eat the delicious snacks.
"You seem hungry, my friend." Matheo comments, and Theo nods while finishing chewing. "My appetite increased a lot since I arrived here, I think I might end up getting fat…"
"That wouldn't do you any harm, haha." Matheo comments friendly and Theo looks at him with a curious expression. "I thought that after what happened earlier, you would be…" Matheo finishes the sentence before Theo. "Upset? Oh, don't worry, I was the only one to blame for what happened. And you tried to warn me, didn't you?"
Theo nods and looks at Matheo's face. "You recovered pretty fast, didn't you?" As soon as he asks, the boy nods. "Professor Isolde treated me with healing magic. She is such a beautiful Professor!" He says with shining eyes and an expectant smile on his face.
"Oh, now you have your eyes on a Professor?" Theo laughs, and Matheo nods, but then his expression turns serious. "Isolde is truly an extraordinary woman, but just like your girlfriend, she seemed more interested in… you."
"Me?" Theo gets confused, and Matheo also seems like that. "Yeah, she kept asking about you the whole time." As soon as he says that, Theo frowns. "And what did you tell her?"
"Nothing, of course," Matheo says casually. "I didn't know anything about you since I had just met you at that inn, so that's what I told her. Yet, her interest was strange… You should be careful, beautiful women always attract trouble, and you already have such a beautiful girlfriend."
"Thank you," Theo smiles at Matheo. "You seem like a really nice guy," he says friendly and Matheo smiles too. "I say the same about you, my friend, and I don't betray my friends, you can be sure of that."
Theo nods and continues eating the fish cakes beside Matheo, but then the friendly boy comments something in an impressed tone. "Speaking of beautiful women… look at that Goddess!" He points to the side, and when Theo looks in that direction, he is also surprised.
"Her?" Who Theo sees walking in the corridor is Eruina, even more elegant and graceful than the first time he saw her. Now she is wearing a long white, black, and purple dress, with details in silver and bright purple. Her hair is loose with some braids decorated with silver rings, and her ears are adorned with large butterfly-shaped purple earrings.
Eruina's high heels echo through the corridor as she walks toward Theo with a sharp and confident gaze, her posture dominant and sensual, moving those hips in a subtle way, which also makes the large melons in front bounce even while being so tight due to her bold strapless top.
"She is so—" Matheo starts to stand up, but Theo acts quickly by holding him seated by the shoulder. The boy looks at him, confused, but when he sees Theo's sorry eyes, Matheo becomes sad. "No, no, no, please don't tell me that she, too…"
Theo just nods, and Matheo sighs. "Really? What in the world is your secret?" the boy asks, but Theo shrugs, then Matheo sighs again. "It doesn't matter, I don't even know if I should feel envy, admiration, or pity for you. That woman looks capable of devouring a man with just her gaze…"
"I know," Theo also sighs and then looks at Eruina as she arrives in front of them. She completely ignores Matheo and extends her hand to Theo in silence. He takes her hand, and then she pulls him away from the bench, making Theo cast a sorry look at Matheo, who smiles and gives him a thumbs up.
As he follows Eruina, Theo feels her strong characteristic perfume of Roses and Mint. "Professor, are we…" He tries to sound as respectful as possible since they are in public, but Eruina simply pulls him into another corridor with fewer people, and before Theo understands what is happening, the bricks of a wall move on their own, opening a secret passage which she pulls him into.
"Eruina?" Theo is confused, but Eruina pushes him against a wall, and while the secret passage closes beside them, she smiles at him and then kisses him.
"Huh?" Theo is surprised as he feels that special sweet taste invading his mouth together with Eruina's dominant tongue that dances around his, spreading her flavor everywhere. Her lips are cold but very soft, and he cannot stop his body from reacting positively, but something inside him makes him hold back.
Eruina stops the kiss when she notices Theo is not responding and laughs. "You are different from the first time I kissed you, but I still love that surprised look of yours."
"Why are you doing this?" he asks, confused, and Eruina giggles charmingly. "Fufufufu~" Her eyes shine, and she licks her lips seductively. "Because I can, my dear." She finishes speaking and kisses his lips again.
Eruina kisses Theo for more than a minute and then stops before starting to lick her lips and stare at him with a naughty expression. "You just ate those fish cakes, but the predominant taste in your mouth is still hers… You seem to be very committed to winning her affection, no doubt."