It was a strict rule for young maidens not to approach the Duremont heir by themselves lest their innocence be stolen and their marriage prospects destroyed.

"It would be my pleasure," Celine accepted the invitation, throwing the rule behind her shoulder much to Lucian's displeasure, "But I must ask Young Master Mathieu to do something with that servant of yours first. My allergy to hay-heads seems to be getting worse by the minute."

"..." The servant's dead expression didn't waver, but the hand holding onto his master's coat tightened.

It was very typical of Celine to throw a stone at an innocent person. She could have gone after the noble Mathieu himself, but she chose to target someone of a lower status than herself.

And since the servant was just that, a lowborn, he couldn't even talk back. His master could defend his honor or respect Celine's authority. Most would choose the latter option, and Lucian had seen the scenario play out many times.

"I will be sure to keep my servants away from your sight, My Lady," Mathieu promised, sending the servant away to show his genuineness. (The servant was rented from the Academy, the students couldn't bring ones from their house.)

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Celine gave him a weak smile, walking past him, "They don't seem to have anything beside their looks to offer, and I would rather not catch their filthy illnesses."

"..." The servant bit his lip, his eyes reddening from holding back his tears. It was humiliating to stand in the presence of the rich and powerful, and be unable to defend yourself.

Celine clearly took her dissatisfaction out on the most vulnerable, not caring about who she was harming in the process.

Young Master Mathieu's lecherous eyes on Celine's back was the last thing Lucian saw before the cafeteria was out of his range of vision.

Mathieu looked like he couldn't wait to see a noble lady kneel and beg him for mercy, especially the one who was known to be the most proud and haughty of them all.

'Gods, the school year has barely started, and the amount of rivals I've already made is...' Lucian groaned inwardly, 'All the worries about her falling for someone else...gone. I should be more worried about someone stabbing her to death instead.'

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The infirmary was empty of other people except for the physician. He told Lucian to take his medicine and rest on the bed for a couple of hours.

Lucian had persuaded Voice to lend him this third view ability outside of their training sessions. It helped him hone his image in the eyes of others.

It was a good way to know what to improve on. The way he talked, walked and sat down…

He had been slacking with his combat training due to his busy schedule again and started to regret it a tiny little bit.

Now he wanted nothing more than to poke holes in the Duremont's eyes and feed them to ToGo.

Learning how to fight no longer cut it, and he was ready to take the next step.

Lucian had the means to sponsor his body with resources that would enable him to start the knight training. All he was missing was a priest to bless him.

He could cultivate under Voice's instructions, pay Big Ray to give him a few lectures, impress him with his learning talent and then be done with it.

Priests were more likely to curse him rather than to bless him.

'Could you bless me?' Lucian asked Voice, unable to imagine that thing ever doing something so holy.

'What's the sudden enthusiasm for?' Voice asked.

'For poking eyes out.'

'Why not make your imaginary army do the dirty work for you? You said it doesn't matter who does it as long as it's done,' Voice mocked him.

'Poking out eyes is too delicate work for a brute,' Lucian replied, 'I have to be the one to do it.'

'...'

Once Celine learned how to control her hunger, she began to use food and exercise to shape her body to her liking.

Since Lucian had no preferences when it came to her body shape (yes, she asked him), she went the most popular route: thin waist, slim legs, big chest and hips.

It was another one of her control exercises. He had never seen a pickier eater than her, so when he thought her mood swings were caused by hunger, they weren't.

With all the faces she could put on, why stick to one? She could be a clingy flirt one second, a philosophical deep thinker the next, a ruthless female fatale, and a shy maiden in the next.

She even had a couple of breakdowns, which he suspected were fake. Something told him that her mental breakdowns would be more on a violent note rather than a sad one. But because most men hated violent women, she put up an act to make herself seem more vulnerable.

She wasn't able to stay consistent around Lucian, which he thought was the cutest thing in the world.

She was very fair when it came to giving back as much as he gave in. She would tease and provoke him, make him act out of impulse and character, and then be researched upon like a lab rat (using cuddles, praises, and other tactics to get the reaction she wanted to research for future use).

'I should have said that I preferred them small,' Lucian decided not to give her any more chest massages from today onwards, lest they grow even bigger.

Celine tried to hide her surprise when she saw Lucian resting on the bed, "..."

"..." Edmund was also baffled by their meetings that could only be described as fated. He left her by Lucian's side and went to the physician's office to speak to him in private.

The door shut behind them, leaving the couple with a forbidden relationship in the sick ward alone.

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