In a not-so-spacious room, three girls were sipping tea from their cups.

  It was clear that all of them were stunningly beautiful. The girl sitting at the far end near the window exuded an air of nobility and authority. She had black hair, striking red eyes, and an icy yet breathtakingly gorgeous face.

  She wore a white school blouse and a short black skirt.

  Suddenly, the girl to her right spoke up: "Hey, Celia, why is Sephera late?"

  The girl who had just addressed Celia had dazzling golden hair and sharp blue eyes. Though she wore the same uniform as Celia, her demeanor carried a distinct personality of her own.

  "She’s usually not late. Helena, go find her," Celia responded indifferently, issuing an order to Helena.

  However, the girl sitting across from Helena and to Celia’s left interjected, "No need. Sephera is already here."

  The one who spoke had silver hair and dark eyes. Her face was just as cold as Celia’s, but her expression carried an even stronger sense of detachment.

  "Roselie, how much longer?" Helena sighed in frustration, about to stand up when Roselie answered, just as the door slowly creaked open.

  "Right now."

  "Sorry, everyone. I had a little accident." Sephera stepped inside, and to everyone's surprise, she was the same girl who had bumped into Noctis.

  "Huh? An accident? What happened? Tell us!" Helena asked with concern.

  But Sephera simply closed the door gently and reassured her, "It's nothing serious, Helena. Just a small accident."

  Hearing that, Helena pulled out a chair for Sephera and urged, "Still, tell us!"

  Sephera didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she glanced at her two cold-faced friends, who gave her a slight nod in return.

  So, she began recounting the incident, about a particular individual and his unexpectedly gentle demeanor.

  The moment Sephera mentioned Noctis’s name, all three girls froze for a beat.

  The girls—or rather, every girl in this academy—knew that name. That deranged pervert.

  "Did he do anything to you?" Celia suddenly lost her usual composure.

  "Calm down, Celia," Helena noticed Celia’s rising agitation, which was making the room feel noticeably warmer.

  Sensing the situation getting out of hand, Sephera quickly reassured her, "He didn’t do anything to me. He just picked up my glasses."

  Hearing this, Celia calmed down slightly, but she remained deeply concerned. She had heard a rumor from the church that Noctis had murdered countless women simply because he found them beautiful. It was just a rumor, but people had seen him lurking around at night, stalking women.

  Celia couldn’t afford to let her guard down.

  She decided to confront him and warn him to stay away from Sephera because she cherished her three friends and wouldn’t allow anyone to target them.

  Besides, she had a powerful background—her father was one of the twelve High Bishops—so she wasn’t afraid of any retaliation from that pervert.

  "Sephera, where is he? I need to see him," Celia asked seriously.

  Sephera hesitated for a moment before replying timidly, "I saw him on my way to the library. He’s probably still there."

  Upon hearing Noctis’s whereabouts, Celia abruptly stood up from her chair and strode toward the door, declaring loudly, "None of you leave this room until I return!"

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  The others remained silent, silently acknowledging her authority.

  Although Celia was cold, she was also the strongest among them—or perhaps even the strongest in the academy. She had reached Cycle Two this year, an extraordinary feat that cemented her status as a genius.

  Celia walked swiftly toward the library, her expression filled with fury, but deep inside, she felt like a boat caught in a storm, ready to be overturned at any moment.

  Meanwhile, in just an hour, Noctis had absorbed and comprehended five books on world history and supernatural beings—a feat few, if any, could achieve unless they had a skill like his.

  Rubbing his temples, he decided to head home and have dinner. He had no intention of staying here any longer.

  He approached the librarian to bid farewell. Surprised by his polite manners, she felt a hint of admiration.

  "Perhaps he has changed," she thought.

  As Noctis stepped out of the library, he saw a stunning girl with a curvaceous figure rushing toward the entrance.

  His body trembled involuntarily.

  "Damn it, this damned ‘Noctis’!"

  Cursing the perverted nature of his predecessor, he forcibly regained control over his body, suppressing the tremor.

  By the time the girl reached him, he was back to normal.

  Stepping in front of him, she asked a question that caught him completely off guard:

  "Hey, have you seen a guy named Noctis?"

  A sudden thought flashed through his mind:

  "Why is she looking for Noctis? And she seems to be in quite a hurry…"

  He quickly made a decision.

  "I saw him deeper inside the library," he lied.

  Yes, he had chosen to lie. His instincts warned him that revealing his identity to this girl could be dangerous.

  The moment he finished speaking, she dashed off without another word—or even a thank you—making Noctis sighand remark,

  "Kids these days have no manners."

  He quickly left before she could realize the truth.

  Celia stormed into the library, scanning the area but finding no trace of Noctis. She searched every corner, yet there was no sign of him.

  It was only when she asked the librarian that she got an answer.

  "Ma’am, have you seen a guy named Noctis?"

  The librarian was taken aback by the question.

  Of course, she knew Celia—she was the most famous student in the academy. And Noctis was not far behind in notoriety.

  But what puzzled her was why Celia was looking for him.

  Noticing the librarian deep in thought, Celia waited patiently.

  After a moment, the librarian finally responded, "Before I tell you where Noctis is, can you tell me why you’re looking for him, Miss Celia?"

  Seeing the librarian’s curiosity, Celia didn’t bother hiding her intent.

  "I have something to discuss with him. I’m worried he might do something to my friend, so I came to warn him."

  She then explained how Sephera had bumped into Noctis earlier.

  After hearing the story, the librarian felt a chill run down her spine. But then, she recalled Noctis’s behavior from earlier—it was different from before.

  Her mind drifted to an old memory.

  Back then, she had been dining with the other teachers when the vice principal suddenly issued an urgent order:

  "Find Noctis immediately."

  The teachers secretly began searching for him.

  Minutes later, they found him in a storage room.

  The scene inside made every teacher present shudder.

  Noctis was pinning down a girl. Her clothes were torn, her face was bruised and battered, and that lunatic Noctis was muttering incomprehensible words.

  A few male teachers stepped forward and knocked Noctis unconscious.

  They checked on the girl—she was still alive but extremely weak.

  Suppressing their horror, they swiftly restrained Noctis and rushed the girl to the infirmary.

  After assaulting a fellow student, Noctis was put under house arrest. However, the librarian never understood why the academy merely confined him instead of handing him over to the church for punishment.

  Returning to the present, Celia grew impatient as she noticed the librarian lost in thought for quite some time. Before she could say anything, the librarian spoke first:

  "He left about 2–5 minutes ago. And it seems you don’t know what he looks like."

  Hearing this, Celia nodded eagerly.

  Seeing her reaction, the librarian smiled and described him:

  "He’s quite tall, around 1.8 meters. His face is somewhat handsome, with long hair tied back, though his bangs are quite long, giving him a rather romantic appearance. His eyes are slightly sunken, and there’s something unsettling about them—they’re too empty, indifferent to everything."

  Celia froze.

  A memory resurfaced—she had spoken to a young man with a similar height and appearance to the one the librarian had just described as Noctis.

  Standing still for a long moment, Celia finally spoke:

  "Ma’am, I think I’ve already met him… and even asked him about himself. But why did he lie? And why doesn’t he seem like the Noctis everyone describes?"

  The librarian was surprised but soon realized that she wasn’t the only one who had noticed the change in Noctis.

  "It seems he has become… more human," she thought.

  Agreeing with Celia’s suspicion, she said, "Yes, even I noticed the difference. He no longer acts erratic. Instead, he seems calmer… and even shows a bit of emotion."

  Celia acknowledged that they had both come to the same conclusion about Noctis. She simply shook her head and asked more casually than before:

  "Do you know when he’ll return?"

  "No, he didn’t say. But when he does, I’ll let you know, Lady Celia."

  Celia responded naturally.

  Hearing this, Celia felt a bit disappointed but also found herself looking forward to meeting him again.

  After bidding farewell to the librarian, she headed back to her club.