I Killed The Main Characters

Chapter 208 I Like You [2]

The spacious faculty lounge hummed with quiet murmurs as professors and instructors gathered.

Some seated around polished wooden tables.

Others leaning against walls or peering out of tall, arched windows.

The topic of the hour was unusual and divisive, drawing everyone's attention away from their usual duties.

"A student... acting as a professor?"

A stern-faced woman with steel-grey hair said, her voice dripping with skepticism.

"And not just any student—Noah Ashbourne.

What on earth was Scarlet thinking?"

Several others nodded.

Their faces etched with varying degrees of doubt and disapproval.

"Scarlet rarely thinks in ways that align with the rest of us..."

A wiry man with a thin mustache quipped.

His comment drew a few chuckles, though the humor was short-lived as the gravity of the situation returned.

"But to appoint Noah Ashbourne, of all people?

That boy is notorious for his arrogance and... peculiar temperament."

A bespectacled professor sitting near the window set down her cup of tea with a delicate clink.

"Let's not be so quick to judge."

She said evenly.

"Noah may have his flaws, but he's also shown extraordinary aptitude in magic theory.

Or have you all forgotten the opener exams?

He was the sole person—student or professor—to decipher that theoretical question."

There was a pause, followed by begrudging murmurs of agreement.

"That was impressive..."

Admitted a younger instructor, his arms crossed.

"But academic brilliance doesn't necessarily translate to being a good instructor.

He'll be dealing with first-year students.

Can you imagine what they'll endure under someone like him?

He's a senior, but that's hardly enough to make him a teacher."

Another professor, a stout man with a booming voice, scoffed.

"The position comes with power—power over first-years.

But Noah Ashbourne? He's already from a prestigious family.

This role is nothing to him.

If anything, he agreed to it for some ulterior motive."

"What ulterior motive?"

Someone asked skeptically.

The stout professor shrugged.

"Who knows?

The Ashbournes are as secretive as they are influential.

Maybe it's a game to him.

Or maybe he's after something we haven't considered."

The conversation shifted uneasily to Noah's infamous curse, the one bestowed upon him by the Frost Queen herself.

"It's his curse that troubles me most..."

Said a lanky man with thinning hair, his voice lowered as if Noah might overhear from afar.

"Have you heard?

They say anyone he touches has their limbs frozen and shattered.

Students are terrified of him because of it."

"And not just students..."

Another added.

"Even some of us tread carefully around him.

What if the curse acts out in unpredictable ways?"

"It's superstitious nonsense..."

A woman interjected, though her tone suggested she didn't fully believe her own words.

"The curse isn't contagious, and it's not as if he's going to 'savor people's limbs,' as some of these absurd tales suggest."

By the tall window at the far end of the room, a man who had remained silent until now let out an audible sigh.

He had a black beard streaked with white, and though his face carried the weight of age, his sharp eyes betrayed a youthful vigor.

Setting his teacup down on the sill, he folded his newspaper neatly and finally spoke.

"That's not how the curse works."

He said, his voice calm but firm, cutting through the room's chatter.

All eyes turned to him as he continued, his gaze steady.

"And frankly, it infuriates me how these sin curses are always misrepresented."

The room fell silent as the bearded man—Professor Alaric—

A well-respected figure known for his deep understanding of magical lore, began to elaborate.

"The Frost Queen's curse is a rare and dangerous thing, yes.

But it's not as arbitrary or malicious as the rumors make it out to be.

The curse doesn't harm people simply because Noah touches them.

It only takes effect under specific conditions."

He paused, allowing the weight of his words to settle before continuing.

"If someone attacks Noah, the curse activates.

The aggressor's limbs are frozen, shattered into pieces, and the pain is said to be excruciating.

His business was stagnant until recently."

"I'm sure he just got lucky."

Noah said, his voice carefully neutral.

"Lucky?"

Scarlet laughed softly, her voice dripping with skepticism.

"No, Noah.

Luck doesn't account for the sudden uptick in his customer base, the innovative marketing strategies, or the streamlined operations.

That's you.

It's genius, really.

Your touch is all over it."

Noah feigned indifference, but inwardly, his mind raced.

How much did she know?

Could she be on to him?

No, it wasn't possible.

His act had been flawless.

"You act so far beyond your years, Noah..."

Scarlet continued, her voice softening.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're not a teenager at all, but a grown man trapped in a seventeen-year-old's body.

The way you carry yourself, the way you think—it's... extraordinary."

Noah swallowed, his outward calm betrayed only by the faint sheen of sweat forming on the back of his neck.

He glanced up at Scarlet, her piercing gaze unnerving yet oddly captivating.

Was she piecing things together?

Did she somehow suspect he wasn't the original Noah?

No, it couldn't be.

She was simply making observations.

Surely, that was all.

"And all those reasons..."

Scarlet added, moving closer.

"...are why I acknowledged you.

Why I respect you.

Why I like you."

The words hung in the air like a charged spell.

Noah's heart skipped a beat as Scarlet leaned over the couch, wrapping her arms lightly around his shoulders.

Her touch was warm, her presence intoxicating.

Noah inwardly cursed.

He had to play this carefully.

"Bold of you, Professor, to be so comfortable wrapping your arms around me despite knowing about my curse..."

Noah said, his voice steady but laced with pointed amusement.

Scarlet smirked, her lips curving mischievously.

"Oh? But I don't harbor any ill intentions toward you.

That's how your curse works, no?"

She leaned closer, her breath brushing against his ear.

"Besides, I've already confessed to you, only for you to brush it off.

How rude to turn down a woman such as myself."

Noah tilted his head slightly, his expression carefully composed.

"Professor, that's also bold... confessing to a student..."

Scarlet didn't falter.

She moved her hands, placing them gently on either side of his head, tilting his face upward until their eyes met.

Her crimson gaze bore into his, their faces mere inches apart.

"You, Noah... are no seventeen-year-old..."

She said softly, her tone both teasing and accusatory.

Noah's mind raced.

Her proximity, her words—it was too much.

He needed to regain control.

Quickly, he shifted the conversation.

"What about the joint mid-term exams?

He asked, his voice a touch too hurried.

"While I'm now an instructor, I'm still a student."

Scarlet chuckled, a knowing glint in her eye. Continue your journey at empire

"Quickly changing the topic again, I see.

I like your way of talking, Noah."

She straightened, moving back a step, but her presence still loomed over him.

"But to answer your question, now that you're an instructor, you won't participate in the exams.

Instead, you'll be one of us—one of the instructors overseeing the tests alongside the faculty teams... such as myself."

Noah exhaled slowly, his thoughts swirling.

'I won't interfere with the second episode... is what I told myself.

But it seems I will be...'

Scarlet smiled knowingly, as if she could sense his internal turmoil.

The room fell into a loaded silence, the tension between them palpable.

For now, Noah had deflected her suspicions, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Scarlet saw more of him than he wanted to reveal.