Astron's gaze settled on Seraphina, his sharp purple eyes unwavering and unreadable. The corridor was silent, save for the faint hum of distant voices and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Seraphina stood a few steps away, her silver hair cascading down her back like liquid moonlight, her expression a mix of amusent and intrigue.
"We need to talk," she said, her voice calm yet laced with an undercurrent of authority.
Astron didn't respond imdiately. His eyes briefly scanned her face, noting the faint, confident smirk playing on her lips. Then, in a tone as neutral as the cold stone walls around them, he asked, "Why?"
The single word hung in the air between them, simple yet laden with aning.
Seraphina's smile deepened slightly. She tilted her head, studying him as if he were a puzzle she couldn't quite piece together.
It was the sa response he had given her the last ti they spoke. Back then, she had approached him with a proposition—one that most people would have jumped at for the sheer opportunity to be in her favor. But his reaction had been the sa: indifferent, detached.
'Why?'
Normally, people clamored for her attention. They would spend days, sotis weeks, arranging etings with her. Gifts, letters, subtle favors—such was the norm for soone of her standing. She was Seraphina Frostborne, heir to one of the strongest magic families, the Frostborne lineage, known for its dominion over ice and precision in spellcraft. Her rank in the academy was high, her reputation impeccable.
But this guy…
Astron Natusalune wasn't like anyone else.
No reverence, no flattery. Just that single, disarming question, as if her lineage and rank were re trivialities.
"You have a way of making things far less complicated than they should be," she finally said, stepping closer, her heels clicking softly against the polished floor. "But since you insist…"
Her silver eyes locked onto his, unblinking. "Because you intrigue , Astron."
He raised an eyebrow, his expression still unreadable. "Is that all?"
Seraphina let out a light chuckle, the sound low and deliberate. "Shouldn't that be enough?"
"No." His answer was curt, blunt.
For a mont, silence stretched between them. Seraphina didn't seem fazed. In fact, his rejection only seed to amuse her further.
'He's impossible,' she thought, though the realization didn't annoy her—it intrigued her more.
"Then how about this," she said, folding her arms. "I know you're not ordinary. And I'm not just talking about your rank or your… tendencies to attract trouble."
Astron's gaze didn't waver, but there was a flicker of sothing in his eyes—a shadow of calculation, perhaps.
"You hide things, Astron. Big things. And you're better at it than most." Her tone softened, though her words carried weight. "But even the best can't hide everything forever."
"Is that supposed to scare ?" he asked, his voice as even as ever.
"No," she replied smoothly, her smirk returning. "It's supposed to interest you. We might not see eye to eye, but we can help each other."
"I don't need help."
"Oh, I think you do," she countered, leaning in just slightly. "You've got enemies watching you, Astron. And friends like Irina can only protect you for so long."
"Are you that different? If friends like Irina can only protect for this long, how can you, soone with a similar rank, make it longer?"
Seraphina's smirk widened, her silver eyes glinting with amusent. She tilted her head slightly, her long hair cascading like a curtain of frost. "That's for you to find out after hearing , isn't it?" Her voice carried a teasing edge, as if she were enjoying a ga only she understood.
Astron's expression didn't waver. "What if I don't want to waste my ti like this?" he asked, his tone calm but pointed.
"Waste ti?" Seraphina placed a hand on her chest, feigning offense. "Now, that's rather hurtful. You do realize there are people who would kill you if they heard you say that about ."
"People who'd try to kill for sothing so trivial wouldn't have the ability to do so," Astron replied flatly, his sharp purple eyes eting hers without hesitation.
For a mont, Seraphina blinked, then let out a soft laugh, her amusent genuine this ti. "Heh… You're bold, I'll give you that." She leaned in slightly, her presence sharp yet strangely magnetic. "But boldness doesn't change facts, does it?"
Her smirk returned as she continued, "Last ti, I revealed my ability to see through strength, didn't I? Threatened to expose what you're hiding to the academy…" She let the words linger, watching his reaction closely. "And yet, here you are. You've co to terms with it, haven't you?"
Astron remained silent, but his gaze sharpened. It wasn't anger or frustration—it was sothing far more unnerving. His purple eyes seed to pierce through her, studying her like a predator gauging its prey. The flicker of amusent in Seraphina's expression faltered ever so slightly under his unyielding scrutiny.
'Heh… interesting,' she thought, quickly regaining her composure. This wasn't the reaction of soone cornered. If anything, he seed to be weighing her, testing her resolve.
"Well," she said, straightening up and brushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear, "it's not like you have a choice. Unless, of course, you want certain things to be known." Her smirk was sharp now, her words a deliberate provocation.
Astron's eyes remained locked on hers, unblinking. For a mont, the corridor was silent except for the faint hum of distant chatter. Then, he exhaled slowly, his gaze softening, though only slightly.
"Fine," he said at last, his tone even, as if he had rely conceded a trivial point in an argunt. "I'll hear you out."
The satisfaction in Seraphina's smirk deepened. She took a step closer, her presence confident yet controlled. "Good," she said simply. "You won't regret it."
As she turned on her heel, her silver hair swaying with each step, Astron's gaze lingered on her retreating form. His expression remained calm, but his mind was already at work. He had accepted her offer—but not for the reasons she likely thought.
'Let's see what you're really after, Seraphina Frostborne. Though I have so ideas.'
Behind her confident exterior, he had glimpsed sothing else—a flicker of uncertainty, desperation buried beneath layers of arrogance and poise.
It was interesting to see.
*******
The terrace café was quiet, the soft murmur of distant conversations blending with the gentle clink of porcelain cups. The view below stretched wide, a panorama of the academy grounds bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. Seraphina led the way, her confident stride unbroken as she chose a table near the edge, the perfect vantage point. Astron followed silently, his footsteps steady, his gaze flickering briefly over the familiar surroundings.
It was the sa place they had t last ti, where Seraphina had nearly succeeded in driving a wedge between him and Irina. Nearly. Instead, the confrontation had done the opposite, strengthening his bond with Irina—a twist of irony that Seraphina, of course, remained oblivious to.
As they sat down, Seraphina rested her elbow on the table, her chin propped lightly on her hand. Her silver hair caught the sunlight, shimring like frost under a rising dawn.
"The view is really nice, don't you think?" she said, her tone conversational yet laced with subtle undertones, always testing the waters.
Astron's gaze swept over the landscape, taking in the warm hues and the distant movent of students below. "Indeed, it is nice," he replied evenly, his voice calm, asured. "Though sad that most of the students wouldn't get to see it."
Seraphina chuckled softly. "If you co to my side, you can enjoy it every day, you know."
His response was imdiate, his tone neither dismissive nor interested, but resolute. "If I enjoyed things like these, I would have entertained many other such opportunities."
Seraphina leaned back slightly, studying him. The way he said it—firm, unbothered, and accompanied by that sharp, now surprisingly handso face—was enough to make her pause for a mont.
'With this face now, I could just seduce soone like you.'
But she rely smiled at the thought, her silver eyes glinting with amusent. "Seduction doesn't just end with the face," she remarked lightly. "You need to work on your expressions."
Astron shifted his gaze to her, his purple eyes calm but sharp, like a blade concealed beneath still waters. His response was as steady as ever, his words deliberate. "Expressions are just a result of impulsive control of muscles. As long as one has control, they are easy to adjust."
"Really?" Seraphina's smirk widened, her interest piqued.
"Yes."
The confidence in his tone was unshakable, and Seraphina found herself genuinely intrigued. She tilted her head slightly, her silver hair catching the light again as if to test him further. "Then show ," she said, her voice light but challenging.
Astron raised an eyebrow, his calm purple eyes eting Seraphina's silver ones. "Why should I?" he asked, his tone completely unbothered.
Seraphina chuckled lightly, leaning back in her chair. "If you can't, then why bother talking? Everyone can talk, after all," she said, her voice carrying a hint of derision.
Astron didn't flinch. His expression remained steady as he responded, "I don't have anything to prove to you, hence no action."
Her smile faltered for a fraction of a second, replaced by a flicker of irritation. "...You really are pushing your limits, Mister Natusalune," she said, her voice cooling ever so slightly.
"And what happens when I do that?" he asked his tone as even as ever, his sharp gaze steady on hers.
Seraphina leaned forward slightly, her smile returning but tinged with an edge of nace. "I may lose my control," she said softly, the warning in her voice unmistakable.
As the words left her lips, the temperature around them began to drop. A frosty aura radiated from Seraphina, her mana seeping into the air like a creeping chill.
The table between them glazed over with a thin layer of frost, and the faint crystalline shimr of her magic surrounded Astron.
But Astron didn't so much as blink.
"You mages surely love exerting your aura on others….."
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