Remillia, Kairos, and several other competitors were already dressed and waiting backstage, the tension was visible as they prepared for their performances.
I kept biting my lower lip to calm my nerves when soone suddenly lifted my chin up, drawing out of my anxious thoughts.
"Stop biting your lip; you’ll hurt yourself," Kairos said, his deep voice cutting through the chatter around us.
I blushed, montarily lost in the intensity of his gaze. "G-got it. I just got nervous, that’s all," I stamred, quickly distancing myself from his touch and covering my face with my palm in embarrassnt.
As I regained my composure, I looked around at our fellow competitors. They were practicing the waltz, foxtrot, and quickstep, gracefully flowing through their steps. Just like what Jessie said, it seems that we’re the only one that’s gonna dance tango.
"Do you want to practice a little to ease your nerves?" Kairos suggested, his brow furrowed with concern.
I shook my head, trying to sound convincing. "No, I’m okay." I was lying. In fact, I was beginning to get dizzy from all these anxiety I’m feeling.
But Kairos seed to always know my feeling as he approached and cupped my cheeks. "Do you rember what Jas said? When you get nervous, just stare at your partner’s eyes."
I couldn’t quite recall the words exactly, but there was sothing comforting about locking eyes with him. So, I did. The mont my gaze t his, I felt a surge of calmness wash over .
Kairos’ expression softened, and I could see a glimr of encouragent in his eyes. We stayed like that, caught in the heat of mont, completely unaware to the sounds of the bustling people around us.
However, the emcee’s voice cut through the haze. "Next up, from class Agastia! Remillia Lockhart and Caleo Valer!"
Kairos broke the spell first, a hint of playful mischief dancing in his eyes as he extended his hand towards . "Shall we?"
A smile crept onto my face, and I accepted his hand with newfound confidence. "Let’s show them what we’ve got."
Together, we stepped onto the stage, the lights brightening our path as the audience erupted in applause. My heart raced, but with Kairos by my side, I felt a surge of determination. As the music began to play, I breathed deeply, letting my nerves fade away.
As we positioned ourselves, I stared into his eyes again. I forgot everything else—the competition, the judges, the audience.
When the music started, it was just and him, moving in perfect harmony. As we spun and dipped, there was a mont when I felt weightless, completely lost in the flow of the performance.
Ti seed to stand still. With the final crescendo of the music echoing in the auditorium, we executed our last pose— Kairos sweeping low, my heart pounding as we held the dramatic position. The audience erupted into thunderous applause, the sound washing over us like an unexpected tide.
Breathless and thrilled, we stood up, our laughter breaking through the intensity of the mont. I looked up at him, and his eyes sparkled with joy and excitent. "We did it!" he said, still catching his breath.
"Yes, we did!" I replied, my heart soaring.
The ballroom dance competition finally ended. As the judges began tallying the scores, The competitors from the singing competition took to the stage, their anticipation filling the space as they awaited the announcent of their rankings.
As expected, Christian and Hannah didn’t make it into the rankings, and a few chuckles could be heard from the audience.
After the singing results were announced, the ballroom dance competitors were called up to the stage. My heart raced as we joined the other couples, forming a semicircle as we awaited the judges’ decisions.
We didn’t ranked first or second but at least we ranked third. Besides I’m glad I beat Christian in terms of rankings.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Even though Remillia and Kairos didn’t take first place, they were undoubtedly the stars of the show in the eyes of the cadets. Their performance was already trending on various students’ social dia, clips of their dance flooding feeds with enthusiastic comnts.
"Aren’t they perfect for each other?" one student mused, scrolling through the videos.
"Hmm. Didn’t you notice their gaze? It’s as if they’re in love with each other," another replied, clearly captivated by the chemistry they’d displayed.
"Unlike the other couples, the two of them were actually enjoying dancing," a third chid in, a hint of admiration in their voice.
"Haisst. I wonder why they weren’t first place," soone lanted, clearly perplexed by the judges’ decision.
anwhile, Ezekiel remained seated in the now-empty auditorium, overwheld by the torrent of emotions swirling within him. He needed a mont to sort through the ss of feelings and thoughts that were clouding his mind.
He hated to admit it, but watching Remillia and Kairos on stage had struck a chord with him. They looked so perfect together, dancing as if they were the only two people in the world.
Confusion gnawed at him when he thought about the rumors swirling around Remillia potentially confessing to him.
I thought she had feelings for ? So why is she together with that guy? Wait, what if she’ll co back here to confess? What should I do?
Feeling frustrated, he let out a small sigh.
Just then, a strong voice interrupted his spiraling thoughts. "What are you still doing here?" Cypher’s tone was a mix of curiosity and concern. Ezekiel turned to see him pointing toward the exit.
"Are you waiting on soone?" Cypher asked, his expression unreadable.
Ezekiel glanced around, noticing the emptiness of the hall. Had he really been sitting there that long? "Ah," he replied, finally getting up and moving toward the exit with Cypher trailing behind him.
when they stepped out, it was already 11 PM. Cypher’s gaze held a strange gleam.
"By the way, have you seen Remillia? Do you know where she went?" Ezekiel asked, trying to keep his tone casual.
"Why? Do you have sothing to tell her?" Cypher asked.
"Oh n-nothing," Ezekiel stamred, scratching the back of his head in embarrassnt. What was I even doing? "I-I’ll go to my dorm now."
Cypher watched Ezekiel’s retreating back. Don’t tell he believes in those rumors? Does he really think Remillia would confess to him? The thought made him scoff inwardly.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Remillia laid back against her pillows, the dampness of her hair still clinging to the nape of her neck as she ruffled Macaron’s feathers.
She read the ssage on her smartwatch again.
{If you want to join then your first mission is to kill a human.}
{Don’t worry since I’ll be paying you a hefty reward.}
{You won’t have to worry about hiding your identity. As Talon rcenary’s apprentice, we will guarantee your identity will be kept a secret.}
"How much is the salary if I work with you?" was nothing more than a fake inquiry to play along with them. I wasn’t in need of money; since I can provide it for myself now. But since Kairos has no social skills, he only knew how to appease people with money.
"rcenary..." I murmured, contemplating the life that lay before . The laws surrounding rcenaries were incredibly lax, allowing anyone to take up the job alongside any other occupation.
I knew that many graduates would likely follow this path, especially those who had dropped out.
It wasn’t a bad choice for .
I couldn’t deny the temptation of becoming part of the Nightjars Organization. They participated in scavenger hunts and conquering of dungeons and castles. Joining them would surely keep rooted in the main storyline.
And most critically, it would provide her a clear path in eliminating Raphael Forbes. His status as the heir of the Forbes dynasty wouldn’t shield him forever. Ten years had passed since his coma, and I am confident that the security around him had weakened.
"Haisst..." I sighed. Although I have killed people, it was reasonable and I’m doing it again for the sake of these damned world.
If I joined Nightjars Organization, I would be tasked to kill many people.
The only difference between Nightjars Organization and Shadow Society was that Nightjars Organization seed to have at least so purpose underlying their ruthless missions. They did not kill randomly but rather with reasons. Yet they still committed murder and stolen all their wealth.
Would I be able to commit these cris?
While I was wrapped up in my thoughts, the beeping of my smartwatch pulled from my thought. I blinked, my eyes slowly opening to adjust to the dim light in my room.
{You still up?}
It was Cypher.
{You still up?}
It was from Cypher.
I smiled softly and typed back, "Yes, why?"
{Just wanna say congrats for winning 3rd place. We couldn’t say our congratulations to you since we consoled Christian first for not placing at least the fifth haha.}
I chuckled, picturing the scene in my mind. Poor Christian had really put his heart into the competition. "Oh right, how is your practice in using Fendral?" I replied, curiosity threading through my words.
{I’ve been frequently using it when I go out to hunt so monsters and I can say that I’m slowly getting used to it.}
"That’s great to hear!" I encouraged, feeling a surge of pride for him. "In the future, let’s go together to find a better equipnt. Oh, by the way, you still don’t have an agent, right? I’ll introduce one to you." This is the best ti to recruit him to my agency.
I wanted to ensure he had all the resources he needed to grow stronger. He needs to get faster than now, and he had to get stronger than in the original story.
I didn’t get to read his text as my eyelids began to get heavy.
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