Chapter 731: Thank You

"What are you trying to say?"

Prince Tristin asked aggressively, looking at Fatima Drakes with displeasure.

His expression had grown stiff, and his attention remained fixed on her.

The discussion had already drawn the eyes of several students, but Fatima didn’t seem bothered by the attention.

"You heard what I said."

Fatima replied directly, without hesitation.

She didn’t lower her gaze or try to soften her words.

Her response was brief, leaving Tristin with little room to pretend he had misunderstood her.

"I’m sorry, but my fellow candidates, we shouldn’t argue over something like this, especially when it concerns such an important part of our history."

Grace Evergrey spoke calmly.

She looked between them, seemingly hoping to prevent the discussion from turning into a bigger argument.

"No one is arguing, Grace."

Stacy corrected her.

She had been standing through the exchange, listening to the different opinions being thrown around.

Her expression remained composed, but she didn’t seem particularly pleased with Grace’s attempt to settle the matter.

"I understand that Prince Tristin might be acting out of desperation, but he does have a point."

She said calmly.

Her words caused a few students to look towards her again.

Stacy had acknowledged Tristin’s argument, even if she didn’t paint herself to entirely agree with the way he had presented it.

"But at the end of the day, I’m still voting for Lady Willow Derlis."

A young Noble boy said with a shrug.

Both Stacy and Tristin turned towards him, faintly surprised.

The boy didn’t appear bothered by their attention.

He had already made his decision, and there wasn’t much reason for him to hide it.

"I only follow the candidate my Lady votes for. And she has already said that she will be voting for Lady Willow Derlis, so I don’t need to think too much about whether I should consider a sixth-century history over Lady Vera Ashenlocke’s decision."

A young lady spoke calmly.

She sat among a group of friends, all of whom seemed to share her view.

After she finished speaking, the others in her seating section nodded in agreement.

They weren’t particularly concerned with Tristin’s argument, or the reasonable words of Stacy.

Their preferred candidate had already been decided, and Vera’s choice was enough for them.

"Well spoken."

Nina nodded with a pleased smile.

"Are you kidding me?"

Felix Ashenlocke couldn’t help speaking after hearing their responses.

He looked around at the students who had openly admitted that they would follow Vera’s decision.

"So, you’re all just going to let Vera’s choice rule your own decisions?"

He asked.

"Absolutely."

"Why not?"

"She’s our Lady, of course."

Several replies came from different directions.

Felix’s expression tightened.

He had expected some students to support Vera’s decision, but hearing them say it so casually was another matter.

They weren’t even trying to hide the fact that they intended to vote for Willow simply because Vera had chosen her.

"Ehnn, but Felix..."

Lyra placed her index finger against her lips, looking at him with a confused expression.

"Isn’t it the same for you, since you’re supporting Prince-Five?"

She asked straightforwardly.

Felix paused.

The question was simple, but it left him with little room to argue.

"She just called me Prince-Five..."

Prince Tristin muttered under his breath in disbelief.

His eyes moved towards Lyra, who had casually used the nickname without seeming to realize how much it bothered him.

Felix wanted to counter her argument, but he couldn’t deny that she had a point.

There were students who followed him because he supported Tristin.

Some had decided to vote for the Prince based on Felix’s own preference, just as Vera’s supporters were doing for Willow.

So, what right did he have to criticize them?

Why is that idiot using her brain in this kind of situation?

He looked at Lyra with an irritated expression but said nothing.

Gareth laughed under his breath, finding the whole situation funny.

"Enough of the noise. Class will be starting soon, all of you."

Willow spoke firmly.

Her voice cut through the remaining conversation.

Several students who had stood up during the discussion began returning to their seats.

Some gathered their belongings from the shared tabletops, while others began preparing to leave for their optional course classroom.

The connected desks and chairs made the movement a little crowded as students began to stand up, preparing to leave for the next class.

The argument gradually lost its audience.

Willow waited until the commotion had died down before turning towards Vera.

Vera was still seated, busy typing on her Zphone.

She hadn’t paid much attention to the crowd or the argument that had taken place around her.

Her fingers moved across the screen as she continued whatever conversation she had been having with Ezra during the short break.

Beside her, Diane was sleeping peacefully on the joined desk.

Her head rested against the tabletop, and she showed no sign of being interested in the discussion that had just ended.

Even when the students began moving out from their seats, she remained asleep.

Willow looked at Vera for a moment.

"Thank you."

She whispered.

Vera stopped typing briefly.

Her black eyes moved towards Willow, and she looked at her quietly for a second.

She didn’t give a long response or make a show of acknowledging the thanks.

Instead, she returned her attention to the conversation she had been having with Ezra.

Willow didn’t press her.

She simply turned away, leaving Vera to continue with her Zphone.

The short break soon ended, and the students separated for their optional courses.

The Academy’s schedule continued as usual.

Classes followed one after another, and the students spent the remaining hours attending their respective lessons.

Some returned to their usual groups, while others moved between classrooms for their optional subjects.

The discussion from the break didn’t disappear completely, but the students eventually had other things to occupy their attention.

By the time the closing hour approached, another day at the Royal Academy was coming to an end.

As always, Vera, Diane and Cyrus tagged along with Ezra in his Royal Phantom Rolls.

The vehicle carried the two girls home before Ezra continued towards his own residence.

Cyrus also travelled with them for part of the journey, sitting inside while the vehicle made its way through the Academy’s surrounding streets.

Once they reached the area near their residences, Cyrus waved goodbye to Ezra and Lucy before heading towards his own residence, which was situated beside Ezra’s.

Ezra returned the farewell before the Royal Phantom Rolls continued towards his home.

Immediately after settling in, he returned to work.

There were assignments he had paused during the study session, and he intended to finish them before moving on to his other work.

His study room was quiet.

Ezra sat at his desk with a quill pen in hand, writing down the answers to his assignments.

The papers were arranged in front of him, with the completed portions placed separately from the ones he had yet to finish.

He occasionally paused to check his notes before continuing.

Lucy was at her usual corner of the study room, reading the Metal Metallurgy book he had bought for her during the first semester.

She held the book with both hands, her eyes moving steadily across the pages.

Every now and then, she adjusted her position and continued reading.

She had been spending more time studying the subject, and the book gave her something to work through whenever Ezra was occupied with his own tasks.

The room remained quiet.

Ezra continued writing, while Lucy turned another page.

Ping!

Ping!

The sound came from the Starlix 11 resting on the table.

Its screen lit up as the notifications arrived, drawing Ezra’s attention away from his assignment.

He stopped writing, placed the quill pen down and picked up the device.

After unlocking it, he checked the messages.

***

’Good evening, Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke.’

Selena_Gale

’I hope I’m not disturbing you’

Selena_Gale

’I was wondering if this Saturday will be okay for our date?’

Selena_Gale

***

Ezra read through the messages, already considering his schedule for that day.

Friday was Election Day.

So, there wouldn’t be many activities for him to attend, so he did have time to himself.

He had planned to use that day to complete Lucy’s dual Katanas.

While Saturday, on the other hand, was supposed to be the day he bought the books Professor Millicent had recommended.

However, since he would be going out with Selena, he could use the opportunity to purchase them along the way.

There were other things he wanted to do that day as well, but it was better to get the date settled before they entered the week of major examination preparations.

Ezra moved his thumb across the screen and typed his response.

’Saturday is okay’

Ezra_Ashenlocke

He sent the message.

Almost immediately, three dots appeared beneath Selena’s name.

Ezra watched them for a moment.

It was almost like déjà vu.

He remembered how fast Vera’s response to his message usually is.

Another message appeared.

’Wonderful.’

Selena_Gale

A second message followed shortly afterwards.

’I will send all the cool spots I was told we could go to, so you can pick which one you like.’

Selena_Gale

’There are actually some nice fun places in the academy that I’m sure you will be surprised exist.’

Selena_Gale

Ezra read through the messages quietly.

He didn’t have much to add, so he typed a short response.

’Okay.’

Ezra_Ashenlocke

He sent his reply.

Simple and short.

After that, he placed his Starlix 11 back on the table and returned his attention to the assignments in front of him.

That makes it Saturday and Sunday for my dates with Willow and Selena.

Ezra thought to himself, faintly wondering why he had found himself in this situation again.

Going on a date with Vera had been a stressful experience in its own way.

Mainly because it was Vera.

But now he was going out with two other Flowers.

Well, the bright side was that it supported his goal of building connections with young Alchemists who could become important figures in the future.

But there was another key point.

He still needed to involve himself with all the Flowers to reduce the focused attention that would come from spending most of his time alone with Vera.

Its good Willow agreed to Sunday, since I already guessed Selena would pick Saturday.

From what I’ve studied about Selena, she seems to think too much whenever she accidentally misses out on something she already has in mind.

At least that saves me from having to play emotional manager.

Ezra thought plainly.

He had already considered Selena’s habits when arranging the dates.

If she had chosen a day and then found out that someone else had taken it, she would probably spend too much time thinking about it.

Avoiding that situation was easier.

He didn’t particularly want to spend his time managing unnecessary emotional complications.

With his thoughts settled, Ezra returned to his assignments.

He picked up the quill pen and continued writing, moving through the remaining questions one by one. Lucy remained at her corner, reading her book.

After completing the assignments, Ezra moved on to his other work.

He returned to the Alchemy System programming setup for an automated function related to movement.

The Starlix 11 remained on the table, its screen dark.

For the moment, there were no more messages to answer.