Chapter 578: Sharing Her Troubles

Whistle~

Whistle~

Amon walked through the entrance of the manor, happily whistling a cheerful tune under his breath.

The satisfied smile on his face made it obvious that he was in an exceptionally good mood.

Although he still hadn’t received a clear answer from Seraphina.

After they had woken up beneath the tree, she had barely said goodbye before hurriedly running away, her face still bright red.

Amon had decided not to chase after her.

She probably needed some time to process everything.

After all, he had acted rather impulsively.

Instead of confessing his feelings properly, he had simply leaned forward and kissed her without warning.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that even Scarlett had never formally confessed her feelings to him.

She had simply shown him through her actions with kiss. And he had followed those same actions.

Seraphina had understood what the kiss meant. More importantly, she had kissed him back.

She could have pushed him away. She could have slapped him. She could have gotten angry.

But she hadn’t done any of those things.

Still, Amon didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

He couldn’t say with absolute certainty that Seraphina loved him.

However judging from her reactions, her blushing, the way she had recently avoided his gaze, and especially how she had responded to his kiss.

He was fairly certain that she had developed feelings for him.

"You’re looking quite happy today."

A familiar voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Amon looked up.

Standing near the entrance was Scarlett.

Her bright red hair fell over her shoulders, contrasting beautifully with her pale skin. Her arms were folded beneath her chest, and she wore her usual calm, almost indifferent expression.

She looked completely composed in front of him.

Amon, however smiled immediately.

"Oh, Scarlett. Of course I’m happy today."

He walked toward her and stopped directly in front of her.

"Hey, Scarlett."

"Yes?"

A mischievous smile slowly appeared on his face.

"So... how was it?"

Scarlett frowned.

"How was what?"

Amon tilted his head.

"You know what I’m talking about."

"I genuinely don’t."

Amon’s smile widened.

"I know you were watching us."

Scarlett froze like statue. Her eyes widened slightly.

"W-What are you talking about?" she stammered. "Watching whom? I never left the manor, let alone followed you!"

Amon stared at her for a moment.

"Hehe."

He couldn’t help chuckling at her unusually flustered reaction.

"You really thought I wouldn’t notice?"

Scarlett’s expression became even more tense.

"How did you sense my presence?!"

’She accepted that so easily.’ He thought.

She couldn’t hide her surprise anymore.

Scarlett was already at the fifth rank—a Transcendent.

Amon, meanwhile, was only a third-rank Master.

Yet she had carefully concealed her presence while following him and Seraphina.

She had made sure to remain far enough away that neither of them should have been able to detect her.

And yet Amon had somehow noticed her.

"Hahaha!"

Amon laughed at her shocked expression.

"Well, I didn’t actually sense you."

Scarlett blinked.

"...What?"

Amon stepped closer. He gently reached toward her and brushed a few strands of her crimson hair behind her ear.

"You see..."

His eyes settled on her hair.

"Your beautiful hair is practically impossible to miss."

Scarlett’s eyes widened slightly.

"Your hair is one of a kind in this entire city. Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize it?"

A faint blush appeared on Scarlett’s cheeks.

She immediately looked away.

Over the past few days, she had begun to realize something rather frustrating.

She was becoming far too easy to fluster whenever Amon acted like this.

"Cough."

She covered her mouth with her fist and gave a small cough, forcing herself to regain her composure.

When she looked back at him, her usual calm expression had returned.

"So you didn’t actually sense my presence."

"Nope."

Amon grinned.

"You just happened to have the most recognizable hair in the entire city."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes.

"Hmph. So your eyes have simply become sharper."

"Maybe."

Amon shrugged.

"Besides, you weren’t exactly cautious."

"I wasn’t?"

"No."

He chuckled.

"When I took Seraphina’s hand and started running toward the hill, I caught a glimpse of you behind us."

Scarlett stiffened.

"You saw me?"

"Only for a moment. You were standing among the crowd."

He pointed toward his eyes.

"My eyes are pretty good, you know."

Scarlett studied him for a few seconds.

Then she sighed.

"Apparently, they are."

She hadn’t expected him to notice her at all.

Amon’s smile became smug.

"Hehe~"

Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"Don’t look so proud. You only noticed me because of my hair."

"Still counts."

"It doesn’t."

"It does, my dear."

Scarlett shook her head helplessly.

"You’re impossible."

Amon merely laughed. But after a moment, Scarlett’s expression softened.

She had been watching them from a distance.

She had seen everything.

And although she had initially felt a little strange about it, she had already accepted what she had seen.

She looked at Amon and sighed inwardly.

Before Scarlett could say anything, Amon suddenly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.

"Eh?!" Scarlett let out a soft, startled sound.

She looked up at him, surprised by his sudden affection.

"What are you doing all of a sudden?"

Despite her question, she made no attempt to push him away.

"Hehe~" Amon rested his chin lightly against her shoulder. "I just wanted to comfort you. I need to show my love to you right now. I can’t let you feel neglected."

Scarlett remained silent for a moment. Then her expression softened, and she gave a small nod.

"Yes... but not here."

Amon immediately pulled back with a bright smile.

"Sure! Let’s go!"

Without wasting another second, he took Scarlett by the hand and led her toward the bedroom.

It was already late evening, around dinner time, but neither of them had any intention of joining the others.

For tonight, dinner could wait.

---

Meanwhile, at the Academy

Seraphina walked through one of the academy corridors with a troubled expression.

Although she tried to maintain her usual composed demeanor, the faint pink shade covering her cheeks betrayed her thoughts.

She sighed quietly.

"What am I supposed to do? And who can I even talk to about this?"

She desperately wanted to speak with Selena.

Her cousin older sister was someone she trusted and believed could give her proper advice.

Unfortunately, Selena was currently away on her own mission.

"I really need someone to talk to..."

Still lost in her thoughts, Seraphina barely noticed the person approaching from the opposite direction.

"Seraphina?"

She stopped.

"What’s wrong? You look troubled. Is something bothering you?"

Seraphina looked up.

A woman with beautiful, bright green hair stood before her. Her yellow eyes held genuine concern.

It was Professor Adelia, the head of the academy’s infirmary.

"Hello, Professor Adelia."

Seraphina immediately straightened and gave her a respectful bow.

Adelia smiled gently.

"You don’t need to be so formal with me."

She stepped closer and studied Seraphina’s face.

"More importantly, tell me what’s troubling you. You look unusually restless today."

"I-I..."

Seraphina’s gaze drifted away. She didn’t know how to begin. Should she really tell Adelia?

Adelia knew Amon quite well. She was one of the people closest to him at the academy.

Would it really be appropriate to discuss something like this with her?

Adelia seemed to notice her hesitation.

She sighed softly and reached out, gently taking Seraphina’s hand.

"Come with me."

"Huh?"

"We’ll talk in the infirmary. You don’t have to tell me anything if you aren’t comfortable. But you shouldn’t keep whatever is troubling you bottled up."

Seraphina quietly nodded.

"Okay..."

Adelia led her toward the infirmary.

---

A short while later, Adelia placed a cup of warm coffee on the small table in front of the sofa.

The corner of the infirmary was usually used by the nurses and medical staff when they needed a place to rest.

Adelia sat across from Seraphina.

Seraphina wrapped both hands around the cup and took a small sip.

The warmth helped calm her somewhat.

Adelia watched her patiently.

"Now, tell me."

Seraphina looked up.

"I am your professor, after all. If something is bothering you, you can talk to me."

Her voice remained gentle.

"You’ve looked distracted and restless ever since I saw you in the corridor. That’s rather unusual for you."

Seraphina lowered her eyes toward the coffee.

She hesitated for several seconds. Then she slowly placed the cup back on the table.

"Actually..."

She swallowed nervously.

"It’s about... one of my friends."

Adelia’s eyes blinked.

"Your friend?"

"Yes."

Adelia nodded thoughtfully. As if she understood what Seraphina was trying to do here.

"All right. So it’s about you friend. Not about you. I get it."

Seraphina’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

"What happened to her?"

"Well..."

She nervously played with her fingers.

"There is a man..."

Adelia remained silent, listening.

"He is a very close friend of hers."

Seraphina’s cheeks gradually became pink.

"He is... cute."

Adelia raised an eyebrow.

"Cute?"

"And handsome."

Adelia’s lips twitched slightly.

Seraphina continued, becoming increasingly embarrassed.

"He’s also very mischievous... but he’s kind. He often does stupid things, but he always means well."

Adelia’s expression became amused.

"I see."

"And..."

Seraphina’s voice became quieter.

"He often flirts with my friend."

"Hmm..."

Adelia nodded.

Seraphina looked down at her lap.

"And recently... my friend started realizing how she feels about him."

Her fingers tightened together.

"It seems that she..."

She paused.

"...actually loves him."

Silence.

Adelia’s eyes widened slightly. She stared at Seraphina for a moment.

Then her gaze slowly moved to the girl’s flushed face.

Something suddenly clicked in her mind. Adelia’s lips parted slightly in surprise.