Chapter 25: I Remember You

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: I Remember You

Watching him walk away, Griffin scoffed, his face full of disdain.

He thought, "It’s just finding someone... how hard could it be?"

As the son of an Earl, there were plenty of people at Lien Academy clamoring to act as his spies. Since Lilia wasn’t deliberately hiding her whereabouts, the sheer information advantage made tracking her down all too easy.

"Lilia? I haven’t seen her..."

"Now that you mention it, I haven’t run into Lilia in the cafeteria for a long time. I really want to hang out with her..."

"If you want to know where Lilia is, shouldn’t you just ask Caius?"

"I remember now! I think I saw her near Teaching Building C!"

"..."

He spent the entire noon bustling about, yet made no substantial progress. With the lunch break coming to an end, Griffin hadn’t even eaten a bite and was left simmering with pent-up rage.

Just then, one of his lackeys brought good news. According to a student from Class B, Victor had been spotted hanging around a pretty girl over the past few days. The girl had black hair and black eyes. Everything from her facial features to her height and build matched Lilia perfectly.

Hearing this, Griffin’s first reaction was pure disbelief.

He thought, "Lilia rejected my advances time and time again, only to choose a commoner? Besides, Caius guards her like a hawk every single day. How could he possibly allow a commoner to get anywhere near her?"

Griffin furrowed his brows tightly. He figured he would only know the truth if he saw it with his own eyes.

Following the student’s intel, Griffin made his way to Teaching Building C. The structure hadn’t been used since the day it was built. Coupled with its remote location, even the teachers had probably forgotten the academy had such a facility, let alone the students.

After circling the area and finding no sign of his targets, Griffin’s already scarce patience instantly plummeted to zero. He figured that commoner from Class B had actually dared to play him for a fool. He planned to teach the guy a harsh lesson when he got back as punishment for providing false information.

Just as Griffin was thinking this and turning to leave, he spotted two figures walking out of the building together. It was Victor, alongside the Lilia he had spent so long searching for.

"I’ll head off first, then. See you in the classroom," Lilia said, waving to Victor.

Since he had just mastered a new Magic spell, they hadn’t held a tutoring session today. Instead, they had simply sat together to share a meal. Lilia had also taken the opportunity to return his freshly washed clothes.

Holding the neatly folded jacket, Victor called out, "Lili."

"Hmm?"

Victor took a step forward, gently tidying her wind-tousled hair. His warm fingertips then brushed against the side of her neck as he smoothed out a collar that had somehow flipped over. His movements were impeccably proper; he didn’t even graze her bare skin.

But from Griffin’s vantage point, this entire exchange looked incredibly intimate, just like a couple deeply in love.

With the flames of anger burning wildly in his chest, Griffin actually felt the urge to laugh. He thought, "Caius is one thing... at least he has the background and the strength. But what does this peasant have? What gives him the right to bypass me and get so close to Lilia?"

Up ahead, Victor watched Lilia walk away. Before class started, she needed to return her empty lunchbox to the Beaumont family’s maid, which was why she had left first.

Truth be told, Victor wasn’t keen on others seeing them together either. It was true that they were both commoners, but Lilia held another identity: Caius’s study companion. The Nobles never hesitated to project the worst malice onto commoners. If someone with ulterior motives saw them, he worried it might cause trouble for her.

Just as he was about to head back to the classroom, a figure suddenly blocked his path. Victor recognized him. It was the young master of the Freg family, Griffin. Although they attended the same classes, they had never once interacted. Assuming the boy was just passing by, Victor gave a slight nod in greeting and moved to leave.

"Victor, is it?"

Just as they brushed past each other, Griffin’s voice drifted over from behind, laced with a sinister smirk. "Very good.

"I will remember you."

Victor paused in his tracks. At Lien Academy, being remembered by a Noble was rarely a good thing. In the vast majority of cases, it didn’t signify the start of a prosperous life. Quite the opposite—until that Noble eventually forgot him, he would likely be living in absolute hell.

Griffin Freg...

Victor couldn’t recall ever offending him. Perhaps there was some sort of misunderstanding.

His expression turned solemn. Just as he opened his mouth to explain, he realized Griffin had already walked away, leaving him standing alone in the bleak autumn wind.

As it turned out, Victor’s intuition was spot on.

The first few days were peaceful. After dropping that harsh threat, Griffin made no further moves. Victor remained vigilant for a while, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. Just as he began to think the incident had blown over—that perhaps Griffin had simply mistaken him for someone else—he found himself cornered at the entrance of an alley on his way home.

The men were obviously hired thugs. Without a single word of exchange, they attacked him with swift, ruthless strikes.

After all, Victor had only recently begun learning Magic, and his arsenal of Practical Magic was limited. In a one-on-one fight, he might have been able to gain the upper hand as a fledgling Mage. But against a group, he was hopelessly overpowered and beaten down.

The thugs were methodical in their assault. They avoided his head, face, and any other areas where injuries would be glaringly obvious. Instead, they focused their vicious blows entirely on his abdomen and ribs.

As they pummeled him, the thug leader, a cigarette dangling from his lips, sneered hideously. "So what if you’re a genius from the Magic Academy? Offend the wrong person, and you still end up getting beaten like a dead dog by gutter rats like us."

"Alright, knock it off. We’ll be in deep trouble if we actually kill or cripple him."

He was a student of Lien Academy, after all. Even if he was a commoner, they would bear significant risks if they took his life. The employer hadn’t paid them enough to justify throwing in any complimentary extras.

After they left, Victor lay on the ground, taking a moment to catch his breath before dragging himself into a sitting position. No broken bones, and no visible wounds on his body... Fortunately, the person orchestrating this didn’t want him dead; they likely just wanted to teach him a "lesson."

Or perhaps... today’s beating was merely an appetizer.

Victor forced himself up. He managed to find a small clinic in the West District and bought some medicine. This level of injury didn’t warrant a full doctor’s visit; a couple of days of rest at home would be enough to heal.

The next day.

Dragging his battered body, Victor didn’t arrive at the classroom until the warning bell had already rung. The other students were already in their seats. For the past few days, he had always sat near Lilia, but now...

Given his current situation, he might drag her down with him if he stayed too close.

Lowering his gaze, Victor randomly picked an empty seat in the far corner.

Such glaringly unusual behavior naturally didn’t escape Lilia’s notice.

At noon, she planned to ask Victor what was going on, but he slipped away before she could even stand up from her desk. Assuming he had gone to the rooftop like usual, Lilia followed him up there, only to find it empty.

She waited until the very end of the lunch break, but Victor never showed up. When she returned to the classroom, he was still nowhere to be seen.

"Did something happen to him?" Lilia wondered.