Chapter 94: A Need for Lightness

And above all...

She avoided thinking about her cream-colored dress.

Her beautiful cream-colored dress, brutally sacrificed to the joys of interdimensional combat.

The memory of it torn apart in the Otherworld still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Honestly, surviving monsters and blizzards only to be emotionally murdered by ruined fabric remained a deeply humiliating experience.

She had almost wanted to organize a funeral for it.

Awake at dawn, she had finished her assignment.

An achievement she probably never would have believed possible a few weeks earlier.

Sitting alone in the dorm room still wrapped in the silence of early morning, bathed in the pale light of the first sun, she had finally completed her paper with an efficiency that was almost alarming.

The old Blanche would have procrastinated until the very last second before spiraling into panic.

The new one, apparently, fought monsters at night and turned in homework ahead of schedule.

Terrifying character development.

Since then, she had been feeling better.

Lighter.

Less exhausted too, despite the chronic lack of sleep her body now seemed to tolerate with frankly suspicious ease.

But mostly...

Mostly because of Kiyan's message.

He had asked her to meet him at three o'clock in front of the Academy entrance.

And he had wished her good morning.

A simple text.

A few perfectly ordinary words.

And yet her brain had somehow decided to turn it into a major emotional event.

She had reread the conversation at least fifteen times since morning with the dramatic seriousness of a romantic heroine in desperate need of therapy.

"Good morning. We'll go see your father this afternoon at 3 PM."

And apparently all it took for her entire day to improve was him wishing her a good morning.

Incredible.

Her mental stability now depended entirely on polite academic greetings.

Ah, the magic of love.

Or, more accurately, the deeply humiliating magic of hormones.

Even Phoenix had started mocking her.

You're smiling at your phone again.

"I am not smiling."

You are smiling.

"Shut up."

The demon had responded by purring obnoxiously loudly instead.

So Blanche finally paid attention to the conversation around her.

With far more enthusiasm than she would probably ever admit aloud.

Seated at her desk, chin resting in her hand, she finally focused on Olivia and Eva, who had already been discussing something for several minutes that she had completely ignored until now.

The Academy truly remained committed to higher education.

"Who's Miss Platinum Blonde?" she asked a furious Eva — far too furious for someone about to have lunch with her boyfriend.

"Miss Clint, " Olivia whispered, eyes wide.

"The French teacher. Arthur saw her hanging around Dad's office this morning."

"Again? " Blanche blurted out.

" What do you mean, "again"?" Eva protested while copying corrections from the board.

" I saw her there yesterday morning too. I told you I was looking for Mister Ardachir about your invitation... and I ran into her."

"Yeah well, she's dreaming, " Eva concluded with a growl.

" Does it really bother you that much if your father finds someone again? " Roberto asked, visibly exasperated. " And what invitation are you even talking about?"

Eva thought for a moment before answering:

"What bothers me most is that it's her. He deserves better."

Neither girl acknowledged the second half of his question.

Intentionally.

Blanche did not need the "Lies" skill to understand.

This time, no notification appeared in her field of vision.

No discreet signal.

No magical alert.

Nothing.

She simply knew Eva too well.

Well enough to recognize that particular tension in her voice whenever she talked about her father. That strange mix of irritation, possessiveness, and vulnerability carefully hidden beneath humor.

Eva could not stand the idea of her father rebuilding his life with someone other than her mother.

Which was ironic, considering he had never truly been part of her mother's life to begin with.

The irony was almost cruel.

Kiyan had never really been there. Not as a partner. Not as a father in the traditional sense. He drifted around Eva's life from afar, appearing only in fragments — a figure both fascinating and unreachable.

And yet...

She still unconsciously treated him as though some part of him still belonged to her.

Like the last intact piece of a family that had never truly existed.

Blanche felt a faint pang of sadness tighten in her chest.

Because deep down, Eva probably did not hate the idea of another woman.

What she hated was what that woman represented.

Change.

The final proof that certain things would never go back to the way they were.

And Blanche also felt sad because she knew that no matter who someday entered Kiyan's life, Eva would take it badly.

Even if the woman were kind.

Even if she genuinely made her father happy.

The problem was not the person.

The problem was the place.

That strange empty place left vacant for years — one Eva had eventually filled herself in her own mind until the mere thought of another woman occupying it became unbearable.

Blanche slowly turned her gaze toward the classroom window.

The gray winter sky stretched over the Academy while conversations continued around them in familiar chaos.

And despite herself...

A deeply uncomfortable thought crossed her mind.

Because she herself might be becoming exactly the kind of problem Eva feared.

Wonderful.

Falling in love with her best friend's father.

Nothing complicated there.

Nothing socially catastrophic at all.

Her existence was truly making excellent decisions lately.

She sighed in defeat — and two seconds later, the bell rang to signal the end of class.

Wednesday afternoon was free time, and with their tutor's permission, they decided to eat out.

Just leaving the Academy for a while gave them the strange feeling of becoming normal students again.

Or at least an approximate version of normal.

The lively streets, illuminated shop windows, overlapping conversations, and smell of warm food contrasted almost violently with Blanche's recent weeks, now divided between classes, military training, supernatural creatures, and romantic existential crises.

The restaurant they chose was nothing extraordinary: a cozy little place with cramped tables, generous portions, and servers already exhausted by life despite it barely being mid-afternoon.

But honestly, it suited her perfectly.

And for once, under the astonished gazes of Eva and her boyfriend, Blanche ordered... alcohol.