Chapter 42 Moria’s Order
Cecilia Blackwood's POV
The crowd around us waved their hands dismissively.
"Stop meddling in things that don't concern you. What's it got to do with you anyway?"
"Exactly. These are the cinema's rules—and the academy's rules. If you don't like it, go complain to Ms. Moria."
"I think she's completely merged with that Dark Mage. The cinema shouldn't let her in either."
I was about to argue back when Kane suddenly stepped in front of me, his eyes sweeping coldly across the crowd. "Say that again."
Just one flat sentence, and everyone instantly shut their mouths.
Yes—Kane was angry. Everyone present could feel it. If they didn't shut up now, this would escalate far beyond whether or not we could watch a movie.
Kane then turned to the staff members. "The cinema shouldn't let her in? That's also an academy rule?"
My heart warmed at his words. From the very beginning, Kane's only concern had been whether I could get into the cinema. He didn't realize that it wasn't that important to me.
The staff members kept backing away, not daring to meet Kane's eyes.
I spoke up. "Forget it. Let's just not watch the movie. I'm not in the mood anymore anyway."
"No. We're watching it today," Kane said, returning to his usual stubbornness.
"You two had better answer me right now. Otherwise, you'll regret it." His tone was as cold as ever—cold enough to freeze a person's soul.
Just then, a middle-aged man came running out from inside. He was the cinema manager, Willett.
Willett's face had been full of fury, but the moment he saw Kane, half of that anger evaporated. "What's going on? Is there a problem?"
I jumped in first. "We waited in line outside for an hour, but they refused to let Kane in—just because he's a Dark Mage. And they said it was academy policy."
"You're the cinema manager. I'd like to know—what kind of reasoning is that?"
I'd expected Willett to give me a reasonable explanation—or at least apologize to Kane. But I was completely wrong.
"I don't see the problem. If he's a Dark Mage, he should stay quietly in his dorm. What's he doing out here? Especially in a crowded place like this."
"You can't just think about yourselves. You need to think about everyone else too."
I slowly clenched my fists. If I weren't injured—and if I weren't trying to suppress the magic inside me—I might have already slapped him across the face.
"How can you talk like that? So what if he's a Dark Mage? Does that mean—"
Before I could finish, Willett waved his hand sharply. "Don't give me that nonsense. Either you go in and watch, or you get lost!"
My heart sank. This is bad. This is really bad.
Sure enough, Kane's eyes instantly turned ice-cold. The Dark Staff appeared in his hand once again.
The moment the Dark Staff materialized, the students in line scattered backward. Willett panicked too.
"W-What are you doing? I'm warning you—don't try anything! This isn't the place for your tantrums!"
I quickly tried to stop him. "Calm down. There's no point arguing with someone like him. We just won't watch the movie—that's all!"
Honestly, I regretted it. Not that I'd argued with Willett—but that I'd argued with him in front of Kane.
Given Kane's temper, of course he would explode in this situation.
Kane stepped forward, one step at a time, quickly backing Willett into a corner.
At the critical moment, a cold voice came from behind us. "Everyone stop right now!"
I turned around. It was Ms. Moria.
The moment Willett saw Ms. Moria, he grabbed onto her like a lifeline, shouting frantically. "Ms. Moria! Thank god you're here! You have to help me!"
"Look at this Dark Mage! He's trying to attack me—he's going to kill me! You have to save me!"
My expression changed. I wanted to explain on Kane's behalf—because none of this was Kane's fault to begin with.
"Ms. Moria, it's not like that—"
Before I could finish, Moria raised her hand to cut me off. "I already know what happened. You don't need to explain."
She turned to Willett. "Effective immediately, you're no longer in charge of the cinema."
Willett froze. "Why? What did I do wrong? Ms. Moria, why are you doing this to me?"
Moria spoke slowly and deliberately. "I gave an order before—do not discriminate against Dark Mages. Do not treat them unfairly."
"But what did you do? In front of all these people, you ignored my orders. You even dared to claim it was academy policy. Outrageous!"
"If I keep you at the cinema, I don't deserve to be headmistress."
"From now on, you'll work in the academy kitchens. If anything like this happens again, you won't have a place at Star Ring Academy at all."
Then Moria turned to the students in line. "And as for all of you—drop the hostility."
I glanced at the students around us. Clearly, none of them were happy about this.
In their minds, Ms. Moria was probably just playing favorites with Kane.
They didn't realize that Ms. Moria was actually doing this for their sake. Because if they pushed Kane too far, they'd be the ones who suffered.
Then Ms. Moria issued another order. To compensate Kane, the cinema would be reserved exclusively for him for the next three hours.
And of course, as Kane's friend, I could also enjoy the experience of having the entire theater to ourselves. Not bad at all.
Kane nodded slightly toward Moria. "Thank you, Ms. Moria."
I thanked her repeatedly as well. I couldn't imagine what Kane's life would be like if even Ms. Moria discriminated against him.
"Thank you, Ms. Moria."
Moria said quietly, "Go watch your movie. If you encounter any more unfair treatment in the future, you can come to me anytime."
"But remember one thing—unless absolutely necessary, do not resort to violence. You can't control your own power!"
"Yes, ma'am."
I had to admit, having the whole theater to ourselves felt amazing. The massive cinema was completely empty except for the two of us. We could sit wherever we wanted.
Kane pulled out a bag from behind him—it was packed with snacks. Most of them were salty, with only a few sweet ones.
Then Kane brought over a bucket of popcorn—still warm. The aroma instantly filled my nose and mouth. Pure happiness!
"Wow! It smells so good! You should have some too."
Kane shook his head gently. "I'm fine. You eat it."
"Oh, come on. Who watches a movie without eating popcorn? That's no fun at all."
"Hurry up. My hands still aren't working that well. You don't want me to feed you, do you? What if I make my injury worse?"
Kane finally gave in. We ate snacks, drank soda, and watched the comedy on the screen, laughing freely. I wished time could freeze in that moment.