Chapter 44 Willett’s Revenge
Cecilia Blackwood's POV
Kane frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
Jenny explained, "Think about it—she's desperate to leave the medical wing. If you make her stay here, how can she be in a good mood? And if she's not in a good mood, how can her body recover properly?"
"As long as she avoids magical duels and keeps up her nutrition, she'll recover completely in no time."
"But if she stays in the medical wing, her recovery will be at least twice as slow, and she'll suffer far more in the process."
I turned to Kane with the ultimate question. "Do you want me to be miserable? Do you want me to suffer? Are you even my friend?"
In the end, Kane gave in.
He carefully packed my belongings and wheeled me back to my dorm in the wheelchair.
"I'll bring you breakfast tomorrow."
I shook my head quickly. "No need. I can get it from the dining hall myself tomorrow."
"You need proper nutrition. I'll bring it to you." Kane's tone was firm.
I rubbed my forehead, already picturing tomorrow's scene—Kane showing up with no fewer than ten different dishes.
But I couldn't argue with him, so I nodded reluctantly. "Fine. Whatever you say."
After Kane left, I lay down on my soft bed, breathing in the familiar scent of my sheets. My mood lifted instantly.
No antiseptic smell here. No tense atmosphere. Only in this space could I truly rest!
But the moment my thoughts drifted to my relationship with Kane, all my joy evaporated.
It wasn't because of Kane's identity as a dark mage. It was because I wasn't ready—or maybe because I was content with my life as it was.
I had Grandpa. I had friends. I had subjects I enjoyed studying. As for anything else... I'd never really thought about it.
But I couldn't lie to myself about what I felt. That was the most contradictory part!
Just then, someone knocked on my door.
I quickly pushed aside my complicated emotions, not wanting Kane to notice. Because at this hour, only Kane would be knocking on my door.
"What's wrong? Did you forget something?" I opened the door and froze.
It wasn't Kane. It was Jenny—carrying bags and luggage as if she were moving.
"What's going on? Why do you have all that stuff?"
Jenny smiled. "What do you think? I'm moving in as your roommate, of course."
"My roommate?"
"Yeah. You don't mind, do you?" Jenny blinked her pretty eyes, barely containing her excitement.
I shook my head quickly. "Wait, wait. Don't you have your own place? Why would you want to room with me?"
The doctors and nurses at the medical wing had dedicated housing—much nicer than the dorms assigned to us first-years.
Even if Jenny needed to move, she shouldn't have ended up here.
Jenny waved dismissively. "Don't even get me started. A new staff member just joined the medical wing, but housing's tight, so I gave up my room for her."
"Now I've got nowhere to stay, so I'm bunking with you. Your dorm only has one person anyway—one more won't hurt."
When I didn't respond right away, Jenny frowned. "What's with that look? Don't want me here? I can leave."
"No, no! Of course I want you here! Let me help you unpack!"
Jenny had looked after me in the medical wing, especially when Grandpa went missing. She'd gone out of her way to help. We were definitely friends.
Having a friend to talk to? I couldn't ask for more!
After we finished unpacking, Jenny launched into gossip mode again. "So come on, tell me—what's really going on between you and Kane? How far have you two gotten?"
I swallowed nervously. "What... what are you talking about? How far could we have gotten?"
"I already told you—we're just ordinary friends. Stop overthinking it, and definitely stop spreading rumors."
Jenny looked at me with a knowing smile that made my skin crawl. "Just ordinary friends? Really?"
"Really!"
"Okay, okay. Relax, I'm just teasing. It's getting late anyway. Let's get some sleep. I've got to be back at the medical wing tomorrow."
Lying in bed, I couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard I tried. My mind was even more chaotic than before.
Suddenly, Jenny screamed. "Ah!"
My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. "Please! People can literally die from fright! Could you keep it down? It's the middle of the night!"
Jenny shoved her phone in my face. "Look! Look at this!"
I squinted at the screen, and my expression changed completely.
There were several photos of Kane and me. In every single one, Kane was shielding me protectively—and they looked intimate, no matter how you looked at them.
Worse, some of the photos used clever angles to make it look like I was pressed right up against him!
"Who took these? This is ridiculous! These are all fake!"
Jenny sighed heavily. "Look at the poster's location tag. It's clearly from Willett's residence."
"Did you two piss Willett off? He's known for holding grudges!"
That's when it hit me. Kane and I had been set up by Willett!
Even worse, the number of people viewing these photos kept climbing, and so did the comments—most of them dragging my name through the mud.
[I knew there was a reason Kane kept following her around. They've been hooking up this whole time!]
[This girl's something else. I'm actually impressed!]
[Everyone better watch out. Girls like her are manipulative as hell. Don't let her drag you down!]
I turned my face away, unable to look anymore.
Jenny grabbed my arm. "What are you waiting for? Go find Kane!"
I looked at her, confused. "Find Kane? What for?"
"Think about it—if you can see these photos and comments, so can Kane. And with his temper, there's no way he'll let Willett get away with this!"
"You need to stop him before something terrible happens!"
My brain short-circuited as realization struck.
If Kane saw these photos, he'd probably want to kill Willett!
And if that happened, I wouldn't be able to save him. Even Ms. Moria might not be able to help.
Because at Star Ring Academy of Magic, unauthorized dueling meant disciplinary action. If someone died? That meant execution!
At that thought, I threw on my clothes and sprinted toward Kane's dorm as fast as I could.
My legs still weren't fully recovered—any intense movement sent sharp pains shooting through them.
But I didn't care. If I could save Kane, even if both my legs gave out completely, what did it matter?
But when I reached Kane's dorm, he was already gone!
"Oh no!"