Chapter 29: Incident in the Cafeteria
"But didn’t the prince successfully resonate with the girl from Class 5? So is he cured or not?"
As the center of the discussion, Shani immediately noticed everyone’s eyes turning toward her.
Almost every first-year student recognized her after she openly invited Jeryon to lunch. Besides that, her silver hair made her impossible to miss.
Shani did her best to keep her expression calm. She hadn’t expected Jeryon to miss class just to meet his new partner.
Just as she was about to pick up her food tray, a group of students approached her. Without any warning, the girl leading them shoved Shani backward.
If Kiran hadn’t instinctively grabbed her, Shani would have crashed into the tray of food behind her.
Shani stared at the girl in both surprise and confusion.
"Tell us the truth! You and Jeryon never actually succeeded in your resonance! He just told you to lie so he could save face, didn’t he?!" the girl snarled angrily.
Several students recognized the girl. She was Lara Benett, Leah Benett’s older sister, now a fifth-year student.
They immediately understood why she had come after Shani.
Shani also heard the whispers around her and understood Lara’s reason for confronting her. But there was no way she would let someone treat her like this.
She stood up straight without the slightest hint of fear. "Jeryon and I really did succeed in our resonance."
"You’re lying! You’re lying!" Lara shouted in Shani’s face. "My sister ended up like this because of the two of you!"
Shani met her glare without backing down.
"Do you really think two students could fool the academy’s system? The instructor and everyone in the classroom saw it happen."
"Impossible! My sister—"
"Lara Benett, that’s enough!" Another young woman’s voice interrupted Lara’s outburst.
Shani didn’t recognize her, but the surrounding students quickly answered her unspoken question.
"That’s Yvonne’s older sister, Rosaline Larrlyng!"
Lara clearly knew Rosaline. "Don’t stop me! Liars like them deserve to be taught a lesson."
"Lara, calm yourself," Rosaline said as she gracefully walked past Lara’s group until she stood beside her.
"That student is telling the truth. They couldn’t possibly deceive the academy. The headmaster and even the royal family have already confirmed it."
"They’re all..." Lara wanted to accuse everyone of working together, but she stopped herself.
She knew careless accusations could get her into serious trouble. She couldn’t recklessly offend the academy or the royal family.
That was exactly why she had chosen to confront what she thought was the weakest target, Shani.
She turned back to Rosaline, righteous indignation written all over her face. "Why are you defending her? Your sister’s a victim too!"
Rosaline didn’t answer.
By then, campus security had arrived and began dispersing the upperclassmen. Not wanting to receive demerit points, they eventually left the cafeteria.
Even as she walked away, Lara shot Shani one last venomous glare.
Standing behind Shani, Kiran finally let out the breath she’d been holding. "That was really dangerous."
"I want to go back to the dorm," Shani said. Her appetite had completely vanished.
"Me too." Kiran followed behind her.
In the end, the two of them settled for bread and milk in Shani’s room, just enough to fill their stomachs.
Shani hadn’t expected things to become this chaotic.
She guessed the Sedative Potion had already worn off by the time Jeryon resonated with Leah.
’I should’ve considered that Jeryon isn’t an ordinary student.’ She let out a quiet sigh. Even so, she didn’t regret her decision.
If she got the chance, she planned to give Leah an Energy Potion as well.
After eating, Kiran left to continue her resonance session with her partner. Meanwhile, Shani sent message after message to Jeryon.
Even after what was practically spam, he still didn’t reply.
She knew he probably wasn’t in a good state right now. But she didn’t want to waste any more time.
Shani stood up and left her room. Carrying a small bag with the bottle of milk inside, she headed for Jeryon’s room.
Earlier, she’d overheard several students saying they’d seen him return to the eighth floor, where the first-year dorms were.
"Jeryon, it’s Shani. Can we talk?" She knocked on his door.
She knocked several more times while calling him through her smartwatch.
She could clearly hear the device vibrating inside the room. He was definitely there. But the door remained shut.
After nearly thirty minutes of waiting, during which several students walked past and gave her strange looks, Shani was getting tired.
Still... Ever since her days at the orphanage, Shani had been known as someone who never gave up.
One closed door wasn’t going to stop her. She pounded on it much harder.
"Jeryon! At least give me an explanation. I’m your partner, and our egg hasn’t even hatched yet. How could you go and find another partner?"
Apparently, those words struck home. A moment later, she heard movement inside.
The door slowly opened. Jeryon stood there with gloomy eyes and messy golden hair.
"I’m sorry, Shani." He apologized immediately, but he couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes.
Looking at how fragile he seemed, Shani longed to reassure him that he would heal. Not only that, but he would become the beastman with the highest energy on the entire continent.
"I’m not actually blaming you," Shani said gently. "I just want us to finish what we started. Remember? Our egg hasn’t hatched yet."
Jeryon’s shoulders slumped. "I can’t... I’ll only end up hurting you."
Shani froze for a moment before finally understanding.
That gloomy expression wasn’t anger. It was guilt. He’d been carrying that guilt all by himself all this time.
It was probably what had made him so reserved, always keeping everyone else at arm’s length.
"Jeryon, I’m different." She stepped closer and placed both hands on his shoulders, closing the distance between them.
Jeryon instinctively looked at her. The moment he met those sparkling crimson eyes, his heart began racing once more.
He wanted to pull her hands away, but he didn’t want to treat her roughly. In the end, he simply turned his face aside.
Shani refused to give up. She spoke with complete confidence. "We’ve resonated together several times already, and everything went perfectly."
"Maybe... I really am meant to be your partner."
...