The Anomaly's Path

High on the balcony looking over the grand hall, Seris Lunaria stood with her back against a pillar. Beside her, Sylvia was sipping a glass of wine. Her sharp eyes scanned the sea of students below.

"You aren’t going down?" Sylvia asked quietly, not turning her head. "Cynthia has been running around all night with that draw box. She claims it builds unity among the classes."

"It’s loud," Seris replied flatly. Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, completely empty of emotion. Her long black hair fell down her back like dark silk, framing her pale face.

Down on the main stage, Cynthia’s voice echoed through the hall.

"Now, let me draw the next card!" Cynthia cheered, deep in her drawing game. She reached into the box and pulled out a card with a dramatic move. "From First-Year Class Ascendant, Primus Leo von Celestial!"

Seris didn’t move, but her crimson eyes locked onto Leo as the bright spotlight swung across the room, pinning him right in his chair. Cynthia unrolled the matching paper. A playful grin spread wide across her face.

"...and our Second-Year, Primus... Seris Lunaria!"

A heavy silence fell over the tables nearby. The upperclassmen stopped their quiet talks and turned their heads toward the balcony in disbelief.

Seris stood still on the balcony, staring down at the table where Leo sat with his group. Down below, through the bright beam of light, Leo slowly turned his head upward. Their eyes locked across the distance, his cold ocean-blue meeting her deep crimson.

Seris twitched her fingers against the marble pillar.

Memories of their strange meetings flashed through her mind, including the quiet evening in the gardens when she had asked him to dance, only for him to give her a weird look and reject her on the spot.

Is he going to reject me again? she asked herself quietly.

She turned away from Sylvia, stepping off the balcony edge and making her way down the grand stairs. Her plain black boots clicked softly against the marble.

_

[Leo’s POV]

I am going to kill him.

I am actually going to drag that bastard elf out to the training grounds, and throw him into a pit of monsters.

My mind raced with a dozen different ways to kill Roan without leaving proof. I knew the elf was up to something the second he sat down with that smug, self-satisfied look on his face. But I hadn’t expected him to pull me into his games.

Across the table, Roan’s grin was getting dangerously wide. He knew exactly what he had done. I slowly turned my head toward him. My gaze locked with him. I didn’t yell or frown. Instead, I let a slow, pleasant smile spread across my face.

"You know what, Roan?" I said smoothly, leaning slightly over the table. "You brought this on yourself."

Roan’s confident posture cracked for a second. He blinked, his smirk twitching. "What do you mean by that, bro?"

"Nothing," I replied, keeping my smile completely fixed. "Just remember this moment."

I turned my eyes slightly to the right, looking directly at Alice and Riven. They were both still sitting there with dark, murderous looks after their forced dance.

"Hey, Riven. Alice," I said, my voice carrying clearly over the quiet table. "You know how fate is a funny thing? What if I told you that ’fate’ tonight was actually being controlled by a certain elf sitting right next to you?"

Alice’s eyes snapped up from her plate. Riven froze, his eyes turning slowly toward Roan.

"What?" Alice growled.

"That’s right," I continued, widening my grin as Roan’s face began to turn pale.

"He pulled Cynthia aside right before the draws. And Lyssaria... remember last week when you mentioned your credit points suddenly dropped before the festival? What if I told you a certain brother of yours used your account to pay off his bar tab?"

Lyssaria’s head snapped toward Roan so fast her hair whipped around her shoulders. Cordelia raised an eyebrow, her gaze turning amused. Caster slowly backed his chair away from Roan’s side.

"Wait, hold on! Leo? Bro? you’re lying!" Roan stammered, his hands coming up in surrender as the whole table turned deadly. "That’s not true! We’re brothers! Right? Tell them!"

"Good luck, my dear brother," I said cheerfully.

I gave him the exact same double thumbs-up he had given Riven earlier, threw him a sharp wink, and turned on my heel. Behind me, I heard the heavy thud of Alice standing up, the scrape of Riven’s chair, and Roan’s sudden, terrified gasp as the group jumped him.

I left the chaos behind, stepping out into the open path leading toward the dance floor. My smile faded the moment my back was turned to the table.

Seris had reached the edge of the floor, standing near the spotlight in a sleek dark red dress that hugged her slim frame. The rich color stood out against her pale skin and long black hair, making her look cold, distant, and completely captivating.

I really have to do this, don’t I? I thought, letting out a quiet breath.

I stopped about ten steps away from her. The grand hall had gone completely quiet around us. Hundreds of eyes were locked onto the two of us. I wasn’t going to awkwardly walk through the crowd under Cynthia’s dumb spotlight.

I tapped into my space affinity, bending the distance between us. In a single, silent shift, the space folded, and I appeared directly in front of Seris, stopping less than two feet away.

A few quiet gasps came from the students watching from the side. Seris didn’t even flinch. Her eyes didn’t widen, nor did she step back. She just looked up into my face, her body completely still.

"..."

"..."

We stood there under the lights while the music began to play.

"Shall we dance, Lady Seris?" I asked smoothly, offering my hand to her with a faint, polite smile. Seris looked down at my hand. Her pale face remained entirely blank.

"...No," Seris said flatly.

I froze. My extended hand stayed hovering in mid-air. "...Wait, what?!"

My brain stopped for a solid two seconds. I stared at her, trying to figure out if I had heard wrong.

She had just walked down the stairs after being called by Cynthia, stepped out onto the stage in front of the whole academy, and now she was just flat-out saying no to me in front of hundreds of people?

"What do you mean ’no’?" I muttered under my breath, my eyebrow twitching. "You came all the way down here just to reject me in the middle of the dance floor?"

"People usually smile when they ask someone to dance," Seris said, her voice completely deadpan, her crimson eyes staring directly into mine. "Or at least look like they want to be here. You look like you’re being dragged to an execution."

A sudden realization hit me like a brick to the chest. She’s throwing my own words back at me...

Back in the garden during the gala, when she had asked me to dance, I had laughed and told her she looked like she was planning to stab someone. I had complained that people usually smile when they ask. She was repeating my exact complaints word-for-word.

I clicked my tongue, my jaw clenching. This girl... she is honestly the most petty person I have ever met in my entire life, second only to myself.

"You’re doing this on purpose," I grumbled softly.

"If someone wants to dance, they should show proper effort," Seris said, her face completely blank. "Otherwise... it looks like a chore. Besides, we don’t know each other well enough to dance together, do we?"

Damn it, I thought. Once I go back, Roan is definitely dead by my hands.

My pride as Leo von Celestial was officially on the line. I wasn’t about to get embarrassed in front of the whole academy by a second-year who was taking notes on my past complaints.

I took a quiet breath.

Slowly, under the watchful eyes of hundreds of students, I dropped down onto one knee against the floor. I took her small, pale hand into my black leather glove, lifting it gently and brushing a light kiss against the back of her hand.

I looked up at her, my eyes locking onto her deep crimson ones.

"...It is true that we do not know each other well, Lady Seris," I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. But, inside my head, I was screaming: What the fuck am I doing?

"And maybe I have been foolishly distant. But... I believe that if a person can trust someone enough to let them stab them through the chest to save their life... they can certainly trust them for one dance around the floor."

Around the room, a few quiet gasps came from the students watching. Down at our table, Roan, who was currently being held in a loose headlock by Riven while Alice stole his dessert, started coughing and wheezing as he tried to escape.

"Is he actually doing a romantic speech?!" a second-year whispered loudly.

"Look at him... he’s actually kneeling like a knight from a story!" another student gasped.

Caster leaned back in his chair, letting out a sharp whistle. A wide, shocked grin broke across his face. "Damn... that bastard Boss is even smoother than I thought. Look at him go."

Nearby, Cordelia stared with her mouth slightly open, eyes wide with shock. Julia just shook her head. Malva watched without reacting. And I could feel sharp stares boring into my back from across the room, Arthur, Nyra, and Amelia all locked onto me at once.

But the most intense, deadly glare of all didn’t come from the main floor. I could feel a terrifying wave of pressure radiating from the upper balcony. My sister Sylvia was standing there, staring at me with sharp look that was ready to freeze me solid on the spot.

Ignoring the rising murmurs and the heavy gazes of the crowd, I kept my gaze locked onto Seris, letting a faint smirk settle on my lips.

"So let me ask properly this time," I continued, making sure every word hit with confidence.

"Would you give me the honor of this dance, Lady Seris? Not as a favor, not as payback for the past, and not because Cynthia pulled our names out of a box... but because there is no one else in this room I would rather dance with..."

Seris stared down at me. For a long, silent moment, her eyes searched my face. Then, deep in the corner of her eyes, a tiny, almost invisible flicker of genuine amusement broke through her usual mask.

"That was much less creepy," Seris murmured, her voice still quiet and flat, but her fingers closing around mine with steady pressure. "...And slightly more believable. I accept."

_

She pulled me up, and we stepped smoothly into the rhythm of the music.

I placed my left hand lightly against the side of her waist, keeping the proper formal distance as the music shifted into a grand, sweeping song.

I led her into a wide turn, expecting her to be stiff like Malva, but Seris moved with a strange, weightless grace. Her steps matched mine without a single moment of delay. She didn’t look down at her feet, nor did she fight my lead.

She just followed, smooth, exact, and completely effortless.

She actually knows how to dance, I thought, guiding her through a turn as the violins grew louder. Of course she does. Even if she acts like a wandering ghost.

We moved across the center of the hall. The white silk of my coat brushed against her dark red dress under the warm lights. Up close, I caught a faint, familiar scent from her, clean and cold, like winter air. Quiet and soft. Her crimson eyes stayed fixed on the center of my chest, completely silent.

Then, a sharp click hit the toe of my boot. I stopped and pulled her back. "Hey."

Seris didn’t stop moving.

Clack.

She stepped directly onto the top of my left boot again, her expression entirely unchanged.

I took a slow breath, leaning down slightly so only she could hear me over the music. "Lady Seris... I don’t know what crime my poor, innocent feet committed against you, but do tell me, why are you aiming for my shoes? I am a handsome man, and it actually hurts."

Seris looked up, her eyes locking straight into mine. Deep in the corner of her eyes, I caught a tiny, flicker of mischief.

"What do you mean by that... Lord Leo?" she asked softly.

I nearly tripped over my own feet. I stared at her. She had never called me ’Lord Leo’ in her entire life. She said it with that exact flat, deadpan tone, but the subtle taunt behind it was clear.

"You’re doing that on purpose," I grumbled, rotating us through a quick spin just to save my boots from a third strike. "You’re still getting back at me."

"I am simply following your lead," she replied blankly, though her fingers tightened just a fraction around mine, holding me close as the music reached a rising tempo. "...If the lead stumbles, the footwork suffers."

"My lead was perfect until you decided to attack my shoes," I shot back, a quiet laugh slipping past my lips despite myself.

"Then lead better, Primus," she murmured, a faint spark in her dark crimson eyes.

I smirked, taking the challenge. "Alright. Don’t blame me if you can’t keep up."

Instead of playing defense, I changed the pace.

I tightened my grip around her waist and led her into a fast, nonstop series of spins, moving us straight through the center of the dance floor. The music matched our speed, the strings rising into a dramatic, powerful melody that echoed off the tall marble pillars.

Seris didn’t falter for a single second.

Where most dancers would lose balance, she followed every small move I made. She leaned into the movement, her hair flowing out behind her like dark silk. Her deep red dress swirled around us like a bright flame against the pale stone.

We weren’t just dancing anymore, we were owning the floor.

I guided her through a quick reverse spin, pulling her in close before sending her out into a long turn. Every move was sharp, smooth, and nearly too close. She kept up with my speed step for step, her breath brushing coolly against my collar as we mirrored each other’s moves with perfect timing.

Around us, the noise of the crowd died down completely.

Students from every class leaned to watch. Even the upperclassmen who had been mocking us moments ago were frozen, pulled in by the intense, powerful connection between the rising Primus and the second-year Primus.

"You’re enjoying this," Seris said quietly as I pulled her back close, bringing her inches from my chest.

"Yes, I am. But so are you," I replied smoothly, spinning her into a tight, smooth turn.

"You move like you’re fighting," she said, her red eyes locked onto mine as the music built toward its final peak.

"Every dance with you is a fight, Lady Seris."

The musicians hit their highest note, a last, beautiful sound that hung in the air.

In that exact moment, I didn’t just end the dance with a normal bow. I guided her through one last fast turn, swept my right arm around her waist, and dropped down, catching her in a deep, dramatic dip right in the center of the spotlight.

Seris’s head tilted back, her long black hair nearly touching the floor. Her body rested fully in my arm. She didn’t panic or grab me in shock. She just stayed perfectly still, her eyes staring straight up into mine.

"..."

"..."

For three long seconds, neither of us moved. The rest of the world seemed to disappear under the bright beam of light. I looked down at her pale, beautiful face, my heart beating a little harder against my ribs than I wanted to admit.

What is wrong with me? I thought, my chest tightening with an unfamiliar, strange feeling. Why am I looking at her like this? Get it together, bastard! You’re Leo von Celestial! Control yourself!

Suddenly, the silent hall exploded into loud applause. Whistles and cheers came from the upper balconies. Up on the stage, Cynthia’s voice boomed. "Now that is how you end a dance! Ladies and gentlemen, a masterpiece from our Primus pair!"

The sudden wave of noise broke the spell. I pulled Seris back up to her feet in one smooth move, bringing us both upright. I quickly let go of her waist, stepping back to put some space between us. But my eyes stayed on her.

I gave her a nod. "...Thank you for the dance, Lady Seris."

Seris gathered the dark red fabric of her dress and gave a neat, perfect curtsey in return. Her face was completely calm, but as she looked up at me, the quiet stillness in her eyes felt different, warmer, less distant.

"It’s okay. Enjoy the rest of your night, Leo. Try not to cause another scene," Seris said softly, her voice barely carrying over the cheering crowd.

She turned and walked back toward the balcony stairs. Her dress swayed softly as she disappeared into the crowd, leaving me standing alone under the bright lights with my heart still beating fast.