My eyes narrowed, confused about what Almira meant by 'her sister rubbing on me'. "What do you mean by 'rubbing on me'? I don't get it." I frowned deeper. Then I asked again, "What does it do to my situation?"
Almira grinned wider before answering, "She went through the same process while she was still a student here.
"Still, I don't get it," I admitted my confusion.
"It only meant that our special major instructors are either looking forward to how you'll be like her or maybe beat her records here," Allison answered after chewing her sandwich.
I frowned before I started guessing, "So, they're going to base their assessment on it? through her accomplishments rather than my own?"
"Yes and no." Almira answered after she drank her blood wine, then explained, "Yes, in a way of potential aspects, but no, because Bernila, you're different from my sister. Your accomplishments are different from my sister's."
I understood what she was saying, but my mind was in a rush, bothered by how quick they gave their assessments. I was a newbie, and it was my first day in this school. But being personally assessed by these instructors meant it wouldn't be long before my name stirred up gossip about my sudden jump in rank. With that thought, it terrified me. They noticed my stillness, making Talia tap my thigh, and Agilus squeezed my hand on the table, which both gave assurance that I hadn't realized I needed.
I let out a sigh. "I know, but it scares the hell out of me, and obviously, I'm exhausted," I admitted, losing my appetite to eat my lunch, except for an apple and yogurt juice. "I don't want to fail."
"Bernila, you're going to fail in any field. But it doesn't mean you need to stop what you love to do." Talia's soft but steady tone reminded me of something I had been doing all along. "Don't stop because people judge you or tell you it's not worth it. Remember, Bernila, if you have faith in something and never lose hope in it, it will be fruitful at the end."
"Don't be discouraged." With softened eyes, Agilus added gently.
As he laid his encouraging words, Almira's scrutinizing eyes peered at Agilus. I knew that look, but didn't say anything. Instead, she faced me softly before clearing her point. "Bernila, I know that it put a lot of pressure on you, but I didn't mean to make you doubt yourself. You're a Knightrose, a wife, and now, being eyed by them added pressure already, but despite all of it, Bernila, remember that you're changing, and that's what they-we were looking forward to seeing in you." Her smile had shifted mischievously and winked at me. "And don't forget, being in the elite rank doesn't only mean to be excellent and always on top. It also needed enhancing growth, which was the rarest thing among the elite ranks."
I sighed heavily, forcing myself to finish my small lunch as I let their encouraging words sink into my head until I felt her. I checked around, ignoring some eyes that watched me, and there she was, my wife. She was talking with her mother and someone older that I hadn't seen before. I don't know who that old man is, but the way he held himself was the same as my wife - unpredictably unreadable. Then I jolted when her eyes met mine. It was a split second of gaze, but it held too many words unsaid. It reminded me of Sage's heartbreaking love story.
My eyes narrowed slightly, thinking a possibility, "Were she and her mate..." I quickly caught myself and stopped thinking about it. "Don't line them together." I stopped comparing Sage's mate with my wife and took a deep breath, burying the thought at the back of my head, before I smiled secretly at her. When I thought she wouldn't smile back, I was wrong. It was a faint second where I saw her smile back at me before returning to their conversation. My heart flipped; it throbbed wildly because that sight was rare—golden. Then I whispered. "Oh my God... It's getting deep. She's getting deeper...and it's frightening."
"Shit, why is he here?" Almira's shocked voice caught our attention, and we looked to see who she was referring to.
"Who?" I asked, squinting my eyes to see where her head was looking.
She sighed in defeat before answering, "Grandpa."
Talia frowned, but guessed. "He's an instructor here, too, right?"
"Yeah, but whenever he's here...something is about to happen." Almira sighed, shaking a little in her seat.
"That's grim when you said that," Agilus commented.
Allison sighed, commenting softly, "If you only knew."
I narrowed my eyes toward my wife's table. Although the old man's back was facing me, I sensed a danger masked beneath his calm exterior, reminding me of Mirxalyn's queen's facade. Without a filter, I mumbled. "Hm, just like her."
Our table went silent. Their breath was caught from my soft comment that I hadn't realized I said out loud, then they laughed. I blushed, embarrassed from being caught red-handed, wanting the earth to swallow me alive. But their laughter faded in the background when my skin tingled. Immediately, I focused inward. Outwardly, I mingled and laughed in embarrassment, but inside, I remained guarded. With flexible sensitivity, I didn't go stiff like before. But I did touch the malice behind me and find the culprit without being noticed.
I've traced it, and it ended up with the old man, my wife's grandfather, whom I haven't met in person. He glanced over his shoulder, and I saw plenty of things I hadn't sensed in anyone. Abruptly, I stood up, staring at him, guarded. Everyone's eyes were on me, but I didn't care; I just stood still staring at him, reading what lies behind him.
"Souls..." It was a simple word that slipped from my mouth softly. But it was clear enough for everyone to be confused, and they made fun of me, but not him or anything in the Knightrose family had laughed. But they had their proud smile at me. Without restraint, I asked directly, making the entire cafeteria go silent. "What are you, old man?"
The old man stood up, putting on his coat before facing me, saying, "You'll know after their assessment with you." Then he excused himself from their table, saying, "See you soon, young lass."
Almira grinned, amused and proud, but her question contradicted it, "Are you stupid or brave enough to ask my grandpa like that?" I didn't trust my word and nodded. Almira understood it and giggled, confirming what I saw. "He's walking with death."
***
After the weird scene at the cafeteria, I headed to the Strategist class where Sir Athan waited for me. He was grinning knowingly, and before I could even ask, the door suddenly opened. There was a man with neat hair, a strong build, and a scar down his cheek. He stared deeply at me, circling, checking for any flows or something, before leaning closer to meet my eyes. I was taken aback, wanting to punch his face for being too close, but I held my ground. I was curious.
Not understanding where my bluntness came from, I asked coldly, "Are you done calculating me?"
Both of them looked at each other, surprised by my bluntness, before laughing. Then Sir Athan said, "See, I told you, you'll be intrigued by her."
"She is." The man agreed, nodding before smiling at me. "Come, there is something I would like to ask you about. I'm Cyclopes, by the way, and I teach Strategist class." He pulled me into his quiet class as he introduced himself before laughing about his laziness. "But, mostly, I don't teach."
I frowned because his scary stoic facade became disturbingly uneven with his class. "This is what they say: never judge the book by its cover." I sighed and played along with his antics. "Should I be worried about my diploma then?"
"No, but let's see what rank you should be on." He laughed, but there was honesty in his eyes.
His class had only five quiet students, absorbed in their books, seeking guidance and ideas about a question written on the board. I stopped following them and stared at the draft drawn on it with the question above.
The question was: how to infiltrate the opponent's camp in the midst of the battlefield without getting caught and win the battle?
I knew it was an easy answer. I looked at the drawing carefully. "To win a battle without getting caught as the battle goes on, that would be tricky," I muttered, catching my two instructors' attention and checking on me. Curious. "Things must be considered, hoping not to overlook something." I kept muttering, looking around the drawing, a map with two groups with camps from both sides and a battleground. "Knights must be divided according to their tasks. Scouts must be placed around every location, blending with the surroundings, gathering exact intel. Assassins must be in the shadows, securing the way and out of the opponent's camp. The best fighters must be on the battlefield, diverting attention from the Assassins' infiltration. And if the commander is equipped with fighting skills and survival instincts, they could camouflage and sneak inside without being detected."
"But what if the commander was on the battleground?" With arms crossed beside me, Sir Cyclopes asked curiously.
I nodded. I fully considered it already before answering, "True, killing a commander ends the battle, but who said I'm targeting the commander?" They were attentive and curiously waited for me to finish. "To win a battle, power must be used cleverly." I continued, marking the board with chalk as I showed them my answer to my question before adding, "Power could be used as a distraction without letting the opponent learn what you are really after."
My two instructors beside me carefully studied my marks around the drawn map on the board. They checked how I scattered the scouts in precise and difficult areas to see. Some scouts worked with the assassins, making an opening and exits around the opponent's camp. As for the fighters, they were divided into groups coming from all sides. But they weren't just a diversion; they were aimed at bringing down the commander's head. Overall, all knights were distributed to their designated tasks.
"Remarkable." Sir Athan commented astonishingly before adding, "In a short period of time, you came up with this strategist."
Sir Cyclopes agreed. He was reading the marks, my notes on the side, before admitting, "I haven't reached this level even before I became an instructor now." Then he snickered, amused and proud, saying, "Luckily, I could think of this now before you could embarrass me in class."
"So, what's your assessment?" I wondered.
Sir Cyclopes became serious, and he stared at me before sharing his assessment with me, "You're a quick learner, and I could bet even Meister Alchemy would let you pass to the elite."
"And she will." Another steady but gentle voice from a woman agreed with him. When I turned around, I met a raven-haired woman with thick eyeglasses and five floating orbs around her. "Meister Andrea, the witch and alchemist of this school. And from what I heard from them, I couldn't wait to check on you through the orbs. For the third time, they couldn't see anything from you." She gave her introduction as she tried to read me like an open book. But her eyes narrowed afterwards, and she continued, "But you had something that soon will wake up, and you need to quickly ascend to Elite classes or else, your power will burst if you stay in your rank."
I was speechless, dumbfounded by her quick assessment. My mouth opened and shut as I was not sure what to say. Everything was happening too fast to my liking, and my head was overloading with their peculiar assessment. My knees weakened, wobbling beneath me. My breathing was shortened, and my heart rate increased. I'm having a panic attack.
"Bernila!" They called out, but my knees buckled, and my bat, Reaper, suddenly showed up, stopping the instructors from coming closer. Then I heard Meister Andrea say, "A Knightrose guardian."
"I'm fine. I'm just overwhelmed, Reaper." Hoarsely, I told him since he was flapping his wings defensively against them, turning the room into whirlwhid. But I'm losing my grip until my wife's shadow appeared, and I was out.