A profound silence settled over the Vice Dean's office.
The warm morning sunlight continued filtering gently through the tall windows, casting long golden beams across the polished wooden floor while a gentle breeze wandered through the slightly opened panes, causing the curtains to sway with quiet elegance. Dust motes floated lazily within the streams of light, their slow dance lending an almost timeless quality to the room. Beyond the windows, the distant sounds of students beginning another day at Arcadia Academy drifted faintly through the air, but within these four walls, the atmosphere had become so still that even the soft ticking of the antique clock resting upon one of the bookshelves seemed unusually loud.
Luca remained seated.
His crimson eyes never left the Vice Dean.
