If there were a background image, the one behind Mors right now would definitely be flames shooting into the sky.
It was the very first day back.
The very first class.
And someone was already wrecking the classroom atmosphere.
"Miss Crownguard… although it's been a long time since I last saw you, I vaguely recall this is not the first time you've caused trouble in my class."
Mors tried hard to keep her voice calm, but every student in the room could hear the teeth-grinding fury buried inside it.
The students couldn't help but look toward the back row with sympathy.
Lux stood up trembling, pitifully weak as she said, "I'm sorry. I couldn't hold it in."
"You couldn't hold it in?"
"Yes…"
Lux lowered her head, looking absolutely miserable.
If anyone saw her like this, they probably wouldn't have the heart to keep blaming her.
But Mors had seen this exact Lux expression too many times.
She wasn't softening. Not even a little.
And Lux felt genuinely wronged.
Class had been going perfectly fine—then the lecture suddenly hit that point, and she happened to turn her head and see Luke propping his face up with one hand, wearing the most utterly done-with-life expression imaginable as he said that line.
She laughed before she could stop herself.
In that moment, he had practically given the phrase a soul.
Thinking of it, Lux shot an angry glance at Luke—who was pretending he knew nothing—and her temper flared.
If I'm going down, you're not walking away clean either!
"It's his fault! If His Highness hadn't said that, I wouldn't have laughed!"
Lux pointed straight at Luke and sold him out on the spot.
At this point, even if she hadn't, Mors had already noticed Luke sitting next to her, acting innocent.
That earlier voice had very obviously come from the direction of the boy beside Lux.
Mors narrowed her eyes. "Prince Luke. Stand."
Right now, Mors was radiating that natural, teacher-born authority.
Luke stood up obediently.
Mors asked, "Do you think what you just said was funny?"
Luke immediately answered, "Not funny."
"Is that so?" Mors spoke as if she were being gentle. "Then I'm curious—could you say it again?"
Luke put on a very serious face and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
This time, it very clearly had no soul.
"That doesn't seem to match what I heard earlier."
Mors shook her head and continued, "I want to hear one exactly the same as before."
At this point, Luke understood: if he didn't recreate it, this was never going to end.
So he put on that same slack-off expression again, and even copied the tone:
"Yeah, yeah, yeah~!"
"Pfft."
A suppressed laugh instantly came from beside him.
Luke flicked his eyes over.
Miss Crownguard had her head down, shoulders trembling—she was fighting for her life not to laugh.
The "gentle" look on Mors's face vanished in an instant. Her brow twitched.
"Miss Crownguard, if it's that funny, why don't you go laugh outside first before coming in?"
"Teacher, I know I was wrong."
Lux's surrender speed was lightning-fast. She lifted her head and forcibly shoved the laughter back down.
She noticed that no one else seemed to be laughing.
But for some reason, she just couldn't stop.
"Out."
Mors's last trace of patience truly disappeared. She pointed coldly toward the door.
"This is the price of mocking the classroom."
Lux's face immediately looked miserable. Head lowered, she trudged out—still not forgetting to shoot Luke an angry glare as she passed.
It's all this guy's fault!
So annoying!
Luke thought he was safe now. He was honestly grateful Lux had dragged away most of the firepower.
He was just about to sit—
"Prince Luke, I believe you should go outside as well, and keep Miss Crownguard company."
Mors's gaze swung back to him.
The meaning was obvious: go stand outside and be punished.
Luke defended himself with a perfectly serious expression.
"Teacher, I wasn't mocking the class. I believe I was actively responding to your topic. Doesn't that prove I was listening carefully?"
Mors smiled.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
Luke: "…"
Now he got it.
He stopped arguing and headed out of the classroom.
"Alright. That brief interruption delayed our progress a little. Let's continue the topic from earlier."
Hearing the teacher resume lecturing behind him, Luke knew it had nothing to do with him anymore.
Mostly because… he really hadn't been able to stop himself. The line had slipped out on reflex.
Sigh. Not paying attention in class really does get people hurt.
The moment he stepped outside, he met Lux's eyes—she'd already been waiting there.
They stared at each other without speaking.
"If you hadn't laughed, maybe nothing would've happened."
"How is that my fault? If you hadn't said it, nothing would've happened."
"You laughing is what made the teacher notice."
"Like I'd be fine if I didn't laugh. She was already mad!"
In the next second, the two of them launched into a full-blown blame-shifting contest, whisper-arguing right outside the classroom.
Luke raised a hand to stop the debate.
"Actually… everything is going according to my plan."
Lux paused, confused. "What plan?"
"Look—aren't we outside the classroom now?" Luke grinned. "That means we can skip class openly and legitimately."
As he spoke, he strode toward one end of the hallway.
Lux froze, not processing it at first. When she saw Luke already walking away, she hurried after him, careful and cautious.
"We're being punished, though. Is it really okay to just leave?"
She asked, worried.
Luke, drawing on years of "experience," looked totally confident.
"Relax. There's at least half an hour left in class. We'll just stroll around nearby, and then come back right before the bell."
Usually, when students were sent outside to stand, the teacher didn't bother checking on them before the period ended.
Luke's confidence successfully fooled Lux. She nodded along.
"Then where are we going?"
"I think outside looks pretty good."
Walking along the corridor, Luke looked through the glass panels in the wall and spotted a wide open area beyond.
Tall, lush green trees. A few benches. Bright, clean light from that direction—like a space for students to rest between classes.
They were on the first floor. Lux knew the campus routes well, and in no time at all, the two of them reached the open area.
The morning sun was gentle, its brightness pale and clean, the kind of light that made everything feel crisp and clear.
"Perfect weather to lie down for a bit!"
Luke stretched under the sunlight. If this hadn't happened, he'd probably still be in bed at home, cozy under his blankets.
He wandered around until he found a spot he liked.
Under a big tree sat a long bench, like you'd find in a park. The leaves cast shade over it, with only a few scattered beams of sunlight filtering through.
Luke casually wiped it down, then flopped onto it, hands folded behind his head, and closed his eyes in pure comfort.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810