Aethernea : Soulbound [Book 1]

Episode 57 - Elaru's Spell Control Exam Result

Previously:

Kiel aces his spell control exam. It is now Elaru's turn to take hers, and she is the last one in her group to take it. All the examinees in the room with Elaru are expecting her to mess it up again.

* * *

Elaru resisted rolling her eyes at the strange mood in the room.

Yesterday, she was obviously unlucky. She didn't do anything wrong, yet things ended up being broken. It's not like she was a jinx or incompetent. It's not like everything she touches would break.

It was an unlucky coincidence.

Just coincidence.

And lightning is not likely to strike the same place twice.

She was confident that nothing would break this time. But just to be sure, she approached the glass tube closely. She came so close to the glass tube that her nose was almost touching the glass.

Deora's heart leaped to his throat. "Step away from the tube! Do NOT touch it!!"

Elaru raised her hands up in surrender and stepped back half a step. "Alright. Alright. I am not touching it. Not touching."

"Step. Further. Away." Deora repeated through gritted teeth. Elaru's eyebrows furrowed slightly but soon it was replaced by innocent and honest expression.

She didn't move back but instead tried to reason with him.

"Take it easy Fa...ir and venerable professor. If I am closer to the glass tube, I can monitor the behavior of my cube better and ensure nothing untoward happens."

"Move away!" Deora was persistent.

Seeing Elaru's pitiful expression Zerel intervened. "Let her be little Dei. Look at that honest and upright face. She clearly has no bad intentions. What happened yesterday was only bad luck. I'm sure it won't happen again."

As he spoke, the smile never left his eyes. More perceptive people among the examinees could tell that Zerel's words held a trace of teasing in them. They didn't seem sincere at all. The crafty vulpy clearly wanted something to go wrong.

Deora wasn't as perceptive. He hesitated, looking between Elaru's pitiful expression and Zerel's reassuring look.

Zerel pretended to cough, placing his hand in front of his mouth.

However, both the keen ears of elibu and Deora standing next to him caught the words within the cough: "Don't tell me you aren't worried this would spread and ruin your just and upright reputation? Some people might say you were unreasonable and bullied the examinees."

The corner of Elaru's mouth twitched. What just and upright reputation?

Other elibu also displayed strange expressions.

What a clear attempt of manipulation. Even an idiot wouldn't be so stupid to fall for it.

However, when Deora heard the cough, his foul expression turned blank and then after that his face turned serious, displaying an aura of an upright gentlemen.

The jaws of almost everyone present dropped down. Seeing Deora attempting to act as a noble and just gentleman looked as wrong and out of place as seeing a dragon wearing a hat.

"Alright. Let's start the test. We have no time to waste."

For a moment, Elaru felt sorry for Deora. Being so gullible and easy to manipulate while surrounded by nobles who are naturally treacherous and manipulative...one could imagine the kind of life Deora led. This kind of pure simpleton could only exist in the Thayn family. If he were born anywhere else, the nobles would have devoured him by now.