Zoella

Part 12

The blue sky had turned orange. It was supposed to be a warm feeling but that was not the case for these two people. Edwin was staring at Hayes coldly while the person who was being stared at didn't mind it.

Hayes calmly took a sip of his tea with his eyes closed.

None of them started a conversation. The people around them were sweating because they were nervous. It was known that Edwin and Hayes had a friendly relationship so they never expected this kind of atmosphere.

Clack~

It was just a sound of the teacup being put down but most of them were flinched because of that.

"Hayes, you took in a disciple?"

All the ears in the room perked up at the sudden topic. The rumors about Hayes taking in a child as his disciple were the most discussed right now. 

However, since it was only a rumor they could only believe a little part of them. And now they got an opportunity to hear the truth directly from Hayes Castor.

"You heard? That child is talented."

"When are you going to introduce her to me?"

"Come on, don't be too hasty. That disciple of mine needs to adapt to her new environment first."

Hayes answered calmly as he leaned his back on the sofa. Despite that, the chilly atmosphere still didn't change.

"It'd be best if you introduce her to me as soon as possible. And you need to make a good excuse as to why you refused those offers but took that girl instead."

"You don't need to worry. She's not the type to be afraid or swayed by others. Well, that's all I can say about her. I'll leave first."

Hayes left right after saying that.

"Just who is that secret disciple?"

Zoella's body shivered. It was weird because the weather was still warm.

"I'm not cold, am I?"

She touched her forehead to make sure. It was not warm. Zoella shrugged her shoulders thinking that it was just her feeling.

It was about time for dinner and the food was served on the first floor. Zoella was in a dilemma. She wanted to eat but she was lazy to get up from her bed. Fortunately, her room was on the second floor. She couldn't imagine being on the third or even the highest floor.

"Let's not starve myself."

Zoella got up and decided to eat. When she opened the door, her eyes met with a pair of blue eyes right in front of her room.

"Hi?"

'Damn it! I'm not prepared to meet the others yet!'

Zoella smiled awkwardly. She was a bit surprised because they opened the door at the same time.

"Hi. You must be Sir Castor's disciple."

"Words travel fast, aren't they?"

The girl in front of her stared at Zoella with interest but she looked hesitant to approach her.

"My name is Zoella Rae."

Zoella introduced herself and reached out her hand. The girl took her hand and smiled kindly.

"I'm Lilian Myers."

"Want to get dinner together?"

The girl, Lilian nodded her head vigorously. The two of them closed their doors before walking side by side to the first floor.

They talked about themselves as they eat together. Lilian was a daughter of a soldier of the Royal Knight. And Lilian wanted to follow in her father's footsteps. Not just a soldier, but a Knight. She was a student in the Swordsmanship department.

Zoella took this chance to straighten the rumors about her. She told Lilian that she was just saved by Hayes and for some reason he took her as his disciple.

"So the rumors about you being his hidden child or you seducing him were wrong?"

"That's a thousand percent wrong! He was just my lifesaver."

A disgusted expression appeared on her face. She couldn't stand being accused of seducing Hayes.

"I'm still completely sane not to seduce that crazy guy."

Lilian chuckled at her new friend's complaint. She thought Zoella would be difficult to be approached. Turned out she was a lot nicer than she thought.

"So, you didn't know anyone here?"

"No. Today was the seventh day of me in the capital."

"I see. I have some friends but they are both in different departments. One of them was in the Business department and the other was in the Magic department. Since their houses were close to the Academy they will come tomorrow."

"I'm in the Magic department too. Maybe you could introduce them to me if you don't mind."

"Sure. They would be elated, Zoella."

Zoella smiled and continue to munch her meal. Once they finished, the two of them returned to their room. Zoella blew out the candles before laying her body on the bed recalling her teacher's words on her first-time travel to Academy.

'I'm not concerned about the nobles because I know you can handle them. But for you, the worse enemy was the commoners.'

'...'

'Since you are the same as them it would be easier for the commoners to approach you.'

'...'

'They could be snakes in the grass. Of course not all of them but you need to stay vigilant.'

Hayes was right. Zoella also had experienced those things in her past. Since she was not afraid of the bullies, her so-called friends often asked her for help.

But when things got out of hand they would blame Zoella. Even though she had Gina but she still couldn't help her anytime. And Zoella ended up receiving the punishment.

"Looking back, I was a crowd-pleaser, huh?"

Zoella mumbled. She couldn't say no to people who had the same situation as hers. And she was not confident that she could do it now.

She made up her mind. She would befriend Lilian and her friends but she won't trust them too much until she was convinced. It's not like she could do anything on her own.

Zoella covered her eyes with her arm. She was sleepy but she didn't feel like going to sleep yet.

However, she couldn't hold on any longer. Her arm felt heavy as if it didn't want to be removed. And slowly, Zoella felt the darkness embrace her softly.