"Well, congratulations to you, then," Sonia said, a little glumly. "I haven't even recovered yet..."
Sonia had not hidden the news of her death in the Void Realm. Instead, she had trumpeted it far and wide, making sure through Professor Trozan that the entire university knew the genius "Red-Haired Sword Princess" had finally suffered defeat in the Void Realm.
After a bit of public relations maneuvering, her classmates' gazes grew much friendlier. Professor Trozan, who "envied talent and ability," took even better care of her, and when Sonia went to the cafeteria for meals, the lunch lady would even dish out an extra scoop or two for her.
Failure had not tarnished Sonia's talent; rather, it made her seem far more approachable.
Much like "impoverished college beauty," the label of "a genius who occasionally fails" was exceedingly handy. Sonia decided to seize this rare opportunity to cement this persona, allowing her to be freed from everyone's heavy expectations while continuing to receive the resources reserved for geniuses. An absolute, total win.
"Looks like tomorrow night I have no choice but to behave myself, head back to the dorm, and sleep..."
*Most people choose to sleep! Who else gets this hyper late at night and insists on dragging people into fights? An utter berserk village girl...* Felix cursed inwardly, letting out a cold scoff aloud. "Remember to tell Celia to stop waiting down there so long just to 'run into' me."
"Huh?"
Sonia widened her big, innocent eyes, looking at her with total bewilderment. "Celia? You mean Senior Celia? What's wrong with her?"
"Act like you don't know, why don't you." Felix wore a look of sheer disgust. "I'm not going to the Meditation Building tomorrow night either; I'll enter the Void Realm from home. Just tell her to stop pestering me."
"I really don't know what you're talking about—"
"Sonia, could you try being considerate of others for once?" Felix sighed. "You clearly know being close to me is dangerous. Why can't you advise Celia to stay away from me?"
The village girl countered, "Do you hate her?"
"Is the opposite of hating someone liking them? Sonia, I despise the way you deliberately set verbal traps—"
"Then answer me directly: do you like Celia?"
"...Yes, but not in the way you're hoping."
"Feelings can be nurtured over time, you know. Or do you believe in love at first sight?"
"Why do you care so much?" Felix was growing impatient. "What reward did she offer you? Whatever she can give, I can give too."
Sonia answered without missing a beat, "She promised to make me the lead actress in a prime-time Saturday-Nine shadow drama!"
Felix flew into a rage. "Bullshit! Celia doesn't have that kind of pull!"
"Saturday-Nine" specifically referred to Saturday at nine in the evening—the undisputed golden prime-time slot for shadow dramas. Only the season's highest-budget, best-produced show was eligible for that slot, virtually guaranteeing a smash hit even before it aired.
Becoming the lead actress of a Saturday-Nine shadow drama was practically having one foot through the door into the ranks of A-list screen maidens!
*What makes a village girl like you think you're qualified to star in a blockbuster drama?!*
The two stared at each other for a moment before Sonia turned her head away, covering her mouth and snickering quietly. Felix sighed, half-laughing in utter exasperation.
Why did such a shameless village girl possess a swordsmanship talent that seemed blessed by the stars themselves? And why on earth had she become friends with such a shameless village girl...?
"Actually, it's not just for the reward," Sonia said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She rested the wooden sword upright in front of her, gazing at the grain along the blade. "Senior Celia told me that noble marriages are mostly loveless political matches, aren't they?"
"That's true." Felix nodded. "Noble marriages are essentially transactions of interest."
Sonia said softly, "If people who don't like each other can end up together, then why can't people who do?"
Felix blinked, glancing at the red-haired girl in mild surprise.
A sudden realization struck her, and she blurted out, "Do you have someone you like?"
"You—"
Sonia instinctively started to deny it, but she abruptly remembered something. Glancing around warily, she lowered her voice and hissed, "What nonsense are you babbling?"
"You were never this sentimental before." Felix arched an eyebrow. "Don't forget—though it's hardly something to boast about—I've been in plenty of relationships. If there were a romance faction, I'd be at least Gold-rank. Looking at you right now... is this your first crush? Who's the poor soul... I mean, the lucky fellow who managed to catch the Red-Haired Sword Princess's eye?"
"You were trying to insult me just now, weren't you!" Sonia gritted her teeth. "And I don't... Think whatever you want!"
"If you really didn't, your reaction right now would be, 'Guess who I like then,' not such a feeble 'Think whatever you want.'" Felix chuckled. "Spending so much time around you vulgar female sorcerers has let me get right inside your heads. Look at you, Sonia, you're actually flustered."
Looking at the embarrassed and indignant Sonia, Felix was actually filled with questions of her own. She knew this village girl's social circle inside and out, and there was hardly a single male in it. Who could she possibly have feelings for?
Arsenault, her co-host? But she had heard that whenever Arsenault saw Sonia on campus, he was terrified enough to take the initiative and run...
Senior Loren? Highly unlikely...
Me? Setting aside how brutally she beat me, she even helped Celia ambush me. Besides, I'm a genuine Gold-rank in the romance faction, razor-sharp in intuition—there's no way I wouldn't notice if someone had feelings for me...
As Felix racked her brain, a piece of gossip suddenly came to mind: on the night of the gala hosting, Sonia seemed to have settled all her grievances with her roommate Lois, and the two had grown closer and closer ever since. And just the day before yesterday, Sonia had gone out drinking with Senior Leonie, and when she returned dead drunk, it was Lois who had helped her change clothes and bathed her...
C-Could it be...?
Having finally managed to steady her emotions, Sonia turned around only to find Felix standing several meters away from her. Bewildered, she asked, "Why did you back away so far?"
"Nothing," Felix said, standing up. "My left arm is mostly healed. I'd like to go home and take a bath before continuing treatment. It's been a real pleasure spending such an enjoyable evening with you. May we never see each other again. Bye-bye—"
"Since it's our last night," Sonia stood up as well, "then drive me back to the dorms... What, you don't want to?"
"Is the opposite of not wanting to wanting to? Sonia, I despise the way you deliberately set verbal traps—"
"Since you need to train your Water Therapy sorcery spirit, why don't we add a few more wounds—"
"I still have to drive! My hands and feet can't take any damage." Felix surrendered.
The two left the empty training hall and stepped out onto the campus avenue under the gaze of the stars.
Sonia suddenly remembered something and let out a soft exclamation. "Almost forgot! There's something I've been wanting to ask you for ages. After all, Felix, you're a young noble master, so you might know some insider secrets us poor folk don't."
"What is it?"
"Do you know anything about... the Four Pillar Cult?"
Felix blinked, reflexively raising her left hand before letting it drop back down.
Chapter 174