Chapter 2

With the comments keeping me company, my days had grown noisy.

They argued. I watched.

So much so that I hadn't even noticed Noah had stopped secretly checking on me.

Time passed. How long, I didn't know. Then one day, my confinement finally ended.

I'd nearly forgotten about it. The comments had been the ones to remind me.

Along with a bombshell revelation.

[Oh no, oh no no no, Becca's totally going to look for Noah as soon as she gets out, but she'll walk right into Noah recruiting a new girl.]

[Yeah, Noah only took in Mya because his dying friend entrusted her to him, but did that jerk forget he promised our heroine she'd be his one and only girl student?]

[I can't stand male leads like that. Promises broken, excuses piled up. Seriously, there are many wizard schools. Couldn't anyone else take Mya as a student? Why does it always have to be him?]

Noah, accepting a female student?

My heart had jolted. I couldn't even describe the feeling.

Yet, perhaps because I'd been consuming spoilers for days, it hadn't hurt as much as I'd imagined.

There had even been a strange sense of calm.

Anything branded as "the only one" became special, hard to let go of.

But if the one who'd promised "only" broke it themselves…

[Just ditch him. Who needs this male lead anyway? Our queen Becca could have any guy she wants if she'd just look around.]

[No! Stubborn, straightforward student x morally tortured, emotionally conflicted mentor was my OTP. I shipped this to death. Nobody was perfect, cut him some slack.]

[Give him a break? Why don't you give Rebecca a break? Remember, the summary says Rebecca dies at least once.]

[Sure, our girl's got feelings for Noah Richardson, but when it comes to protecting everyone, she never holds back.

[She's gone full beast mode in fights so many times, not even Noah could stop her. In the end, she sacrificed herself decisively.]

[The sun went out forever in his arms. From then on, he carried her empty body across countless worlds, searching for his student… and lover.]

[Mr. Richardson, did you see that? Did I nail that move? Was it awesome or what?]

[Look, Mr. Richardson...]

Suddenly, the bullet comments were flooded with this line, filling up the entire screen.

My heart trembled. It felt as if, across time itself, I had brushed against the version of me who would one day sacrifice herself.

And suddenly, I understood what that sentence meant.

[She wasn't asking for love. Not for another life. She was saying she was strong, so she proudly sought her mentor's recognition. I was wrecked.]

[That was her final line? I never expected that. What could I say… that was my girl. I was proud of you, baby.]

[It felt like she'd already let go by then. Otherwise, with her personality, she definitely would've threatened to haunt him if he forgot her.]

Uh.

The heavy atmosphere shattered instantly.

That unbearable sense of exposure surged up, like my emotional underwear had been ripped off and displayed in public.

So embarrassing.

Just then, the Arcane barrier around the Ice Cavern faded away.

A man's gentle, clear voice drifted in from outside. "Becca, I'm here to pick you up."

He was striking at first glance, the kind of handsome that felt almost unreal. At the center of his forehead was a thin golden mark shaped like a blade, subtle but impossible to ignore, as if it had always belonged there.

His hair was pulled back neatly, tied high and firm, giving him a polished, disciplined look. He wore a tailored blue-and-white robe that caught the light as he walked, the fabric seeming to shimmer with every step.

There was something unmistakable about him, a quiet sense of status and power, controlled and refined.

[He's an absolute heartthrob. Seriously, no one else can compare. With a guy this gorgeous right by her side, is Becca seriously not seeing what's right in front of her?]

[Just check out that waist, that chest, those legs. Is he really any worse than Noah?]

[Honestly, Elliot is basically the second male lead, and he's totally crushing on our baby Rebecca. Too bad Becca's totally oblivious when it comes to romance, always acting like a stick in the mud.]

[Every time he shows up for Becca, he's dressed like a peacock in full display. Never wears the same robe twice, and even switches up his hairstyle every single time.]

What?

What were they even talking about?

Elliot liking me? No way.

And all that talk about his legs and waist? Completely inappropriate. Borderline criminal.

I forcibly dragged my gaze away from his body. My hands went behind my back, palms damp with sweat that I discreetly rubbed away.

"Thank you, Elliot," I said. "You're really the only one who still remembered me. Even knew I'd be allowed out today."

Wasn't today the Grand Selection? The day the Archmage chose new apprentices? As the Noah's first student, shouldn't he have been standing beside him?

As if reading my mind, his expression tightened. More like someone bracing himself before delivering bad news.

"Becca, before you step out, there's something I need to tell you," he said, his voice unusually serious.

"Whatever you hear," he continued, "please don't act rashly. Mr. Richardson… he must have had his reasons. It isn't our place to judge."

That settled it. The voices that had been commenting in my head all this time had been right.

Guess the bullet comments nailed it.

I turned around, sat back down on the ice-cold crystal bench, and patted the empty space beside me, calm to the point of suspicious.

"Sit down and tell me," I said, keeping my cool.

Then his shoulders relaxed, as if he had misunderstood something entirely.

"So you already knew," he said. "I suppose I worried for nothing."

He smiled, gentler now. "Let's leave this place first. I prepared a full meal for you. Everything you like."

Then, after a brief pause, he added with polite charm, "Would you be willing to visit my residence? I'd be honored."