The steel was cold. It bit into the skin of my neck with a clinical, heartless precision that made my pulse throb against the blade. Han Se-ah didn't tremble. She didn't breathe loudly. She just stood there in the shadows of the North Hallway, her face a mask of porcelain perfection and lethal intent. One flick of her wrist and I'd be a memory.
"I watched the Orb footage, Volkov," she whispered. The sound was like silk tearing. "You're a fake. Nobody rewrites reality with Rank F mana. It's mathematically impossible. Now, tell me what you really are before I find out by opening your throat to see what's inside."
My ears were ringing. The smell of cold stone and her faint, herbal perfume filled my head. I could feel a single drop of blood beginning to crawl down my collar. If I didn't flip the script in the next three seconds, I was going to be the first student in academy history to be "debugged" by a high-rank spy. My hands were slick, but my mind was screaming.
"Look, I know I'm a ten out of ten," I managed to croak, staring into her freezing violet eyes. "But don't you think the knife is a bit much for a first date? I usually prefer coffee before the death threats."
She didn't blink. Her grip tightened. "Joke again and you'll be talking through a hole in your windpipe. What is the source? Is it an artifact? A forbidden pact?"
> **[System Message]**
> **[Cooldown Cleared.]**
> **[Emergency Loan Balance: 3,600 EXP.]**
> *Advice: She's not looking for a joke. She's looking for a weakness. Give her a 're-interpretation' she can't recover from.*
>
I didn't have much mana left. I had desperation. I focused every ounce of my will on the way she was leaning in, the way her body was coiled like a spring, and the way her hand held that dagger.
"Interpretation," I gritted out through my teeth. "That's not an assassination stance. That's just the posture of an incredibly shy, socially awkward girl trying to work up the courage for a marriage proposal."
**[Skill Activated: Interpretation (Rank F)]**
**[Target: Han Se-ah's Killing Intent]**
**[New Meaning: 'A High-Pressure, Romantic Proposal']**
The world didn't change color. The dagger didn't turn into a rose. But the *logic* of the room shattered.
Se-ah's eyes went from predatory to wide-eyed horror. Her brain didn't just stall; it hit a wall at a hundred miles an hour. The hand holding the knife began to shake—not with anger, but with a sudden, overwhelming surge of phantom embarrassment. Her face didn't just flush; it turned a shade of crimson that looked physically painful.
"I... I..." she stammered. The knife clattered to the stone floor.
"Whoa, easy there," I said, stepping back and rubbing my neck. "I mean, I'm flattered, Se-ah. Truly. But we haven't even had dinner. Isn't a hallway proposal a bit rushed?"
"What? No! I was... I was going to—" She stopped, her hands flying to her flaming cheeks. The "Ice Queen" of the Academy was currently vibrating like a malfunctioning engine. "The... the wedding venues... I heard the North Cathedral is nice in June... WAIT! NO! THAT'S NOT WHAT I—"
"June? Bold choice," I said, leaning against the wall and trying to ignore my shaking knees. "Though I'm more of a spring wedding guy. Flowers are cheaper."
"Shut up! Why am I thinking about floral arrangements?!" she shrieked, her voice hitting a pitch that probably shattered windows three floors up. She was backing away from me, tripping over her own feet. "You... you monster! Is the guest list... thirty or fifty people? ARGH!"
She was mid-sentence, clutching her head and debating the merits of an open bar, when the heavy doors at the end of the hall swung open.
Jude, the Academy's "Golden Genius," stepped in. He was Rank S, perfect hair, perfect armor, and currently, a perfectly confused expression. He stopped dead, his eyes darting from the discarded dagger on the floor to the crimson-faced Se-ah, who was currently halfway to her knees in what looked like a traditional proposal stance.
"Se-ah?" Jude asked, his voice echoing in the sudden silence. "Are you... are you proposing to the F-Rank loser?"
Se-ah froze. I froze. Even the System seemed to stop mid-scroll.
Jude's hand moved to his sword, his golden aura beginning to flare with a jealous, violent light. "Volkov... what did you do to my fiancée?"
> **[System Message]**
> **[NEW MICRO-OBSTACLE: An S-Rank Golden Boy with a hero complex and a very sharp sword.]**
> *Advice: If you thought the Golem was bad, wait until you feel 'S-Rank Jealousy'.*