Lyra thought the first time was just a coincidence.
She was carrying a tray through one of the side corridors, walking carefully so nothing spilled, when she felt it—
That presence again.
Familiar now.
Not overwhelming, but enough to make her slow without realizing it.
When she looked up, she saw him.
Kael stood near the archway ahead, speaking with one of the instructors. His posture looked relaxed at a glance, but there was nothing casual about him if you looked twice.
Lyra lowered her gaze immediately and kept walking.
Don't look. Just pass.
That should've been the end of it.
But as she moved past him, she felt it anyway—
his attention shifting, just slightly.
It didn't last long, and if anyone else noticed, they didn't show it.
Still, it was enough to make her grip tighten around the tray.
He's just there, she told herself. That's all.
She didn't look back.
But the feeling didn't leave right away.
---
The second time happened in the kitchen.
Lyra was near the back tables, sorting ingredients, when the atmosphere shifted again.
Subtle, but noticeable.
The noise dipped. Conversations thinned out.
She didn't turn.
She already knew.
Kael.
He wasn't supposed to be there.
Students didn't come into the kitchen—not like this, not without reason.
Lyra kept her head down and continued working, hands moving steadily even as her focus started slipping.
Footsteps approached.
Unhurried. Precise.
He stopped somewhere behind her.
Close enough that she could feel it without needing to see.
"…Inspection?" someone asked, trying a little too hard to sound normal.
"Something like that," Kael replied.
His tone didn't explain anything.
Lyra's hands didn't stop, but she found herself listening anyway.
Why here?
Why now?
The silence stretched just a little too long.
Then his steps moved again.
Closer this time.
Her shoulders tensed before she could stop it.
He didn't speak to her.
Didn't touch her.
He just passed.
But the moment he did, something in the air shifted again—subtle, but sharper than before.
Lyra kept her gaze down, forcing herself not to react.
Only after he left did the tension ease.
She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"…Why was he here?" someone whispered.
"No idea."
"Since when does he care about the kitchen?"
Lyra didn't join in.
She just kept working.
But she could feel it now.
Not just him.
Others had started noticing too.
---
The third time wasn't subtle anymore.
It happened in the courtyard.
Lyra was carrying water across the stone path when the same shift rippled through the space.
Voices dropped. Heads turned.
Not toward her.
Toward him.
Kael crossed the courtyard like he always did, calm, composed—like everything around him adjusted on its own.
Lyra tried to keep moving like nothing had changed.
Then he slowed.
Not much.
Just enough.
Right where she was.
Her steps faltered for half a second.
She couldn't stop.
Couldn't turn.
So she kept going.
Past him.
Close enough to feel the space tighten, like the air had thinned between them.
For a moment, she thought he might say something.
He didn't.
But his gaze followed her.
Longer this time.
Long enough that others noticed.
And that was the problem.
Lyra felt it immediately—the shift spreading outward.
This wasn't quiet curiosity anymore.
Something sharper had replaced it.
She didn't stop walking until she reached the far side of the courtyard.
Only then did she risk a glance back.
Kael had already moved on.
Like nothing had happened.
But it had.
Because the moment didn't disappear.
It stayed—with everyone who had seen it.
---
Later, in the corridor, the whispers started.
Soft at first.
Then clearer.
"Did you see that?"
"He stopped."
"For her?"
"No way."
"She's just a servant."
"A half-blood."
The words spread faster than she expected.
By the time Lyra returned to the kitchen, the atmosphere had changed again.
Before, it had been dismissal.
Now—
it was something else.
Across the room, a group of girls stood near the doorway, their uniforms marking them as elite students.
They weren't even trying to hide that they were watching her.
One of them spoke, her voice low but sharp enough to carry.
"So it's her."
Lyra didn't look up.
Didn't react.
But her hands tightened slightly around the cloth she was holding.
"He's been near her three times today," another said.
"That's not random."
The first girl's gaze narrowed.
"No," she said quietly. "It's not."
A brief pause.
Then a faint, cold smile.
"Interesting."
Lyra's chest felt tight.
This was getting worse.
Too fast.
Too visible.
She needed it to stop.
But she already knew—
it wouldn't.
Because this wasn't just about her anymore.
It involved him.
And anything connected to someone like Kael never stayed small for long.
Behind her, the whispers kept spreading, passing from one group to another like something alive.
One question kept coming back, over and over again—
"Why is Kael paying attention to a servant?"