"Get up," she said.
Fayera intervened with a quiet sigh.
"Ume, leave him be."
Ume's jaw tightened.
"I said get up."
Still nothing.
The room had gone quiet again. Everyone watching now. She let out a slow breath, then reached out and tapped his chest.
Twice.
"Are you deaf too?" she said, voice low and edged. "Or just useless?"
Elias's eyes opened.
Slowly.
No tension.
Just… awake.
For a second, she held his gaze.
Then something in her expression shifted. Her brows drew together slightly as she leaned in just a fraction closer.
"…Huh."
Her fingers tapped his chest again, lighter this time.
"Look at his eyes," she said, not taking her gaze off him. "There's something off."
A few of the others leaned forward slightly.
Curiosity creeping in.
"Maybe it's a jinx," she added, almost amused now. "Would explain how someone like you ended up here."
Elias blinked once.
She smiled faintly. Cruel now.
"Or maybe not," she continued, voice softening in a way that made it worse. "Maybe you're just… what you look like. A nobody."
Her eyes flicked over him, dismissive.
"Honestly, it makes sense. Someone like you doesn't just appear out of nowhere. You crawl out of it."
A pause. Then, almost casually:
"Your parents must be—"
A sudden sound cracked through the room.
Sharp.
Thunderous.
Not loud because of force alone, but because of how sudden it was.
"Holy shit!" Kael reacted first, scrambling to a far end of the room.
Her head snapped to the side, hair whipping with the motion.
For a second—
No one moved.
No one breathed.
All eyes wide.
Her cheek flushed red almost instantly, the imprint of fingers already forming.
The room froze.
Because no one had seen Elias move.
One moment, he was sitting.
The next?
His hand was down again, resting loosely at his side, like nothing had happened.
Tiana broke the silence with a question of absurdity.
"Was that a slap?"
Ume didn't speak.
Didn't move.
Slowly.
Very slowly, she turned her head back.
A thin line of red slipped from her nose.
Another followed.
Then more.
It ran too fast to stop, tracing down over her lips, her chin—dripping onto the polished floor in drops.
Her eyes widened.
"…Ah—"
Her voice broke before it formed.
A small, hard sound tapped against the tile.
One of her teeth.
It rolled once.
Twice.
Then stilled at Tiana's feet.
Silence shattered.
She shrieked.
A high, raw and uncontrolled sound.
Her hands flew to her face, trembling as they tried and failed to cover the blood, the damage, the reality of what had just happened.
"No—no, no, no—!"
Her composure was gone completely.
Tears burst from her eyes, mixing with the blood as she stumbled back, shaking her head like she could undo it.
Around the table, chairs scraped back.
They recoiled instinctively.
Because that wasn't normal. That wasn't a simple slap.
The boy who had spoken earlier stared, his expression stripped of all arrogance. "…What the hell…"
No one laughed now.
No one spoke.
No one moved toward her.
Because all of them felt it. Something had just shifted in a way they didn't understand.
And at the center of it?
Elias sat there.
Ume's sobs filled the room, uneven and desperate, her body shaking as panic set in deeper.
"My—my tooth—!"
She looked down, saw it on the ground, and broke further.
"I...what did you—what did you do to me?!"
Elias didn't answer.
His gaze had already drifted away.
At the head of the table, Claude finally exhaled.
"…That's enough."
No one argued. No one even reacted.
He pushed himself up from his seat, straightening his sleeves with practiced calm as he stepped away from the table.
His gaze moved first to the girl, then to Elias.
Another sigh.
"I'll take you both myself."
He walked past the others, not waiting for a response, not offering explanation.
When he reached Elias, he stopped briefly.
"Let's go."
Elias did.
He stood, slipping his hands into his pockets like this was just another inconvenience.
The president turned.
Started toward the door.
Elias followed.
"I'm coming too!" Tiana raced after them.
Behind them, Ume staggered, still crying, still shaking, one hand pressed to her mouth, the other clutching uselessly at her uniform.
Kael slowly turned around and followed.
The rest of the council didn't move.
As the four of them reached the door.
As it opened.
As they stepped out.
Tiana burst into muffled laughter.
"That was the best moment I have ever witnessed this year!" She dramatically gasped. "I can die in peace now!"
Claude massaged his forehead a bit, and sighed loudly.
"You just dug your grave, Elias,"
Tiana hung herself on Elias's arm the second the council room doors shut, giggling under her breath like she'd just watched her favorite play.
"I swear, that slap is going down in Rowen history," she whispered, loud enough for Claude to hear. "Ten years from now, people will still talk about it."
Claude didn't look back. His stride was clipped. "Tiana."
"What? I'm celebrating art." She squeezed Elias's bicep, barely making it halfway around. "Do you even feel pain? You're like a wall."
Elias said nothing. Eyes forward. Hood still casting that faint shadow. Hands buried in his pockets.
Kael trailed behind them, keeping a careful three steps of distance from Elias, like proximity alone might get him slapped into next week. "…You're both insane," he muttered.
The walk wasn't long. The academy's tailor shop sat tucked between the administration wing and the eastern dorms, its sign a simple silver needle etched into dark wood. A bell chimed when Claude pushed the door open.
Warm air spilled out, thick with the smell of pressed fabric and cedar. Three tailors looked up from their stations. Conversation died.
Claude stepped in first. "I need a full set. Academy standard. Rushed."
The head tailor, an older woman with measuring tape draped like a scarf, moved forward.
"We have a few sets already made. The student could try out..."
"I'd rather you make a new set," Claude cut in. "With full... extreme measurements."
She narrowed her eyes.
"What are you..."
Her eyes skipped over Claude, landed on Elias, and stopped. Her head tilted back. Then back further.
"…By the old gods," she breathed. "How tall are you, boy?"
Elias glanced down at her. "6'10"."
One of the younger tailors choked on his tea. "He's joking."
"He's not," Kael offered from the doorway. "I live with him. He hits his head on the frame every time."
Tiana still hadn't let go of Elias's arm. If anything, she'd wrapped both hands around it now, leaning her cheek against his sleeve like he was a trophy. "Isn't he perfect? Look at the shoulders. You could hang banners from them."
The head tailor was already circling him, tape flicking out with practiced snaps. She had to stand on a stool to reach his collar. "Arms out. Hood off if you can manage it."
Elias didn't move.
Claude exhaled through his nose. "Elias. We don't want to sew a small size."
A pause. Then, slowly, Elias pulled his hands from his pockets and pushed the hood back. Black hair, a little too long, fell into his eyes. The tailors all went quiet again.
The head tailor's fingers hesitated at his shoulder, then resumed. "Heaven take me… your build isn't in any of our patterns. We'll have to draft new." She clicked her tongue, but her eyes were bright. "Marveling. We haven't seen proportions like this. S-rank shoulders. C-rank tag." She tsked at the small badge on his current uniform. "Waste."
Tiana beamed like the compliment was hers. "I told you. Art."
Claude massaged his forehead again, deeper this time. "Just make it fit. And fast."
"Two days," she said. "Give me two days."
She took Elias's measurements, while an assistant took Kael's.
"I'll wait outside." Claude tugged at Tiana's collar.
"No!" She held Elias's arm. "I want him!"
The head tailor chuckled, shaking her head. Just then, her tape brushed past the pendant on his neck. The old metal clanged in rhythm, drawing her attention back to it.
"What the..."
Her eye locked onto it.
She recoiled.
Her tape dropped.
All attention returned to her.
She pointed to Elias, who hadn't moved an inch.
"You... You're a black eye?"