She stared hard at it, hoping that the more she looked the more she'll be able to understand why he had such an adverse reaction to her wearing it.

But no matter how hard she stared at it from every angle, she just couldn't make sense of Raghnall's outburst.

Was the bangle really something that'll bring her trouble?

Did Rhys lie about him personally making it?

Was it a stolen item?

Or maybe a cursed thing?

Was it previously owned by a vengeful rich n.o.ble?

Oh no, will the ghost of the owner come to claim it or something?

She was beginning to get scared of her own thoughts.

Well, maybe she should just keep it in her pouch just to be safe.

And it's not like it has any use in the Magic Department besides being a pretty bangle.

So she decided to adhere with Raghnall's words and after expanding it with the spell, she gingerly placed it inside her spatial pouch.

At the same time, Raghnall was staring at the top of the huge wall that separated the two departments as he slowly walked near it.

He went back to his dorm briefly to cast an illusion spell to make others believe that he was sleeping in his room. Then, he quickly went to the border wall where he knew Rhys was waiting on top of it.

After casting a floating spell, Raghnall was finally able to see Rhys face to face.

Rhys was previously laying down and looking at the stars but when he saw Raghnall at the corner of his eye, he sat up excitedly and he greeted him with a smile.

"Hey there, a.s.shole!"

Raghnall furrowed his brows as he heard the uncanny word and he couldn't help but ask.

"a.s.shole?"

Rhys smiled cheekily as he nodded.

"Yeap, you're an a.s.shole too. Though I'm much more of an a.s.shole than you. I'm like, the best a.s.shole there is."

He then puffed his chest as though to emphasize. Meanwhile, Raghnall looked at Rhys weirdly.

"Who told you this? And what does that word even mean?"

Rhys placed his hand behind him as he leaned on it. He looked nonchalant but he held a boastful tone in his voice that made Raghnall's eye twitch.

"Nana said that it's a word used to address handsome and powerful men. And she told me that I'm the best example of it."

Raghnall hid the surprise he felt from his friend's words.

Nana?

Is that his… nickname for her?

Does that mean that they've talked and got friendly with each other while she was on the other side?

Raghnall's hand clenched in irritation but he didn't let it show on his face and tone.

"Oh, so it was 'Nana' who told you, huh. You two must be so close now."

Despite hearing a hint of venom in Raghnall's tone, Rhys's bright smile didn't seem to diminish in the least as he started telling Raghnall about his fun day.

"Hey, hey, hey, did you know that she tore through one of the walls in the oak dorms using her face? Talk about a thick face, am I right?"

Rhys was finally able to release the huge guffaw that he wanted to release when he knew of what happened. Then, without giving Raghnall the chance to react, he began to talk rapidly again. He was like a child telling his parents excitedly what he did during the day and Raghnall couldn't help but lightly smile, easing his irritation, as he looked at his old friend.

"And, and, I told them she was my tutor and I sparred with her! It was so much fun! She was actually able to help me weaken the seals in my magic! And that old man Azai probably didn't even notice it! She's just amazing, I swear!"

Raghnall's smile immediately dropped after hearing Rhys and he looked at him with a dark expression.

"What… did you say? You FOUGHT with her?! I can't believe you would fight with someone I asked to PROTECT! And what?! She weakened the seals without Master Azai knowing? If I remember correctly, those seals can only be affected when death is involved. Does that mean…"

Rhys smiled playfully as he answered his unasked question.

"Yep. She almost killed me. Well, she 'choked' me, just to be specific. And she did it enough to actually affect the seal. Cool, right? Never had a girl choke me before. It was an eye-opening experience, I tell you. It might even become a new fetish of mine."

Rhys joked and laughed nonchalantly but Raghnall seemed to fail to find the humor in the situation.

Noticing Raghnall's unamused expression which was mixed with disbelief and rage, Rhys pouted.

"C'mon. I didn't hit her at all. In fact, she was the one landing blows on me. Well, I did plan to finish the fight before someone important arrives by knocking her out."

Raghnall clenched his jaw and the waves of rage from him made Rhys a bit nervous.

"But you know that I'm aware that there are painless ways of knocking someone out, right? So, back then I had everything under control. Well, until she tried killing me which I had to admit was very unpredictable. Oh, and Master Azai coming back. That was also unpredictable."

Filled up with rage and irritation, Raghnall was about to burst when Rhys cut him off quickly.

"BUT I WAS ABLE TO ESCAPE WITH HER! We went to the forest to hide! I swear she wasn't seen! Heavens, you really should control your temper, a.s.shole."

Raghnall's swallowed all his rage when he heard that Inna wasn't caught.

Rhys was known to be reckless and irresponsible at times, but once he promised to do something, he'll really do it without fail.

But the thing he hated the most was being ordered around so back then, Raghnall wasn't sure whether he'll actually protect her or just pick on her. And now, he's glad that his friend actually tried protecting her despite the way he ordered him to.

Meanwhile, during Raghnall's silence as he tried to calm his emotions, Rhys was reminiscing of the events that happened with her and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"You know, it's been a while since I've had this much fun. From the few days being here, I can already say it's boring but somehow when she arrived, it made the academy somewhat interesting. She even offered to be my friend! How cute is that?"

Raghnall's eye twitched as he heard Rhys's words but he hid his irritation behind a blank expression.

"You say that she wanted to be friends? But you don't obviously see her like that, do you?"

Despite Raghnall hiding it, Rhys was still able to sense his displeasure and he couldn't help but form a small smile.

"So, I take it that you saw what I gave her?"

Raghnall stared at him as he tried his best to ask him in an even voice as though he wasn't seemingly affected.

"So, care to explain the sudden decision to give that to her?"

Rhys shrugged as he s.h.i.+fted his position to a squatted one.

"I took a liking to her, simple as that."

Raghnall sat on air as he sighed in annoyance.

"And what could possibly make you like that strange girl?! I thought you hated women."

Rhys smiled as he recalled Inna and their earlier interactions.

"Well, she is certainly strange. But it's a good kind of strange. She's a good strange girl. Plus, she's different from the women I've come to hate. You and I both know what type of women I detest the most since you detest them all the same. But she's the complete opposite of them so I see no reason why I shouldn't like her."

Raghnall stared at Rhys hard, trying to see whether his affection was truly deep. But no matter how he looked at it, he can never understand Rhys's rash decision.

"You say that you took a liking to her? But giving her a courting bangle means more than just 'taking a liking.' It's basically claiming her instead."

Rhys snickered at the sour face Raghnall instinctively made for a second. And he was able to finally confirm his suspicions.

"Sorry, sorry. I guess you were aiming for her as well?"

Raghnall didn't like the knowing condescending smile that spread across Rhys's face so he just gave him a mysterious smile in return.

"Just be careful with her. She's quite… unpredictable. And you know I'll always support you and your future prospects."