MTLNOVEL chapter 46 - Reunited with Hermione
After that… encounter, Adele wasn’t sure if she had actually taken a nap. She rubbed her chest, her fingers tracing the delicate curves beneath her shirt, but she felt… normal.
Which meant… Sharon hadn’t done anything to her while she was asleep.
But then… she remembered Sharon, her shyness, her innocence, the way she had fled from Adele’s kiss, her cheeks burning, her eyes wide with… panic?
And Adele realized… that she had been worried for nothing.
Sharon… she was surprisingly… pure.
………………
It was getting late. Adele quickly gathered her things, her textbooks, her notebooks, her pens… everything she needed for her afternoon classes.
She paused at the door, her gaze lingering on the room next door, Sharon’s room, then she continued down the stairs, her expression carefully neutral, her thoughts… hidden.
Her afternoon classes were uneventful. Two general education courses, one of which was… math.
Why do I still have to study math, even after becoming a vampire? Adele groaned internally. If it was… anatomy, I could at least justify it. Knowing which blood vessels have the tastiest blood… that’s a useful skill.
But math?
She sighed, her shoulders slumping with defeat. She had no choice but to endure.
Especially with Tang Linlang sitting behind her, her gaze fixed on Adele, her admiration… unwavering.
Adele wanted to slack off, to give up, but the thought of Linlang’s disappointed expression, her heartbroken whimpers… it was too much to bear.
Thankfully, the material wasn’t too difficult. Based on Adele’s memories of her previous life, her high school math skills, the level of math taught at Cromwell Academy was… equivalent to a human high school curriculum.
Which made sense. Vampires, despite their enhanced abilities, weren’t exactly known for their… academic prowess. The academy had adjusted the curriculum accordingly.
And high school math… well, Adele could handle that.
She might have claimed to have forgotten everything she had learned in high school, but the truth was… it was all still there, buried somewhere in her subconscious, waiting to be… reactivated.
The first half of the class was a struggle, but then… it clicked. The formulas, the equations, the logic… it all came flooding back.
The teacher, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a kind smile, noticed Adele’s sudden burst of enthusiasm and decided to… test her.
It was the price she paid for her beauty, her undeniable charm. She was a magnet for attention, whether she wanted it or not.
Linlang, hearing her name called, her heart skipped a beat, her fingers clenching around her pen.
But Adele, her expression calm, her voice steady, answered the question perfectly.
The teacher nodded, his smile widening, and Adele sat down, her heart still racing.
The other students, their jealousy evident in their whispered comments, their mocking laughter, couldn’t help but express their… disapproval.
“What’s so impressive about that? Humans are supposed to be good at academics. It’s the only thing they’re good at, since their magic is so weak, hahaha.”
“She’s becoming more human every day, that half-blood.”
To vampires, humans were synonymous with weakness, with inferiority.
Linlang, her fists clenching, her eyes flashing with anger, couldn’t hold back.
“You wouldn’t dare say that in the Student Council’s presence!” she retorted, her voice sharp, her gaze challenging.
The other vampires fell silent, their faces hardening. They couldn’t deny the power of the Student Council, the elite human students who ruled the academy with an iron fist. Some of them were rumored to be as powerful as the Sequence Ones, their abilities rivaling even those of the vampire nobility.
There were even whispers that the leader of the Black Feather Society, the most powerful vampire faction within the academy, had been defeated by the Student Council President.
Of course, anyone who dared to voice such rumors openly… well, they wouldn’t live to see another sunrise.
But the fact that the Black Feather Society had never bothered to deny those rumors… it spoke volumes.
And it solidified the Student Council’s reputation as… a force to be reckoned with.
Linlang had successfully diverted the attention, the hostility, away from Adele. But at a cost. She was now the target of their scorn, their ridicule.
“So what if the Student Council is strong? What does that have to do with you?” one of the vampires sneered.
“Not all humans are united, you know. They probably look down on weaklings like you just as much as we do.”
Linlang, her fists clenching, was about to retort when a piece of chalk, thrown with pinpoint accuracy, bounced off her forehead. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to silence her.
The other vampires who had been mocking her, however, weren’t so lucky. The classroom echoed with their cries of pain as pieces of chalk, propelled by an unseen force, slammed into their foreheads, leaving behind red welts, even… drawing blood.
“Enough! Silence!”
The math teacher, his voice calm yet commanding, had finally intervened, his power, his control over… objects, evident in the way he had effortlessly subdued the unruly students.
Adele, watching in awe, realized that this unassuming math teacher… he was a force to be reckoned with.
Imagine… if those pieces of chalk had been… bullets.
The precision, the power, the control… it was terrifying.
The chalk that had hit Linlang had been a gentle tap, leaving behind nothing more than a white mark. But the chalk that had struck the other vampires… well, it had sounded like… watermelons splitting open.
Order was restored, and the class continued, the students now subdued, their earlier arrogance replaced by a grudging respect for their teacher’s… abilities.
After class, Adele, instead of rushing back to her dorm, walked over to Linlang’s desk, her hand reaching out to gently rub the spot where the chalk had hit her forehead.
“Are you okay, Linlang?” she asked, her voice soft and concerned. “You didn’t have to… defend me like that.”
“I-I did!” Linlang insisted, her cheeks flushing. If Adele had asked her to catch a bullet, she would have done it… gladly.
Adele chuckled, her fingers drifting upwards, her touch lingering on Linlang’s hair, her gaze softening. It felt like… petting a puppy.
If Linlang had a tail, it would be wagging furiously right now.
But then, Linlang’s expression clouded, her thoughts drifting back to… that afternoon, to the scene she had witnessed outside the infirmary.
“Adele,” she asked, her voice hesitant, her words carefully chosen. “I… I went to the infirmary after class, but… you weren’t there.”
She was trying to be discreet, to avoid mentioning that she had… followed Adele.
“Oh… I was feeling better, so I went back to my dorm,” Adele lied, her expression carefully neutral, her heart pounding with a guilt she refused to acknowledge. “I’m sorry, Linlang. I didn’t realize you were coming. I should have waited for you.”
Linlang’s eyes dimmed, but she quickly reassured herself. It’s okay… It’s okay. Adele doesn’t want anyone to know… especially not her friend. It’s understandable.
It’s not her fault.
It’s… it’s poverty’s fault. It’s my fault!
If only I were richer… then Adele wouldn’t have to… to do this. To sell herself for a comfortable life.
Adele… she just wants a better life. She’s done nothing wrong.
And maybe… maybe they’re just friends. Maybe…
Her mood plummeted, her despair evident in her slumped shoulders, her downcast gaze.
Adele, her eyes narrowing, her mind racing, wondered if Linlang had seen her with Celeste, if she had… misinterpreted their relationship.
But even if she had… it didn’t matter. Adele could handle it. A few sweet words, a few gentle touches… Linlang was a good girl. She would forgive Adele.
Heehee~
Adele was starting to embrace her inner… villain.
And Linlang… well, she was well on her way to becoming a simp.
But could a simp truly be considered a simp if she was… rewarded for her devotion?
Adele might be stringing Linlang along, but she was far more genuine, far more… caring, than the true villains in this story.
So, in the end… wasn’t it better to be on Adele’s side?
Master, I’ve seen the light! I’ll be your dog!
Adele, sensing Linlang’s distress, lingered after class, offering her… private tutoring. Linlang’s math skills, after all, were… lacking.
And then… a voice, cool and sharp, called out from the hallway.
“…Adele.”
Adele turned, her gaze drawn to the figure standing in the doorway, her expression a mixture of impatience and… concern?
It was Hermione, her usual aloofness replaced by a subtle tension, her icy blue eyes searching Adele’s face, her gaze lingering for a moment, then… softening as Adele, her expression transforming, a radiant smile illuminating her features, rushed towards her.
Hermione’s throat tightened, her fangs aching with a sudden, unexpected thirst. But she maintained her composure, her expression carefully neutral, her heart… betraying her as it pounded in her chest, a frantic rhythm that echoed Adele’s approaching footsteps.