Chapter : 31
Determination
“Ah… Airan…”
Damian stared at me wide–eyed with surprise.
I flashed him a confident grin, as if to say trust me.
Jeremiah’s gaze drifted between the staff, the mop, and then me—almost dazed.
His single eye swept over my face and school uniform.
Once he finished assessing the situation, a sneer curled on his lips.
“Airan Chandler? Ah… right, you’re Damian’s partner.”
He crossed his arms with a smug smile.
“You’re far ruder than I imagined. Throwing a mop?
Well, I suppose a girl from a ruined family wouldn’t have learned manners.”
He scoffed and gestured at his staff, talking like he was giving orders to a maid.
“Pick it up.”
“Brother!” Damian snapped, but Jeremiah didn’t even blink.
I glared straight at his single eye.
His violet–red iris was cloudy, full of greed and malice.
I let out a laugh, sharp with disbelief.
“So the Belfet household considers beating their blood relatives with a staff normal?
I actually stopped a scene from turning into a scandal—for your sake.”
“What a joke. This is the business of House Belfet.
A fallen Chandler lady has no place sticking her nose in it.
Maybe a disgraced noble like you knows nothing about that…
Or are you already trying to meddle in my family?
Do you like being Damian’s partner that much?”
His voice dripped with contempt, as if I was the most worthless thing alive.
“Are you that desperate for money? Hm?”
His expression said it all—if he had cash in his pocket, he’d throw it at me and tell me to fetch it.
Instead of spitting on his face, I spat words.
“You must really hate that Damian’s taking the Orion exam.
Sure—if he passes and becomes a 3–star mage, your position shrinks, right?
Or maybe you’ll be kicked out entirely?”
Jeremiah’s brow twitched.
Bingo. I hit the mark.
He cleared his throat and forced a laugh.
“Pass? Three–star? Hahaha! Girl… you think he can pass the Orion exam? Damian, of all people?”
“A boy who ‘can’t use magic properly’ is still better than a count who steals from his own nephew!”
Jeremiah exploded and took a step toward me.
“You insolent little brat—!”
His reaction satisfied me, so I twisted the knife.
“You must be so bitter after losing the successor position—even as the eldest son!
Now you bully your ten–years–younger brother.
How worthless must you be in your family to storm here and beat him out of jealousy?
Ah—wait. Isn’t now the time you should be sucking up to Damian?”
I pointed at the ground and shouted like giving him instructions.
“Damian will be head of the house one day—so get on your knees and crawl!
Or do you want to get stripped of everything and thrown naked into the street?
Is your brain really that slow?”
“You wretched, worthless—! How dare you run your mouth!”
His teeth ground so hard I could hear it.
A suffocating glare clashed between us—then suddenly Jeremiah threw his head back and laughed.
“The ‘great dark mage’? You seriously believe that?
You’re itching to get him killed in that exam!”
“Don’t make me laugh. That will NEVER happen.
A Belfet heir really knows this little about magic?
No wonder your life ended up like this…”
“Ha! Damian!
You’re going out with this lunatic?
What a perfect pair!
So what, you two will win the Orion exam?!
You let a pathetic gutter–rat seduce you, and now you’re delusional!
Damian!
A monster boy and a girl from a ruined house—what a match!”
He cackled toward Damian, who tensed up under the verbal assault.
“And worms like you two will pass? Ridiculous!
If that happens—I’ll change my surname, I SWEAR IT!”
His voice echoed loud enough to shake the whole garden.
Change his surname?
That meant exile from the family.
Now.
I grabbed the loose end in his speech and yanked.
“Yes! You said it yourself. You’ll change your surname!”
“What?”
I pointed straight at him and enunciated clearly.
“If we pass the exam, Count Jeremiah abandons the Belfet name!
You said it with your OWN mouth!”
Jeremiah’s face reddened with fury.
“You insolent little—!”
He froze mid–rant, realizing he had said too much.
He quickly scanned around to make sure no one else heard, breath rough with rage.
Then he glared at us both and touched his chin.
“Fine! If you win, I’ll change my name—FINE.
Then what about YOU?
If you FAIL the Orion exam, what will YOU do?!”
“If we fail…?”
I met Damian’s eyes for a moment.
Then I smiled.
“We’ll drop out.”
“Airan?!”
Ignoring Damian’s gasp, I squared my shoulders.
Relax, Damian. This is our chance.
“If we fail, we will leave the academy.”
“Withdraw? WITHDRAW? Hahahaha!”
Jeremiah slapped his forehead and laughed.
“Good! You said it yourself!”
“Perfect! And YOU said you’ll change your surname!”
“Ridiculous!
Watch closely, Damian—
you’ll get expelled because of THIS girl!”
He gloated like the victor already, but I shot back:
“Well, we’ll see on exam day.”
Just then, the clock tower chimed.
Jeremiah lazily pulled out his pocket watch and smirked.
“Unlike idle delinquents, I have important business.”
He looked down at me like I was gum stuck to his shoe.
“Girl, if you beg later to skip the exam, I might pretend this never happened.”
“You should come crawling to Damian later instead—begging to cancel the bet.
We’ll be generous and pretend we never heard it.”
I smirked right in his face.
“Hmph! See you on exam day!”
He scooped up his dropped staff and strutted out of the academy.
Watching his retreating back, I couldn’t help but laugh.
We just wagered a family name and our school lives.
Stupid man. He picked the wrong opponent.
I’ll make you choke on your own blood.
The Orion exam just became a lot more fun.
Then I heard a thud—Damian collapsed behind me, pale and shaking.
“Damian! Are you okay?!”
I knelt beside him.
He looked up at me, breath ragged.
“H–How… how did that… with my brother…”
His eyes wavered with panic.
“Airan… were you serious?
Drop… dropping out…?”
I hesitated for a second at his fear.
“I’m sorry for dragging you in.
If you don’t want this, I’ll go apologize to Jeremiah.
I’ll ask him to cancel it.”
Damian immediately shook his head.
“N–No. Don’t worry about me.
I’m worried YOU’LL get hurt by my family…”
His voice trembled with kindness.
I smiled.
“It’s a losing bet for him anyway.
We WILL pass the exam.”
“But if something happens because of me…”
He still doubted himself.
I gripped his shoulders hard and stared into his eyes.
“Damian—do you trust me?”
“Uh… yes…”
“I trust you too.
We will pass.”
His red eyes shimmered, reflecting my face.
He stared for a long moment—then nodded.
“You’re right.
If we run away now, I’ll never stop being controlled by him.
This is where it ends.”
His gaze burned with newfound resolve.
I held his cold hand in both of mine, transferring warmth into his skin.
He squeezed back and slowly stood.
“…I’ll believe in you.
Thank you for becoming my partner.”
“No—thank you.
Let’s make Jeremiah eat his words.”
“…Yeah.
With you, I think I can.”
We stood up together—our resolve sealed.
* * *
To pass the Orion exam with top marks, we needed two things:
Study and training.
During every break, Damian and I headed straight to the library.
With grim determination fueling us both, fatigue didn’t stand a chance.
Especially Damian—he checked out every single dark–magic book available and devoured them all.
Once he started reading, a hurricane could not tear him away.
I studied just as hard—as if preparing for college entrance exams.
But one problem remained.
A new skill… I still needed to develop one.
I flipped through wind–magic theory books but nothing clicked.
Some spells required a level too high.
Others clashed with Airan’s existing magic.
What spell suits me?
And can I even pull it off…?
Days passed while I wrestled with that question.
A week before the exam.
Pina helped with theory, while Prea and Rowen helped drill combat.
Still… no new spell.
So I came to the library alone at dawn.
I opened the book Aron had recommended and took notes.
“Mind if I sit?”
A familiar voice said, chair scraping beside me.
“Sir Aron? It’s good to see you! What brings you here?”
His stern face softened into a faint smile.
He placed a thick encyclopedia and a fine leather case on the desk.
“Assignments. Studying alone?”
He sat with perfect posture and unfolded a quill.
“Yes.”
“If you have questions, ask anytime.”
Then he dove into his book.
His fingers moved quickly—turning heavy pages smoothly, jotting notes with crisp precision.
After several minutes, his gaze flicked toward me.
“That’s the book I mentioned. Is it useful?”
“Ah—yes. Yes, it is.”
I answered automatically, distracted by his speed.
“Isn’t it difficult to understand?”
He lifted his head and studied me—then suddenly reached toward my book.
I jerked back instinctively.
“I’m not taking it.”
“N–No, sorry—just surprised…”
He ignored my flustered tone and flipped my pages.
Honestly—he should be banned from looking that handsome in public.
But instead of swooning, I stretched dramatically.
“Ha–ha… just back pain, you know~”
He didn’t even glance at me.
Rude, handsome man.
His finger stopped on a page and tapped a line.
“This is the most important part.
It’ll help you too. Read it.”
He returned the book and resumed studying—cool and indifferent.
I stared at him, unable to tell if he was cold or warm-hearted.
Then I read the marked line.
Imagine your magic is an expression of yourself.
Even within the same element, every person’s magic is different.
Picture it—what magic do you want to use?
Magic is the reflection of your soul.
“Magic is my soul’s reflection…”
I thought of Airan’s skills.
Airan mainly supported allies with gentle wind—flying faster, helping others.
Her offensive magic was weak.
Because… Airan hated hurting people.
Support spells that barely helped.
Attack spells too weak to matter.
And eventually, she dragged her team into a bad ending.
And I could use her magic only at half strength.
Because I wasn’t Airan.
I don’t have her gentle heart.
So I can’t wield her magic properly.
I am a different soul.
I need different magic.
Yes!
I’ll pick wind–type spells that fit me.
I opened my notebook and wrote down every wind spell I knew.
