Contempt

The sun was already beginning its slow descent across the sky when the island's loudspeakers echoed with a firm, neutral voice:

"All candidates, please proceed to the main hall. Initial rankings will be announced shortly."

Beatriz rose with the same grace with which she had been seated, discreetly brushing off the grains of sand that still clung to her pale skin. Lin Yan stood up shortly after, a little more awkwardly, though his expression remained as calm as ever.

"Time for the truth," he remarked, walking alongside her along the stone path that led to the main building.

Beatriz replied without so much as glancing at him:

"There is no truth. Merely a preliminary evaluation by people who have no idea what they are dealing with."

Lin Yan smiled faintly. "Maybe so... but it's still important for us to know where we stand."

As the two entered the grand reception hall—a sleek, modern structure with tiered seating, massive screens, and rows of benches arranged like a futuristic auditorium—the once lively atmosphere, filled with anxious chatter, fell silent for a brief moment.

All eyes turned toward Beatriz.

She walked with unwavering poise, her long white hair swaying like a silvery curtain with each step. Her beauty was almost otherworldly, detached, as if she were something that did not truly belong to this place. Her crimson eyes, deep as the void of space itself, did not waver for even a second, as though none of it truly mattered to her.

Some students whispered among themselves. Others simply stared, mesmerized.

Lin Yan, walking beside her, drew glances as well, though to a lesser degree. His charm was quieter—a serene presence, the respectful, unhurried way he moved alongside Beatriz, as if he felt no need to prove anything to anyone.

They took seats together near the center rows.

Moments later, the giant screens flickered to life. A hologram at the center of the hall projected an image of the academy's headmistress—a woman with golden eyes and short silver hair, her expression serious.

"Congratulations to all who passed the first stage," her voice rang out, solemn. "Now, your preliminary rankings—based on performance, compatibility, potential, and psychological analysis—will be revealed."

Names began to appear on the screen, listed in descending order.

30th... 25th... 20th...

When they reached 15th place, a familiar name flashed.

15th Place — Clara Ryne. Ability: Sound Manipulation (Rank A)

14th Place — Lucas Gracefall. Ability: Energy Generation (Rank S)

A ripple of murmurs followed.

"An S-rank at 14th?"

"How is that possible?"

"Maybe he bombed the psychological evaluation?"

Beatriz glanced at the name briefly, indifferent. Lin Yan, however, raised an eyebrow slightly, intrigued.

The screen continued its procession.

3rd Place — Lisa Gracefall. Ability: Kinetic Control (Rank Unknown)

This time, the room erupted into real commotion.

"That's Lucas's sister?"

"Unknown rank? Could that mean...?"

"She looks like a kid, but placed third...?"

Beatriz lifted her chin slightly, as if approving the result.

2nd Place — Beatriz. Ability: Spatial Manipulation (Rank Unknown)

Once again, silence fell. Now, everyone stared at the white-haired girl sitting among them, as if only now realizing she was not just beautiful—she was formidable. The tension in the air thickened.

And then...

1st Place — Lin Yan. Ability: Temporal Manipulation (Rank Unknown)

The murmuring that followed bordered on chaos.

"Temporal manipulation?"

"That's insane..."

"He looks so calm..."

Lin Yan lowered his gaze, slightly embarrassed. He didn't seem particularly comfortable with the sudden flood of attention.

Beatriz, however, remained utterly composed. She crossed her legs and whispered just for him to hear:

"Seems the fool managed to stand out."

Lin Yan offered a soft smile, still looking at the screen.

"Maybe it's the only thing I'm good at... trying the impossible."

She didn't answer, but a faint glimmer appeared in her crimson eyes.

And for a moment—surrounded by stares, judgment, and murmuring—the two of them seemed isolated from the rest of the world. As if the entire universe had paused just to watch them—time and space sitting side by side.

---

The lively conversations about the rankings still echoed through the room when the main doors swung open with a bang.

All eyes turned, once again, to the entrance.

It was Lucas Gracefall.

He hurried inside, walking in a slightly clumsy manner. His hair, normally neat, was messy as if he had fought against a hurricane. His white t-shirt was wrinkled, and his jacket hung loosely from his shoulders. Red marks — unmistakable — stained his neck and part of his collar.

Beatriz, sitting with one leg elegantly crossed, observed the scene with her half-lidded red eyes.

'Hmph. Typical,' she thought, her expression remaining cold and unshaken. 'Arriving late, with obvious signs of... intimacy... at such an important moment. A foolish impulsive.'

Unaware that his sister, Lisa, was the true cause of the chaotic situation, Beatriz mentally formed a negative image of Lucas.

"Looks like someone had a 'busy night,'" she commented quietly, in a velvety tone full of disdain.

Lin Yan, beside her, also noticed Lucas's appearance, but unlike Beatriz, his gaze was more thoughtful. He touched his chin with his fingers, pondering.

"We shouldn't judge so quickly," said Lin Yan, with his calm and gentle manner. "Something else could have happened. Maybe it was an accident... or even a fight."

Beatriz raised an eyebrow, unconvinced.

"Don't be naive. Those marks... are from pleasure, not from a fight."

Lin Yan just gave a slight smile, preferring not to argue.

Lucas, unaware of the assumptions swirling around him, walked to one of the empty rows and slumped into a chair as if his soul had just escaped from his body.

Many students whispered among themselves.

"Look at the state of him..."

"Who do you think the girl was?"

"Maybe a senior? Or... one of those mysterious students?"

Lucas himself let out a long sigh, messing up his already disheveled hair even more. His eyes, even exhausted, shone with mischievous amusement.

Beatriz simply looked away, already uninterested.

To her, Lucas was just another one of many who couldn't separate duty from their own desires.

Meanwhile, Lin Yan watched silently, thinking there might be more to the story than it seemed.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, one of the instructors' voices echoed through the room, announcing that they would soon be dismissed, but recommending that the top-ranked students get to know each other — after all, they would be in the same class and likely grouped together for future missions.

Still slumped in the chair, Lucas looked around disinterestedly until his bright blue eyes met Beatriz's.

He smiled, that carefree, almost teasing smile.

Slowly getting up, he walked over to her and Lin Yan — who were sitting side by side near the window where the golden light of sunset painted their faces.

"Yo," Lucas said, in his light and playful tone. "You're the prodigies, right? First and second place."

Beatriz remained composed, elegantly crossing her arms over her chest. Her gaze was as sharp as a blade, but her voice came out as melodious as always:

"If you're here for an autograph, sorry. I'm not a fan of wasting time."

Lin Yan, on the other hand, gave Lucas a gentle smile, breaking the tension.

"He's just trying to be polite, Beatriz." Then he turned to Lucas. "I'm Lin Yan, nice to meet you."

Lucas chuckled and extended his hand to Lin Yan, who shook it without hesitation.

"Lucas Gracefall," he replied. "And don't worry, I'm not here for autographs. I just wanted to meet the ones at the top. Figured I should greet my superiors."

He winked playfully.

Beatriz, without smiling, simply watched. Although Lucas's behavior was casual, his deplorable state still lingered in her mind.

'Superior to him? Clearly in more ways than one.'

"You arrived late," she commented, her voice cold. "And... visibly careless. That's a bad sign for a future hero."

Lucas, without losing his good humor, scratched the back of his neck and answered:

"Ah, you know how it is. Life's full of surprises."

Sensing the tension, Lin Yan tried to change the subject.

"You placed 14th, right? That's pretty impressive too. What ability do you have?"

"Energy generation," Lucas replied, shrugging like it was no big deal. "S-rank, but... seems like a high ability isn't everything. There are a lot of people here with unknown ranks."

Beatriz tilted her head slightly, intrigued. Even though her initial opinion of Lucas was negative, she silently acknowledged that ranking 14th with a "common" ability was noteworthy.

Still, she didn't soften her expression.

"At least you recognize your limitations," she murmured dryly.

Lucas let out a sincere laugh.

"Not every day a goddess calls me limited." He winked again at Beatriz.

Beatriz narrowed her eyes, but before she could retort, Lin Yan intervened:

"Well, I hope we can work together in the future, regardless of first impressions."

Lucas smiled, carefree, as if he hadn't just been half-insulted.

"Of course, of course. Teamwork is essential. And who knows... maybe with time, we'll get along, right?"

Beatriz simply cast an enigmatic glance at Lucas, without responding.

Lin Yan chuckled softly.

"...But I think my real talent is causing trouble, to be honest," Lucas added with a mischievous wink.

Lin Yan let out a muffled, sincere laugh, while Beatriz just sighed, as if she were wasting precious time.

As the conversation continued in a light tone, Lin Yan, curious and always observant, casually commented:

"Oh, by the way... I noticed you and the girl who ranked third have the same last name. Lisa Gracefall, right?"

He tilted his head slightly, with a polite smile.

"Are you siblings?"

The simple, direct question seemed to hit Lucas like an invisible punch.

His carefree smile faltered for a second.

Just a second — but for anyone paying attention, like Lin Yan and Beatriz, it would have been easy to notice.

Lucas looked away, bringing his hand to the wrinkled collar of his t-shirt, adjusting it nervously.

"Yeah... we're siblings," he replied, his tone a little drier than usual.

"Maybe... just a little more different than normal."

Lin Yan slightly raised his eyebrows, but, being polite, didn't push further.

He just nodded, with that gentle smile that showed he understood everyone carried their own burdens.

Beatriz, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes, studying Lucas's uncomfortable expression carefully.

She wasn't foolish — there was something more there. Something strange about that relationship.

But, thinking the topic was too pathetic to care deeply about, she simply crossed her legs even further, looking away.

"Strange families exist everywhere," she murmured, as if cutting off any possibility of discussion.

Lucas let out a dry chuckle but inwardly cursed Lisa for leaving him in that state.

'If that brat hadn't passed out, I'd still be stuck there right now...'

And even now, just thinking about Lisa and her possessive, desperate kisses made his neck throb a little — and not just physically.

Trying to change focus, Lucas shoved his hands in his pockets and gave a more genuine smile:

"Anyway... we're gonna be classmates, right? I hope we have a lot of fun."

Lin Yan replied kindly:

"I'm sure we will."

Beatriz, without losing her sovereign air, simply closed her eyes and said:

"As long as it doesn't hinder my progress, I have no objections."

Lucas just laughed again, finding her attitude amusing — that combination of cold arrogance and deadly beauty was actually pretty interesting.

'This girl's going to be fun to annoy…' he thought, already unconsciously planning the amount of trouble he could cause.

"You finished 14th place, right? Not bad," said Lin Yan, with his calm and friendly tone, trying to soften the atmosphere.

Lucas shrugged with a lazy smile, as if it didn't matter at all.

"Yeah... not the top, but not the bottom either, right? At least I'm in the first class."

He winked mischievously. "Class 1-A, baby."

Lin Yan let out a low laugh and, as if by chance, commented:

"I'm curious to see who our supervising teacher will be. With so many famous names around, it could be anyone."

Lucas crossed his arms behind his head, relaxing as if he were in a park.

"I hope it's someone cool... like a veteran covered in scars, full of stories to tell. Someone who lets us do whatever we want during training, you know?"

He smirked. "Or maybe a teacher... A beautiful, dominatrix type. I wouldn't complain."

Beatriz let out a discreet sigh, averting her gaze, as if the mere conversation was draining precious years from her life.

To her, this was a waste of time. Whoever the instructor was, it wouldn't change her goal: to recover her power and move forward.

Lin Yan, chuckling lightly at Lucas's comment, joined in:

"I'd prefer someone patient. Someone who understands that every student has their own pace... someone who actually knows how to teach."

Lucas shot him a sideways glance and laughed.

"You're way too nice, Lin Yan. If it's some beast who only knows how to yell, we're screwed."

While the two of them kept talking — Lucas throwing out absurd ideas and Lin Yan responding more thoughtfully — Beatriz remained silent, staring straight ahead as if ignoring their very existence.

But Lucas, ever perceptive, caught onto her silent disdain.

With a mischievous smile forming on his lips, he leaned in dangerously close to Beatriz's ear and whispered in a playful, yet wicked tone:

"Hey, Ice Princess... What about you? Who do you want as a teacher? A god? A king? Or are you hoping for someone who knows how to kneel before you?"

Beatriz immediately turned to face him, her crimson eyes flashing with a spark of irritation, as if she couldn't believe he had dared to speak to her like that.

For a brief moment, silence reigned. Lin Yan glanced sideways, trying to hide his grin.

Maintaining her dignified air, Beatriz replied in a calm yet cutting voice:

"As long as it's not a loud fool like you, it'll be enough."

Lucas burst out laughing, completely unfazed by her icy response.

"Ooooh, I like that! Cold and sharp. You're going to be fun to have around."

Seeing that Beatriz had engaged — even if only to insult him — Lucas leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile.

"See, Lin Yan? I knew even an Ice Queen could be made to speak."

Lin Yan just chuckled, while Beatriz crossed her arms and looked forward again, pretending not to care — though the slight redness at the tips of her ears betrayed her.

Lucas stretched his legs out, staring up at the ceiling.

"If Scarlet Aurora ends up being our teacher... then yeah, I'll actually put in the effort," he commented, winking at Lin Yan.

Lin Yan smiled politely.

"As long as she doesn't kill us first... I heard she's pretty strict."

Beatriz merely sighed softly.

'A group of fools. This is going to be an even bigger challenge than I thought...'

The loudspeakers crackled back to life:

"Candidates assigned to Class 1-A, please proceed to the North Arena to meet your instructor."

Lucas jumped out of his seat, full of energy. Lin Yan stood up with a calm motion.

Beatriz, with her usual elegance, simply adjusted her uniform skirt and walked ahead of the two.

Lucas glanced at Lin Yan and muttered, laughing:

"Let's follow our empress before she abandons us."

---

End of chapter