Chapter 31: The Dense Spearman and the Eavesdroppers

Aegon stood perfectly still outside the door of the second Vanguard Medical Ward.

His heart was hammering against his ribs like a war drum. He stared down at the glowing blue Academy lilies in his hands.

He took a deep breath, raised his knuckles, and knocked softly.

"Come in," a familiar voice called out from inside.

Aegon pushed the door open. Reina was sitting up in the hospital bed. The harsh bruising on her face had faded significantly.

The healers and high-grade potions had done their work. She looked up from the book she was reading, her blue eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"Hey," Aegon said awkwardly, stepping into the room. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I have recovered thanks to the healing magic and potions," Reina replied.

A playful smirk formed on her lips. "What are you doing here, Mr. Freshman Representative?"

Aegon flinched, his face flushing violently. He scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. He was completely out of his element.

"Well, yeah," Aegon stammered, stepping forward and extending the bouquet. "This is for you. Get well soon, Reina!"

Reina blinked in genuine surprise. She reached out and took the beautiful glowing flowers. A soft pink tint dusted her cheeks.

She looked down at the lilies, then back up at the towering, broad-shouldered young man standing awkwardly by her bed.

"How did you know I liked lilies?" Reina asked softly.

Aegon smiled, finally finding a trace of confidence.

"Well, when we were in middle school, I remember you wrote an essay on your favorite flowers. And you always had a small lily in your hairpin. It looked really good on you. You were such a cutie pie back then."

Reina froze. Her entire face turned the color of a ripe tomato. Aegon was the last person she expected to call her a cutie pie.

"Okay! Stop! I get it!" Reina practically shouted, covering her burning face with her hands.

Aegon, who was as dense as a literal rock, completely misread the situation. He thought her raised voice meant she was genuinely furious with him for bringing up embarrassing childhood memories.

His confident smile shattered.

"Sorry, did I make you mad?" Aegon panicked, taking a quick step back toward the door. "I will leave you alone."

He turned to leave.

Right outside the room, two hidden cupids were listening closely to the entire conversation.

Estella pressed her ear flat against the wooden door. Her violet eyes were blazing with absolute fury.

"How is he this stupid?!" Estella whisper-shouted to Draven.

"Just how dense of a rock is our meat shield? Did he not talk to girls when he was at school or something? She is blushing, not angry!"

Draven stood a few feet away, leaning comfortably against the sterile white wall with his arms crossed. He just listened to Estella bicker. He knew exactly when to argue and when to stay quiet.

Truthfully, Draven felt a deep sense of sympathy for Aegon. Navigating a battlefield was simple. You find the enemy and you neutralize them. Navigating a teenage romance was an entirely different, far more lethal warzone.

Back inside the room, Aegon reached for the doorknob.

"Wait!" Reina called out sharply. "Sit here with me."

Her voice came out much colder and stricter than she intended, mostly because she was still trying to hide her massive embarrassment.

Aegon flinched violently. He thought for sure he was about to get scolded.

He turned around, opened his mouth to apologize again, but Reina just pointed to the wooden chair next to her bed.

"Sit," Reina ordered in a frosty tone.

Aegon sat down instantly like a very good, very terrified boy.

For a long minute, there was absolute silence. Neither of them spoke.

Aegon stared at the floor, sweating bullets.

Reina stared at the lilies in her lap, trying to get her racing heart under control.

Finally, Reina took a deep breath. She looked up at him. The embarrassment was gone.

"How did you beat Neville?" Reina asked. "How did you get so strong so fast?"

Aegon visibly relaxed. Talking about combat and fighting was infinitely easier for him than talking about feelings.

"A friend helped me," Aegon answered calmly.

"He analyzed the weaknesses in Neville’s techniques and shared some tips to take advantage of his blind spots. I did exactly as I was told. And I won."

Reina looked at him with a highly skeptical, weird expression.

’He is bullshitting,’ Reina thought.

"Really?!" Reina challenged him.

"You know that in terms of raw power and mana capacity, you were really subpar just a few weeks ago. To even take advantage of a blind spot against a genius Vanguard, you need to be on even grounds physically. How did you cover that massive gap? Did you use any forbidden techniques to boost your power?!"

Aegon was genuinely shocked. His eyes widened. He did not think that Reina would be so highly suspicious of him.

But as he looked at her defensive posture, he realized it was completely normal for her to react this way.

’Just a few days ago, I was weaker than her. But today, I had defeated not only her, but the man she had admired and loved for years. She must be feeling incredibly defeated and confused.’ thought Aegon.

Aegon leaned forward. He made a move that was entirely uncharacteristic for his normally shy self.

He reached out and grabbed both of Reina’s hands tightly in his own.

Reina gasped quietly, her eyes darting down to his large, calloused hands enveloping hers.

"Reina," Aegon said, his deep voice ringing with absolute sincerity.

"I promise you in the name of the Almighty, I would never use forbidden magic or do anything that would make me a lesser person in your eyes. The reason for my sudden strength is something I cannot reveal right now. But I will definitely tell you."

Reina stared at him. "When?"

"Soon. Very soon," Aegon promised.

She looked intensely into his crimson eyes. His eyes were clear. There was not a single shred of falsehood in the man sitting in front of her.

The proximity and the intense eye contact suddenly became overwhelmingly intimate.

Reina felt the heat rising in her face again. She let out a small, awkward cough, subtly tugging at her trapped hands.

Aegon was instantly startled. He snapped out of his intense focus and looked down at their intertwined fingers.

"Oh?!" Aegon gasped, quickly letting go of her hands as if he had been burned. "I am sorry. I just... in the heat of the moment, I..."

"You do not need to explain anything," Reina interrupted softly.

A genuine, beautiful smile returned to her face. She looked away, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Can you... help me train when you have time?"

She was heavily hinting at a private, one-on-one training date.

Aegon beamed. His chest puffed out slightly. He was completely and utterly oblivious to the romantic undertone of the request.

"Of course!" Aegon declared proudly. "You are always welcome to train together! We can go over footwork and..."

KNOCK! KNOCK!

The wooden door swung completely open before Aegon could finish planning their rigorous combat drills.

The man, the myth, the legend Draven Mordis strolled casually into the room. E

stella Everdawn skipped cheerfully right behind him, a massive, knowing grin on her face.

"Hope we are not interrupting anything important," Draven said flatly.

His dark eyes glinted with immense amusement as he looked at the two incredibly flustered teenagers.

Estella beamed, giving Aegon a subtle thumbs-up completely behind Reina’s line of sight. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The soap opera had been successfully crashed.