The Phantom's Gambit-Chapter 42: Blow off steam

A new day dawned, and the Architect faction students walked into the cafeteria, still basking in the glow of their previous evening’s celebration. Emery had taken them on a memorable tour, which ended with a picnic, stargazing, and dancing around a roaring fire. The evening had been a welcome respite from the pressures of the Academy.

However, as they entered the cafeteria, they were met with a chilly reception. The cold stares from the other factions’ students were nothing new, but today’s atmosphere felt particularly oppressive.

The Architect students had hoped that their recent successes would have helped thaw the frosty relationships with their peers, but it seemed they were mistaken.

Octavius, however, was unmoved by the hostile gazes. He had faced similar treatment before his death, and it seemed that little had changed.

He made to step forward to proceed to serve himself, but Erick suddenly shuffled past him, taking the lead as he made his way to get a tray. Octavius felt an insane urge to follow Erick and bash his head, but he suppressed it.

When the celebrations had gone on the previous night, Octavius had been the only one who sat apart, lost in thought, thinking about what had happened earlier with Thorne.

A part of him had wanted Thorne to prove the allegations wrong, but his attitude had only affirmed them. He swallowed and exhaled, calming himself before joining the others to get their trays and be served.

Once they were done, Erick turned to Nadia. "We don’t have to sit with them anymore. With our rank, we have the privilege of sitting in the nobles’ gallery. Come with me, I’ll show you." He instructed Nadia and started walking forward.

Octavius seethed inwardly, frustrated at having missed another opportunity to confront Thorne. However, he maintained his composure, carrying his food to the table they usually occupied. The others, including Nadia, followed his lead.

Erick, meanwhile, reached the door to the nobles’ gallery and gestured for Nadia to precede him. But when he turned to offer his arm, he realized she was no longer behind him. Scanning the room, his eyes narrowed as he spotted her sitting opposite Octavius.

Erick’s lips compressed into a thin line, and he bit down on them until they drew blood. He was furious.

To return to their table now would make him appear weak in front of the others, he thought. With a quiet sigh, he steeled himself and entered the nobles’ gallery alone.

His plans momentarily foiled.

Meanwhile, Void had slipped away to sit at a nearby table, strategically positioning himself close to Octavius to prevent any further fragmentation of his soul.

With Octavius preoccupied by his own dark mood, he barely registered what Void was up to.

Void, seated between two girls, draped his arm casually around their shoulders, engaging them in a flirtatious conversation.

The girls, oblivious to Octavius’s brooding presence, chatted animatedly about the previous tournament, their voices filled with curiosity.

"I’m telling you, they totally cheated," one of the girls said with conviction.

"There’s no way they could have achieved those results without some kind of trickery."

The other girl shook her head, her long hair swaying gently. "I don’t know... I think they just used different methods. I wish I had thought of that instead of pouring all my power into the challenge. I was left weak in the first few seconds, and it cost me dearly."

Void had been enjoying the conversation, content to simply be close to the girls till when the topic suddenly shifted to Amy, his demeanor changed.

He slowly dropped his arm, which had been draped casually across the girls’ shoulders, as he listened attentively to their gossip.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

"She’s been here for barely a moment, and already she’s getting all the attention from the boys," one of the girls said, with a hint of jealousy lagging in her voice. "I even made an effort with my dressing today, but when we were done with Mr. Theodore’s class, William went to sit with her. And then they left together."

"No surprise there," another girl chimed in. "She’s been hanging out with them lately. But I’m sure once they’ve gotten what they want from her, they’ll dump her just like they did Janet."

The girls continued to gossip, their voices filled with a mixture of envy and contempt, while Void listened intently with an unreadable expression.

One of the girls, who had been quietly observing the conversation, suddenly spoke up. "I saw them groping her inappropriately at the Grand Ballroom, and the look on her face... I’m certain she didn’t approve of it. I don’t think she’s been very receptive to William either. He seems to be forcing himself on her."

As soon as she uttered these words, the table fell silent. The girls exchanged uneasy glances, their earlier gossip and laughter replaced by an awkward stillness. The silence was finally broken by one of the girls, who hastily changed the subject.

Void, seemingly satiated with the conversation he had been eavesdropping on, made his way to Octavius.

[Let’s take a stroll,] he suggested once he got to him.

Octavius, who hadn’t touched his meal, looked up at Void with disinterest. "I’m eating," he replied, flatly .

[You’re not. You need to get your mind off things by cooling off, while I get my hands on some baddies.]

By now, Octavius was familiar with the term ’baddie’ since Void used it to refer to girls he wanted to mingle with

"Why? What happened to the ones you were flirting with?" Octavius asked with little to no interest, but surprisingly aware of what Void had been doing.

[They are all coy. And besides, I actually want to make someone miserable… while you need to unleash some tension so… let’s go.] He offered again.

This time, Octavius didn’t ask any questions. He simply stood up, his chair scraping against the floor, and walked with Void.

As they strolled through the hallway, Octavius’s gaze suddenly fell upon a poster he hadn’t noticed before, hanging on the wall.

"Head Student of Wysteria Academy," it read, with Thorne’s smug face plastered beneath the title.

Octavius’s hand curled into a fist as he stared at the poster.

’Everything I planned to achieve, he took it’ he murmured to himself. ’He’s been by my side acting like my friend when he’s been plotting to take everything from me.’

Octavius forced himself to look away from the poster.

He really needed to blow off some steam.