Chapter 113

Ariel squinted and leaned over the railing, doing her best to catch a glimpse of what was going on below.

Meanwhile, Lexius looked completely bored out of his mind, and he stayed that way for the entire half-hour the class lasted. She figured he would leave as soon as the professor did. Honestly, she half-expected him to slip out early, yet he stayed put until the very end. Once the other students filed out, the gallery fell quiet. Lexius remained lounging on the sofa, still looking relaxed, but oddly thoughtful.

Sensing there might be something on his mind, she asked softly,

“Is something going on?”

“There is. Something good.”

He flashed a smile.

“Can I ask what it is?”

Even though a vague sense of unease stirred in her chest, she couldn’t stop herself from asking. Lexius didn’t answer right away. Instead, he reached into his blazer, pulled out a key, and handed it to her.

Ariel took the key automatically, almost without thinking.

The silver was cold in her palm. Its handle, shaped like an ornate butterfly, immediately caught her eye.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the key to the annex.”

“Oh, the annex… Wait, the annex?”

It took her a moment to fully register what he’d said. She looked up at Lexius, clearly confused.

He answered in a surprisingly gentle tone.

“You said you wanted to see it.”

“So… you’re giving me this?”

“Now you can go. Lucky you.”

There was something strangely pointed in Lexius’s tone. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. He had been adamant that there was no way into the annex just yesterday, so the fact that he was now handing over the key felt way too suspicious. But before Ariel could ask any more questions, Lexius got up from his seat. He moved so quickly there wasn’t even time to call out. Without a word, he walked straight toward a round window on the second floor, one she hadn’t even noticed until now. He unlatched it, shoved the glass open with a loud creak, and jumped out.

Ariel just stood there, clutching the key, watching as he disappeared from sight.

 ︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

Having suddenly acquired the annex key, Ariel couldn’t help feeling suspicious. Still, she didn’t tell the driver to change course and continued heading toward the faculty wing.

The key. The same key to the annex that the caretaker had firmly refused to lend her just yesterday.

She couldn’t figure out why Lexius would suddenly go out of his way to borrow it and hand it over. There were too many suspicious points for her to believe he did it just to be nice or because he liked her more. The whole thing practically screamed trap.

Even so, she headed straight for the annex. With both of the imperial brothers away, this was the perfect chance to meet Racine, and there was no way she was letting that opportunity slip by.

‘At the very least, Senior’s favorability is at two hearts. He’s not going to… kill me or anything.’

The favorability she’d earned yesterday had to count for something. At the very least, it gave her a small safety net.

As soon as she reached the annex, Ariel stepped out of the car and checked her phone.

Racine’s portrait still showed him in the annex. The fact that Lexius was nearby caught her attention, but she didn’t think much of it. Judging by his location in a classroom, he was probably attending a lecture.

Ariel slipped her phone back into her pocket and pulled out the silver key. Standing in front of the annex door, her expression turned serious.

She didn’t have a specific plan or excuse in mind. She’d already played her strongest card, her family name, and as just herself, there wasn’t much else she could offer. The best she could do now was promise her future loyalty as the next head of House Huckley. But from the Solem family’s perspective, which disliked vague or abstract deals, that probably wouldn’t be very appealing.

Still, it was all she had.

‘I have to offer something, even if it’s just that.’

With a steady breath, Ariel slid the key into the lock.

The wooden door creaked open, the sound rough and uneven. She cautiously poked her head inside. The bare stone walls gave the space a rugged, unfinished feel, and an eerie silence hung in the air.

‘Maybe Racine’s asleep?’

She guessed as much, recalling what Lexius had told her just the day before.

“Ray? He’s probably just sleeping.”

Lexius had sounded like he was scolding someone for being hopelessly lazy, so she assumed Racine was simply lounging around in the annex. But as soon as she stepped across the threshold, the door swung shut behind her with a heavy thud.

The room darkened instantly.

She hesitated, one foot on the cold, hard floor.

The inside of the annex felt more like a forgotten, abandoned building. Dust covered the empty space, and the only structure within the cramped, round room was a single spiral staircase.

She stared up at a winding staircase of black iron. With no landings or floors in between, the stairs seemed to climb endlessly into the dark. The ceiling above was lost in shadow, and the windowless walls were lit only by a few dim, flickering lights, like dying candles.

As she tilted her head back to follow the stairs upward, a wave of dizziness hit her and her breath caught. It felt like a black snake was slithering down from the unseen heights above. Her breathing grew quick and uneven. Even though she forced herself to look away, lowering her head, her breathing wouldn’t steady.

A tight, cold fear gripped her.

“Why… huff… can’t I… breathe…”

Gasping, her breaths ragged and uneven, Ariel staggered toward the closed door. The more she struggled to inhale, the hazier her mind became. Her vision started to blur at the edges.

“Something… is wrong here…”

Her throat tightened so much that she couldn’t finish the sentence.

‘Am I… claustrophobic?’

Even though she managed to grab the doorknob, her limbs felt like lead. A crushing heaviness pressed down on her, as if she were trapped, sinking deeper into a swamp. Her head drooped lower and lower until—thud—her hand slipped from the knob.

Her consciousness flickered, wavering precariously like a candle in the wind. She managed to gather her strength and forced her right arm forward, gripping the knob again. Just as she pressed down, her legs gave out, and her body crumpled against the door with it.

Bang. Thud.

Ariel struck her forehead against the door, making a dull sound as she collapsed to the floor.

Click.

The doorknob she’d managed to turn snapped back into place and locked itself again.