Kael opened his eyes, feeling exhausted. His mind felt foggy and his limbs felt heavy. With each breath, a dull ache pulsed through him. The room smelled faintly of sharp, earthy, unfamiliar herbs.

  He tried to sit up and immediately winced. Pain burned along his back and ribs, forcing him back down onto the mattress. He took a slow breath and turned his head toward the window. The full moon rested in the sky outside, its pale glow cutting through the darkness like a gentle hand stroking an open wound.

  A calm voice broke the quiet.

  "You're finally awake."

  Kael jerked in surprise, instantly regretting it as pain flared through him. He turned his head toward the voice and froze.

  Professor Nora sat in the corner with his legs crossed and a book casually resting in his hand. He looked perfectly at ease, as if he had been there for hours.

  “Professor Nora?” Kael muttered. "Since when does the academy hire professors as nurses?"

  Nora didn’t acknowledge the sarcasm. She simply kept reading, letting the silence stretch out between them like a thin, tense thread.

  Minutes passed before he spoke again. He closed the book with one hand and looked at Kael, who had turned his gaze back to the moon.

  “You’re not going to ask why I’m here?” Nora asked, his tone unreadable.

  Kael shrugged, staring through the window. "I've learned my first lesson."

  A faint, brief smile ghosted across Nora’s lips before his face returned to its usual calm.

  He set the book aside.

  "You didn't make it," Nora said simply.

  Kael’s eyes widened. He didn’t look at her, but his hands betrayed him as his fingers curled tightly into trembling fists.

  "But that doesn't change anything," Nora continued calmly. "You'll still attend my lectures."

  Kael actually turned this time, surprise cutting through the exhaustion on his face.

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  "But I didn't make the top three," he said, disappointment and confusion evident in his voice.

  Nora rested his elbows on his knees. “I never said the condition was real.”

  Kael blinked. “What?”

  "I always intended to train you," Nora repeated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But I wanted to see how far you would go for it. I created the condition because I needed to see your limits and how you would behave when pushed past them.”

  Kael let out a short, frustrated snort. He weakly pointed at his bandaged, battered body.

  “So all that was for nothing? I endured humiliation and pain, and I almost got cut into a dozen pieces, all for nothing? Yeah. Wonderful. Truly.”

  Nora didn’t even flinch.

  He waited until Kael’s grumbling died out, then spoke with unshakable calm.

  "No, you misunderstand."

  His eyes softened slightly, just enough for Kael to notice.

  "I would have trained you regardless," Nora admitted, "but I wouldn't have shared everything I know. Not unless you proved yourself. Not unless you showed me who you are when your comfort, your pride, and even your body fail you.”

  He leaned back in his chair.

  "You showed me that spirit. That’s why I’m here.”

  Kael replaced Nora’s words in his mind. Then, like a blade sliding into place, the pieces connected. His eyes widened.

  "You were the one..." His voice trembled. “...who suggested that Liam could return if he placed in the top three.”

  Nora didn’t even blink.

  "Indeed," he said in a flat tone, as though it were nothing more than administrative work. "And I informed Astra about your matches as well. I thought she might intervene and help you because of your previous partnership with her. She did."

  Kael stared at him, disbelief flooding through him like ice.

  "You manipulated me just to see how I'd react to your little game?" he breathed.

  Nora simply observed him. Not defensive. Not offended. Just watching, measuring.

  "It wasn't a game," he answered at last. His voice was soft yet firm. "It was a lesson. One you needed."

  Kael let out a short, sharp, cold, cracked laugh that was almost hysterical. He didn’t care that he sounded unhinged. He didn’t care that the man in front of him was one of the Empire’s most powerful chroniclers.

  “A lesson?” he repeated, dripping with mockery. “What kind of lesson forces someone to be humiliated? To be beaten half to death? What is that supposed to teach me? How to enjoy pain?"

  His voice rose and spilled into the room, raw and furious.

  But Nora didn’t respond. She simply waited until Kael’s breathing steadied. Her silence was colder than any reprimand.

  When he finally spoke, his tone was quiet and final.

  "You will discover the answer yourself."

  Nora stood and walked calmly to the small vessel on the table—the source of the strange herbal smell—and lifted the lid.

  Just before sealing the vessel, he glanced at Kael one last time.

  “Come find me when you understand.”

  He placed the lid on the vessel. The scent vanished instantly, like a snuffed flame.

  Kael sneered, his breath catching in his throat. He was on the verge of speaking, but before he could, a heavy drowsiness rolled over him. His eyelids sank and the world blurred as his body surrendered to sleep.

  Within moments, he was gone.

  Nora quietly lifted the vessel and turned toward the exit, leaving no trace behind: no scent, no sound, no presence—except the lingering weight of his lesson.