Chapter 159: 159. Blood Bank – 1

Sigh.

William sat by the window of the classroom, his elbow rested against the desk as his fingers loosely supported his chin.

Outside, the academy grounds stretched wide and orderly, and students moved in distant clusters; their voices were muted through the glass.

He watched them without really seeing them; his gaze was fixed outward while his thoughts stayed far from anything really.

Seraphine was absent today.

He knew why, or at least he thought he did, and he did not bother asking anyone about it.

She was with her mother.

That much was obvious.

Knowing that should have settled him, yet it did not.

What had happened the previous night kept circling in his mind like a persistent insect, impossible to ignore, no matter how many times he tried to brush it aside.

His head throbbed faintly, the dull ache refused to leave.

Now and then, a quiet sigh escaped him as he stared out of the window, his reflection was faintly visible against the glass.

“You seem worried.”

The crisp voice came from his side, close enough to pull him out of his thoughts.

His pupils shifted slightly as he turned his gaze just enough to see Katherine sitting beside him.

He did not remember when she had taken the seat, only that she was there now, watching him with a mild, assessing expression.

“Nothing much,” William replied in a low voice. “I’m alright.”

Another muffled sigh followed his words, and almost immediately, he changed the topic, unwilling to linger on himself.

“How was the trip?, I heard you all tripped badly. And what happened to Maximus?” he asked in a casual tone despite the tension lingering in his mind.

At his question, Katherine let out a slow breath. “Don’t ask,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “It’s all so messed up.”

“Why?” William asked, still looking ahead cluelessly rather than at her. “I heard it was about Max’s girl, right?”

Katherine’s eyes widened. “Gasp!! Who told you?”

William’s expression did not change. “Take a guess.”

Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment. “Seraphine?” she asked.

William did not look at her. His eyes stayed unfocused, directed toward the front of the classroom, though he was not paying attention to the lecture.

His mind drifted backward, returning to the unresolved weight from the night before.

The silence from his master had been the worst part.

He had tried to dismiss it, to tell himself it meant nothing, yet it gnawed at him relentlessly.

The flat, distant tone she had used replayed in his thoughts again and again, each time stirring the same frustration.

He did not know why it bothered him so deeply, and that only made it worse.

What unsettled him most was the contradiction he could not escape.

He had not even proposed to Seraphine yet, and still, another woman’s silence had shaken him this badly.

The realization made him feel pathetic. The issue was no longer about whether his master had feelings for him. It was about whether he himself did.

That was the question he had forced himself to confront last night, alone in the dark.

And the answer he found was that he did not know.

The uncertainty was infuriating.

He hated not having clarity, hated the way the thought refused to settle, no matter how he turned it over in his mind.

[How does someone not know if they are into someone or not?]

“No idea,” William replied absentmindedly, the words slipped out before he realized he had spoken aloud.

“What?” Katherine asked, startled.

She paused, then her expression shifted slightly as understanding dawned on her.

He’s talking to himself.

“Whatever’s bothering you,” she said a bit more gently than before, “you can tell me, you know.”

William let out another slow breath. “Will anything change if I tell you?”

“Who knows,” Katherine replied as the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

Students began to move, chairs scraped softly against the floor.

Katherine stood up and made a small gesture toward him. “Come on. Let’s go get you some fresh air.”

“Sure,” William said, rising from his seat with another quiet sigh.

He followed her into the corridor. “By the way,” he added, “where is Ethan? I don’t see Leila either.”

“I don’t know about Ethan,” Katherine answered, glancing ahead, “but Leila got caught by her hairy father.”

William chuckled despite himself. “Hairy father?”

“Yeah,” Katherine said, rolling her eyes slightly. “He’s so bushy for a human. Some people might mistake him for a bear folk.”

William laughed a little harder at that. “What about Galeion, Desmond, and Kara?”

“All three of them are also occupied by their parents,” she replied. “They’re probably getting scolded right now.”

“And you?” William asked, making Katharine stop walking midpace.

Katherine looked at him intently, and her expression became unreadable, then she chose not to answer.

Instead, she continued walking, and William did not press the matter.

They wandered through the academy grounds for a while.

Katherine stayed close, neither rushing nor lingering too long in one place. The quiet companionship helped more than William wanted to admit.

“Let’s go to the cafeteria,” Katherine said eventually. “I discovered an amazing drink recently.”

William nodded.

And then both of them turned toward the building until William stopped short just a few feet away from the cafeteria.

“Oh, I forgot. I don’t have any academy points on me. I got broke last night.”

Katherine looked back over her shoulder and smiled. “No worries. My treat.”

“Fine by me,” William said, returning the smile faintly.

“Just save a seat somewhere and let me buy it,” she added.

William nodded and moved ahead.

For the past few hours, he had been trying to distract himself, and Katherine’s presence helped, at least on the surface.

Still, thoughts of his master crept back again and again, refusing to stay buried.

He sat at an empty table, his posture was relaxed, but his mindwas unfocused.

The cafeteria was quiet at this hour, the usual noise was absent since it was not lunchtime yet.

Katherine returned a short while later, carrying two glasses.

She placed them gently on the table and slid one toward him before leaning slightly against the edge.

“It tastes amazing,” she said.

William picked up the cup and took a sip.

“Hmm. I think this tastes like cranberry mixed with orange,” he said after a moment. “Tsk. So sour.”

“Is that so?” Katherine asked, watching him with a strange, intent gaze.

[ding!! heavy dosage of sleeping-inducing medicine detected]

[You want to purge it?]

William’s gaze snapped around the cafeteria. The hall was empty. No one was watching. No one was close enough to notice anything out of place.

He looked back at Katherine, who was waiting quietly, her attention was fixed on him as if she was anticipating the moment his consciousness would slip.

“Yeah,” William replied calmly. “No worries. Let it take effect.”

He leaned back slightly in his chair, keeping his expression neutral as the warmth from the drink spread through him, already feeling the edges of his awareness begin to blur.

His mental exhaustion also kicked in before he lost consciousness.

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