After moving his hand away from her shoulder, Aekphais forcefully pressed Collins against the chair with a wall slam, displaying a dominant posture that suppressed her completely. Without giving Collins any room for excuses, he suppressed his emotions, and even just the contact of their gazes set Collins' mind ablaze with intense heat.

"You just said, if I came to talk to you, as the chief or whatever, you wouldn't care. You also told your sister that there's no need to waste effort on meaningless things. Perhaps you haven't realized it, but deep down, do you think I'm inferior to you, and do you look down on your mediocre sister?"

"I..."

"Senior, I..."

Aekphais responded to Collins' explanation with a cold sneer.

"Most of the time when you look at me, it's with pity, right?"

"You don't see me as someone in the same class as you, nor as a friend. All you see is the powerlessness that my identity brings me, and the admiration that my efforts bring you. And then, you feel that you should do something for me, that's why you came to help me."

"Like you would give alms to a beggar on the street."

Collins opened his mouth but still didn't know how to respond to Aekphais. Aekphais' words, although harsh, seemed to have some truth to them.

It's possible... that he really did help Aekphais out of pity.

A mocking laughter slowly filled the air as Aekphais slowly lowered his hand.

"Your arrogance is truly detestable."

"I had thought that we could still be friends. I had thought that you were my friend. But I didn't expect that you were just like those people, looking down on me just the same, treating me as a lesser being."

"Hey, Senior, I'm not..."

Aekphais shook his head.

"You forgot about the favor I asked your father for. I can't stand someone else's charity."

"It's not charity."

Collins explained seriously. He didn't know where he went wrong, but he knew that right now, it was better to lower his head and surrender to his senior.

"It's not charity. Your attitude now, saying it's not charity... Collins, let me say it again, I am not a beggar, and you are not a rich person higher than me. If you continue to place yourself above me, then maybe we should never meet again."

Darkness engulfed Aekphais as Collins sat stunned at the table. He didn't understand his situation any better now, nor did he understand how he ended up offending two girls.

After hesitating for a long time and thinking, Collins stood up and silently walked towards the staircase leading to the next floor. Even if Collins couldn't understand girls' thoughts, he understood his own hunger very well.

It was already late in the day, and his stomach was empty.

It was time to go home.

Victoria sat in the corner chair, her face lowered, and on her knees was a thick stack of documents. The original color of the documents was soaked with tears, which seeped into the layers of paper, creating a series of wet patches. Her crying was very soft, almost like a mosquito's buzz. But in the quiet environment, a different kind of emotion permeated the air. As long as one approached, they could feel the profound sadness in the atmosphere.

The sound of footsteps gradually approached. Victoria had heard this kind of sound before, and it seemed that passersby had no interest in comforting a girl who only knew how to cry. Most of them glanced and left, while some who saw Victoria's pitiful state and came to ask saw her indifferent response and her complete disregard for anything except crying, and lost interest in saying anything.

Up until now, whether it was those concerned about Victoria or the girls who cried without caring, they hadn't caused Victoria to lift her head even the slightest bit.

The footsteps stopped in front of her, but Victoria didn't look up. In the hidden corner where the owner of the footsteps couldn't see, Victoria cried even harder. This innocent girl felt it would be very embarrassing if someone saw her crying face, so she could only suppress her tears and dare not look at the person standing in front of her.

She was shy, and she was a girl who had never even held a man's hand.

The person cleared their throat, and with a touch of elegance in their tone, entered her ears."If I'm not mistaken, you must be here to apply for the teaching position at Hawk Academy, but unfortunately, you weren't accepted. No, not even qualified for an internship, am I right?"

Victoria cried even harder, though the extent to which her crying escalated was equivalent to the difference between a mosquito's buzz and a rat's squeal.

"As for why you were rejected, I'm afraid it's because your alchemical framework isn't suitable for students to learn from. The direction you've been working towards is not a good investment for Hawk Academy."

How does he know?

Victoria, who hadn't lifted her head since she sat down, quickly looked up. The first thing that caught her eye wasn't the somewhat handsome face, but rather the two bright red handprints on it.

In the darkness, the blood-colored marks were strikingly clear.

*chuckle*