Lumine felt the words catch in his throat like a lump.
'Azriel? The Azriel Crimson?!'
Not even an hour ago, he had been thinking about how much he didn't want to meet this guy—yet here he was, standing right in front of him.
Lumine never imagined he would encounter the Crimson Prince in a cemetery of all places.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.
To be honest, for some reason, he had pictured the Crimson Prince looking more… regal.
Instead, Azriel was dressed in a simple black hoodie and cargo pants, watching Lumine with an amused yet patient gaze.
"…It's an honor to meet you, Prince Azriel. My name is Lumine Versille. I'm a student like you and ranked second among the first-years. I didn't mean to disturb you here or show any disrespect."
Lumine's words tumbled out so quickly, and he avoided Azriel's gaze so completely, that he surprised even himself.
'Why am I so nervous…?'
A few seconds passed, and the air around them grew increasingly awkward as Lumine continued to avoid Azriel's eyes, neither of them speaking.
Until Azriel suddenly burst into laughter.
"Gods! Why are you so tense? Is it because of my face?"
Hearing this, Lumine's lips twitched.
"I know, I know, it's because I'm a prince. Relax, you don't need to treat me so politely. It just makes me more uncomfortable."
Azriel reassured him as he walked up to Lumine and patted his shoulder, making Lumine sigh in relief.
"Right. Sorry, I thought I might have disturbed your visit to someone here."
Azriel shook his head.
"Unfortunately, I don't know a single soul buried in these grounds."
That meant he was just walking here, Lumine realized.
He could have sworn Azriel had looked a little sadly at the tombstones earlier.
'Is he really such a nice person?'
Lumine glanced curiously at Azriel, who smiled back at him.
It wasn't that he thought the children of the great clans were bad people, but very little was known about the prince standing before him.
The rumors that had circulated before Azriel's disappearance were mostly negative—allegations of unworthiness, illegal activities, and scandalous behavior.
'I guess I shouldn't believe those rumors, though…'
"You said you were ranked second, right? That means you're in the room below me…"
Lumine's eyes widened.
At least that question was answered for him.
Lumine nodded at Azriel.
"Yes. I was thinking about visiting you yesterday or today, but I had some personal reasons, which is why I couldn't."
Azriel shook his head.
"It's fine. It's probably better that you didn't visit me yesterday or earlier today. I was out of it. Hell, I can't even remember what I did with that stupid clown."
Azriel sighed wearily, placing a hand on his shoulder as Lumine looked at him, puzzled.
"A word of advice: don't drink knowing you'll blackout when you have a sister you can't trust to be responsible. Especially when she leaves a letter saying you're not allowed to drink alone from now on…"
Lumine nodded, taking in the interesting advice.
'Wait, he said sister? So he must be talking about Jasmine Crimson, right?'
Unlike Azriel, his elder sister was much more well-known, having been the previous apex last year among her many achievements.
"Ah, no, it's nothing…"
Lumine quickly shook his head.
An idea suddenly crossed his mind.
Even though it might backfire, it couldn't hurt to try, especially since Azriel seemed like a nice guy… hopefully.
"Can I ask you for some advice?"
Azriel looked at him, surprised, before smiling and nodding.
"Of course. But I'm starving. Can we grab a bite at the cafeteria? I'm sure no one is there at this hour."
Lumine nodded at the suggestion.
He was starving as well, after chasing the strange butterfly he couldn't quite catch up to, even as a grade 3 intermediate.
'It must have flown off somewhere far...'
The cafeteria was just as Azriel had said—empty.
No students were in sight as Lumine took a seat opposite Azriel, who was munching on fries from a bowl in front of him.
Lumine had ordered the same but hadn't started eating yet.
Instead, he watched Azriel with curiosity as he ate with a smile on his face.
When Azriel noticed him staring, he looked up, confused.
"Is something wrong?"
Lumine shook his head.
"No, it just seemed like you were really enjoying yourself."
A look of understanding crossed Azriel's face.
"I am. Trust me, you begin to appreciate things like food once you've genuinely worked until you almost collapse for it."
'Isn't he a prince? Why would he…'
Suddenly, Lumine felt a chill run down his spine.
It seemed ridiculous, but he recalled a rumor from a news report about Azriel spending two years in the Void Realm.
If that rumor was true, it would explain why no one had heard from him during that time.
The rumor about him attending the academy was true, so it made sense if he had been in the Void Realm for the past two years.
Lumine couldn't imagine what it must have been like.
Even for him, having ventured into the Void Realm only a handful of times—with each experience almost costing his life despite numerous safety measures—the thought of spending two years there was unfathomable.
He wanted to ask more about it but stopped himself.
It wasn't why he was here, and he didn't want to broach a potentially sensitive subject if the rumors were true.
"So, what was it you needed my advice on?"
Azriel asked between mouthfuls of fries.
Lumine nodded, feeling a bit awkward but determined.
Despite how it might sound to some, he had a problem he wanted to solve quickly, and who better to ask than the person who had defeated him?
An opportunity had presented itself right in front of him.
"…I need help controlling my powers."
Azriel's hand paused with a fry halfway to his mouth before he ate it, a sigh escaping his lips.
The two of them sat in silence, studying each other.
"You sent poor Chad to the infirmary, didn't you?"
Azriel broke the silence first.
Lumine's lips twitched.
"That was an accident… which is why I need your help."
Azriel's eyes held a hint of amusement.
"Asking for help from the person sitting on the throne of the first years when you're someone who poses the biggest threat to overthrow me?"
Lumine didn't respond.
He knew it was a bit foolish to ask, but it was worth a try.
"…Luckily for you, I don't really care about my throne."
Lumine's eyes widened.
"But I have to ask—why do you think I'm capable of helping you? Even if I'm the apex, how do you know I haven't injured Chad just like you? Why do you assume I'm stronger?"
"Five. That's how many times I've attacked Chad. I tried to end it in three but failed miserably. Still, I defeated him without him even scratching me. That means you either attacked him even less or Chad forfeited before you got a chance to attack."
Azriel smiled at him.
"You're stronger than me. I know this might sound strange, but I can just sense it. You're a grade 3 intermediate like me, but you're… stronger."
Azriel continued to smile at him for a few seconds before shaking his head slightly.
"That feeling you have is what people in the Four Great Clans call battle sense. Not many develop it so early on like you have."
As Azriel resumed eating his fries, Lumine listened intently.
"Even though we humans can't really check each other's mana cores like we can with Void creatures, we have battle sense to make up for it. You can only develop this early on with talent and… killing a bunch of Void creatures."
The information Azriel shared was valuable.
Lumine was pleased to have developed such a skill over the past year.
"I won't ask how you managed to kill so many Void creatures, but make use of the fact that you did. Trust your battle sense."
Lumine nodded, appreciating the advice.
"But what about controlling my powers?"
Azriel placed his hand against his cheek, looking disappointed at the empty bowl.
"I just told you, didn't I? Just as you developed battle sense, you will eventually gain control over your powers through combat against humans."
"Sure, I could spar with you, but in my opinion, it would be a waste of time. You'll face countless life-or-death situations in the future where you'll have to fight humans, whether to kill them or not. Only by patiently taking your time will you master your powers correctly."
Lumine looked a bit disappointed that the advice didn't offer a quick solution, but he understood why Azriel had said what he did.
'I'm rushing things... I need to be more patient.'
Despite that, the advice was still valuable.
He had learned a lot from the person in front of him.
'I wonder if he has battle sense like me...'
Though he wanted to ask, he decided it was better not to.
As Lumine reached for his bowl, he noticed he couldn't grab any fries.
Furrowing his brows, he looked down and saw that his bowl was empty.
Turning his head quickly towards Azriel, he saw him stuffing his mouth with fries from Lumine's bowl.
A wry smile appeared on Lumine's face as he shook his head.
'I guess it's a fair trade.'
Lumine was amused by Azriel's behavior as he watched him devour the last of the fries.
Finally, they both decided to call it a night, as it was already 1 a.m.
After all, they still needed to get some sleep before their classes.