"Those who fail to complete the term of eight years in the academy have not necessarily wasted their time. They become scholars and other respected personalities even after just a few years."

♣

Chapter Thirty-Four ♣ Recognized and Zion's Confession

Valeriana stirred from where she lie, feeling lethargic and groggy. Her brows scrunched from the agonizing headache that tormented her right after she gained consciousness and she let out a small groan from her parted lips. She heard some shuffling as she urged her eyes to open. She found herself staring at a plain white ceiling. The lights penetrated through the medium-sized window on the wall curtained by thick blinds.

She remembered falling asleep after being attended to by the healer. She just felt so tired that time that she just automatically blacked out after everything.

She tried to move, but froze when the pain attacked her from all over, stopping her from shifting her limbs. She looked down at herself and saw the fact that her whole body was covered in bandages.

Valeriana grunted. "Argh. What the hell?"

"You're awake?" A soft voice said.

She blinked numerous times to clear her vision and heard footsteps coming her way. Looking up, she saw a green-eyed brunette staring at her with a kind smile. She recognized her as the healer, named Olivia, who helped her many times before, including her duel with Courtney.

"How long was I out?"

"Roughly a day."

"Did I . . . ?" she trailed off.

"Win?" Olivia continued for her. "Of course. You did."

"R-really?" She visibly relaxed. "Thank god. I thought it was a dream."

"But you're in no condition to move around just yet," she hastily added. "You received more injuries than you did in your previous fight. I had to wrap you all over. But the part of your body that received the worst damage—your hands. You broke a few bones, did you know?"

"I . . . what?" She tried making a twitch but stopped short when the pain shot up from her fingers. "Ouch."

"I told you." She sighed. "You're a fool for not letting go of that sword. Now look what has happened to you."

"It was the only way for me to win."

"I know." She then flashed a grin. "And I admire you for that, despite the foolishness."

Valeriana blushed. "When will I get better?"

"I recommend you coming for healing sessions thrice a day for the next few weeks until you're better. Your wounds should be healed if you come to me tomorrow, but your hands will take longer to recover."

"I see. So it's that bad, huh?"

"It's actually worse than you think."

Valeriana cringed. "Oh."

"Classes should've already ended by now. I think you should expect some visitors sometime soon."

"I missed school?"

"You did."

She groaned. "I'm doomed."

"Just do your best," Olivia told her. "Fifth-ranker," she added with a bigger smile.

Valeriana felt a bubble of happiness rise in her chest as a grin forcibly stretched her lips. She suddenly felt elated—jubilant really.

-*-

True to Olivia's word, she was visited many times that day by her enthusiastic aides. Some of the Twelve did as well. Tamara, as usual, seemed the most eager of the circle (probably because she won her bet with Charles) and cracked hilarious jokes that made Valeriana choke on her own laughter.

Charles began lecturing the girl about her recklessness and went on with his tedious sermon without care, causing the girl to reach the brink of falling asleep. Despite how mind-numbing his lengthy speech was, the fifth-ranker was happy to know he cared.

Rowe was like the usual—gentlemanly, soft-spoken, and courteous. He was flirtatious and a smooth-talker. He was proud but acted humbly compared to Raziel, who was his typical narcissistic self.

Valeriana didn't know how she would describe Aneeka. She was impatient as usual—not to mention the random firing of bullets when she got annoyed. She was ranting on and on about how Keelan slobbered like a dog at the mention of food and kept complaining about how Zion, despite losing, remained so . . . boastful.

Elfre came with the others but did not say anything. Although all of them seemed happy to see her win, she was the only one who looked irked. Her face did have that look of begrudging respect.

Brindon . . . she didn't exactly know what to make of him. His impassive face made it hard for her to discern what he was feeling. He spoke a few words here and there to answer her questions, but they spent most of the time in silence. Frankly stating, it was awkward. Every time the girl would try to start a conversation, he would only answer it with yes, no, maybe, or sometimes simply nodding his head causing it to be cut short.

The twins were noisy and bickering as usual. Valeriana wasn't at all able to speak much when they opened their mouths.

She had wondered when Corvan would visit. When he did, all he did was say something about her being stupid about rushing in like she did. He used the whole time pointing out her mistakes and criticizing her unrefined behavior. He seemed his typical self—arrogant and stuck up as usual. The girl regretted even wishing he visited her when all she got was his annoying belittlement.

Seraphina came to visit later on and looked genuinely concerned. The lady knight was naturally kind and humble, even making sure she managed to visit the girl at least once that day despite her obviously busy schedule. Valeriana was grateful for that simple fact.

She had to spend the whole day resting in the infirmary. Although she was stuck staring at the ceiling the whole while with nothing to do, Olivia was there to keep her company.

The remnants of her battle wounds were still not fully healed, but Olivia told her it wouldn't hinder her from doing anything—except for her hands.

-*-

Valeriana entered the classroom with a sigh. As soon as she stepped in, everyone shot her with wide, curious gazes. She stared back at them, quirking a brow at their behavior. Immediately, they looked away and started chatting among themselves.

Glad her little technique worked, she went towards her seat but one hard body suddenly knocked her down. Valeriana felt a shot of pain from her back including her hands which hit the floor.

"Oof!"

"Valeriana! Good morning!" Genevieve exclaimed.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Get off me!" She tried to push the girl off of her but to no avail. The pain in her hands was getting worse by the second. She needed to get the weight off of her. "What the hell are you doing? Get off me! You're killing me! Ouch!"

"Genevieve!" Zevlin pulled his sister away—much to Valeriana's relief.

"Sorry! I was just so excited."

"Gen sort of ate a lot of sweets. She's radiating with energy as of the moment," Zevlin told her.

"It's alright, I guess. Happens to my brother all the time. He goes wild."

They held out a hand for her to take and began to pull her to her feet.

"Why, you certainly are loved." A voice said with a chuckle.

They all fell silent.

Valeriana's hair became disheveled and the look on her face made her look even more ridiculous. They all turned towards the newcomer, face suddenly turning serious.

"Let's go back," Genevieve told his brother.

The twins dashed to their seats.

"Hey! You guys!" she yelled at them, realizing they were leaving her behind to fend for herself. She then hesitantly turned towards her ex-challenger and tried to flash him a smile. "Uh . . . good morning . . . I guess."

She quieted and tried to put her hair in place, but then realized her hands were still useless at the moment. They were wrapped in bandages, restricting any movements that might strain her injury further. She hissed in pain and allowed them to fall at her sides instead, unhappily leaving her hair in complete disarray.

Zion stalked towards the girl and stopped short in front of her, the usual grin toying with his lips. He was a head taller than her, so she needed to bend her neck back to look at him. Nothing had changed.

"Hold still," he told her, making her freeze.

He took out a hand from his pocket and reached towards her. Valeriana flinched and closed her eyes to brace herself, but after a few seconds, nothing came. She felt his strong hands smoothing down her hair later on. Peeking from her lids, she stared inquiringly at Zion.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, sounding amused. "It's apparent you can't do things properly with those hands, so I'm helping you."

"Why?" she curiously queried.

"I'm taking responsibility. Did you not say it was imperative I do so? I caused those, did I not?" He placed a finger on her chin before leaning down to bring his face close to hers. The close proximity allowed the girl to feel his hot breath fanning her face, and that sensation itself got her flustered.

"Uh . . . er . . . excuse me." She tried to back away but he held her in place, hands snaking around her waist. She glared at him and gently pushed at his chest.

He said, chuckling at her reaction. "You're a wild, dangerous cat in the battlefield, yet in normal circumstances, you are undeniably adorable."

She didn't know what suddenly came to him that he began acting like this. One thing she knew was that he was acting too familiar with her. It was uncomfortable and embarrassing—not to mention they were in public.

"What are you doing? Let go of me," she said, looking around with her cheeks tainted red that could rival the color of a tomato.

"Why? You entertain me so much I don't want to let go," he said in a teasingly low voice.

Going even redder, she growled. Eyes were intently watching the both of them. "I said let go!"

Anger rising, she shoved her elbow down his ribs. Her hands weren't working properly at the moment and she could think of no other move. She sent him wheezing and crashing on the floor.

"Don't mess with me, you bipolar bastard!" she yelled at him as he landed knelt down and eventually fell on his stomach. "I'm not a subject for your mood swings!"

Seeing him groaning, guilt eventually overcame her. "Uh . . . I'm sorry. I hope you don't have any broken bones or anything."

As she reached out, he flipped to his back and grabbed hold of her wrists. Zion looked straight into her blue eyes before cracking up. She looked genuinely concerned, but the moment the guy started to guffaw, she lost all the sympathy she had in her body.

"See what I mean by interesting? Even your reactions are unpredictable."

She stood up, trying to wrench back her arm. "Well, if you're not hurt, I guess you're fine."

He stopped laughing and frowned at her before pulling her back down. "I might have something broken, you know."

"Where?" she asked.

"Here," he placed a hand on his chest. "My heart."

"What are you—that's stupid." She rolled her eyes. "Now let me go and get up. You're embarrassing yourself."

"Listen," he said. "You know, after you defeated me I grew surer about one thing. I want to know more about you."

If what he was saying was true, Valeriana had one comment for him. "What are you a masochist? Do you like being beaten up?"

He raised a brow at her question.

"Pedophile?"

"We're just the same age!" he exclaimed, horrified. "Unless you're seventeen?"

"I am seventeen!" But thirty-four in Valemnian years.

The look of horror wasn't erased. "Nevertheless, age doesn't matter," he said, recovering.

Ew.

"Stop kidding around!" She harshly ripped herself away from his grip and stomped towards her seat. "Didn't you insult me so many times? What's this all of the sudden?"

"I just told you—"

"Shut up, you goddamn freak! Don't talk to me!" she screamed at him.

She huffed and plopped down on her chair, brows knitted together in frustration. She crossed her arms and legs and glared at Chavi, who was giggling like some lovesick teenager the whole time. She felt disgusted seeing her friend's reaction, but tried to dismiss it—as much as how she tried to dismiss the nagging questions of the twins behind her.

Fortunately, Lady Seraphina came to class and everyone fell quiet to focus on the lecture being given by the lady knight. Still, she couldn't shake off the feeling of Zion's eyes on her. The whole time, his attention was on her and not to the lesson being taught—until Seraphina scolded him.

She grunted. After allthose insults, what the hell happened to him?