Chapter 176
But Magnus knew things would only get harder from here…
“…Maybe they’d accept me now, since I still look healthy. But what about later?”
Strangely, imagining the worst-case scenario was much easier than picturing a hopeful future.
He could already see a future where his strange condition was discovered and people pointed and whispered. A future where people avoided him. And worst of all, he couldn’t shake the thought that Eugenie Norton might be one of them.
The sheer humiliation of it all nearly made him sick.
“How could I ever show myself like that? I’d rather die.”
“…”
“I’ll take my leave now.”
At his son’s desperate defiance, Magnus’s father just nodded, though even that simple movement was stiff and sorrowful from his petrifying neck.
Magnus all but fled the gallery.
He wanted to be remembered as he was—intact. He had no desire to make some foolish marriage and leave someone with nothing but painful memories. He never wanted anyone to look at him with a mixture of shock and disgust.
But was it the price for snapping at his father like that?
The next morning, Magnus unconsciously raised his hand—then froze. He felt fine otherwise, no sign of illness anywhere else.
And yet, his wrist was stiff, as if the joints had rusted.
“…Ah.”
Pale green eyes wide with terror, his pupils trembled. He slowly turned his wrist to inspect the underside.
Gray mottled spots had appeared, spreading over his skin.
* * *
He’d pictured this moment in his head hundreds of times, but nothing could compare to actually experiencing it.
Oddly enough, his father seemed even more distraught than Magnus himself.
“This is too soon…!”
His father’s scars hadn’t appeared until he’d already married and fathered his first child. Magnus’s own petrification was the earliest in the family’s history—he’d just turned eighteen, and in good health, too.
“…Ha.”
He watched in disbelief as the petrification spread from his inner wrist across half his hand.
Maybe it was punishment for the harsh words he’d said. But even so, for things to deteriorate this quickly, right before his final semester at the Academy, was almost cruel.
Will he even manage to graduate? Would the marks stay hidden under his clothes until then?
He let out a hollow laugh, not a cry of despair but something closer to resignation, all the way to the train station. He almost convinced himself that, if he just accepted it, maybe he could bear it.
But the thought of letting it go, of just accepting it, felt too unfair.
Even if there’s someone I want to be with, am I really never going to tell them?
He almost wished he’d never heard those words. If he hadn’t, maybe he could’ve stopped thinking about Norton, always grumbling about the school rules.
And yet…
Maybe this is a chance.
Carter Livingston, who had been glued to Eugenie Norton’s side since the beginning, was finally out of the way.
He chased off every guy who tried to confess to her—look who’s laughing now, that sly fox.
Should he take this chance and finally say something?
His heart pounded faster with every station the train passed. Should he just go straight back to the Academy dorms?
It would be impossible to talk to Norton alone at school. After years of rivalry, every conversation just defaulted to teasing or sniping.
But maybe somewhere else…
Somewhere outside of school, maybe she’d actually talk to him like a normal person. Before the semester began—where would she be?
When the train arrived at the capital’s main station, Magnus Napier did something he’d never done before in his life.
He got off at the wrong stop, not caring about the family servant who was supposed to accompany him to the Academy.
“Sir? Where are you going?”
“Norton’s house!”
“Pardon?”
“Where is the Norton family’s city residence?”
He was ready to storm straight over and confess.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.