The soul-piercing question caused the air to freeze instantly.
Laxana’s smug smile froze right on the corners of her mouth.
She looked at Astreia, then at Wendy, clearly realizing this blind spot for the first time.
The dormitory manager’s thick fingers tapped against the registration ledger—Bang, bang, bang.
Each sound felt like it was drumming on Laxana’s nerves.
From behind her spectacles, her squinted eyes sparkled with the fire of gossip as she waited for an answer with great interest.
“This… this…”
Laxana was so anxious that sweat broke out on her forehead, and she stammered as she tried to explain.
“They are Special Admission Students. The suite specially authorized by the Academy was… was meant for them to live in together!”
“Specially authorized?”
The manager arched an eyebrow and pushed up her reading glasses.
She used the tip of her pen to point at the large print of the School Rules in the ledger.
“Miss Laxana, I’ve managed this dormitory for thirty years. I know the School Rules better than my own granddaughter’s face. Gender-segregated housing is an iron rule.”
“Even if His Holiness the Pope himself came, he would have to stay in the male dormitory. Dean Layana authorized them for a suite, but she didn’t authorize cohabitation.”
She paused, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Wendy and Astreia before finally landing on Astreia’s arm, which remained firmly wrapped around Wendy’s waist.
Her tone became meaningful.
“A rule is a rule. Either this young lady stays in a single room on the female side, or this… young man stays in a single room on the male side. You’ll just have to give up the suite’s privileges.”
These words were nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
Laxana paced in circles, frantic.
Giving up the suite was a small matter, but how could these two possibly live apart?
Given Astreia’s temperament, she would probably tear the male dormitory apart.
Wendy also felt a massive headache coming on.
He could feel the arm holding him tighten further, as Astreia’s body heat and scent wrapped around him even more securely.
He could even hear her steady heartbeat becoming somewhat irritable.
Just as he was preparing to try and bluff their way through, Astreia spoke before he could.
“We live together.”
The sentence was simple, direct, and blunt.
The manager was stunned by the self-righteous declaration but was immediately amused.
Her sturdy body trembled slightly as she laughed.
“Little girl, what kind of place do you think this is? An inn? I made it very clear that the Academy does not allow men and women to live together. it would corrupt the moral environment.”
Astreia’s emerald eyes looked at her quietly, without the slightest hint of backing down.
“He is mine.”
Saying those three words in front of outsiders was even more impactful than her previous “We live together.”
The Prince’s face turned bright red in an instant, the heat burning from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.
He wanted to struggle a bit, but he was locked even tighter, as if he were about to be crushed into her embrace.
Several passing freshmen heard the commotion and poked their heads out curiously, their gazes shifting between the three of them.
“Yours?”
The manager’s gossip-fire was fully ignited.
She put down her pen with interest and crossed her arms over her chest in a posture that looked like an interrogation.
“What do you mean by ‘yours’? Is he your servant? Or your guard?”
Astreia thought about it seriously.
Servant?
No, Wendy wasn’t that.
Guard?
Even less so.
Then what was he?
Flashbacks of fighting side-by-side on the walls of Sunset Fortress crossed her mind, followed by the chaotic scenes in the bedroom, and then the figure who had just stood up for her, using sharp words to leave their enemies speechless.
Finally, she gave a definition she considered the most accurate.
“My pet.”
“Pffft—Cough, cough, cough!”
Wendy missed a breath and nearly choked to death on the spot.
Buried in Astreia’s embrace, he hammered the Princess’s arm with his fist in utter shame and indignation.
‘Where did you learn those words?! I’m a human being! I’m not some kitten or puppy you picked up!’
Standing to the side, Miss Klein was completely petrified.
Her mouth hung open, unable to utter a single word.
The surrounding students who were eavesdropping let out a chorus of uncontrollable gasps.
However, to everyone’s surprise, after the dormitory manager heard this overbearing answer, she didn’t get angry.
Instead, she wore an “I understand” expression.
She pointed her thick finger at Wendy, then at Astreia, and lowered her voice to ask mysteriously, “One of those… special hobbies in noble circles?”
Wendy: “!”
Astreia: “?”
The manager had clearly misunderstood.
She assumed this was a daughter from some Great Noble family out for experience, bringing along a “playmate” or a “kept pet” she had raised since childhood.
This kind of thing wasn’t rare in noble circles; it was just that no one would ever bring it up so flagrantly at the Academy.
“Ahem.”
The manager cleared her throat and picked up her pen again, but her attitude had clearly softened significantly.
“Rules are fixed, but people are flexible. Since he is a… ‘pet,’ then you really do need to keep him by your side at all times for convenience.”
Her eyes circled Wendy’s overly handsome face, showing a bit of understanding and sympathy.
What a handsome lad.
What a pity.
“However, I can’t just let you move in like that, or I won’t be able to explain it to my superiors.”
The manager tapped on the desk, thinking of a workaround.
“How about this: I’ll register you as… hmmm, a ‘Special Attendant.’ We’ll say this young man is your Personal Guard. Since he shoulders the heavy responsibility of protecting you, you must live together. That way, it’s perfectly reasonable.”
Wendy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
What was this?
“But he’s a Prince! How can he be a guard?”
Laxana finally found her voice and countered in a low whisper.
“What about a Prince?”
The manager rolled her eyes at her.
“Can’t a Prince sacrifice himself for love? This young man looks quite willing to me.”
As she spoke, she even winked at Wendy.
At this moment, Wendy just wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
What could he say?
Say he wasn’t willing?
Then he would probably have to sleep alone in the male dormitory tonight.
Say he was willing?
Then his status as a “guard” and “pet” would be set in stone.
While he was locked in an internal struggle, Astreia made the decision for him.
“Fine.”
Then, she lowered her head and added a sentence in Wendy’s ear that only the two of them could hear.
“My Personal… Guard.”
The warm breath brushed over his ear, bringing a faint itch.
Wendy’s entire body stiffened.
He felt as if half of his bones had melted, and he subconsciously gave up his resistance.
Whatever.
Personal Guard it is.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t already taken enough liberties with him anyway.
Seeing that the two had reached an agreement, the manager’s efficiency immediately improved.
With a flourish of her pen, she wrote “Astreia Valoran (accompanied by one Special Attendant)” in the ledger.
Then, she pulled a brass key from a drawer and slammed it onto the desk with a clack.
“Third floor, Room 301. The one at the very end. Your suite is the only one on the entire third floor, so it’s very quiet.”
After she finished her instructions, she seemed to remember something and added with a serious expression, “However, I must warn you. It’s normal for young people to be full of energy, but this is an Academy. Keep the noise down and don’t disturb the neighboring students. If someone complains… I really will separate you!”
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