Aldric desperately fought against the stinging sensation in his eyes. Nope, he would not cry. Not in front of her. Not when he had to go out and face his class again, damn it!

“That being said,” Zasia continued, her tone taking on an imperious note once again, “You are still most certainly on thin ice. There will be much bowing and scraping required before you are fully in my good graces again. I expect this year’s birthday present to be exceptionally sincere and heartfelt, as well.”

Aldric couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing. Zasia tried to look cross with him, but she failed to hide her smirk.

“And you ruined it,” Aldric said after he’d gotten himself under control again. “You were this close to looking gentle-hearted and sweet. That’ll teach me to underestimate you.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Zasia quipped. “Remember that next time you’re doing something stupid. Again. Also, don’t sit in your chair backwards. You look like a delinquent.”

Aldric rolled his eyes, but did as she asked. When he was seated “properly” again, he realized she had gotten up and moved behind him. Thin arms wrapped around him from behind and pulled him close as he heard her whisper in his ear.

“Love you, dummy.”

She gently flicked his nose before she let him go, resuming her proper noblewoman stance. “Now, how exactly are we supposed to let Kedrin know we’re done? It’s not like he can hear us.”

Before Aldric could answer, his office door swung open, admitting Kedrin and one other person Aldric didn’t know. Kedrin had a thin smile painted on his face, his annoyance obvious in his posture. Aldric’s earlier mood immediately soured when he noticed the trademark smugness and domineering presence. A noble. All of Aldric’s fear of discovery came surging to the surface again.

“Apologies, professors. One of your colleagues insisted on meeting our newest hire in person. Allow me to introduce Professor Felix Rainer.”

Chapter 7

The look on Kedrin’s face alone was enough to show something was very wrong. Rainer looked much the same as he had when they’d inadvertently met in Kedrin’s office at the beginning of the year, but his attitude now was completely different. He looked extremely pleased as he eyed Aldric. Aldric preferred when the man was grumpy.

“A pleasure to finally meet you properly, Professor Aldric. I apologize for suddenly intruding, but I found myself curious how our newest professor was coming along, and I asked a personal favor of the headmaster to introduce us.” He held out his hand, and Aldric reflexively shook it.