Drakan was watching Selena closely. Just seeing her brought back the memory of her rage-filled face. A faint smile crept onto his lips as a thought surfaced.
"I don't think they'll recognize me... Even though my appearance has returned to its original form, I had to use magic to disguise myself back in the empire," he mused silently.
Selena, meanwhile, glanced at Drakan with a hint of suspicion.
"Why does his face look a little familiar...?" she wondered.
After Zara asked, Drakan turned toward her, offering a polite smile.
"Hello, my name is Drakan. I'm a new student at this academy."
As he spoke, his thoughts drifted back to the past—his mind filled with memories of his reckless behavior.
"If it hadn't been for her friend, I might have killed her that day... and if I had, getting close to her friend would have been impossible."
Drakan's face was smiling slightly as he looked at Selena again.Just seeing her brought a flicker of amusement to his expression.
Meanwhile, Zara's hands were clenched tightly at her sides, and she struggled to keep her expression calm.
"Why the hell is the male lead showing up now?" she thought, her jaw tightening. "Isn't he supposed to appear in the second year of the academy? And I know this guy isn't as gentle as he pretends to be…"
"Is it because of me that things aren't happening the way Lira remembered? Did something change?"
Her face grew pale at the thought.
"Ahh… Mia was supposed to become Selena's friend on the first day, Elira didn't even meet Selena yet. . Why is all of this happening so early?"
She took a shaky breath."I think… I've been relying too much on Lira's memories."
Selena, seeing the look on Zara's face, couldn't help but think,
"Does Zara know this person?"
Suddenly, the academy bell rang loudly, its sharp chime jolting both Zara and Selena out of their thoughts.
Reacting quickly, Zara grabbed Selena's hand."Come on!" she said, and started running toward their classroom.
Drakan watched them go, his smile fading slightly. Narrowing his eyes, he turned and followed in the same direction.
In class, Natalia paced back and forth in front of the board, her voice carrying as she spoke about the upcoming tournament.
Meanwhile, Zara was speaking to Fluff with a serious expression.
"Fluff, what's going on? Drakan showed up a whole year earlier. Why?"
One hand pressed against her temple as she tried to think through the cause of it all.
Fluff, hearing her, rolled his eyes and replied,
[Obviously, Host, if you change the timeline, then time itself will shift accordingly.]
A wave of realization hit Zara. She froze for a moment, then screamed,
"So that means it's because of me?"
The class went deathly silent as Zara's words echoed through the room. Stiffly, she looked toward Natalia, who had stopped her lecture.
Natalia's veins bulged as she clenched her fists, clearly irritated. Without a word, she channeled her mana into a spell and fired a burst of energy directly at Zara.
"Ahhh!" Zara screamed in shock.
Natalia shouted back, her voice sharp and commanding,
"Didn't I say on the first day that you need to listen in my class?"
Mia, standing beside Zara, quickly stepped in.
"Instructor, Zara was just excited about hearing news of the tournament, right, Zara?" she said, nudging Zara gently.
Zara blinked, suddenly snapping out of her shock, and quickly nodded.
"Yeah, I mean—yes, Instructor."
Natalia eyed her suspiciously but ultimately shrugged, turning back to the class.
"Fine. But pay attention next time," she warned before continuing her lecture on the tournament.
Zara sighed in relief as Natalia became busy with her lesson again and returned to her seat.
Mia leaned in closer and whispered,
"What's going on, Zara? You've been spacing out this whole class. Did something happen?"
Zara shook her head, forcing a smile.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something else."