The academy halls were quiet.
Aegis's footsteps echoed off the stone walls as she made her way through the east wing. No clusters of gossiping nobles. No scholarship students rushing to class. No prefects patrolling with clipboards and disapproving frowns.
Summer break had emptied Rosevale like someone had pulled a drain plug.
Most students were back in their home villages or off touring foreign nations with their families. The ones who stayed were either too poor to travel or too invested in summer training to leave. Aegis fell into both categories, technically, though "too poor" was becoming less accurate by the day.
[House Vermillion's stipend hits next week. Plus whatever I can squeeze out of monster hunting. Should be enough to start the garden restoration, at least.]
She turned down a corridor lined with portraits of former headmasters. Their painted eyes may as well have followed her with vague disapproval.
