The ballroom was alive with celebration—laughter, music, and the clinking of glasses filled the air as the first-years reveled in their newfound freedom.
But unlike most of her peers, Amy sat quietly at a round table near the edge of the hall, her posture graceful and reserved.
Surrounding her were a group of girls from noble families.
Their conversation flowed easily, mostly about status, their families, and the power they held as noblewomen.
One of the girls, a tall brunette with a confident air, looked over at Amy with a curious smile.
"So, Amy, you're the Blessed Sage now. I imagine you'll be taking on a lot of responsibility soon.
Tell me, what's it like to have such an important role? How do you manage?"
Amy barely registered the question, her thoughts miles away.
She turned her head slightly toward the girl and dismissed the inquiry without a second thought.
"It's nothing worth discussing."
The other girls exchanged glances, unsure whether to press further.
They had all grown accustomed to Amy's somewhat cold demeanor, but tonight she seemed even more distant than usual.
Sensing her disinterest, they quickly moved on, talking amongst themselves about the latest trends in court fashion, magical artifacts their families had collected, and which influential nobles they would soon be meeting.
Amy, however, wasn't listening.
Her mind was elsewhere, drifting back to the combat exams, to the moment she thought she had seen something unusual on Noah.
It wasn't clear, but she was almost certain she had spotted a mark on his neck—a mark that matched the descriptions of the corrupted students the school faculty had warned about.
They had been investigating cases of corruption recently, saying that some students showed signs of a mysterious, dark magic—a magic that manifested in strange tattoos on their bodies.
Amy couldn't shake the image from her mind.
That faint blue glow, barely visible, but there.
What if Noah really was one of the corrupted?
What if that tattoo was a sign?
The thought gnawed at her, but she couldn't simply walk up to him and ask to examine his body.
What if she was wrong?
It would be awkward, and worse, it would make her look like some kind of pervert.
Her cheeks flushed slightly at the idea.
Being the Blessed Sage, she thought to herself, I could just issue a restrain order on Noah.
She had the authority to do so, but that would raise even more questions.
The school would demand a reason, and she had none beyond a suspicion.
It was so much easier said than done.
And what if her instincts were wrong?
She rested her chin on her hand, staring absentmindedly at the room, her eyes unfocused.
"Even if it is just a suspicion..." she thought.
"...my senses are never wrong."
She had always trusted her instincts, especially now that her status as the Blessed Sage had heightened her awareness.
But this felt...different.
Amy's gaze wandered across the ballroom, landing on a group of students near the buffet table.
One of them had clearly overdone it on the drinks, his face red and his movements clumsy.
Suddenly, the boy raised his glass to chug another round, only to have the liquid shoot back out through his nose like a pair of tiny, sputtering streams.
Amy blinked, her grim thoughts momentarily interrupted.
The sight was ridiculous, and for a brief second, she almost smiled.
The other girls at the table, oblivious to Amy's inner turmoil, laughed softly at the display.
"Well, that's one way to drink," one of them said, amused.
Amy forced herself to focus back on the conversation for a moment, but her mind quickly wandered again.
She couldn't let this go.
If Noah really was corrupted, it could spell disaster for the entire academy.
But what if she was wrong?
She shook her head slightly, trying to clear her thoughts.
The last thing she wanted was to cause a scene based on nothing more than a glimpse of what might not even be there.
It had been a brief flash, and she hadn't had time to confirm.
But that blue glow—it was unmistakable.
Her fingers tapped idly on the edge of the table as she considered her options.
She could keep quiet and monitor Noah, but that came with risks.
If he really was corrupted, there was no telling how long it would take before something happened.
On the other hand, confronting him directly could backfire spectacularly, especially if she was wrong.
As the girls at the table continued their conversation, talking now about an upcoming ball in the capital, Amy found herself zoning out again.
She replayed the moment from the exams over and over in her mind, trying to recall every detail.
The glow, the placement of the mark—it all fit the description.
But it was just a glimpse, nothing more.
'What am I supposed to do?' she thought, growing increasingly frustrated.
A part of her wanted to confront Noah immediately, but the rational part of her knew she needed to be cautious.
If Noah was indeed one of the corrupted, she couldn't risk alerting him.
He might flee, or worse, go on the offensive.
But the idea of just sitting back and waiting made her restless.
Her fingers stopped tapping as her thoughts slowed to a decision.
She would have to investigate further, carefully.
Maybe she could observe Noah more closely, look for other signs, other moments when the mark might appear.
She wasn't willing to jump to conclusions just yet, but her instincts told her not to ignore this.
Not when so much was at stake.
The sound of the students laughing at the boy with drink running out of his nose faded into the background as Amy's mind returned to the exams.
"Whatever that mark was, it's connected to something dangerous," she muttered.
"And if Noah is involved, I'll find out soon enough."
Her gaze settled back on the room, watching as the first-years continued their revelry.