Chapter 353 [Nyrel Loyster] Flashback [6]

Chapter 353 [Nyrel Loyster] Flashback [6]

"Come on, Nyr! Get up!" Ephera's voice rang out as she tugged at Nyrel's hand, urging him to rise from his seat.

As soon as the class ended, Ephera made a beeline for Nyrel's desk, determined to get his attention.

"Why?" Nyrel asked, neatly stowing away his belongings while trying to maintain a facade of normalcy, aware of Jayce's piercing glare from behind.

"I need to buy something, and I don't want to go alone!" Ephera explained.

"But your brother—" Nyrel began, only to be cut off abruptly.

"Oops, I have to go!" Emric said, swiftly making his exit.

Nyrel was left speechless by the sudden turn of events. It seemed Emric was under the impression that Ephera harbored romantic feelings for him so he decided to help his sister by not coming between them. Meanwhile, Nyrel was convinced that Ephera's persistent attempts to be close to him stemmed from her father's twisted and unsettling fixation on him. Despite it having been two years, Ephera showed no signs of letting up. If anything, her clinginess only seemed to intensify with time.

Normally, Nyrel would have rebuffed any woman exhibiting such behavior and hidden intentions, but inexplicably, he found it difficult to harbor any negative feelings towards Ephera.

"Pretty please?" Ephera pleaded once more, her hands clasped together. With her captivating beauty, it was hard for any man to refuse her, and even more so for Nyrel.

Any other woman displaying such clinginess and ulterior motives would have been swiftly rejected by Nyrel, possibly even angering him. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to feel anything but a strange fondness for Ephera.

She seemed genuine around him.

"Do you want to come, Shayna?" Nyrel relented, turning to ask Shayna, who was hurriedly packing her things.

"Ah, sorry, Nyr! Today I'm going to see my little brother! He must be waiting for me!" Shayna exclaimed happily. Despite feeling a pang of envy towards Ephera's relationship, Shayna couldn't bear to miss her reunion with her adopted brother, her only family.

As Nyrel looked at Shayna, he recalled what Marcel had said.

Shayna had killed her adoptive parents and had undergone a similar reeducation process as him. However, over the past two years, Nyrel had learned a lot about Shayna, and one thing he was certain of was her deep love for her adoptive brother, and it seemed the feeling was mutual; otherwise, they wouldn't be allowed to meet.

If Shayna had committed such a serious act, Nyrel thought, there must have been a reason behind it. He had no intention of severing his relationship with Shayna just because of that. After all, she was the first friend he had made here and he knew that in some situation, even the greatest saint might be overwhelmed by hatred. "Come on!" With a cheerful grin, Ephera tugged on Nyrel's arm, coaxing him out of the classroom with a contagious enthusiasm that he couldn't help but succumb to, albeit with a resigned sigh trailing behind him.

As they stepped out into the schoolyard, Ephera halted abruptly, her eyes gleaming mischievously. "Hold on a second!" she exclaimed, positioning Nyrel in front of the school building.

Nyrel raised an eyebrow in mild exasperation. "What's going on now?" he asked.

Ephera's grin widened as she reached up to remove Nyrel's glasses, eliciting a protest of "Oy." from him.

"Just wait a moment!" Ephera insisted, as she proceeded to adjust Nyrel's attire, loosening his tie and smoothing down his shirt that had ridden up, then deftly fixing his tousled hair.

After a minute or so of fussing, Ephera stepped back, nodding to herself in satisfaction. "There, much better!" she declared triumphantly.

Nyrel couldn't help but roll his eyes, as he replaced his glasses with eye contacts. "What's gotten into you?" he questioned, though there was a tinge of softness in his gaze as he met Ephera's grin.

"You don't have to put on a facade with me," Ephera said earnestly, her blue eyes alight with sincerity. "You can just be yourself, no need to conform to anyone else's expectations."

Nyrel looked at her silently. Since the loss of his family, Ephera had been a steadfast source of care and understanding, a rare beacon of light in his darkened world as much he tried to deny it.

"You're too clingy," Nyrel said lightly, a feeble attempt to mask what was welling within him as he turned away, hands slipping into his pockets.

Ephera's pout was swift to follow as she sidled up to Nyrel, nudging his shoulder playfully. "Hey, don't leave me behind!" she chided playfully.

"You are noisy." "Only toward Nyr."

"I've already told you, your attempts at seduction won't sway me anymore. Maybe it's time to try a different approach," Nyr said wearily.

Ephera fell silent, her lips parting slightly as she absorbed Nyr's words. She couldn't help but notice the subtle shifts in his demeanor towards her, changes that were becoming increasingly apparent. And strangely, it delighted her to see these new facets of him, reserved solely for her.

"Y-Yanis! Don't embarrass us!" The dark skinned woman protested, her cheeks heating with embarrassment.

"Just being a protective boyfriend, Marlene. Can't have this guy getting any ideas," Yanis said, his tone teasing.

"There's no need for that," Ephera intervened, her voice tinged with a hint of coldness as she appeared behind Nyr, her grip firm on his arm, though her smile failed to reach her eyes.

Marlene's gaze drifted to Ephera, admiring her beauty like the others in the vicinity. "Wow..." She breathed softly.

"Are you his girlfriend? Did he try to hit on my girlfriend while you were with him? Ahaha!" Yanis joked, earning a glare from Marlene.

"He didn't, did you, Nyr?" Ephera asked, turning to Nyr, who seemed bewildered by the turn of events.

He had been lost in his own thoughts, grappling with the unsettling realization that he had once again mistaken someone else for Leon. It wasn't the first time he'd experienced such hallucinations, and each occurrence left him feeling more disconcerted than the last.

'Am I becoming mad...?'

"Sorry..." Nyr's apology hung in the air, his gaze clouded with a mix of emotions.

Yanis regarded Nyr with a curious stare, while Marlene let out a weary sigh. "He looks upset..."

"More like he's a few screws loose," Yanis said with a chuckle that didn't please Ephera.

"Really? Look at yourself. All muscles and no brains, huh?" Ephera fired back, her words laced with sarcasm.

Yanis narrowed his eyes, his tattoos accentuating his dark-skinned, muscular frame, giving him a rough, intimidating appearance. Despite his rugged good looks, it was hard to fathom how the gentle and beautiful Marlene ended up with such a brash character.

"..what did you say?" Yanis narrowed his dark eyes.

"You heard me," Ephera continued, before attempting to pull Nyr away from the escalating confrontation.

"Hold on a minute. Tell your messed-up boyfriend to apologize to Marlene first. He's the one causing trouble," Yanis insisted, his tone growing colder.

Marlene attempted to placate Yanis, but he brushed off her attempts, his gaze fixed on Ephera with a mixture of defiance and aggression.

Ephera met his stare with a snort. "Looks like brains are clearly not your strong suit."

"You're asking for it!" Yanis raised his hand as if to push Ephera, but before he could act, Nyr swiftly intervened, grabbing Yanis's arm with a firm grip.

"I've already apologized," Nyr stated icily, his gaze cold as he locked eyes with Yanis.

Tension crackled within the confines of the bus as the surrounding passengers instinctively edged away, sensing the imminent confrontation.

"You brats! Get off my bus!!!" the driver's voice boomed angrily, the doors swinging open in invitation.

Without hesitation, Nyr and Ephera wasted no time in exiting the bus, the tension lingering in the air behind them.

Yanis clicked his tongue in irritation as he followed suit, Marlene trailing close behind, her expression a mix of embarrassment and frustration.

"Where the heck did that bastard drop us?" Yanis muttered, annoyed looking around him. There were a few houses around with a road ahead but that was all.

"Whose fault?" Marlened asked, crossing her arms angrily.

"R–Right." Yanis scratched his hair awkwardly before his gaze went ahead.

Nyr and Ephera were walking ahead seemingly knowing where to go.

"Let's follow them." "DON'T FIGHT." Marlene said with a stare.

"I-I know!" Yanis retorted to his girlfriend.