After a week of recuperating, every student, from Freshman to Senior, gathered in the morning, all seated in the grand hall.

Hundreds of them chatted as Sebastian mounted the podium and the microphones hummed.

"Where's Godfrey?" Percival whispered to Isaac when he found Godfrey's seat empty.

"He left earlier than usual. I thought he'd be with Isolde," Isaac replied.

"Today, I will be announcing the best student of the year. This honour isn't for being the best academically, or for having the best summon, neither is it because he's the best summoner, but this honour is for erasing the red gate dungeon."

'The headmaster wasn't the one that erased the gate!' Isolde gasped in shock, an expression shared by every student in the hall except Isaac.

Isaac rose to his feet as the doors behind them opened, revealing Godfrey, smartly dressed in his uniform. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and walked into the hall as Isaac slowly clapped.

"Him?!" Damien's eyes widened.

"So you knew where he was," Percival hissed under his breath as he also rose.

One row after another, until eventually every student was on their feet with awed faces.

"It was Godfrey that stopped the red gate," Lucy said in disbelief as she looked at Isolde. For the first time, she saw similar disbelief in Isolde's eyes.

Damien, Vin, and Tyla rose but couldn't bring themselves to clap. Godfrey didn't even spare them a glance, but as his eyes met Isolde's, time seemed to slow for a moment.

This achievement had no doubt given him the greatest points of the year.

He beat Isolde in the most unexpected way.

The clapping intensified as he stood on the podium, receiving an award and a medallion under the bright lights of several photographers.

Sebastian gestured for him to take the lectern. Godfrey stood before it, taking one deep breath as he leaned close.

"Thank you."

He said it with a beautiful smile.

Lots of girls went wide-eyed, even Lucy found herself blushing softly at the charm oozing off Godfrey.

Clearing his throat, Godfrey turned to Sebastian.

"Can you grant me a favour, Sir?"

"Go ahead. It's your day," Sebastian replied warmly.

Godfrey exhaled, brought out a neatly folded letter, and placed it on the lectern.

"In a few days, we would all be heading home. T… this…" Godfrey's voice thickened. "…might be one of the last few opportunities I've got to gaze at your face. Who knows, you might be sent to that Island, and I'll keep gazing at my phone for three months."

Edwin's eyes widened. He thought Godfrey was going to address the crowd.

What was he doing?!

"…Just don't let this face evade your mind."

Godfrey's head was still down but he lifted his eyes, those ocean-blue eyes locking onto her golden-orange ones filled with disbelief.

It was three months.

God knew what she would do with his last reply. He just wanted to make things clear, right here, right now.

Tightening his grip around the lectern, Godfrey continued, "I want to let everyone know that Pendragon girl's taken."

He lifted his head from the paper, staring at the crowd of students.

"She's mine."

His voice was soft, yet impactful.

"Is he seriously saying that before the entire school?!" Evangeline rolled her eyes.

"It was only a matter of time. It's his moment after all, let him earn it," Edwin chuckled softly.

***

Later in the evening, long after the sun had gone down, Isaac entered a dark room and froze as he faced Percival and Lucy glaring at him.

"I'm sorry. I brought popcorn and chips," he smiled brightly, showing his teeth as he scuttled to the window.

"Wow! It's intense."

From the window of the story building, they stared at the duo on the field. Godfrey stood there in a sweatshirt and pants, looking at the girl walking toward him.

Isolde wore a gray hoodie, the hood pulled over her head but not hiding her face. She also wore a fake two-piece sports pants and sneakers, outlining her streamlined body.

She stopped about ten feet away. "You had to confess before the entire school after rejecting me in a dungeon."

Godfrey smiled awkwardly.

Isolde raised an eyebrow.

"Where's all that charm you had earlier? We should probably go to the hall. I want to see that Godfrey again."

'It took me two days and nights to write that short letter. That confidence came from a week of prepping myself, Godfrey sighed inwardly.'

Isolde continued walking until the gap between them disappeared.

"You still owe me bubble tea."

She rose to her toes and planted a soft kiss on his right cheek.

"She's kissing him!" Isaac freaked out. "He's kissing a goddess!"

Percival smacked his back.

"She just pecked his cheek."

Isolde's eyebrows fluttered at the heavy drumbeat of Godfrey's heart.

"Is that your heartbeat?"

Her question made Godfrey stagger back, prompting her to giggle.

"I will be going back to the island. My first summon still hasn't left the unknown zone for some reason."

"I'm sure you'll have it at your beck and call by the time we resume," Godfrey replied softly as he strolled to a bench and patted the spot beside him.

There was no real reason to sit, but he chose to anyway.

There was this instinct, an enchanting feeling driving him.

As Isolde sat beside him, she naturally leaned close, and he slowly wrapped his hand around her waist, gently leaning his head toward hers.

"I hope so. Summons are what our soul forms, a form of adaptation for us to survive, even though it was triggered by mana. But a summon outside my known soul space… was formed by a part of me I'm largely unaware of."

"It's going to be powerful."

Godfrey's reply made Isolde look at him.

The way he disregarded the danger she pointed out was amusing, at least to her.

"Thank God! We almost lost them," Isaac said in excitement as they rushed to another classroom to keep watching the couple.

"Do you think we're encroaching into their space?" Lucy grimaced.

"I guess so," Percival sighed. He was out of character tonight. Was this a trait he inherited from his sister?

"They're kissing!" Isaac bellowed, pointing at the window. Both Percival and Lucy snapped their heads toward it, but the duo were still in the same position.

Isaac clicked his tongue.

"Hypocrites. They already have the entire field, that's hundreds of yards. We've given them enough space."

He tossed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

***

School eventually closed two days later, and Godfrey left along with the other students. The moment he opened the door to his home, his eyes settled on his mother moving around the dining table, setting up a large quantity of food.

"Hi, sweetheart!" Valentina raced over and pecked his forehead. "I hope you didn't eat!"

"Hi, Mom," Godfrey said exhaustedly. He was already terrified by the quantity of food.

"I've got your break all planned out. We and the boys are going on a vacation." She smiled sweetly.

"The boys?!" Godfrey raised a puzzled eyebrow.

"Mountain, Ballista, Tempest. All of them, including White."

Seeing his mother's enthusiasm, Godfrey chuckled.

"Those are honoured knights. Some are two centuries old."

"Even still," Valentina said with a chirpy tone.

"Where are we even going?!"

"Take a shower and eat first."

In the shower, Godfrey looked at the scars across his torso.

He kept them, to remember what he had to go through to grow stronger.

A flawless body leaves no past. A scarred body has a story.

His would remind him of Dracula for a long time.

After the shower, Godfrey joined his mother and Victoria at the dining table.

"Are you planning to take a job? I know you like healing people."

"I'll think about it after we celebrate our birthdays. With one month gone, we have only three weeks left. I've planned for each day to be a fun one," Valentina said.

"Oookayyy…" Godfrey raised a subtle eyebrow at Victoria, silently asking what was with his mother's oddness.

Victoria shrugged.

That night, someone suddenly opened Godfrey's door and switched on the light, revealing the golden-haired teen on the floor, doing push-ups.

"Five… hundred!"

Godfrey, all sweaty, exhaled as he glanced at Victoria.

"What brings you by?"

Victoria sat in his chair and crossed her leg.

"How strong are you right now?"

"Mid-level king tier at my best. But with my army, I can do a lot more damage than any peak-level king tier." Godfrey got to his feet. "Why do you ask?"

Victoria took a moment to process what she'd just heard. It was absurd,but he had spoken about king tier potential in the past.

"You must have known I'm a special security, bred and trained to be among the ten best in Amazon. There, I was the best of my batch. But my summon is under an oath, I cannot disobey my superiors."

Godfrey frowned.

"Who are your superiors?"

"I don't know. It's a way to ensure we don't go rogue and try to kill the summoner who bound us. I was given the order to protect your mother right after your father died. It's been sixteen years since then, and I received another order a month ago. Make sure she doesn't leave my sight."

"Make sure she doesn't leave your sight?"

Victoria closed her eyes briefly.

"My summon will no longer support me in protecting either of you. There are agents all around this place, and they plan to take White right after its birthday. They want its heart, they say it can save millions, it can bring this perfect life where everyone can grow old with their loved ones—"

"What about my loved one?"

Godfrey sounded calm, but she knew he was the furthest thing from calm.

His world was crumbling before his eyes and on such a good day.

Victoria wanted to speak, but she couldn't. Tears brimmed in her eyes.

"Godfrey… you need to escape. This peace is a façade. Once your mother's gone, there's nothing stopping anyone from changing their minds. You'll become like me, your summons bound by oath, a part of your soul under someone else's control."

"No one…" Godfrey's eyes gleamed.

"Absolutely no one is taking her from me. I'll burn this world if they do!!"

....

A/N: We've broken the barrier! Another milestone of 1,700 powerstones!

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