I Killed The Main Characters

Chapter 110: Oh Him? He's Gone... [2]

Ariana's eyes went wide as the maid's words sank in like a cold blade.

"What?" she whispered, her voice almost lost in the quiet of the empty corridor.

"Yes," Ghislaine repeated, with a calm finality that made Ariana's stomach churn.

"The student... Noah Ashbourne... he was expelled."

She gave a slight, formal bow, her posture perfect and controlled, then turned on her heel and walked down the hallway, the gentle swish of her long maroon dress echoing against the walls.

Ariana slumped back against the wall, her legs buckling as the shock overtook her.

She slid down until she was sitting, knees bent, her skirt pooling around her legs in a mess.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt a strange numbness creeping over her.

Had she heard Ghislaine correctly?

Expelled? Noah, expelled?

No—no, it had to be a mistake, or maybe he was moved, reassigned to a different dormitory.

It couldn't be true.

'It just couldn't.'

She tried to focus, tried to breathe, but her thoughts were jumbled, colliding into one another like waves in a storm.

Why had he been expelled? What could he have done?

She remembered seeing him so many times in this room, always hunched over his desk with papers scattered everywhere, a serious look on his face, his eyes distant like he was seeing something no one else could.

She had visited him so often here, sharing quiet moments between their duties, his rare, tired smile a comfort in the long, exhausting days at Ravenwood.

And now... he was gone?

The sound of footsteps pulled her out of her daze.

Two students, a boy and a girl, rounded the corner, chatting animatedly about something.

When they noticed her, they stopped abruptly, their expressions shifting to one of recognition and respect.

They gave her a small, respectful bow—a gesture commoners reserved for those from prestigious families, acknowledging her status.

Ariana barely registered the gesture, still staring blankly ahead, her mind trapped in a whirlwind.

"Good evening, Lady Snow," the boy said, his tone deferential, careful.

"What brings you to Ironwood Hall? I thought you were at Silvercrest."

Ariana blinked, her gaze snapping to the students as if seeing them for the first time.

I heard one of the emperor's sons was involved in the investigation, too.

If the emperor catches wind of what happened, it could become a serious threat for the entire empire—maybe even the whole continent."

The boy nodded grimly.

"He should've known better. There's no mercy here, not with the stakes so high.

He must have been reckless, or maybe... maybe he was just desperate."

Ariana's mouth felt dry.

She wanted to argue, to scream that they were wrong, but the words wouldn't come.

She just sat there, motionless, staring at the polished floor as the students gave her one last sympathetic look before bowing again.

"Goodnight, Lady Snow," they said in unison, their voices a dull roar in her ears, before walking down the corridor, their footsteps fading into the distance.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Ariana didn't move, her body frozen, her mind a blank void that refused to focus.

Was it true? Could it be true? All of it?

She felt a tightness in her chest, her heart aching with an emotion she couldn't quite name—pain, betrayal, sorrow... and something else, something darker, something she didn't want to acknowledge.

A faint flutter of wings made her look up, and Augustus, her translucent sparrow companion, materialized in front of her, his emerald-green feathers shimmering faintly in the dim light.

"Ariana," he said softly, his voice gentle, full of concern.

"I..."

But she didn't respond. She didn't look up.

Her gaze was fixed on the floor, empty and cold, her body hunched over like a fragile doll about to break.

Her hair fell in loose, tangled strands around her face, hiding her expression, and her shoulders trembled with the weight of her silent despair.

"Arian- Miss Snow..."

Augustus said again, his voice breaking with a helplessness he rarely showed.

He had known this girl since she was five, had seen her smile and laugh and grow into the young woman she was now.

And now, he could do nothing but watch her shatter, the pain he couldn't ease tearing at his very soul.

Ariana said nothing. She didn't move, didn't blink, didn't acknowledge him.

She just sat there, motionless, as if the world had ceased to exist around her, as if the cold, empty floor of the hallway was all that remained.

And Augustus, unable to do anything more, could only stay by her side, a silent, loyal witness to the broken girl before him.