73 A Much Brighter Place To Live In

"Are you feeling better?" Kate asked with a serious expression. "You shouldn't have pushed yourself to come here if you were not feeling well."

"She's right you know," Ethan immediately supported Kate's words. Although he didn't like Stephen, he too thought that the boy should rest in order to fully recover. "It would be best if you go home and take a rest."

Stephen wanted to click his tongue in annoyance because the stink bug wanted him to go home. However, he held it in and simply gave Ethan the "You Filthy Mudblood" glare. He had waited for two weeks for this day just to see Kate and the insect was asking him to leave? No Way!

"Don't worry," Stephen replied with a smile. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night because I was too anxious about the test results."

Those who took the test could only nod their heads in understanding. Kate and Ethan weren't able to sleep much last night because they were worried about the test results as well. Ethan was worrying about Kate's test results. He wasn't worried about his own because he was confident that he passed the exam.

Stephen's face was still a bit pale but that didn't stop him from acting like his usual self. Since he was being stubborn, the group didn't say anything else.

"How were the results of the exam?" Stephen wanted to shift the topic away from him, so he immediately used the test results as an excuse to change the subject.

"We all passed," Kate said with a smile. Although she did her best to hold back the happiness in her voice, her eyes sparkled in delight. Stephen felt the stone hanging on his heart fall with Kate's wonderful news.

He tried asking his father about Kate's results, but the latter only told him that he wasn't the one who graded her papers. Stephen knew that his father was lying. However, since his father was not giving him a firm answer, he also held doubts in his heart. Deep inside he believed that Kate passed the exam, but since his father didn't deny nor confirm his suspicions his anxiousness remained.

"Congratulations," Stephen said with a smile. "I hope that the two of us will become classmates."

"I hope you're right." Kate also wished that the two of them would be classmates. Not only Stephen, but Ethan, Neville, and Luna as well. Since all of them were in the same year, the chances of them being grouped together was high.

'Don't worry, I'll make sure to ask my father to make us classmates,' Stephen thought. He then looked at Ethan who was smiling at Kate. 'As for you, I want you to stay as far away as possible from Kate.'

"Congratulations, Kate," Ethan beamed at her. "You worked really hard. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Ethan," Kate smiled at him.

Ciel watched all of these from the side with a neutral expression. He already knew Kate's results because the girl named, Stella, told him this morning. Still, he congratulated Kate when the girl saw her name on the academy's bulletin board.

Chloe also successfully passed the exam which made him happy as well. Since his father decided to let him stay in the dormitory of the academy, it would be easier to look after Kate and Chloe.

Ciel was satisfied with the arrangement. His only concern was Kate's and Chloe's roommate. Since the two girls were from different years, it was possible that they would not share the same dormitory room. He was afraid that Chloe wouldn't be able to adapt to her new environment.

Since maids or other servants were not allowed inside the academy, the little girl would have no choice but to handle everything on her own. Of course, he didn't rule out the possibility of Claire staying with her sister. If possible, he wanted Claire to share the room with Chloe. Then, and only then, would he be at peace.

'Maybe I should ask my mentor,' Ciel thought. 'I'll call him tonight. The sooner this is handled, the better.'

Since Ciel's mentor, Charles, was one of the board of directors in the academy, it would be very easy for him to pull some strings. Ciel wasn't afraid that Kate's roommate would bully her. He was more afraid of Kate bullying her roommate. He decided to talk to the girl later and ask her to be more lenient if she was grouped with a troublesome person.

Ciel didn't know that Kate had already handled this matter long ago. When Charles lost the bet, Kate's request was to have Chloe and her share the same room. The glutton was also worried that her "partner in crime" would find it difficult to stay in the school's dormitory, so she decided to ask Charles to group the two of them together.

Charles agreed, but his condition was for Kate to pass the exam. After all, how would he be able to grant her request if she didn't become a student of the academy.

-----

Somewhere in the Academy…

"Hello, Cedric, are you free right now?" Noah asked. He was currently seated inside the Dean's office and holding the phone in his hand.

"I am," Cedric's deep voice replied from the other end of the phone. "Is there something wrong?"

"No. I just called to tell you that your son has safely passed the exam. Congratulations."

Noah heard a soft chuckle from the other end of the line. "If he didn't pass, my wife would nag him for hours. I'm sure that this news will make her happy. Thank you for telling me."

The two did some small talk over the phone before Noah breached the topic that he wanted to convey to his close friend. Cedric listened and waited for his friend to finish talking. When Noah finished his explanation another soft chuckle was heard from the other side of the line.

"Are you sure about this?" Cedric asked. His tone carried mirth. Clearly, he was quite interested in Noah's proposal. "My boy is not a pushover you know. Don't come crying to me if your boy fails to make that girl fall for him."

"Although I don't want to brag, I am confident with my son's abilities," Noah replied good naturedly. "After all, he is my son."

"Pfft, you bastard. You never change."

"So what do you think, grasshopper? Do you have any problems with this arrangement?"

"I have no problems with it, you no-good-person," Cedric replied. "I just hope that our kids will get along."

"Don't worry," Noah said with confidence. "Since they are our sons, things will work out in the end."

"I sure hope you're right. Very well, I will leave my son in your care. Please, look after him for me or else my wife will come knocking on your door."

"I wouldn't mind if Lily came for a visit. Just make sure you accompany her."

The two close friends bantered for a while before Noah hung up the phone with a satisfied smile on his face. Since he got his friend's approval then he could put his plan into action.

"May the three of you have a wonderful school life," Noah said as he looked outside the window of his office. He was a selfish person. The reason he made this arrangement was to give Stephen a chance to open up to other people. He sincerely hoped that the girl Kate, and the boy Ethan, would make his world a much brighter place to live in.