My door opened with a silent creak, doing nothing to soothe the ringing in my ears.
I held my briefcase tightly, enough to make my knuckles white, as I made my way through my dorm’s hall.
There, I met Nina, my personal maid. She held a red-leather book with her.
“Good morning, Lord Nicholas. Here is your History assignment. I have finished it with the proper—”
I brushed past her, grabbing the book out of her hands forcefully, nearly slamming into her arms. My servant’s voice trailed off, replaced by her frantic steps as she scrambled to keep a respectful pace behind me.
“Leave me alone,” I ordered.
She stopped in her tracks, and I heard her clothes ruffle as she offered what I assumed to be a deep bow.
Normally, I would have her read my schedule to me as I made my way to the main building, but today, the very sight of her made my skin crawl.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that day.
I saw the way Carine had looked at us… Or perhaps, looked through us. That cold disdain I had once admired, one that I wish every noble with dignity would learn to do, was turned like a knife against me.
How…
How did things get this wrong?
I had invited her for a brief chat over tea regarding the current state of the academy. But not only did she not input any of her own thoughts, but her only concern was just learning about the tournament. Even if that was the reason she came to our gathering, it should’ve been common sense for one to dissolve the tension with small talk.
But she didn't engage at all. She sat there like a statue made of ice.
In hindsight, that should’ve been a sign. A sign clearer than the morning sky today.
When she left our gathering so abruptly, I briefly allowed myself to believe that Alishia and I had simply overstayed our welcome with our observations. But no, her leaving was the plan all along.
She briskly made her way to her servant, that filth whom she named her attendant. And when she arrived there… she willingly dragged her name through the mud just to defend him against concrete physical evidence… and it somehow convinced everyone…
But what irritated me most of all… was the report Markus gave me later. He revealed that she knew. She had known our plan from the very beginning.
That meant the moment Alishia invited her over for our gathering… or perhaps even before that… she had known we were just trying to hold her off.
How.
I ask again… how?
Perhaps her claiming first place during the entrance exam wasn’t a fluke. Perhaps the Sareid bloodline truly does carry an intuition as sharp as a razor. It was proof that Carine was, indeed, the pinnacle of this academy. She was exactly what I wanted her to be. What I strived to be.
Yet why…
“Why must she waste it on defending him?!”
The words tore from my throat as I slammed my fist into the dormitory wall. The thud echoed down the empty hall.
I retracted my hand slowly and dragged my palm down over my face. I let out a heavy, shuddering breath, trying to force a sense of calmness back into place, but my eyes were drawn instinctively to the side.
There, mounted on a movable wooden stand, was the academic notice board. They were everywhere. In every hall, every dorm entrance, every corner of the grounds. No matter where you were in the academy grounds, you would come across one eventually.
And there, in bold, unapologetic black ink, was the paper that had haunted me ever since it was posted yesterday morning.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Four names, listed for the academy to see.
I stared at the parchment.
—
DISCIPLINARY ACTION NOTICE:
Due to the fabrication of a false report and an attempt to deface another student’s name, these students shall be disciplined with the following:
Nicholas of House Nineid(Year 2, Honors): Class transfer to Year 2, Oxen Class.
Ravilenna of House Loredein(Year 1, Honors): Class transfer to Year 1, Bison Class.
Markus of House Moreid: Suspension from all academic activities for one month.
Alishia of House Pareid: Suspension from all academic activities for one month.
Any further attempts to subvert Royal Knights’ code of integrity will result in an immediate expulsion.
Signed,
The Director of Public Relations
—
Even after reading it for the dozenth time… my heart simply refused to believe it.
The Honors class was the sanctuary of the elite, the place where I belonged, the place where I was meant to be. Yet in a single night… it was taken from me.
The change in class wasn’t due until next week, yet every time I passed someone I acquainted myself with… be it in class or in the halls, I knew for a fact from their eyes that they pity me. Or perhaps, even mocking me.
After taking a deep breath, I slowly made my way out of my dorm and headed to the main building. I tried to keep my head straight, but every single glance thrown my way… it all felt like a sting.
…
As I entered the main building, the stares only intensified. I tried to tell myself I was stronger than this. I was a proud Nineid. I was made of tougher material than these gossiping monkeys.
I made my way up the stairs and into a quieter part of the halls. A detour from the shortest path to class, but one I was willing to take for the sake of silence, just so I could have time with my own thoughts.
If I bring my mother into this... if she petitions the board... perhaps I could turn this against—
“Sir Nicholas…”
A voice, frail and trembling, called out. I stopped in my tracks and turned to find Ravilenna standing there. Her knuckles were white where they gripped her bag
“Tell me… this is all a mistake, isn't it?” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I’m being transferred out of Honors class next week… If my father hears about this…” She trembled in place, as if sensing her own end. “Please, tell me you’ve already spoken to the Board. Tell me you fixed it.”
I looked at her, and for a moment, I didn't see a peer. I saw a dying leech trying to latch onto my sleeve.
"Keep your voice down," I demanded.
"Please… you have to do something! The Director won't even see me! I tried reaching out countless times, but those instructors said the decision was final because of the—"
“—Don’t give me those flimsy excuses, Ravi.” I stepped toward her. “I gave you a simple role. A child could have done it in their sleep. But you and Markus handled the evidence with the grace of a drunken horse."
"But we followed your orders!" she gasped, recoiling as if I’d struck her.
“Didn’t I tell you to keep your voice down?!” I growled. “Everything was going well! It would’ve gone without a hitch! But you and Markus just had to let Carine know of our plan!”
“How is that our fault?!” she said, her voice cracking. “Weren’t you the one supposed to hold her off?”
“That’s not the problem here—Ugh!” I choked on my own rage, nearly slamming my briefcase against the floor. I forced myself to take a deep breath, to regain any composure I had left.
I turned back to Ravilenna, but the girl I saw wasn’t the one I knew. The eyes that had once looked at me with the quiet reverence of a subordinate were gone, replaced by a gaze of pure, unfiltered anger.
The sheer audacity.
I clicked my tongue, waiting for the inevitable apology, for the pathetic stammering that would signal her return to her place. But the silence stretched.
When I assumed she was going to defend herself pathetically again, she stepped back. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me.
“You put us into this mess… and now you can’t even get yourself out…” she whispered, a tired chuckle escaping her throat. “You’re pathetic…”
She turned on her heel and walked away.
I stood frozen, my jaw locked in place.
My grip on my briefcase tightened; I could feel blood being drawn from my palm as my fingers dug deep. I stayed silent, not out of mercy, but because I knew that if I opened my mouth… things wouldn’t end well for both of us.
I forced my feet to move. But my mind remained on her words.
I’m… pathetic?
No. I had done everything right. I had delivered a report to the Director directly through someone trustworthy. It was a masterpiece of evidence that should have seen that servant dragged from the gates in chains.
But the moment I heard news of his decision to side with Carine and dismiss my report? I could only laugh.
The man was a coward. A director reduced to a lapdog the moment Carine flashed her lineage. He hadn’t dismissed the report based on the facts; he had ruled under her orders and name. He had sacrificed my standing to appease a woman who didn't even have the decency to follow the expected obligation of her status.
Every one of them is pathetic…
I kept my head high as I neared the heavy doors of the Honors wing. I would walk into that class today as I always had.
In my mind… I echoed her name.
Carine…
I had thought of her as the gold standard. The pinnacle. But I see now that I was mistaken. She wasn’t a goal to be reached, not a pillar to strive for. She was a defect. A Ducal-heir willing to drag her bloodline through dirt for a common servant is no noble; she was a traitor to the very system that birthed her.
She was as much a nuisance as that thing she kept at her side.
There would come a day when she would fall, the day when everyone would see her for what she truly was, a traitor and a fraud.
And I would ensure that her downfall was delivered by my hands alone.
