Chapter 47: Trish’s Masterplan!

"Perfect marks, Professor Bartimore."

"Again, Lord Reyn? That’s three in a row."

Lycan actually smiled as he marked it in his book. By now, the rest of the class had grown accustomed to it, especially after the drama surrounding the students who’d assaulted me.

No one wanted to cross me anymore. Those who approached did so either to curry favor or, in the case of the more eccentric students, because they’d started idolizing me outright.

I couldn’t blame the shift. Not only had I claimed first place, but five students rumored to have attacked me had simply vanished.

Officially, they’d been "transferred." The student body, of course, had other theories.

But it isn’t like they could do anything about it. The families involved in the cover-up had done an incredible job of hiding the fact that it was a murder.

"Reyn, have you seen Trish lately?" Anna asked beside me.

"Now that you mention it, not since this morning when she helped me with my bath."

"Helping with the bath?"

Anna’s lips curled suspiciously into a satisfied smile.

"N-Nevermind! Back to Trish, I saw her back in the hallway to the infirmary, and she seemed... busy."

Trish, busy? That wasn’t unusual in itself. If anything, it would’ve been strange if she weren’t. But after that smile she’d worn following her talk with my father about Richard Aurion, I figured it was worth keeping an eye on things.

✧ ✦ ✧

I’d gone to the academy library to return a book about advanced light magic. That was when I heard a familiar voice drifting from behind one of the shelves.

Trish.

Naturally, I eavesdropped. Privacy hardly mattered when it was for her own good, right?

"The establishment of the bank... the seventeenth rule of finance..."

She kept muttering, and through the gap between the shelves, I could see her restlessly scanning every book on finance and banking the library had to offer.

It didn’t take a genius to connect this to whatever she and my father had discussed.

Hiding behind a bookshelf wasn’t my style. Not when one of my precious villainesses was clearly plotting something. I’d rather confront her directly.

Besides, Zephra’s pills were still taking their time. Even in the novel, it took weeks for Lucius to unlock the abilities they granted. That gave me plenty of time to focus on Trish, and to hold off on pursuing any new villainesses until my own power finally surfaced.

One front at a time, that’s a lesson I learned in my past life.

"Trish."

I rounded the corner into her aisle, and she yelped, fumbling the stack of books in her hands before shoving them back onto the shelf. She clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head, the picture of innocence.

"Reyn! I didn’t know you were here. It’s... quite a good day for reading, isn’t it?"

A good day for reading...?

"I didn’t realize you were so interested in finance. Already training to take over your family’s affairs?"

"W-Well... you could say that."

She let out an awkward laugh, tapping her two index fingers together in a way that screamed she was hiding something.

Honestly, I’d expected her to be a little less obvious about it.

Though maybe that was the point. Around me, she didn’t feel the need to lie well. Or perhaps she was just too excited about her little "you’ll see" to remember how.

Either way, I liked it. A cunning villainess, failing utterly to hide her schemes from the man she loved.

That was its own kind of charm.

"Trish."

"Yes, Reyn?"

"You’re a terrible liar."

Her shoulders sagged, and she let out a breath that was half laugh, half surrender.

"I know. It’s just... I wanted to keep it a surprise, but I know you’d ask about it, and lying to you feels wrong, so I was purposefully avoiding you for a while."

"Who said anything about making you tell me?"

That earned me a genuine blink.

"W-What? You’re... not going to ask?"

"I trust you."

The words landed harder than I’d expected. Her eyes went wide, and for a moment, the facade cracked completely. Something raw flickered beneath it, the same desperate gratitude I’d seen when I first took her letter.

"Reyn..."

She stepped forward, close enough that I could smell the faint perfume she’d started wearing since becoming my maid, something floral, but not cloying. Her hand came up, hesitated, then settled lightly on my chest.

"I’ll make it worth the wait. I promise."

"I don’t doubt it."

"Good."

Her smile returned, softer this time.

"Now, would you like to help me study? It’s the least I could do for you trusting me. It might ease your worry a little."

I wasn’t exactly taking a risk here. This Trish had far more resources than the original, and the original, well...

Had already destroyed the Bank of Aurion as revenge in the novel’s original timeline.

So if whatever she was planning involved them, they were likely doomed. Even if the circumstances were drastically different.

Especially now that she had the support of the Brimstones and something to prove to her savior.

"Sure. Just don’t expect me to be a genius about it."

Supply lines and military economy sounded similar at first, but actual political economies and banks were a completely different beast than what I was used to.

And while I’d already studied the books she was reading as preparation, I doubted I’d be able to offer much to one of the most cunning and sharp-minded villainesses in the entire novel.

That didn’t mean I wouldn’t try.

She smiled, grabbed the books she had placed back, and led the way to a quiet corner table, where the afternoon light slanted through the tall windows.

A stack of texts sat waiting, and she wasted no time spreading them out, smoothing the pages with the kind of care that bordered on obsession.

✧ ✦ ✧

"Reyn."

I looked up from the book as Anna appeared at the library entrance an hour later, pink hair slightly windswept, her academy bag slung over one shoulder.

"I thought I’d find you two here."

"Anna!"

Trish rose smoothly, gathering her notes.

"Perfect timing. I was just about to head back to the estate. You two can spend time together for a while."

"You’re leaving?" Anna tilted her head.

"I still have preparations to make."

Trish’s smile carried a hint of the earlier mischief.

"I’ll see you both tomorrow."

She slipped out before either of us could object, leaving the scent of flowers and ink in her wake. Anna watched her go, then turned to me with an expression that was difficult to read.

"She’s planning something, isn’t she?"

"Probably, and I want you to help."

I smiled at Anna, and she smiled back almost immediately.

"Anything, Reyn."

She can keep it a secret, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to slack off.