Chapter 51: Spying On A Potential Spy

The two of us changed clothes and immediately decided to do something about the suspicious transfer student.

But we couldn’t act without proof. The first step was reconnaissance: figure out what he was up to before we could decide how to handle him.

Fortunately, the academy setting made it almost too easy.

Hours after P.E. ended and the last classes dismissed, Anna and I lingered behind while Trish left early to continue her economics studies. That left the two of us free to stalk the transfer student, who had also stayed behind.

From what we’d gathered so far, he’d already befriended his entire class, an impressive feat for someone who’d transferred so recently.

"I heard good things about Lord Reyn. Care to share what you know about him?"

He was talking to what appeared to be his closest friends, the same group who’d been laughing with him during tug-of-war.

Anna and I stood just around the corner, faces half-hidden behind open books as we pretended to converse while we listened in.

"Lord Brimstone? Well... depends on what you want to know." The burliest of the group spoke up.

"Depends...?"

"Before or after his change."

The transfer student blinked. If I had to guess, he was from somewhere far from the capital. Never having heard about my reputation, or my change, was proof enough.

"I guess I’ll start with before, then."

What followed was predictable. My lechery, my scandals, my bullying, and then the tables turning, back when everyone realized my father wouldn’t punish them for hitting back.

The transfer student listened with a focus that didn’t belong to some random newcomer. He looked like one of my old advisors during a command briefing, piecing together solutions while I laid out the situation.

"Interesting. What about after?" he asked.

"You’re really interested in him, huh?" the more slender one replied.

"Professor Lycan said I resembled him. I thought maybe we could be friends."

The way he said it made my skin crawl. Not because it was ominous, but because it was so absurdly innocent and sweet that it circled back around to creepy.

Even Anna looked put off.

"Are we sure he’s a young adult...?" she whispered.

I didn’t blame her. Words like that belonged to a saint, a sheltered ten-year-old, or someone with no idea how the world worked.

Or, well, me, when I’d given Anna that ridiculous redemption speech. The difference was, I hadn’t sounded anywhere near as absurdly innocent as he did.

"Well... considering he’s in the same batch as us, probably?" I whispered back.

We kept watching for another hour, but nothing else of note came up. The transfer student, John Ferrum, according to information we had gathered, finished his conversation, bid his friends goodbye, and headed toward the dormitories.

No suspicious meetings, no hidden handoffs, and no contact with anyone from the Bank of Aurion.

At least, none we could gather so far.

Just a friendly new student who wanted to be friends with the academy’s most infamous reformed prodigy.

It was almost disappointing.

"Maybe he really is just a fan."

Anna muttered as we finally stepped out from our hiding spot, stretching the stiffness from our legs.

"Maybe."

I didn’t believe it. A transfer student from a Bank of Aurion shareholder family arriving right as the conflict escalated wasn’t something I could write off as coincidence.

But proof was proof, and right now, we had none.

"We should head home. It’s getting late."

Anna nodded, though I caught her glancing back toward the dormitory one last time, a flicker of calculation behind her pink eyes.

I filed that look away for later. If Aurelius turned out to be a threat, I had no doubt Anna would handle it before he ever got the chance to cause real trouble.

The thought should have been reassuring.

It was. In a way.

But I didn’t want Anna handling the situation before I could potentially make him useful for engineering Trish’s eventual full mental snap.

If John really was a dangerous spy, then I’d make sure he partially won. Let Trish be the one to save me, not Anna.

Current her was great, but compared to her novel counterpart, she still needed a little bit more push. A little bit less... restraint.

And hopefully, this situation was the one to do it.

Though I’d make sure to properly comfort Anna afterward for missing her chance to be the one to help me.

Villainesses needed constant reassurance, after all.

"Actually, Anna, could I head to Lady Aqua’s dorm for a while?"

Anna tilted her head, suspicion flickering across her face.

"For what reason?"

I stepped closer and lowered my voice.

"To see if I can eavesdrop on John’s dorm from hers."

"I’ll come with you."

Well, that reply’s to be expected.

"Y’know what, sure. Having another woman there might make Lady Aqua less concerned about me using her room as a spy post."

✧ ✦ ✧

Aqua’s dormitory was exactly as I remembered it, immaculately organized, faintly frostbitten, and entirely too small for someone of her status. She answered the door in her training clothes again, though this time her hair was tied back and her arms were crossed before she’d even fully opened it.

"Lord Brimstone. Lady Rose."

Her blue eyes flicked between us with open suspicion.

"Twice in one week, huh?"

"Good evening to you too, Lady Aqua."

She stepped aside with a sigh, gesturing us in with a tilt of her head.

"...Come in."

Anna entered first, her gaze sweeping the room with open curiosity at what a duke’s daughter’s dormitory looked like. I followed suit, taking in the familiar space.

Aqua closed the door behind us and leaned against it, arms still crossed.

"So, what’s the reason you’re here this time?"

"Well, I want you and Anna to get to know each other better."

Aqua raised a brow in obvious disbelief.

"E-Excuse me?"

"It’s my idea, not Reyn’s."

Anna cut in smoothly.

"I was interested in how you reached Sage rank, and I wanted more perspectives. So far, I’ve only heard from Reyn and Lucius."

Anna played along with my lie almost immediately. I couldn’t exactly tell Aqua I was using her room to spy on another student, not yet. That conversation would come later, once I was sure she was as loyal to me as Anna and Trish were.

"And what exactly do I get out of this?"

I smiled, already having the perfect answer.

"I’ll give you one of my own secrets to how I obtained my power. A taste of the lessons you’d get if you choose to be taught by me."