Chapter 126: She Knows He Knows She Knows

Clarice trudged down the hallway, feeling thoroughly defeated and deeply confused by her son’s reaction to what she thought would’ve been devastating news. He even rebuked their Goddess! There must be something wrong with him. Where did her and Beralt go wrong in raising him?

As she reached her bedroom, a spike of nervousness flared in her chest. Where was her phone? If it wasn’t in Jack’s office, who had it? Did Jack find it? Or worse, did Blair stumble across it?

She grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open. She froze dead in her tracks.

Jack was standing inside her room, his back turned to her as he looked out the window at the bustling city below.

Clarice swallowed the sudden lump of nervousness in her throat. She quickly squared her shoulders, clearing her throat to announce her presence.

"It is very inappropriate for a man to just enter a beastwoman’s room uninvited," Clarice scolded, adopting her most authoritative tone. "Even if this is your house."

Jack didn’t even turn his head. He kept his gaze fixed on the city skyline. "You thought it was perfectly fine to enter my private space without my knowledge," Jack pointed out smoothly. "Why can’t I do the same?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Clarice claimed, attempting to play dumb.

Jack let out a dry hum. "Don’t bother playing dumb with me, Clarice. I already know the truth."

Realizing the jig was up, Clarice dropped the innocent act entirely. She lifted her chin, a challenging spark lighting up her silver eyes.

"So," Clarice started, her tone lacing with a hint of a sneer. "Are you going to ’punish’ me the way you ’punished’ Blair?"

She let the implication hang in the air, silently confirming that she had indeed heard the spanking through the office door.

Jack slowly turned around. He looked at her with an expression of boredom and disinterest. "Are you that desperate for a man to touch you?"

Clarice’s face instantly flushed a brilliant, furious red. "You are a brute!" she snapped.

"Speaking of brutes," Jack countered effortlessly, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a black smartphone. "Your husband messaged this morning."

Clarice’s breath hitched.

Jack tilted his head, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. "Aren’t the both of you a bit too old to be sending nudes?"

The flush on Clarice’s face deepened from red to a mortified shade of crimson. She scrambled forward, snatching the phone from his hand before he could even finish his sentence. Jack let her take it easily, making no move to stop her.

Clarice clutched the phone tightly to her chest, glaring daggers at him.

"Aren’t you a bit too old to be mating with your student?" Clarice fired back, her silver eyes narrowing sharply.

Jack chuckled softly. "Touche."

Clarice didn’t back down. "Why are you here?" she demanded. "You found the phone, so I know you know that I know your little secret. What do you want to do now? Threaten me? Blackmail me?"

She took a confident step forward. "I could easily ruin your life with this secret, Jack. I could have you stripped of your title and thrown out of the academy."

Jack raised a brow, looking mildly amused. "Sounds to me like you’re threatening me."

"Maybe I am," Clarice pushed, her confidence surging as she realized the power she held over him. "Help me break up my son and Blair. I’m sure you’d prefer having her to yourself anyway."

Jack hummed, feigning being deep in thought. "Funny. I was just going to suggest that idea."

Clarice’s eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Really?"

"Yes," Jack told her. "I need your help forcing a wedge between them."

Clarice couldn’t believe her ears. She stared at him, utterly bewildered. "What happened to not forcing Daemus to be with someone he doesn’t love?" she asked, throwing his own words from the previous night right back in his face.

"That is what I still believe," Jack replied calmly. "But you don’t. Which makes you the best person to do it."

Clarice’s surprise slowly melted into a teasing, knowing amusement. A sly smile stretched across her lips. "Don’t tell me you actually fell in love with the girl."

"Don’t be ridiculous," Jack dismissed instantly.

He turned on his heel and walked toward the door. As he stepped out into the hallway, he muttered a final thought aloud, "I just don’t like losing."

Jack disappeared down the corridor before Clarice could even ask him what he meant by that.

Left alone in her room, Clarice immediately unlocked her phone. She was certain Jack had deleted the video to protect himself, but she needed to check just to be sure.

To her surprise, the video was still sitting right there in her gallery.

She hurriedly clicked on it, a triumphant smile blooming on her face. The video started playing. It showed her pushing Blair into the office, locking the door, and then continued to Jack sitting at his chair by the desk while Blair hid underneath it.

And then... the video ended.

Clarice blinked. "No way that’s it," she muttered in disbelief.

She quickly scrolled through her phone, exited her gallery, and checked again. But that was really it. The video was only a few minutes long.

She groaned loudly, rubbing her temples in sheer frustration. Her phone battery must have died before it could capture anything incriminating. Now she had no hard evidence to show her poor, delusional son, who was clearly still living in deep denial.

A soft ding pulled her from her frustration. A new message popped up on her screen.

Beralt: How much longer will this take? When are you coming home? I miss you.

Clarice’s frustrated frown softened slightly. She quickly typed a response.

Clarice: I miss you too. I’ll be home soon. Things will go a lot faster now with Jack helping me.

Almost immediately, her phone buzzed with a reply.

Beralt: Be wary of Jack. He could out-sly a fox. You cannot trust him.

Clarice scoffed quietly at the text, shaking her head. She felt confident in her new position. Jack had a scandalous secret now, and she knew what it was. He wouldn’t dare cross her while she held such power over him.