Chapter 699: Wary

"Young Lord of Ash, I understand your concern for your own family member, but you have to understand that this matter isn’t a simple case."

A noble upperclass lady, who was a Third-Year student, said with a wary look on her face.

A few faction members nodded in agreement with what she said.

Their responses were not loud, but they were enough to show that her opinion was shared by others at the round table.

The discussion had not been settled, and some members were still concerned about the matter involving Ezra.

"You do realize my father stated that this matter is under his knowledge, right?"

Bella Ashenlocke said with a displeased tone.

Her words carried the weight of her family’s position.

The Duke of Ash had already made his stance clear, yet some members were still expressing their concerns.

Bella was clearly not pleased with the way they were approaching the situation, especially when the matter concerned a member of her own family.

"Bella, that is not fear."

The last board member of the Golden Circle Faction said softly, looking at Bella.

"We all know and understand what the Duke of Ash said, but we have the right to be wary."

She said with a clear look of worry.

The response did little to settle the disagreement.

Both sides understood what the Duke had said, but they did not see the matter in exactly the same way.

While Bella considered his statement important enough to be taken seriously, the other board members believed that the faction members were still entitled to their concerns.

The Ashenlocke members of the faction all frowned at the fact that many of the influential members of the Faction were acting wary of Ezra, who was a member of their family.

They were gathered around the same table, yet the discussion had placed Ezra in a position where his own faction members were expressing doubts about him.

The displeasure on the Ashenlocke members’ faces was clear, even as the conversation continued.

"Enough, all of you."

Claris Greenwood said firmly.

"I haven’t finished speaking yet, and you are all making your statements however you want."

She looked at the members with an unsatisfied expression.

The faction members who had been speaking their minds earlier settled down.

Some felt slightly awkward because of Claris’s reaction.

They had been voicing their concerns, but the discussion had moved ahead before she could finish what she was saying.

A few, however, did not stop gazing at Ezra warily.

Their attention remained on him, even after the room quieted down.

Ezra sat among the faction’s influential members, facing the same looks that had followed the discussion from the beginning.

He did not respond to every gaze or attempt to defend himself before he was asked to speak.

"Please continue, Claris. Don’t be displeased. They are all just trying to express their concerns."

Princess Victoria Aethelmont, who had remained quiet since the meeting started, spoke with an amused expression.

It seemed she was clearly enjoying what was happening.

She looked at Ezra, who just kept looking completely unbothered by all the discussion about him.

The princess had remained quiet while the others voiced their opinions, and now she addressed Claris without appearing troubled by the disagreement around the table.

"Thank you."

Claris lowered her head slightly before she started talking.

"So, as I was saying..."

She resumed the discussion at hand.

The interruption had delayed her explanation, but she returned to the points she had prepared for the meeting.

The members listened as she continued, and the attention around the table settled back on her.

"We don’t expect you to explain yourself, Ezra Ashenlocke."

She looked at Ezra while her gaze moved back to the written report on the document she held.

"Since you stated that you signed a non-disclosure contract and the Duke himself stood up for you in this situation, the case can’t really be pursued."

Claris said with a serious tone.

Her words made the faction’s position clear.

Ezra had stated that he was bound by a non-disclosure contract, and the Duke of Ash had also stood up for him.

With those circumstances in place, the faction could not simply demand that Ezra explain something he was not permitted to disclose.

Claris continued to hold the document as she spoke.

Her gaze moved between the written report and Ezra, keeping the discussion focused on the matter before them.

"But even with all of this..."

She paused, now looking only at Ezra.

"We can’t determine what kind of incident the article was about, whether it was a rogue massacre act or a justice murder act. We can’t determine which it was, and because of that, many simple-minded and weak-minded students of this faction and this academy as well will feel uncomfortable. I hope you understand what I’m getting at?"

She asked Ezra calmly.

The problem lay in the uncertainty surrounding the incident.

The faction could not determine which of the two possibilities applied, and without that information, its members had no clear way to settle the matter for themselves.

That uncertainty would not affect every student in the same way.

Some might accept the Duke’s statement and leave the matter alone, while others could continue to feel uncomfortable because they did not know what had happened.

Claris was pointing out that the faction would have to deal with those reactions, even if Ezra could not provide further details.

Ezra nodded once.

His expression remained plain, as always.

"Good."

Claris smiled, pleased.

"The Golden Circle isn’t stupid enough to see this as any reason to let you go. With how much you have achieved, how many other factions would want you immediately if they heard you had been kicked out just because of some murder article?"

She said casually, as if murder were not anything to be worried about.

Claris did not consider the article alone a reason to remove Ezra from the faction.

He had already achieved a great deal, and expelling him over a report without being able to establish the facts would be a poor decision.

Other factions would also recognize the opportunity if they learned that the Golden Circle had dismissed him.

Ezra’s position within the faction had value.

His achievements were already known, and the other factions would not necessarily share the same concerns as those who were wary of him.

If the Golden Circle chose to remove him, its rivals could attempt to bring him into their own ranks.

"The only issue we will face, especially during this election period, is the fact that we are going against the odds with this scandal. The Royal Blue Faction, as well as the Grand Crucible Faction, are already making small movements to use your situation to affect our faction’s reputation."

She explained calmly.

The Golden Circle had more to consider than the opinions of its own members.

The faction was in the middle of the Faction Wars, and the election period made its standing even more important.

A scandal could affect how others viewed it, particularly when rival factions were already making moves.

The Royal Blue Faction and the Grand Crucible Faction had both begun using the situation to their advantage.

Their movements were still small, but the Golden Circle could not afford to ignore them.

Even a limited effort to damage its reputation could become troublesome during a period when the factions were competing against one another.

Claris’s explanation returned the discussion to the faction’s position as a whole.

Whatever individual members thought of Ezra, the Golden Circle still had to decide how to handle the matter without allowing its rivals to take control of the situation.

"And, like I said earlier..."

She paused, glancing at the faction members who had voiced their concerns earlier.

The members felt even more awkward under her gaze.

"The percentage of naive students who haven’t even seen the dark side of Alchemy once and have only trained in this orderly and secured atmosphere. What am I even saying? Even those who have already experienced a bit of the dark side of Alchemy still speak with a moral lack of logic. So, because of that..."

Claris said calmly before pausing again.

"The Golden Circle is under more open fire in this semester’s Faction Wars. So, tell me, Ezra Ashenlocke, how do you think we should handle your situation?"

She asked.

Claris placed the document down before elegantly settling into her seat, looking at Ezra calmly.

Many eyes also moved towards Ezra.

Not that all the eyes hadn’t been on Ezra in the first place.

But now...

The question had now been put directly to him.

The members around the table waited to hear his response, while Claris remained seated with her attention on him.

Ezra didn’t panic because of the situation around him.

He had been processing everything that had been said about his case from the beginning.

He had listened to the concerns raised by the members and considered Claris’s explanation of the faction’s position.

The discussion had given him several things to think about, but he did not rush to respond before he had considered them.

From what the upperclassman said, it’s clear they know what I’m thinking as well.

Ezra thought to himself.

He had listened to the upperclassman’s words earlier and understood that the faction was aware of the difficulties surrounding the situation.

The members were concerned about their reputation, the opinions of other students, and the movements of their rivals.

However, those concerns did not mean the faction had to let the situation work against them.

At the same time, Ezra had already considered another way to approach it.

"We can use the situation to our advantage, like reverse psychology."

He replied straightforwardly, answering Claris’s question.

"Use it?"

Chester Kane asked, looking at Ezra with a confused expression.

"First, this helps a lot with finding out spies in the other factions. Those who seem to act beyond reason regarding this matter are quite the suspects."

Ezra continued explaining his reasoning about his situation calmly.

His first point concerned the spies within the factions.

With the current situation drawing attention, the way certain members reacted could help identify those whose actions deserved closer examination.

It was a possibility worth considering before the Faction Wars became more violent.

The Golden Circle had rivals, and those rivals had reasons to gather information about its members and internal affairs.

"That’s just creating unnecessary discord in the faction."

An upperclassman of the faction said, unconvinced by Ezra’s first explanation.

"As long as other factions exist, spies will exist, and spies affect a faction’s movements quite a lot."

Ezra replied straightforwardly, without any hesitation.

The upperclassman couldn’t complain anymore because Ezra wasn’t wrong.

There were really spies in the faction.

And in every faction.

The existence of spies was a concern that could not be dismissed simply because the subject was uncomfortable.

If the Golden Circle wanted to protect its position, it had to be aware of the people operating within its ranks and the information they might pass to its rivals.

It could be the best decision to pick off the spies before the Faction Wars became more violent.

The members around the table continued listening.

Ezra had explained his first point, and the discussion had moved forward without another interruption.

"The second advantage is the real reverse."

Ezra raised two fingers.

"It’s either they gain an advantage by reducing the faction’s reputation, or they end up embarrassing themselves."

He said calmly before lowering his hand.

"With only the article, they could have easily started numerous scandals. I’ll let your imaginations determine what schemes they could execute."

Ezra said, leaving that part for the members to think about.

"But with the Duke of Ash making his statement, it has limited their chances."

He paused, letting his words settle in their minds.

"There are only a few things they can come up with, and unfortunately, those ideas aren’t without counters."

Ezra concluded his answer.

Prince Aldric Aethelmont looked at Ezra with a faint, amused smile.