Chapter 31: Unexpected Countermove [I]

Ezabel frowned deeply. "What exactly do you mean by attracting more unnecessary attention than intended?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion. "What did you think was going to happen when you publicly endorsed her in the first place? Of course people were going to pay attention. That’s the entire point of an endorsement. And how does the Emperor even get involved in something like this?"

Nikolai’s hand froze over his phone, the unintentional slip of his tongue suddenly hanging heavily in the room. For a brief moment, genuine panic flickered across his face as he nervously glanced at Mikhail. His brother immediately shot him a subtle warning look, one that clearly said stop talking. Nikolai caught the message at once. Just as quickly as the crack had appeared, his composure returned. He leaned back slightly, resumed spinning his phone between his fingers, and adopted the same calm, indifferent expression he always wore, as though nothing unusual had happened at all.

Ezabel didn’t miss the brief exchange for a second. Her eyes narrowed as her mind rapidly connected the dots. There was something they weren’t telling her, and whatever it was, it was clearly information she wasn’t supposed to know. The way Nikolai had panicked and the warning glance Mikhail had given him made that much obvious.

"The most important thing right now is figuring out how to fix this situation," Mikhail said smoothly, his voice dropping into a calm, composed tone that immediately diverted attention away from his brother’s slip.

Ezabel frowned as she processed the sharp shift in the conversation. She let out a frustrated breath, crossing her arms tighter against her chest. "Whatever secret you two are hiding, I’m sure it’ll come back to bite me sooner or later. But tell me, how do you plan to fix this? You two started this whole mess in the first place, so I am just here to assist with whatever ridiculous scheme you insist on carrying out."

Mikhail rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a quiet hum leaving his throat. "Actually..." he said after a moment, "on second thought, I think we shouldn’t get involved just yet."

​"What?!" Ezabel blurted out, her jaw dropping in disbelief. "Have you completely lost your mind? You know how these students can be when they set their sights on a target! Do you want a repeat of what happened ten years ago?"

"I won’t let it get to that point," Mikhail replied calmly.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that while sitting back and watching?"

Mikhail leaned forward, a dark, calculated smile touching his lips. "We’ll swoop in and help when she’s truly desperate. People are far more likely to trust the hand that saves them when they’re at their absolute lowest, and women are far more likely to fall for a savior, the person who pulls them out of the darkness when they think they have nowhere else to turn."

Ezabel stared at him in disbelief.

"That’s a very wicked way of thinking," she whispered, her voice laced with disgust.

"It’s a very effective way of thinking," Mikhail replied, his smile widening into something almost chilling.

Ezabel could hardly believe what she was hearing. Sometimes she genuinely forgot that Mikhail was the cruel twin. People often mistook him for the kinder brother because of how relaxed, approachable, and easygoing he appeared on the surface. Nikolai’s nasty temper made him the obvious villain in most people’s eyes. But those who knew the twins well understood that under that refined mask sat a cruel manipulator far more cold-blooded than Nikolai could ever be.

"So we just have to—"

Ping.

The sharp, high-pitched notification chime from Nikolai’s phone cut Mikhail off mid-sentence.

Mikhail immediately shot his brother an annoyed look. "Turn that thing off."

Nikolai picked up the device, clearly intending to dismiss the notification without looking at it. However, the moment his eyes landed on the screen and he saw who the message was from, he couldn’t simply ignore it. Eden rarely sent messages unless something important had happened. But his expression changed the moment he opened the message and saw its contents.

"What’s wrong?" Mikhail asked with a frown, sensing the sudden shift in his brother’s attitude.

"I don’t think Miss Dawson’s going to be desperate anytime soon," Nikolai said slowly, holding the phone out to his brother. Mikhail snatched it from his hand, a frown settling on his face as he wondered what his brother was on about. On the screen was a message from Eden containing a video link, followed by a short text:

You guys might want to see this. Miss Dawson is about to turn this entire situation upside down. How exactly are we supposed to handle something like this?

Mikhail’s frown deepened. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like whatever was waiting for him on the other side of that link. Without wasting another second, he clicked it. The screen redirected him to AsterBuzz, loading the original video post directly onto the phone screen.

Starlight Dawson’s face appeared on the display, and the girl looked anything but defeated.

She shifted awkwardly on the screen, adjusting the phone several times before apparently realizing it was already recording. The camera shook slightly as she fumbled with it, then she quickly sat back down, looking completely out of her depth. To anyone watching, she looked like a nervous young lady who had never recorded a serious video in her life. Beside her sat one of the girls she had been with in the dining hall. The girl looked visibly uncomfortable, her shoulders stiff and her expression strained. She looked like she would rather be absolutely anywhere else than in front of that camera. Every few seconds, her eyes drifted toward Starlight as if silently questioning whether this was really a good idea.

Starlight cleared her throat and lowered her gaze for a moment. Her fingers twisted together nervously in her lap, and her eyes looked suspiciously glossy, as though she was only moments away from breaking down. The performance was flawless, but Mikhail knew better. He had dealt with enough manipulators in the Imperial Palace to know when someone was putting on an act. Then she lifted her head and looked directly into the camera.

"Hello... everyone," she began softly, her voice trembling slightly. "My name..." She paused, taking a shaky breath to steady herself as she stared into the lens. "...my name is Starlight Dawson. I’m the girl who has been falsely accused, and I’m here to speak out against the level of injustice being directed at me simply because I am human."