"The Seal Entity had long ago formed pacts with nine individuals: eight scholars across the four kingdoms and Dr. Zenith himself. Each Seal ability is unique to its bearer, and details concerning them are strictly classified, disclosed only to those fortunate enough to be acknowledged as scholars within the Eight Magic Towers."

Abigail addressed the class from the podium, notes on the lectern, eyes moving between them and the room at intervals. Her demeanor was friendly and commanding in equal measure, and the attention she held was entirely her own doing.

"The Entity of Knowledge, however, had contracted with twenty-four scholars. Though such entities no longer form contracts, the scholars of the Eight Magic Towers pass these abilities on to suitable candidates through rituals conducted over time. It is said that the entities had already reached their satisfaction and would no longer form contracts beyond their designated number."

Abigail’s expression soured. Her eyes found their way to the last column, fourth row, two seats from the staircase. The cadet everyone loathed right now. Leomaris Runerth.

She could feel Leomaris’s eyes on her, she had his full attention, and everything about this man irritated her. From the military coat he wore to his very presence in her class.

The fact that this good-for-nothing dared to threaten a harmless cadet made her feel he didn’t belong here. After all, every rumour about him called him a brainless lout.

A soft smile.

"Cadet Leomaris, can you tell the class why the Entity of Knowledge formed contracts with twenty-four individuals while the Entity of Seal formed only nine?"

The confusion on Leomaris’s face gave Abigail a moment of satisfaction, brief and quietly enjoyed.

Then he rose to his feet with effortless pride, and the satisfaction faltered. She caught it before it left entirely, steadying herself on the certainty that no one else in the class knew the answer.

"Both Knowledge and Seal formed their contracts with scholars fifteen hundred years ago under specified conditions. The Seal Entity valued worthiness and trust, and after deeming the eight scholars worthy during the Fifth Stage of Magic, it refused to grant further sealing abilities. This ensured that the power to create grimoires remained monopolized and that prospective scholars underwent careful and rigorous examination before wielding any seal-related ability."

Leomaris paused, letting the words find their place.

"The Entity of Knowledge chose twenty-four. It believed knowledge was the key and that with enough scholars who truly understood it, the risk of untamable entities entering the human realm could be contained."

Abigail bit her lip, harder than she meant to, hard enough that the anger almost reached her eyes.

She could manage the answer. What she couldn’t manage was the smile he wore when he sat back down. Something about it set an inexplicable heat burning in her chest. She was beginning to hate Leomaris more than she cared to admit.

Two seconds passed. Then the practiced smile arrived, assuming what assembled a professional.

"That’s correct, Cadet Leomaris. The Fifth Stage of Magic concerned those two entities and the development of a deeper understanding of both realms..."

Leomaris leaned back in his seat as he watched Instructor Abigail move from one topic to the next.

When she looked in his direction, he thought it was because of Hazel, his butler, dozing off beside him, but the questioning and unsettling expression she wore told him everything he needed to know.

’I knew the instructors hated me too, but this is too much. I answered perfectly, yet she still looked displeased. Is someone manipulating their emotions from the shadows...? At this point, it feels like they all just hate me.’

A puff of breath, fingers pressed to the bridge of his nose. Emerald had lied to him, and he’d make her pay for making his life miserable. But he knew he was at a disadvantage right now. It wasn’t time for revenge. Not yet.

Clearing his name was the priority, and nothing would serve that better than the Firstlight Goddess’s influence.

It would be a harsh path, and with his father’s arrival at the academy only days away, time wasn’t on his side.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

After careful consideration, one stood out: the Mercy of Death. A sword art that had existed roughly two hundred years ago, wielded solely by the Apostle of Death.

The Apostle had received it directly from the Goddess and used it to bring down the kingdom’s most powerful enemy, the Braek Kingdom.

’No one has learned this sword art since it was created two hundred years ago. Learning it in five days is madness... but I don’t have another choice.’

Maintaining a bad reputation wasn’t something a Calamity like himself could afford for long.

Besides, he had a perfect plan for learning it, fingers crossed. He just needed to push harder. The main character of Arcane Mercenary had learned it, after all.

The class came to an end soon enough. Abigail walked out, but not before giving Leomaris the most threatening glare he’d ever had the displeasure of receiving.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"What a pain..." he muttered beneath his breath.

He hadn’t even finished his thought before something caught his eye. At the edge of his peripheral vision, the main character, Lucius, was approaching.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

With a soft smile, he patted Leomaris on the shoulder. But the pat wasn’t what caught Leomaris’s attention; it was the scent.

Rich, persuasive, warm, and jasmine-like within his velvet. Something like that should have been well beyond the means of someone like Lucius.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He frowned. ’Isn’t he supposed to be broke?’

"Hey, Leomaris, you’re pretty smart, huh? Even I didn’t know the answer to that question."

A practised smile from Leomaris. "Oh, it’s nothing. These are things my mother told me as bedtime stories. Hard to forget."

Lucius laughed.

"Your mother must be something special."

"You bet she is..."

His laughter died down. "Anyway, we must meet at the strategy room for a little discussion."

Leomaris nodded as Lucius made his way down the stairs. Too much had changed, and he knew better than to let his guard down around Lucius.

Before he could leave the hall, Raine’s voice sliced through the air.

"Is this your way of impressing me? Threatening someone?"

Leomaris’s eyes met her red ones. "We both know that isn’t true." His eyes widened immediately in realisation as the words left him.

"How about joining my faction? I’d be heartbroken to see you with someone else."

Silence from Raine. She began leaving, her maid Ren at her side, wearing, for once, a proper maid uniform. Black gown, white apron.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"You haven’t impressed me yet, ’fiancé.’"

A soft smile pulled at his lips. ’Oh, she will join. She will definitely join me.’

—

At the far corner of the hall, Emerald Vernal Isle watched as Leomaris and Hazel left. Her face contorted with annoyance and frustration, the fact that people still spoke to him, that he still carried that smile, gnawed at her agonisingly to the bone.

"You haven’t seen the worst of me yet, Leomaris. Wait... I will bring down the heavens’ judgment upon you and everyone who stands with you," she muttered.