As the first morning light stretched through the crystal skies, it hit the white marble of the Sovereign Academy with a blinding pressure.

Levi’s chest heaved once, then calmed when he stopped in front of the Grand Disciplinary Hall. "So, I’m supposed to go to the center?"

He hissed, then relaxed his shoulders. The moment he took his first step into the hall, big, small, sharp, and calm eyes turned toward him as if looking at an already dead man.

’Look at me well,’ he said, winking at the ladies with sharp eyes, then blew a kiss to them. ’You will be the next to crawl under my feet.’

The room expanded into an amphitheater when he stopped at the center of the Disciplinary Hall.

High above him, five senior female judges wearing dark violet robes sat on their seats made of pure king cobra’s crystals. Veils covered their faces, yet the piercing magical essence of their eyes was felt in the bones.

’This is below my expectations. But it’s fine,’ Levi sighed, then nodded once. ’I get to see the best and ripest ones among them.’

A short distance away from him, in another accuser’s box on the left, was Lyra Ashveil. She carried a stoic expression, yet refused to let her eyes meet Levi’s.

’She actually came.’ Levi lowered his gaze slightly and grinned when she nearly locked eyes with him but threw her gaze away, as if looking away could shield her from him.

To Levi’s right, Baroness Vanya stood in another accuser’s box with a pale face. ’Why did I even accept to come here when they summoned me as Levi’s official sponsor?’

She kept her gaze locked on the floor, while her mind kept on replaying her moans as if actually engaging in real-time intercourse with Levi.

Thrum!

The head judge slammed her hammer on the round bar on her table, then shifted her piercing white gaze to the accused.

"Levi Sirius."

All heads turned toward her when her voice echoed off the high stone ceiling.

"You are accused of practicing unregistered Aether manipulation and breaching the security of a high-ranked instructor’s ward. How do you plead?"

’I knew they would bring this one up. But I know how the game is played.’ Levi cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. "I am a utility assistant. And I possess no high-tier magical attraction."

Sharp air flew in the audience as they began murmuring to themselves.

Levi shook his head when he saw one of the ladies with a sharp gaze pointing a warning finger at him. "Any fluctuation noticed by the sensors was a result of handling unstable magic crystals."

"Lies!" the lady pointing her finger at him said in a loud, sharp voice and stood up.

She stepped forward wearing silver armor, then moved her hood off her head. "I am Clara Fontaine, the top student of the freshman class."

She threw a sharp glance that carried an extreme arrogance at Levi, then back at the judges. "I saw him near the weapon shed yesterday."

She moved two steps forward and crossed one arm behind her. "The Aether levels in that sector spiked to anomalous levels when he entered. A male servant cannot possess that much raw energy without stealing it."

Levi’s eyebrow narrowed when the translucent panel shimmered before him.

[Scanning Target: Clara Fontaine.]

[Target Attraction: Curiosity.]

[Current Status: Arrogant.]

[She wants to dissect your secret to elevate her own status.]

[Desire Level: 20%.]

[She craves forbidden knowledge.]

’Interesting.’ A faint smile tore on Levi’s lips when he shifted his gaze to Clara’s.

Every murmur stopped when the head judge looked in Lyra’s direction. "Instructor Ashveil, you were the one who filed the initial irregular signature report."

’She can’t be damn serious.’ Levi’s pupils thinned. ’After all I made her feel, she filed a report against me?’

The head judge shifted her gaze to Levi, then back to Lyra. "Did this male assault or manipulate you or your energy field?"

The courtroom fell silent to the extent that even the tiniest insect stopped to listen.

Levi triggered a subtle pulse of his Aether when he stared directly at Lyra and targeted the secret mark on her thigh.

A sudden wave of intense heat bloomed between Lyra’s legs and caused her nipples to harden against her armor.

Her mind reminisced back to the dark weapon shed. Saliva snaked down her throat when she saw herself getting pinned down by Levi. She felt the urge of her internal fluids boiling up to explode but clenched her thighs together to hide her sudden wetness.

"NO," Lyra forced the words out in a strained voice. "The anomaly was indeed caused by a cracked crystal core in the storage rack. But the boy was simply cleaning the debris under my order. He did nothing wrong."

The air left Clara in a sharp, indignant gasp. "Instructor! You are covering for a slave? I demand a physical inspection of his core! If he is hiding an Aether node, it will prove his guilt!"

The head judge shifted her gaze to Clara, then nodded slowly. "That is a reasonable request. Clara, perform the inspection."

Levi shifted his gaze from the head judge and licked his lips when he focused on Clara’s beauty. ’I like where it’s going.’

’I will do everything I can to prove that the instructor is lying,’ Clara snarled silently, then shifted her full attention to the head judge.

The head judge leaned to the other judges before continuing the order. "Clara, use your sensory dagger. If his core is empty, he goes free. If it contains stolen power, he will be castrated and executed."

Clara nodded once, carrying a malicious smile. She drew a blue, glowing, slender dagger and walked down the steps toward Levi.

"Let’s see what you are hiding inside that pathetic body, trash."

She raised the dagger and aimed the tip directly at Levi’s chest, at the exact place the Sovereign Mark was.

Levi stood there without flinching and looked down at the arrogant noble girl. ’Amplify Clara’s Curiosity. Turn it into a desperate need to know me.’

[Expending 5 System Points.]

[Clara Fontaine’s Curiosity Attraction amplified to 75%.]

The moment the tip of the dagger brushed Levi’s garment, Clara froze.

"What is happening to me?" A sudden shockwave of pure, unadulterated lust and mental fascination hit her brain and caused her eyes to widen.

Her arrogant smile died off her face when she stared at Levi. Her chest heaved as a deep, primal desire to uncover every single secret about the slave took absolute control of her senses.

The blue light of her sensory dagger flickered once and died when her hand began to tremble.