Nyx looked at him for a moment before answering.

"Alright."

Takeshi sat across from her on the courtyard bench. Recess was still going on around them, but no one paid attention to that secluded corner.

"Do you receive cash from your family?"

Takeshi asked.

Nyx frowned slightly, as if she hadn’t expected that specific question.

"Yes, part of it arrives in cash."

"Do you know why they do it that way?"

"No, they never explained it to me, and I never asked."

She paused.

"It’s always been like that. The rest comes by transfer, but there’s a portion someone brings to me in person from time to time."

"Who delivers it to you?"

Nyx hesitated for a second.

"My father’s wife..."

She answered.

"She’s the one who shows up whenever there’s cash involved."

Takeshi didn’t reply immediately. He looked at the ground for a moment, organizing his thoughts.

Mr. Draevan’s wife had maintained physical contact with Nyx for months, probably since Nyx started living alone. Each delivery had been an opportunity to reinforce the conditioning.

’So it was her from the very beginning.’

"Takeshi..."

Nyx said.

"Why are you asking me this?"

He looked up.

"Because I think your father’s wife is the one who placed a type of dissonant magic on you..."

Then he continued.

"And I think she did it during those deliveries, through direct contact, over the course of several months."

Nyx said nothing.

"I found information this morning."

Takeshi continued.

"There’s a type of dissonant magic that can block a person’s ability to act in a certain way. To apply it at a distance, the practitioner needs a higher magic level than the target. If they don’t have that, they need direct physical contact and time. Months of regular contact for the effect to stabilize."

Nyx lowered her gaze toward the closed book on the table and remained silent for several seconds.

"So all this time..."

She said with uncertainty.

"Every time she showed up, was she manipulating me?"

"That’s what everything I know so far points to."

Nyx nodded slowly once and then looked up.

"If she has that level of control..."

She continued.

"Why didn’t she simply position herself as the new head of the company? She has access to my father and influence over the family. That would’ve been more direct."

"Because it would’ve raised suspicion immediately."

Takeshi replied.

"Your father is ill, the inheritance is under discussion, and all the shareholders are paying attention. If she moved too fast or too visibly, it would’ve raised suspicion. Instead, if she places Sylion at the front, the situation looks normal. He’s the eldest heir, he has history within the family, and his position as a candidate surprises no one."

"And she operates from behind where no one looks."

"Yes. It’s safer and much harder to dismantle. A visible puppet absorbing all the attention while the one truly making decisions remains protected by anonymity." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Nyx processed that in silence.

"So Sylion is being used too."

She concluded.

"Probably not in the same way as you..."

Takeshi said.

"But yes, it’s possible he believes he’s acting on his own initiative while she’s simply been guiding him in the direction that benefits her."

Nyx placed her hands on the table.

"There’s something I don’t understand..."

She said, confusion in her voice.

"If she can manipulate people with her dissonant magic, why didn’t she manipulate me directly to make the decisions she wants? Why block me instead of controlling me?"

It was a good question, and Takeshi had been thinking about it since finishing the forum thread.

"Because of level..."

He answered.

"Direct behavioral manipulation, the kind that makes you act a certain way, probably requires a greater difference in level. What she did to you is more limited: it doesn’t control you, it only blocks you at a specific point. Removing your ability to attack is something she can maintain with the level she has. Actively controlling you to make specific decisions is probably beyond her reach when dealing with someone with your level of magic."

Nyx looked at him.

"How do you know what my magic level is?"

Takeshi hadn’t anticipated that question.

’Damn, I didn’t think of an excuse for that!’

But an excuse came to him immediately.

"I don’t know it precisely..."

He continued.

"But if your level were low, direct manipulation would’ve been the most obvious option. The fact that she chose a partial block suggests she couldn’t do anything more complex with you."

Nyx considered that.

"That makes sense..."

She said after a moment.

The chat appeared in Takeshi’s field of vision.

[Nyx asking the hard questions]

[Takeshi improvising in real time]

[the answer about level was good, he didn’t exactly lie]

[this arc is getting good]

Takeshi closed the panel.

Nyx kept her gaze fixed on a point in the courtyard, processing everything they had discussed.

"I want to confront her..."

Nyx finally said, her tone direct and without hesitation.

"If what you’re saying is correct, she’s been manipulating my family for months to separate us, and I’m not going to let that slide."

"I understand why you want to do that."

"Then I’m going to see her."

"I won’t let you go alone..."

Takeshi said, and Nyx looked at him.

"Aoi and I are going with you."

His tone was firm and confident.

"Not because you can’t handle it, but because we still don’t know exactly what she’s capable of or what other resources she has."

Nyx didn’t respond immediately.

"I don’t want you getting involved in something that’s a problem within my family."

"We’re already involved..."

Takeshi replied.

"Merwyn asked us to protect you, and we accepted. This stopped being just your family’s problem the moment they sent people to attack you."

Nyx looked at him for another moment and then nodded.

"Alright, but I want to go today, after classes. I don’t want to give her more time."

"Okay. I’ll talk to Aoi before classes end so she’s ready."

Nyx picked up the book from the table and placed it into her backpack.

"I’ll wait for you at the exit."

She said before standing up from the bench and heading toward the main building. Takeshi remained seated for a moment, watching the courtyard.

’Now I need to inform Aoi and prepare in case things get ugly.’

He stood up and headed toward the building.