Charisma 100: My Academy Life As A Heartbreaking Commoner-Chapter 164: Inconveniences

The week before the auction, a letter arrived during breakfast.

Aegis was eating with Lune and Sophie when a messenger in Vermillion colors handed her the sealed envelope and left without a word.

Sophie leaned over, trying to peek.

"Ooh, fancy. What is it?"

Aegis broke the seal, scanning the contents.

Lady Starcaller,

Your presence is requested at the Vermillion estate at your earliest convenience. There are matters we must discuss before the Summer Auction.

Lady Cassandra Vermillion

Short. Direct. Not particularly warm.

[That’s... odd. Last time we talked, she was all smiles and wine. What changed?]

"Everything okay?" Lune asked.

"Yeah. Just business. I need to head out."

---

She finished her food quickly and made her way to the Vermillion estate, a sprawling mansion in Rosevale’s noble quarter that made her manor look like a garden shed.

The guards at the gate recognized her and waved her through. A servant led her inside, through marble halls decorated with expensive art and family portraits that probably cost more than Aegis’s entire net worth.

Lady Cassandra was waiting in her study.

She sat behind a massive oak desk, fingers steepled, expression unreadable. The warmth from their last meeting was gone, replaced by an odd coldness.

"Lady Starcaller. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Of course, my lady. Your letter sounded urgent."

"Sit."

Aegis sat in the offered chair, keeping her posture relaxed but attentive.

[Okay, what’s this about? Did I fuck up somehow? Is she dropping me?]

Cassandra studied her for a long moment.

"I’ll be direct. Some of the Great Houses are pressuring me to drop you as my sponsored noble."

Aegis felt her stomach drop, but kept her face neutral.

[Shit.]

"May I ask why?"

"Isn’t it obvious? You’re too scandalous. Too fast-rising. Too..." Cassandra paused. "Uncouth. They see you as a disruption to the natural order of things."

"The natural order being that commoners stay in their place?"

"Precisely."

Aegis’s mind raced.

[Okay. This is bad. Without Vermillion backing, my credibility takes a massive hit. I lose access to resources, connections, political protection. But why is she telling me this? If she wanted to drop me, she’d just do it. Unless... unless this is a test.]

Cassandra leaned forward slightly.

"So. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Aegis had two options.

She could play apologetic. Promise to behave, tone down the scandals, be the nice docile sponsored noble who doesn’t rock the boat.

Or she could double down.

Her HUD flickered.

DIALOGUE OPTIONS

1. "I understand their concerns. I’ll be more careful going forward." [SUBMIT]

2. "My lady, if you wanted a docile pet, you should have sponsored someone boring." [DOUBLE DOWN]

3. "What do you want me to do?" [DEFLECT]

Aegis met Cassandra’s eyes. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

[Fuck it. I didn’t survive this long by playing nice.]

"My lady, if you wanted a docile pet, you should have sponsored someone boring. I’m here to shake things up—and you knew that when you backed me."

Cassandra’s expression didn’t change.

The silence stretched. One second. Two. Three.

Aegis kept eye contact, refusing to flinch.

Then Cassandra smiled. Not a polite smile. A genuine one, with teeth.

"Good. I was worried you’d grovel."

Aegis blinked.

"Wait, what?"

"It was a test, dear. And you passed." Cassandra leaned back, the coldness evaporating like it had never been there. "The various factions at play are pressuring me, that part’s true. But I have no intention of dropping you. I just needed to know if you had the spine to weather what’s coming."

[Oh, you sneaky bitch. I respect that.]

"And what exactly is coming?"

Cassandra stood, walking to a cabinet and pouring two glasses of wine. She handed one to Aegis before returning to her seat.

"There’s a faction at the Summer Auction led by Duke Malcolm Cindergrave. Conservative, traditional, allergic to change. He’s been buying up smaller houses, consolidating power, positioning himself as the defender of ’proper nobility.’"

"Let me guess. He sees me as a threat."

"More than that. He sees you as an insult. A commoner with no bloodline, no history, no right to call herself noble. And he’s going to try to humiliate you publicly at the Auction."

Aegis sipped her wine.

[Duke Malcolm Cindergrave. Don’t remember him from the game, which means he’s either new or wasn’t relevant to the player’s story. Either way, he sounds like a pain in the ass.]

"How’s he planning to humiliate me?"

"Hard to say. Malcolm’s methods vary. Sometimes he challenges newcomers to debates they can’t win. Sometimes he questions their offerings as inadequate. Sometimes he just spreads rumors until their reputation is in tatters."

"Sounds like a blast."

"He’s dangerous, Aegis. Don’t underestimate him just because he’s old and traditional. He’s survived decades of political warfare."

"Noted. So, what’s the play here?"

Cassandra set her wine glass down.

"Be ready. Whatever he throws at you, be ready to counter it. Publicly, spectacularly, in a way that makes him look like a fossil for trying."

Aegis grinned.

"I can work with that."

They talked strategy for another twenty minutes—which nobles to approach, which to avoid, how to position her offering for maximum impact.

Finally, Aegis stood to leave.

"Thank you, Lady Cassandra. For the warning and for not actually dropping me."

"Thank you for not disappointing me." Cassandra stood as well. "And Aegis?"

"Yeah?"

"Do try not to fuck the Duke’s daughter at the auction. Tempting as it may feel when you see her, that would be... excessive."

[Is she that hot?]

Aegis snorted.

"No promises."

Cassandra shook her head, but she was smiling.

"Get out of my office before I change my mind about you."

Aegis left, already planning.

She walked back through Rosevale’s streets, mind churning.

[Duke Malcolm Cindergrave. Conservative faction leader. Wants to humiliate me at the Auction. Fine. Let him try.]

She pulled out her notebook, scribbling ideas as she walked.

Option one: Present the mana potions as planned, make them so impressive that any criticism looks petty.

Option two: Prepare counter-arguments for every possible angle of attack—bloodline, wealth, accomplishments.

Option three: Find dirt on Malcolm and be ready to throw it back in his face if he starts shit.

[Probably need to do all three, honestly.]

She passed through the market district, dodging merchants and customers.

A familiar voice called out.

"Aegis!"

She turned. Scarlett jogged up, looking sweaty and grinning like an idiot.

"Hey. What are you doing in the city?"

"Training with Kanna. We just finished." Scarlett’s grin widened. "She kicked my ass, but I landed a hit this time. Progress!"

"Nice."

"What about you? You look like you’re plotting world domination or something."

"Just regular domination."

"Hot. Want to grab food? I’m starving."

Aegis checked the sun’s position.

"Can’t. I need to talk to Rosalie about the potions, then I’ve got training tonight."

"Training with who?"

[Rosanna, but I can’t say that.]

"Just... personal stuff. Magic practice."

"Mysterious. I like it." Scarlett clapped her on the shoulder. "Catch you later then."

She jogged off, probably to find the nearest tavern.

Aegis continued to the manor.

Inside, the repairs were nearly complete. The vandalism had been scrubbed away, new windows installed, everything looking almost pristine.

She found Rosalie in the workshop, surrounded by glowing vials.

"How’s it going?"

Rosalie looked up, beaming and pushing her crooked glasses up.

"Great! I’ve finished six potions so far. They’re perfect—full mana restoration in under two minutes. I’m working on the seventh now."

"Any issues?"

"None. The crystal is working beautifully. I might even get to eight or nine if I push it."

"Don’t push too hard. Quality over quantity."

"I know, I know."

Aegis examined one of the finished potions. It glowed with a soft blue light, almost hypnotic.

[These are going to make a statement. No question.]

"Keep up the good work. And let me know immediately if anything goes wrong."

"Will do!"

Aegis left her to it, heading back to the academy as evening settled in.

---

That night, Rosanna’s lift took her to the top of the Sky Piercer.

Rosanna was waiting at the top, as always.

"You’re troubled."

"How can you tell?"

"You have a very specific face when you’re trying to figure something out. It’s quite endearing."

Aegis sat beside her, legs dangling over the edge.

"There’s a conservative noble who’s going to try to humiliate me at the Summer Auction. Malcom Cindergrave."

"Ah. Cindergrave?"

Aegis’s head snapped toward her.

"You know him?"

"No, but perhaps I may have known his great-great-grandfather. Equally unpleasant. Even in my time, they were resistant to change.

"How do I beat him?"

"You don’t beat men like Malcolm through force. They’re too entrenched, too protected. You beat them by making them irrelevant."

"How?"

"By being so undeniably impressive that his objections sound like the whining of a bitter old man clinging to a dying world."

Aegis considered that.

"So I just... outshine him?"

"Precisely. Let him throw his tantrum. Let him question your worthiness. Then prove him wrong so thoroughly that he looks like a fool for doubting you."

"I can work with that."

They trained for a while—Rosanna teaching her a new technique for Aether manipulation that would boost Aegis’s mana regeneration rate.

By the time Aegis climbed back down, her mana pool felt larger, her control tighter, and her legs felt like jelly.

[One week until the Summer Auction. One week to prepare for whatever Malcolm Cindergrave has planned.]

She walked back to her dorm, exhausted but focused.

[Let him come. Let him try to humiliate me. I’ll turn it into my crowning moment instead.]