Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 354: The Tri-Academy Exchange Arc (Part-46)

"Thank you," she said quietly.

She folded the paper, her lips curving into a meaningful smile.

Harold’s expression remained calm and unfathomable, the depth in his eyes as dark as ever. His smile was elegant, almost dangerously charming.

"Everyone, please don’t leave yet," Zora suddenly said, her voice clear and firm.

At once, all eyes turned toward her.

Reesa and the others looked at her in confusion. The alchemy contest was over. What else could Zora possibly want to say?

Gerrad also looked over, but unlike the others, his expression remained steady. He knew Zora well enough by now. She would never act without reason.

Zora’s gaze slowly shifted to Reynard.

For a brief moment, Reynard felt a chill creep up his spine. Still, he quickly steadied himself. He had covered his tracks carefully. There was no way she could uncover anything.

Cindral and Malrick also stared at Zora, displeasure flickering in their eyes. Her performance today had already been dazzling enough. If she continued like this, she would become a serious problem.

Was she becoming arrogant now that she had won?

Zora walked straight to Gerrad and handed him the slip of paper.

Gerrad read it once.

Then again.

His expression darkened, anger flashing unmistakably across his face. When he looked up at Cindral, the warmth in his eyes had completely vanished.

He turned slowly toward Malrick, his voice cold and sharp.

"Principal Cindral, according to the information we’ve obtained... Reynard does not appear to be a student of Lunar Academy at all, does he?"

As Gerrad’s words fell, the expressions of Cindral and Malrick changed at the same time.

"What do you mean by that?" Cindral asked cautiously, though his heart was already in turmoil.

They had handled this matter with extreme secrecy. By all logic, it should have been impossible for anyone to uncover it.

Gerrad did not soften his tone in the slightest. His voice carried clearly across the entire venue.

"In the list of participants from Lunar Academy, there is no one named Reynard. Moreover, according to the information we’ve obtained, Reynard was once a student of Thunderclap Academy."

The moment these words were spoken, a wave of shock rippled through the crowd.

The faces of Lunar Academy’s students instantly turned pale. They knew better than anyone that their academy had never had such a person. Only last night, their instructor had personally warned them not to spread this matter. None of them had expected it to be exposed so openly today.

"Reynard did indeed study at Thunderclap Academy," Gerrad continued coldly. "He left after only a few months, so most current students may not remember him. Still, finding witnesses would not be difficult."

His gaze was sharp, carrying barely restrained anger.

Everyone knew that Thunderclap Academy and Lunar Academy had long been aligned, but no one imagined they would stoop to something this despicable during an Academy exchange. To secretly bring in an outsider and pass him off as a student... this crossed every line.

All along, Gerrad had believed Sylvandria’s strength was more than enough for the alchemy contest. Who would have thought Lunar Academy would suddenly produce an even stronger "student" without any prior trace?

If not for Zora’s sudden appearance and overwhelming performance, the academy would have been completely crushed today.

The crowd erupted.

"What? Reynard isn’t even a Lunar Academy student?"

"Now that you mention it, I don’t remember seeing him with the Lunar Academy delegation before..."

"If that’s true, this is Lunar Academy cheating outright!"

Malrick subconsciously looked toward Cindral. Before today, Reynard had assured him everything was foolproof. Yet now, with a few words, the entire scheme was unraveling in front of everyone.

Lunar Academy was trapped in an impossible position.

On the edge of the platform, Ignar Dragovic watched Malrick’s stiff, panicked expression with unconcealed disgust. Without another glance, he turned and left.

Because of a single decision made by those in power, the reputation of Lunar Academy had been dragged through the mud.

Even Mariette and the other alchemy masters were stunned. They had already found Thunderclap Academy’s tampering with the alchemy cauldron repulsive enough. Now it turned out Lunar Academy had gone even further, openly inviting outside help for an Academy exchange.

This was no longer shameless. It was outrageous.

Reesa and the others were completely dumbfounded. They had never expected Gerrad to reveal such explosive news so directly.

And then realization dawned.

Harold.

So that was it. While everyone else had been focused on the competition, he had been quietly investigating Reynard’s background.

Without a word, without seeking credit, he had uncovered the truth and placed it in Zora’s hands.

In that moment, Reesa and the others felt a surge of gratitude.

Without them even realizing it, Harold had done more for the Imperial Academy than anyone could have imagined.

Meanwhile, as Cindral and Malrick fell into silence, the truth had already become clear to everyone present.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to argue. It was that they didn’t dare.

Gerrad would not have spoken so decisively without solid evidence in hand. Any reckless denial now would only invite deeper investigation, and once everything was dragged into the open, their situation would become far more humiliating.

Sometimes, silence itself was an admission.

Zora’s gaze quietly shifted to Harold.

Only now did she realize just how much he had done behind the scenes. Reynard had appeared only today, yet Harold had already uncovered his background, his past, and even his connection to Thunderclap Academy.

That kind of efficiency was not something an ordinary restaurant owner could possess.

Cindral and Malrick were not fools. As heads of major academies, they never acted without confidence. And yet, even with all their preparations, Harold had still peeled everything apart.

That could only mean one thing.

Harold was hiding far more than he revealed.

"Master," Black said gravely, his tone unusually serious, "Reynard only showed up today, yet Harold found his entire background in such a short time. This means there must be a powerful information network behind him."

Zora nodded slowly.

She had always known Harold wasn’t simple. Now, that suspicion was only growing stronger.

A restaurant owner was likely nothing more than a surface identity. His true background was buried far deeper.

What she couldn’t understand was this...

Why was he doing so much for her? She only helped him once.

"Master," White then suddenly murmured, "do you think... Ragnor Blackstar’s death might have something to do with Harold?"

Zora’s pupils shrank slightly.

The thought had crossed her mind before, but she had dismissed it as too far-fetched. Now that White mentioned it aloud, the idea refused to fade.

Judging from Ragnor Blackstar’s attitude toward Harold back at the First Floor, there was clearly fear and restraint there. If Harold wanted him dead, it wouldn’t have been difficult at all.

After all, when they first met, Harold had escaped even the devouring clouds.

Still... what reason would he have to kill Ragnor Blackstar? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Unless...

Her heart skipped a beat.

For her?

The thought felt absurd, yet some instinct deep inside her refused to reject it entirely.

She looked at Harold again.

He stood there calmly, lips curved in that familiar, lazy smile, eyes deep and unfathomable. Open, yet impossible to read.

It only made things more confusing.

"Don’t overthink it," Harold said gently, as if sensing her thoughts. "You only need to know one thing. I bear no ill will toward you."

Zora met his gaze steadily. "But I don’t understand."

Harold’s smile deepened.

He leaned closer, lowering his voice beside her ear, warm breath brushing past her skin.

"Are you sure you really want to know the reason?"

Her answer came without hesitation.

"Say it."

Harold chuckled softly, his voice low and clear. "Because I like you."

"Say, what?"