Scumbag Fate System-Chapter 108: Victoria’s Suspicion

Reinhard was heading to the library when one of the librarians stopped him. She gave him a piece of paper and said it was from the Head of the Disciplinary Department.

He opened the paper up and saw the words.

Spy.

His eyes narrowed as countless thoughts rang through his mind. He thanked the staff member before heading towards the Victoria office in the Disciplinary Department. Has Victoria found out who has been spying on them? Are they really in the academy, and if so, who were they?

The door to her office opened before he could knock. Victoria stood there with silver eyes that seemed to pierce through him.

"Come in."

Reinhard entered, and she locked the door behind him with a wave of her hand. The walls twisted before being sealed shut by her Spatial Lord, which closed off the space in the area.

"Find out anything about the spy?" Reinhard asked while studying Victoria’s face.

She looked tired in a way he’d never seen before. Dark circles under her eyes suggested many sleepless nights.

"No, but I did find out they have been doing more than leaking students’ information." Victoria said bluntly while moving to her desk. "They have been leaking sensitive information about some of the other departments."

Reinhard raised a brow at this before leaning in.

She gestured to a chair. "Sit. I need your help with this, and I don’t have time for subtlety."

Reinhard sat while his mind immediately shifted into analytical mode. "How long have you known?"

"Suspected? I have for some months because of how the rumor mills on the outside have been going." Victoria pulled out a folder stuffed with papers. "Known for certain? About a week."

Victoria spread papers across her desk in organized chaos. "Let me show you what I’ve found. Look at this—" She pointed to a document. "Yor’s trial details. The exact demonstration she performed and the trial verdict. All of it was leaked to outside parties within hours of the trial ending."

Reinhard leaned forward to study the document. It was a communication log intercepted from someone outside the academy. The level of detail was disturbing. They knew everything about the trial, including private conversations.

"And this—" Victoria pulled out another paper. "The route Yor’s carriage took to visit those students’ siblings. The timing of departure and even which professors accompanied her. Someone told the attackers exactly when and where to strike."

Reinhard’s eyes narrowed, he tried to recall the professors who were at the trial. But then paused and realized there was still a chance it wouldn’t be them, but another professor who was just informed.

"There’s more," Victoria continued while her voice hardened. "Information about the Resonance Club’s activities and Sirin’s research topics. Even about the fact that you guys went to Noctyne Ruin might have been leaked."

Reinhard fell silent before asking. "How many people know about that?"

"Inside the academy? Very few. You, me, Chen, your club members, and the Headmaster." Victoria’s silver eyes flashed with anger. "So how did someone outside the academy find out?"

"Which party was the information sold or leaked to?"

"That’s the problem, I don’t know yet." Victoria sat heavily in her chair. "The communication logs I intercepted came from an encrypted source. But based on what they’re asking about and what they’re willing to pay for..." She paused. "They’re specifically interested in Yor."

"The attack on her carriage was just the beginning," Victoria continued. "Whoever is behind this wants her captured, not killed. Most likely either for her Void or because she is the daughter of the Duke."

Reinhard’s hands clenched on the armrests of his chair. "So we have someone in the academy willing to sell out a student without caring about the consequences."

"It’s disgusting, Virellion is supposed to be a safe Academy for the students." Victoria’s eyes narrowed. "Not a place where they are put in danger because of someone’s greed and lack of care."

Victoria stood and moved to the window overlooking the academy grounds. Students walked between buildings in the afternoon sunlight, completely unaware of the danger lurking among them.

"The issue now is that you can’t prove anything or narrow down who is responsible," Reinhard said before tilting his head. "Is that why you called me?"

Victoria nodded before turning to face him. "I need someone I can trust completely. Someone observant and clever who can help me track this down without tipping them off."

"Right, I suppose they wouldn’t suspect a student... Especially one who they could easily spy on." Reinhard muttered before raising a brow. "But would you really trust me for such a task?"

"I know you aren’t an ordinary student, so no point in continuing that charade." Victoria gave him an amused smile. "In our conversations before, you have always kept up, noticed details you shouldn’t, and have been able to grasp what I have been saying."

"That just means I’m a very good talker, not a tracker or spy material."

"Maybe... Or maybe I like to believe you are special enough to pull this off." Victoria walks closer and says. "After all, too many odd things have happened and gone your way. Why would this be any different?"

"... You really know how to tell it." Reinhard chuckled before meeting her gaze. "Alright, tell me what I should do to help protect the others."

Victoria returned to her desk and began laying out more documents, this time in a systematic pattern.

He saw the communication logs on the left and Professor schedules in the middle.

"We start by going through everything that I haven’t already marked." She pointed to each section. "I’ve been collecting data for weeks, but haven’t had time to properly analyze it all. Too many responsibilities are pulling my attention in different directions."

Reinhard moved to stand beside her, studying the organized chaos. His eyes immediately began picking out patterns. He saw timestamps that repeated, names that appeared too frequently, gaps where information should exist but didn’t.

"Look for anything that stands out," Victoria said. "Inconsistencies. Professors who had access to leaked information at the right times. Anyone who could have overheard sensitive conversations."

"Alright." Reinhard nodded.

They worked in silence for twenty minutes, passing documents back and forth. Reinhard’s mind cataloged every detail—dates, times, locations, names. His previous life’s training as a spy made pattern recognition almost instinctive.

"Here," Reinhard said suddenly while pointing to three different documents. "These leaks all happened within days of each other. And they all concern information that would have been discussed in restricted areas."

Victoria leaned in. "The History Department Vault, Headmaster’s office, and all of the club rooms."

"Who has access to all three locations?" Reinhard asked.

Victoria pulled out a staff directory and began cross-referencing. Her finger traced down the list of professors and their access privileges.

"Faculty with full vault access..." She marked several names. "Faculty present at trial..." More names marked. "Faculty who could have known Yor’s travel schedule..."

Her finger stopped on one name, and her expression hardened.

"Professor Arnold from the History Department," Victoria said with a frown. "He has access to the vault for research purposes and was present at Yor’s trial. He’s on the committee that approves student expedition requests, which means he’d know travel schedules."

Reinhard held his chin and narrowed his eyes. He did recall Sirin mentioning Professor Arnold working in the History Department when Sirin was doing her research. The same one who would have seen them in the vault during that early morning session.

"He teaches evening classes as well," Victoria said as she began checking the schedule. "Which means he’s in the building late at night when most other faculty have gone home. Perfect time to use communication crystals without being noticed."

The pieces fit together too perfectly. Professor Arnold had means, opportunity, and access to everything that had been leaked.

"We need proof," Reinhard said. "Actual evidence that ties him to the leaks. Otherwise, it’s just suspicion."

Victoria’s smile was sharp and predatory. "Then we get proof. Tonight."

"What did you have in mind?" Reinhard asked, but he had an idea of what she planned to do.

"The places we need to go are his office and private quarters to check his communication logs." Victoria pulled out a detailed map of the History Department building. "I have the authority to search any faculty office if I suspect misconduct."

"But if we don’t want to make him suspicious, you need to catch him in one go."

She nodded before marking several locations on the map. "His office is here, and he teaches in this classroom. If he’s using communication crystals to send information, he’ll have them hidden somewhere."

"When do we start?" Reinhard asked.

Victoria checked the time. "Arnold has evening office hours tonight. He’ll be in his office from six until eight, meeting with students. That gives us time to prepare."

She met Reinhard’s eyes with deadly seriousness. "Meet me at the History Department building at nine tonight. Wear dark clothes, and if we do this, we do it right the first time."

"And if he suspects something?" Reinhard asked. "If he’s been careful for months, he might have contingencies."

"Then we move fast and quick before he can use them."

Reinhard nodded and moved toward the door. Victoria’s voice stopped him.

"Reinhard? Thank you for helping." Her expression softened slightly.

"No problem, I want to protect my friends. If that means hunting down whoever is threatening them, I’ll do whatever it takes." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Victoria smiled. "I agree, now go. Tonight we will catch a rat."