Ronan crossed the camp toward Elara, who still stood apart from the others with her arms crossed, a solemn indecisive expression on her face.

She noticed him approaching and tensed.

"Can we talk?" Ronan asked quietly so the others wouldn’t hear.

Elara’s eyes narrowed slightly. She hesitated, glancing toward the other students gathered near the statue, then back at him.

"Yeah. Fine."

They moved toward the edge of the camp, far enough that the others couldn’t overhear but close enough that Elara could still see the base if something went wrong.

Ronan didn’t waste time.

"We should go for the final node."

Elara’s expression hardened immediately. "Are you serious?"

"Completely."

"Ronan, we just finished rebuilding. Half the class is still recovering from Reddy’s attack, our supplies are scattered, and we’re holding together with at best hope." She gestured back toward the camp. "You want us to throw everything we have at a statue that every other class will be targeting?"

"Yes," Ronan said, surprising her.

"Why?"

"Because we have the best position to capture it."

Elara stared at him, frustration bleeding into disbelief. "What does that even mean?"

Ronan met her gaze steadily. "The final statue requires two minor nodes to capture. We have two extra from Class D. That puts us in the best position to actually claim it."

"And Class S? Class A? They’ll have nodes too."

"Class S is dealing with a murder investigation and internal fractures. Class A is still reeling from Reddy’s unauthorized assault and the damage it caused to Armani’s authority." Ronan kept his tone measured, clinical. "Class C is isolated without Class D. Class D is crippled. That leaves us and Class A as the only real threats, and we’re already allied."

Elara’s hands clenched. "You’re assuming we can survive the fight."

"I’m assuming that if we wait, someone else claims it first." Ronan paused, then added, "The Academy announced it early, from the looks of it. That means they want classes moving immediately, not planning for days. The first group to arrive has the advantage."

That wasn’t the real reason.

The real reason was simpler. Ronan knew from the novel that the final statue was captured fast. Far faster than the others. The accelerated point generation meant whoever inserted their nodes first would lock out everyone else within hours, not days.

But explaining that would waste time with questions he couldn’t answer.

Elara’s jaw worked silently. "You’re saying we should gamble everything we’ve built on the chance that we get there first."

"I’m saying we’ve already lost if we don’t try." Ronan gestured toward the camp. "Look at them. They’re exhausted. Damaged. Barely holding together. You think that changes if we sit here and defend? Class S will press us eventually. Class A will need our resources. Staying here means waiting to be eliminated."

Elara looked back toward the students. Some were reinforcing Sapphire’s runes. Others sat near the supply tent, bandaging wounds or resting against trees. They looked tired. Vulnerable.

But not broken.

"What if we lose?" Elara asked quietly.

"Then we lose fighting instead of waiting." Ronan’s tone softened slightly. "You’ve kept them together this long. They’ll follow you."

Elara’s eyes snapped back to him, something unreadable flickering across her face.

Then she exhaled sharply.

"Fine. But if this goes wrong–"

"It won’t."

"You don’t know that."

Ronan just gave her a reassuring smile.

Elara scoffed, but she didn’t argue.

She turned back toward the camp, shoulders straightening as she shifted into command mode.

"I’ll gather everyone."

Ronan nodded, watching as Elara walked away and began calling students together.

.....

Freya ran toward the statue’s coordinates, deliberately slower than the rest of her class.

North. Of course it’s north.

Grace had positioned Class S’s base high in the northern region from the start, placing them closest to where the final statue would rise.

Convenient didn’t begin to cover it.

Too convenient.

The coincidence felt calculated, like Grace had known exactly where to place them days before the announcement.

Freya watched Grace’s back several meters ahead, moving with practiced efficiency while coordinating patrol formations through hand signals.

She’s hiding something.

Freya had suspected it for days now, ever since Grace unified Class S with speeches that felt less like persuasion and more like someone reading from a script they’d already written.

The thought unsettled her more than the murder had.

A hand clamped over Freya’s mouth.

She tried to scream, but the grip was iron, dragging her sideways into the trees before anyone noticed.

Her classmates’ footsteps faded. The forest swallowed sound.

Freya thrashed, reaching for mana, but something disrupted her circulation. Her vision blurred as she was pulled deeper into shadow.

Then the hand released.

Freya stumbled forward, gasping, spinning around—

And froze.

Two figures stood before her.

The first was Aura Acheron, arms crossed, expression bored. Purple eyes tracked Freya with detached amusement.

The second wore a white ceramic hare mask, hands folded loosely behind his back.

Him.

The memory of that night in the courtyard crashed through her. The rabbit-masked man who knew about Clara, about the poison, about plans she’d buried years ago.

Freya’s breathing steadied. Fear tried to creep up her throat, but she forced it down, not the time.

"What’s going on?" she demanded.

The Hare tilted his head slightly. "Interesting question. What is going on, Freya Lockhart?"

He stepped closer.

"You’re running toward the final statue with your class, playing the kind sister, the gentle heir, the perfect noble." His voice carried amusement beneath the mask. "But you’re lagging behind. Deliberately. Why?"

Freya’s jaw tightened. "I don’t owe you–"

"You owe me nothing," the Hare interrupted smoothly. "But I’m curious. What’s your goal in this exam?"

The question caught her off guard.

Her goal?

Win. Prove the branch family’s strength. Show the main family I’m better than any heir they could have chosen. Identify and eliminate future threats.

But she didn’t say that.

"To win," Freya answered carefully. "Same as everyone else."

The Hare scoffed softly. "Disappointing answer."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a rolled parchment – a mana contract .

He unrolled it between them, holding it at eye level.

"I would have asked you to sign this earlier," the Hare said, "when we met in the courtyard. But I didn’t think it was the right moment."

Freya stared at the contract, pulse quickening. "And now it is?"

"Now there’s proper incentive."

The words carried weight that made her stomach drop.

"What do you mean?" Freya asked slowly, hearing the ominous tone through his voice.

The Hare gestured vaguely toward the forest. "Right now, the situation is... hectic. There’s about to be a massive battle for the final statue. Chaos. Students fighting desperately for position."

He paused.

"It would be a shame if something were to happen to Elara while that happened."

Freya’s blood turned to ice.

"Don’t touch her," she snarled, stepping forward before Aura’s hand shot out, stopping her mid-motion.

The Hare raised one hand peacefully. "I agree. It would be unfortunate to have to do anything to her. I like your sister quite a bit, actually."

What did that mean?

His tone shifted, becoming almost conversational.

"That’s why I’m asking you to sign the contract. So I won’t have to take any drastic measures."

Freya’s hands shook. Rage and fear twisted together in her chest.

She forced herself to breathe.

He’s threatening Elara. Directly.

But the contract itself...

She grabbed it from his hands, scanning the terms quickly.

It wasn’t like she had expected. Mutual non-aggression. No direct or indirect harm. Cooperation when called upon. Information sharing.

Fair.

Too fair.

"Why is this so balanced?" Freya demanded, looking up. "You could force worse terms. You’re threatening my sister. Why give me something this... reasonable?"

For some reason she heard Aura scoff when she asked that.

The Hare tilted his head again.

"Because above all, I want to have you as an ally I can trust. Just like Aura."

Freya’s eyes flicked toward Aura, who remained silent.

He treats her like an equal. Not a weapon.

That detail stuck.

"The terms say ’no harming the other party intentionally,’" Freya said slowly, pointing at the clause. "Does that include harming my siblings?"

"Yes."

The answer came without hesitation.

Freya stared at the contract, mind racing.

If I sign this, he can’t hurt Elara. Can’t hurt any of them.

But signing also meant binding herself to him. To his goals. To whatever schemes he was orchestrating behind that mask.

But didn’t that mean she could also use him?

She kept reading the contract, and there wasn’t actually any downside to it at all.

"Will I learn your identity when I sign it?" Freya asked.

"Yes. The contract prevents you from revealing it anyway."

That made sense. If she couldn’t tell anyone, there was no risk in showing her.

Freya picked up the pen resting on the contract’s edge.

Her hand hovered over the signature line.

Clara would call me weak for this.

But Clara was dead.

Freya hardened her expression. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

She pressed the pen down and signed.