Chapter 6

The academy cafeteria was a massive, vaulted hall filled with the clatter of silverware and the roar of a hundred overlapping conversations.

Elara sat alone at a small table near the stained-glass windows. She pushed a piece of lettuce around her plate, her eyes darting around the room to ensure no one was watching her.

She closed her eyes and pulled up the White Lotus System interface in her mind.

The panel was a mess of angry red warnings.

Target: Seraphina. Jealousy: 0. Suppression: 0. Mana Plunder: FAILED.

System Recommendation: Target emotional threshold abnormal. Logic loop broken. Abort and select new target.

Elara's fingernails bit into her palms. Why? she screamed in her mind. I played the victim perfectly! She should be a social outcast by now!

The system remained silent, offering only its cold, mechanical text. Elara grabbed her silver fork and squeezed the handle until her knuckles turned white.

A burst of laughter from the adjacent table pulled her out of her rage.

Six upperclassmen were huddled together, leaning over their trays.

"Did you hear what happened in Basic Water?" a boy with thick, round glasses asked. He adjusted his frames, his eyes wide with excitement. "Seraphina blasted Elara with water from her eyes. Literally cried a river."

A few students snickered. Elara's stomach twisted into a cold knot. They were laughing at her.

"But that's not the crazy part," a girl with braided hair whispered, leaning in closer. "Did you hear what she said to Professor Silas? She said she just wants to be saved."

Elara waited for the insults. She waited for them to call Seraphina a coward.

Instead, the girl sighed, her voice softening with pity. "Think about it. She's the Vanguard heir. Do you know the kind of brutal training that family puts their kids through? She's probably been pushed to the absolute breaking point."

"Exactly," the boy with glasses agreed. "She's not a coward. She's traumatized. Professor Alden is always screaming at her. No wonder her magic seems completely broken. I heard she can't even cast a basic water spell now without making a mess. She's crying out for help."

Elara felt the blood drain from her face.

Her narrative was crumbling. Her perfect setup-the bullied junior and the evil senior-was being rewritten by the academy's rumor mill into a tragic tale of a broken hero.

Elara couldn't let this happen. She grabbed her tray, forced her facial muscles to relax into a mask of gentle sorrow, and walked over to their table.

She set her tray down harder than necessary. The loud clatter made everyone jump.

Elara let out a soft, trembling sigh. She looked down, letting her eyelashes cast long shadows over her cheeks.

"Please," Elara whispered, her voice thick with fake emotion. "Don't talk about Senior Seraphina like that. It's my fault. If I weren't so slow to learn, she wouldn't be so stressed. I just wish I could take her pain away."

She waited for the chorus of sympathy. She waited for them to tell her she was too kind, too pure.

Silence stretched over the table.

The boy with the glasses pushed them up his nose. He looked at Elara, his eyes completely devoid of warmth. He analyzed her like a math problem.

"Elara," he said flatly. "Seraphina literally surrendered her Chief key. She has removed herself from all competition. Taking the blame for her stress makes zero logical sense at this point. It just sounds like you're trying to make her breakdown about you."

The words hit Elara like a physical slap.

The other students at the table shifted uncomfortably, looking away from her. The illusion was broken.

Elara's system chimed. Warning: Sincerity rating dropping. Charm effectiveness reduced.

Elara's smile froze. Her chest tightened so hard she couldn't breathe. "I... I just meant..." She stammered, grabbing her tray. "Excuse me."

She turned and practically ran out of the cafeteria, her face burning with humiliation.

When she reached the safety of her dorm room, she slammed the door and leaned against it, panting. She pulled up the system's character index. She swiped past the low-level students, her eyes scanning for gold.

She stopped on a glowing portrait.

Cedric Mallow. Potion Genius. Background: Elite. Personality Trait: Savior Complex.

Elara wiped her eyes. A cold, vicious smile curled her lips. If she couldn't beat Seraphina directly, she would use the most brilliant mind in the academy to do it for her.

Meanwhile, in her own dorm room, Seraphina rolled over in her massive, soft bed, let out a loud snore, and pulled the blankets over her head.