The morning was young, and the corridors were filled with cadets heading to their respective halls. Two corridors from her lecture hall, Emerald Vernal Isle leaned against the wall.

She didn’t look sane. She stared into the distance without so much as a blink, speaking to someone, and yet she was completely alone.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"We have a Citadel Simulation in a few hours. I will not be working with him, as the Calamities have decided to operate independently and command the entire first-years while allowing us to form our own factions for today."

She paused, letting her words sit for a beat, and adjusted her glasses in the process.

"...However, we have a mission. Within the next few days, we are to raid the Great Citadel of Elisha. He’s eager for it to happen, and I believe it will be the perfect opportunity for us."

"What about his butler? You said something about her the last time."

The voice came from practically nowhere. Behind the walls? The ceiling? An invisible force? None of it was answered, and none of it seemed to bother Emerald in the slightest. She was clearly accustomed to this sort of thing.

The thought of the butler unsettled her, but Emerald didn’t falter.

"She’s a monster. She hides behind a friendly smile and a fragile appearance, using her cuteness to blind people to what she really is. But I’ve seen it... I’ve seen her snap bones like twigs and force something into a person’s mind that completely broke them. The cadet has been lying in the infirmary for two days, barely looking alive."

The voice paused, as if uncertain whether to believe her.

"Anyway...

"All our reinforcements have been cut off by an unknown force. Even Lone Wolf has been killed. We are the only Unholy Priests remaining. Finish what you started, and do not disappoint me."

Those words left a mark. It was as though the voice didn’t trust her resolve, and Emerald didn’t appreciate that at all.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"He ruined my life. He killed my father. And you think I would disappoint you? I want to see him drown in his own blood. I want his death to be slow and brutal. I don’t care if it ruins me afterward."

"If you say so..."

Almost nonchalantly, the voice said its piece and disappeared. The malice that had radiated from Emerald went with it. She adjusted her glasses once more and made her way down the corridor.

—

Not far away, Raine St. Claire stood in silence, watching Emerald walk away with quiet dread. Her face gave nothing away, blank and unreadable, but anyone who knew her would have recognised the confusion and disgust buried in her eyes.

She stood at a reasonable distance away, but her Divine Aura saw to the rest.

The innate ability granted her supernatural strength and healing powers, and, when stretched, allowed her to detect even the faintest movement within its reach. With it, she had heard everything. Most of it.

’He killed her father?’

She remained rooted to the spot as her mind pulled her toward feelings she hadn’t known were buried in her heart.

Leomaris was her fiancé. She knew better than most that he was capable of outrageous and dangerous things, and a good word about him had been rare until recently. But not once — not once — had she entertained the thought that he was capable of murder.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

A slight shiver ran through her, the resentment she’d held toward him all this time flowing back. She needed Leomaris, not only to help reclaim her family’s honour, but also as her ticket to preventing her blindness.

But now, having heard the reason Emerald harbored such resentment toward him, she wasn’t so sure of anything at all. Her emotions were conflicted, and so were her thoughts.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

She exhaled.

’I would rather not intervene.’

The decision came sooner than she’d expected. This was a matter of priorities and morals, but in the end, she resolved not to do anything that would sour the taste of victory.

Emerald was after revenge, and had the roles been reversed, she would have done no differently. The least she could do was let Emerald pursue hers. This wasn’t her past to interfere with.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

With a heavy heart, she turned and walked away without a second glance. Her mind was already full to the brim.

Noble status aside, she was currently doing odd jobs just to survive, and to make matters worse, her maid, Ren, who had taken leave for personal matters, had not returned in days. It was more to carry than she ever showed.

Besides, she had already decided to side with Lucius for the time being, which meant whatever was stirring within Leomaris’s faction was not something she could afford to stick her nose into. At least, that was what she told herself.

Before long, she found herself in the waiting room of the practice hall, one of the largest facilities on campus, capable of running simulations ranging from Lesser Citadels all the way to Hellish Citadels.

The moment she stepped into the waiting room, it was as though the Goddess had chosen that very moment to test her resolve.

From the entrance, the first thing her eyes found was Leomaris, seated in the distance with Charlotte and his butler, Hazel, beside him, laughing and chatting as though the world held no dangers at all.

Her heart skipped a beat, her chest tightening with it. She hoped Leomaris wouldn’t die, but she believed with everything in her that Emerald had every right to seek her revenge.

Then something caught her eye from the corner of her vision, a gentle wave. Silver-blue hair, his military overcoat draped over his shoulders. It was Lucius, and something about him always fascinated her.

Lucius stood beside Warner, who was dark-haired and tall, carrying that quiet elegance and old-money look about him. Another Calamity. Walking toward those two instead of Leomaris felt wrong in many ways, but she did it anyway.

As she drew closer, Lucius’s expression darkened as though her thoughts had somehow made their way onto her face.

"What’s wrong, Raine? You can speak to Leomaris if you want to."

A soft smile formed on her lips. "That isn’t the case."

Relief seemed to wash over Lucius shortly after. Then he turned and gestured to the roughly eight people standing at his back.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"This is my team. I will not be able to work with you today, but you may use this opportunity to get to know them better."

Raine nodded. Familiar faces here and there, but most were men, and aside from Leomaris and Lucius, she hadn’t spoken to any male cadets. Even so, she took it upon herself to get to know them.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

It wasn’t long before Instructor Abigail entered the waiting room and, with her characteristic calm, spoke:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"The simulation will begin in an hour, and I urge all of you to prepare yourselves both physically and mentally. It may not be real, but that does not mean you will not feel pain if struck. Make sure to participate, as all instructors will be watching, and points will be awarded accordingly."