Charisma 100: My Academy Life As A Heartbreaking Commoner-Chapter 251: Names

Despite Aegis’s absence, Starcaller Manor was still chugging along nicely.

The main hall had been fully renovated while Aegis was away, the walls patched and repainted, the floors polished. Evelyn’s handiwork, probably. That woman ran the manor like a military operation, and every time Aegis came back, something new had been fixed, replaced, or improved.

Tonight, the dining room served as a war room.

Aegis sat at the head of the table. Scarlett was to her right, leaning back with her boots on the table until Evelyn shot her a look and she put them down. Kanna sat across from Scarlett, arms folded, posture straight. Evelyn stood near the door with a ledger under her arm, because Evelyn was never more than three feet from a ledger. Rosalie was in the corner.

And the twins were at the far end of the table, a folded piece of parchment between them.

"Alright," Aegis said. "What’ve we got?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Kai’Lin slid the parchment across the table. Aegis unfolded it. One name, written in Kai’Lin’s... unique handwriting, with a short description underneath.

Fenn Arlo — Second-year, scholarship student.

Arrives late to meals, disappears after last class for 1-2 hours, meets with Sylceris Wynne in private twice in the past week. Rooms in the East Wing, floor three. No other known faction affiliations.

"Just one guy?" Aegis asked.

"One confirmed, nya," Kai’Lin said. "There are others we’re watching, but Fenn is the only one we can link directly to Sylceris."

Mei’Lin leaned forward, her white hair spilling over her shoulder.

"He’s careful. Doesn’t talk to her in public. They meet in empty classrooms after hours, always different rooms. If we weren’t specifically looking for it, we would’ve missed it."

"What do we know about him?"

"Commoner," Kai’Lin said. "Quiet. Keeps his head down in class. Average grades, nothing that stands out. The kind of student nobody notices."

[Which is exactly the kind of student the Umbral Blade would recruit. The invisible, overlooked kind. Angry enough to want to change things but cautious enough not to make a scene about it.]

"What about his combat profile?" Kanna asked. "If he’s Umbral Blade, he’s trained."

"Hard to say, nya," Kai’Lin said. "He doesn’t participate in any optional sparring. Never stays for extra drills with Korvo. Either he’s hiding his skills or he’s not a fighter."

"Or he fights differently than what they teach here," Mei’Lin added. "Shadow magic doesn’t need swords."

Good point.

Aegis looked at the name for a long moment, then folded the parchment and tucked it into her pocket.

"Good work. Keep watching him. Don’t approach, don’t engage, don’t let him know you exist. I want to know who else he talks to, where he goes, and whether there are any other connections we’re missing."

"Got it, nya."

Scarlett had been listening with her arms crossed, and now she spoke up.

"So, what’s the play here? We’ve got one confirmed mage who put a knife to your neck, one suspected mage hiding in the student body, and probably more we haven’t found yet. Are we waiting for them to make a move or are we making one?"

"We’re waiting," Aegis said. "For now."

Scarlett frowned.

"I don’t love that."

"Neither do I. But if we move too early, the ones we haven’t identified scatter and we lose them. I need more names before we do anything."

Kanna nodded.

"She’s right. Taking out one or two accomplishes nothing if the rest go underground. We need the full picture."

"Besides," Aegis added, "Sylceris is starting to think I’m sympathetic to their cause. As long as she believes that, she’s going to keep letting her guard down around me, and the more her guard drops, the more I learn."

Evelyn, who had been quiet this whole time, looked up from her ledger.

"And if she realizes you’re playing her?"

"She won’t."

"My lady, with respect, these are people who infiltrated a royal academy under the nose of the Headmistress, the church, and the Noble Consortium. They are not stupid."

"No," Aegis agreed. "They’re not. But I’ve been playing people smarter than me since the day I got here, and it’s worked out so far."

Evelyn held her gaze for a second, then went back to her ledger.

"As you say, my lady."

[She’s worried. And she’s not wrong to be. But this is the only play I’ve got right now.]

Aegis stood up and stretched.

"Alright. Everyone knows their jobs. Twins, keep surveilling. Scarlett, Kanna, keep training and keep your ears open. Evelyn, keep the manor running. Rosalie, keep the potions coming."

"And you?" Scarlett asked.

"I’ve got a shadow mage to befriend."

---

She found Sylceris the next morning before classes, sitting alone on a bench near the training grounds.

She had a book open on her lap but she wasn’t reading it. She was watching the early-morning sparring matches, a handful of combat students running drills under one of Korvo’s assistants.

Aegis sat down next to her.

"Morning."

Sylceris glanced at her.

"Morning."

"Enjoying the show?"

"Evaluating." Sylceris’s eyes tracked one of the students as he botched a parry and took a practice sword to the ribs. "Most of them drop their guard on the left side after a combo. It’s predictable."

"You fight?"

"When I have to."

"You any good?"

Sylceris looked at her.

"Yes."

[Modest, this one.]

Aegis watched the sparring for a moment. Two students circling each other, one jabbing, the other backpedaling too much. Korvo would’ve had their heads for footwork like that.

"I’ve been looking for a sparring partner," Aegis said. "Scarlett hits too hard, Kanna corrects my form every three seconds, and everyone else is too scared to actually swing at me because I’m married to the princess."

"Is that supposed to make me feel special?"

"It’s supposed to make you feel invited. Spar with me tomorrow morning. Before first class. Right here."

Sylceris closed her book. She looked Aegis up and down, a slow, deliberate scan from her boots to her face.

"Sure. Try not to embarrass yourself, Lady Starcaller."