Sigh.

Did all the girls behave in the same way?

Though I had a decent study of the female gender, such detailed intricacies of their behaviour patterns were still beyond my current understanding.

Though with time, I knew that I would be able to learn more about them.

The issue was not about my capability but about my limited interaction with the opposite gender, which left me with fewer materials to study.

Still, I was learning a lot more about them than I ever had in my previous life... as X.

"I am not his son."

My words made Ashlyn look at me with the same expression as before.

"He is my Guardian."

"..."

My next words left Ashlyn blankly staring at me.

It wasn’t like I had ever tried to hide the fact that the headmaster shared a special relationship with me.

All my actions so far had actually been there to hint at the same outcome. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

As for why I decided to specifically say it before Ashlyn, it was to let Damian know about it.

The greater the value I had in his eyes, the better it would be for me.

"That’s unfair."

Hm?

Ashlyn’s pout had now dissolved, replaced by narrowed eyes, as the girl fixed her gaze on me.

The Levaith... she looked suspicious of me.

"Care to explain?"

My voice had the same neutral tone with which I always spoke, though there was a hint of disappointment in it.

It wasn’t like I was disappointed in Ashlyn, but it was more of a human expression on my part to show my dissatisfaction with her statement.

"Is that why the headmaster hadn’t punished you when you fought with your sister?"

"..."

Haa...

This girl... I never knew she was one of those protectors of justice.

"I had been punished—"

"Being dismissed for some days isn’t a punishment."

Hm?

I think I had been gone for quite some time.

A month maybe, or maybe not.

It wasn’t like I was counting the days while being away from the academy.

Though those were my inner thoughts, from the outside I had an indifferent expression on my face, as I looked into Ashlyn’s eyes with no reaction whatsoever.

Ashlyn, on her part, was looking at me like I had committed some crime against the entirety of the students at the academy, as well as those living in the world at this very moment.

"So?"

"..."

The tone of my question seemed to have taken Ashlyn by surprise, as she might have been expecting me to show some guilt or try to justify my situation.

But... why would I need to justify myself, if the headmaster of the academy was on the positive side of our relationship?

There was no need for me to explain everything to a girl who was merely the daughter of a dukedom.

Nothing more than that.

"Don’t you think it’s unfair to the students who are subjected to the strict rules and regulations of the academy? Isn’t this a—"

"You were born a noble... or am I wrong?"

"..."

Interrupting Ashlyn, I moved closer to her before closing the distance between us to a mere foot.

As Ashlyn stood at around 5’6", her height was clearly shorter than mine.

Bending a little, I looked down at her, though the girl wasn’t intimidated by the gesture and returned my gaze with equal determination.

Still, it wasn’t like I was trying to intimidate her.

"Tell me—"

"Yes, I was born a noble. But I don’t see how that affects our current topic of conversation."

Ashlyn replied with a firm voice.

Long gone was her polite way of talking. It was now replaced by a strong sense of justice, which I found repulsive to my core.

Still, having decided to turn her into a tool, I had to make sure that she was moulded into the right shape so as to serve me to the best extent of her abilities.

"So... if you weren’t a noble, then do you think you would have been able to create such a strong faction in the academy to contest for the position of student council president?"

"..."

"Do you realistically think that the students would have still supported you as they do now?"

What I was asking didn’t require some high level of intelligence to be answered.

It was a basic fact that people in positions like Ashlyn’s tended to forget from time to time.

"I think I am capable enough to shine from any place in the world. I don’t need my house’s name—"

"Let’s make a stop there, shall we?"

I uttered the words while raising my index finger and gently placing it on Ashlyn’s lips, while closing the distance between us at the same time.

Though my gesture was intimate, Ashlyn didn’t seem flustered by it.

Well, I didn’t expect anything less from a noble like her. They are trained to handle the most extreme situations from birth.

"You said that you were capable enough, or have I misheard that?"

I wanted to leave no options for the girl to justify herself again, though I knew that Ashlyn was sensible enough to accept her mistake when the facts were presented before her.

Ashlyn didn’t reply, but her silence was confirmation itself.

"So... how had you grown to become such a capable human... Miss Ashlyn?"

I had already removed my index finger from Ashlyn’s lips, though their warmth could still be felt on the tip of my finger.

"Weren’t your abilities gifted to you only for being a Levaith? Your father is a strong fighter, so logically, wasn’t it his genes that had made you what you are today? Or is it that you had a different father?"

"..."

Ashlyn narrowed her eyes at my last words, and just as she was about to rebuke me, I raised my hands in surrender.

"You don’t have to be offended by my words, as it was your statement that made me deliver such a claim. Your capabilities are only due to being born as the daughter of the Levaiths, and that’s a fact that you can’t deny. Though I won’t deny your hard work, at the end of the day, it is your bloodline that has helped you reach where you are today. And—"