She didn’t budge, "Am I supposed to be satisfied? Who in this academy hasn’t heard of me?"

Cassien sighed inwardly.

’You said that when I first saw you stepping out of the carriage and walking into the banquet hall, too. Typical Aiysha. Just like the story described, minus the overwhelming beauty everyone kept raving about. Seeing her in person is almost like watching an angel train to become an assassin.’

Aiysha continued forward swiftly, her gaze unblinking, "Now, let’s get down to business."

Cassien slowly raised both hands, while his supposed fiancée held a heavy, metallic sword infused with a ridiculous amount of mana, its edge humming faintly in the air.

"I watched your duel."

"No surprise there."

"Shush," she snapped, "And because I watched it, I know what happened made no sense."

She lifted the sword and rested the blade against his neck.

A cold pressure touched his skin.

"That fire didn’t just vanish," she said, her voice lowering into something far more dangerous, "Tell me what happened. The truth."

The blade pressed slightly deeper.

"Or you die."

Aiysha Moon.

First in line to inherit the Moon family.

Ever since birth, people had feared her.

Not because of her status.

Because of the blessing she carried.

The [Blessing of the Goddess of Truths.]

A terrifying ability that allowed her to distinguish truth from lies.

If Aiysha had somehow been a transmigrator herself, the original story would’ve probably ended before it even started.

There was technically one loophole to her blessing.

A ridiculously difficult one.

To deceive her, a person had to believe their own lie completely.

Not pretend.

Not act.

Actually believe it.

In other words, manipulate your soul itself.

Something most people considered impossible.

Cassien considered his options.

Aiysha tightened her grip.

"Tell me," she whispered, "So I don’t have to kill you."

Unlike many characters in the novel, Aiysha didn’t hesitate when logic pointed toward violence.

If killing someone was the most efficient option, she’d do it.

And currently, she didn’t even know Cassien was her fiancé.

Which somehow made this entire situation infinitely worse.

One thing was clear.

Lying was off the table.

Or rather, he had zero interest in gambling his life on it.

Still, when direct answers became dangerous, there was always another route.

There had always been.

And always would be.

The only problem?

Cassien couldn’t exactly invent nonsense under this kind of pressure.

Not while Aiysha was glaring at him like she was mentally drafting his obituary.

"Tell me!" she barked, her voice carrying force behind it.

"Damn, Ms. Moon," Cassien muttered, "You look terrifying when you’re angry. Beautiful women like you really shouldn’t stress this much."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You think this is funny?"

Her expression somehow became even darker.

"If you don’t start talking, I’ll issue my first warning."

She paused.

"Actually, silly me. Not warning."

A small smile formed on her lips.

"Torture."

’Little Miss Edgelord over here,’ Cassien thought, his grin widening, "Fine, fine, I’ll talk."

Aiysha leaned in slightly.

"But before I do," he added, "Do you really want to know what I did?"

The blade dug just enough to draw blood.

A thin red line trickled down his neck.

Cassien glanced downward.

"Relax," he said calmly, "I’m not trying to hurt anyone."

"For the last time," Aiysha hissed, veins faintly visible near her temple, "Talk."

Cassien exhaled.

"I made a trade-off."

Her brows furrowed.

"A trade-off? What does that even mean? Be specific."

"You really are intense."

The look she shot him was pretty scary.

Yet Cassien only stared back, curious.

"Those eyes of yours," he murmured, "How many truths and lies have you had to separate your entire life?"

Before she could react, he leaned closer. Close enough to make her stiffen.

"I mean, aren’t you staring directly into my soul right now?" His eyes dug deeper into her glance. "So tell me. What do you see?"

Aiysha’s grip faltered for the briefest moment.

Cassien pressed further.

"Is it healthy? Or is it rotting? Please tell me, Ms. Moon. I’m genuinely curious."

Aiysha’s expression shifted; she felt disturbed.

Cassien caught sight of her lifting the sword again.

Instead of retreating, he casually lowered one arm and squeezed her shoulder.

"Ow!"

She moaned.

"Stop that!"

She slapped his hand away immediately, then pointed the sword at him again.

"Are you insane?" she snapped, "You have to be absolutely ludicrous."

"Well, since you won’t answer me," Cassien said, unbothered, "I’ll answer for you."

Aiysha hesitated.

"My soul is rotten to the bitter core, isn’t it?"

He laughed lightly.

"I’m a complete bastard, aren’t I!"

"Shut up!"

Her sword came crashing downward.

Straight for his skull.

"Mister?"

...

Weshhhhh...

The wind itself seemed to pause.

The blade stopped mere inches from splitting him in half.

A voice came from within the barrier.

"What’s happening here?"

Cassien’s smile widened.

’Just in time... no, earlier than expected. Much earlier.’

Ren Castor.

The protagonist.

Standing inside the barrier.

At this point in the original novel, Aiysha had never met him.

Not yet.

As for Cassien, he was supposed to already know Ren.

They should’ve been acquaintances by now.

Potentially even friends.

But thanks to Jameson’s interference, the timeline had shifted.

Again.

Meaning Cassien had no choice but to improvise.

"Who are you?" Aiysha asked sharply, "And how did you get in here?"

Her sword redirected toward Ren.

"You want to be next?"

Ren visibly shivered.

"N No! Absolutely not."

He awkwardly waved both hands.

"I’m sorry for interrupting, but..."

He glanced between them, then immediately covered his mouth.

"Oh."

His eyes widened.

"It looks like something romantic is happening between the two of you."

Aiysha blinked.

"Romantic?"

She slowly turned her head, only now realizing Cassien’s left arm was still loosely wrapped around her neck from earlier.

Silence.

Her expression held fury that could’ve killed nations.

Meanwhile, Ren looked increasingly invested.

"Oh my gosh," he whispered dramatically, "This is exactly like those scenes where two lovers argue because of a misunderstanding."

His face reddened.

"This is kind of adorable."

Aiysha spun around so fast it looked painful.

She marched straight toward him, "Listen here, kid."

"I’m your age," Ren corrected instantly, "Also, you’re definitely a first year too, right? I studied information beforehand, and based on your appearance, aura, and behavioral profile, you are most definitely."

"SHUT UP!"

Aiysha exploded.

"I hate logical people with zero combat awareness!"

She pointed aggressively between herself and Cassien.

"This is not romantic!"

Her face flushed slightly.

"My objective was simply to extract information from him!"

She froze.

A realization struck.

Her head snapped backward.

"That man... where did he go?"

...

And just like that, Cassien was gone.