There she was.

Freya Lockhart.

The genius of the Lockhart branch family, second to only Iris Lockhart herself.

She stood there, her silver hair flowing gracefully. Her face was calm and graceful, but it also held a sense of unimaginable kindness behind it that everyone present could feel.

Even Ronan was almost fooled.

Wow, she’s good.

"Whatever could you be talking about?" Ronan asked, a smirk on his face.

"It has been no mystery that you have taken the liberty to bother my twin sister, Elara. Ronan, I know you haven’t shown the greatest character these past few years, but I didn’t expect you to stoop this low."

She spoke with familiarity, one that Ronan was not familiar with. Despite that, he played along.

"Again, I have no clue what you are talking about."

The crowd didn’t like that response.

"You’re shameless!"

"Lying in front of her face, even when she shows you no hostility despite your actions! You are truly a scoundrel!"

Students who would be scared shitless otherwise in front of Ronan’s influence now spoke their mind openly.

However, Freya put her hand up, silencing the crowd.

The crowd instantly went silent. If anyone else wanted to say anything, it was shut down by the respect they felt towards the woman – no, the angel – in front of them.

Because Freya was just that: an angel.

Freya Lockhart was one of the only nobles among the four great noble families who treated everyone equally. She cared for and loved both nobles and commoners alike, treating them all with kindness.

It was the type of kindness that would have you wondering, ’How could someone have such a warm heart?’

Of course, Ronan knew better.

Beneath that mask of kindness and affection towards all, Freya was a hateful bitch who despised the Lockhart family to its core.

She wished to burn it to the ground and rebuild it with the branch family on top.

This mask of affection? This persona of a kindhearted angel? It was all a scheme to gain popularity, supporters, and allies she could use.

Of course, Ronan knew better. Not because he was some expert at reading people – although he would say he was quite good – but because he had read the novel and knew of her motives.

She was one of the more fleshed out characters, having a whole character arc in the later arcs of the novels, where she dies to save her sister, Elara.

It was obviously leading up to an arc where Elara would be the center of, but the novel was discontinued by that point, so Ronan never read it.

But he wasn’t upset. He could work with what he had.

"I have had people from your own class tell me that you have been bothering Elara after classes, even going as far as calling her useless and comparing her to myself."

Ronan internally scoffed.

If she actually cared, she would have approached Ronan privately.

Of course, Freya cared for her sister and would give her life for her, but she didn’t care for her feelings. She only cared that she was alive.

This move of publicly confronting Ronan was more of a political approach to gain popularity.

Oh, how predictable.

"That sounds awfully far-fetched. To think that an angel such as yourself would believe such petty rumors."

Freya frowned.

"I would prefer not to be referred to as ’angel’," Freya said gracefully. "And as much as I would like to trust you, you do not have the best reputation."

"Well, I am here to tell you those claims are false. I did not bully your sister at all, actually. In fact, I helped her."

"You... helped her?"

Freya was obviously having a hard time believing that.

Ronan was not someone who could help anyone, let alone himself. He was a bum on all accounts, except being average at mana control.

"It’s true," Ronan smirked. "In fact... why don’t we ask her?"

"Ask her?"

"That’s right... She is probably still in the classroom practicing. If you are so curious, simply ask her."

"Just because I ask her does not mean she will tell."

"Do you seriously think Elara Lockhart is the type of girl to lie because she is scared of me?"

"No... I don’t think anyone would be scared of you," the words came out genuine, but there were a few snickers from the audience. "But she would lie to not make me worry."

"Hmm... perhaps, but surely it would be better to ask her than ask me."

Freya didn’t say anything for a while, then nodded slightly.

Without another word, she walked by Ronan, the group of nobles and commoners following her, walking by right after. However, she suddenly stopped.

"Ronan... if I find out you are bullying my sister, not even I can turn a blind eye to that, do you understand?"

Ronan turned back and saw she had already continued walking.

He smiled to himself and walked the other way, away from the crowd.

Well, contact with Freya had gone smoothly. Ronan now had a general grasp of what their relationship was like prior to the academy, and that would make what he was planning a lot easier.

With a small, satisfied smile on his face, he headed to the dorms.

There was a certain demon princess he would be reuniting with today.

➜➜➜➜➜

Once Ronan got back to his dorm room, he sighed and lay down on his soft bed. Sinking into the soft embrace, he stared at the ceiling.

There were a lot of things he needed to accomplish now that he was in the academy.

First of all, he needed some type of influence.

Ronan was aware of his situation. He was weak.

Extremely weak, to the point where it was pathetic. He had experienced as such in the entrance exam, which he could have very well failed if he didn’t take initiative and get lucky.

Also, there was a problem with the system.

The system had been... inactive.

After the quest with Iris, he hadn’t gotten any. Yes, he could still open his system interface and check his stats and whatnot, but there hadn’t been any quests.

Was that because there was nothing important?

He had previously thought that the entrance exam would evoke some type of quest, but it hadn’t happened.

Maybe the system was confident he would pass, and didn’t need to assign a quest?

He had another theory, but it involved a certain main character, but before his thoughts could go in that direction, they were interrupted.

The window of his dorm creaked slightly... once... twice... then it opened.

And what crawled through was an absolute beauty. Black hair, amethyst eyes, a cute button nose, and a heart-shaped face. Her hair was styled in a Japanese hime cut, with bangs covering her forehead.

She slowly closed the window and turned to Ronan.

He smirked.

"Long time no see, princess."

➜➜➜➜➜

Aura didn’t look happy at being referred to as princess, and she voiced it very clearly.

"Do not call me that. I am not a princess, I am–"

"–A duke’s daughter? Basically a princess."

Aura glared for a moment but decided not to argue further, a faint red hue on her cheeks, more from embarrassment than any type of affection.

"Why did you call me here?"

"Well, we are allies. I would like to keep in touch with my feisty demon princess partner."

"You–!" Aura glared. "I am not feisty, I am not a princess, and I am not your partner."

Ronan laughed slightly.

"Relax, princess, ’tis but a joke."

The glare on Aura’s face didn’t disappear, and she looked like she would disintegrate him with her glare if given the chance.

"So? Get it over with."

"Well, I just wanted to catch up? How have classes been?"

Aura seemed confused at first, but she seemed to catch on to the hidden meaning.

With a nod, she said, "I have kept an eye on the... girls you told me to keep an eye on."

"You say the word girls as if I am a pervert. I believe I told you to keep an eye on one guy as well."

"I’m aware. A guy who is not even in the class. If I was confused when you told me before the academy started, I am even more confused now. How exactly do you know there will be some mysterious transfer student coming in at the end of the week?"

The suspicion in Aura’s voice wasn’t hard to read, but Ronan didn’t plan on reliving her suspicions.

"Let’s just say I have insider knowledge. Four great families and all."

"Yes, you do not have to remind me."

Aura seemed bitter about the fact that she was effectively a commoner amongst the humans, especially since she deemed them lesser to herself.

It wasn’t out of hate or anything like that, but simply due to how she was raised. Demons were technically superior to humans, given their demonic energy and affinity for runic magic, so being a commoner amongst them must not have been easy for Aura.

"So," Ronan started. "What have you learned?"

"Grace Light, Iris Lockhart, and Freya Lockhart... the three girls you have told me to watch have become good friends fast. Grace is a member of the church from what I can tell, and she is next in line to become a saintess. She is kindhearted, and is seen interacting with Freya very often."

Ronan nodded. It wasn’t much, but he didn’t expect her to have much information after only a few days.

Anyway, it was all information he already knew.

"You don’t need to tell me much about Freya."

Aura nodded, not questioning any further.

"And Iris?" She asked.

"She is my fiance... or soon to be my former fiance."

Aura’s eyes widened, that was news to her.

"Fiance?"

"Yes, that’s correct. Iris and I are engaged at the moment, but I proposed to end the engagement before the exam."

"I see," Aura nodded, not all that shocked.

Matters of arranged marriages weren’t new to her. She had her fair share of suitors in her previous life, all of which she had declined.

"Anything else?"

Aura shook her head.

"No. There is not much to be said about Freya that you do not already know. She is a kindhearted, elegant person who will surely fly to great heights in the near future. Even I feel drawn to her, admittedly."

"You think so?"

Aura tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm... it’s not important as you will find out soon enough, but I suggest trying to figure out why she acts like that. That is all I will say."

Aura tilted her head even deeper, confusion clear on her face.

"You are talking like my old tutors did back at the mansion when I used to get an answer wrong."

"Tutors? Mansion? And you say you’re not a princess."

"You’re a high noble yourself!" Aura snapped back. "Don’t expect me to believe you have not had tutors. You even mentioned having a mansion."

Ronan’s grin widened at her flustered expression, causing her face to turn redder.

He knew exactly how to push her buttons.

"Well, forget that. You don’t actually have to figure out anything on your own, I simply wanted to put that out there in case you were interested."

"...I see."

"Also," Ronan said. "Congrats on being placed into the S class. You did so through mana augmentation and swordsplay only, very impressive."

"Hmph," Aura turned her head, very poorly hiding the proud expression on her face. "Such a task is simple for me. If I were not able to outclass a few humans, can I truly call myself a highblood?"

"I’m glad you’re relishing this small victory."

"Small–? I am not."

Ronan laughed. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Aura bristled uncomfortably, victim to another one of his jokes.

"Is that all you called me for?" She asked.

"Yes, that is all," Ronan said. "But I also wanted to give you a few instructions."

"Instructions...?" Aura’s face turned serious as she addressed him. "I will hear you out, but keep this in mind, human. While you may have saved me, I will not be your slave, nor will I be anything similar."

"That’s fine," Ronan reassured. "Think less instructions, more suggestions. Tell me, Aura, what is your goal?"

"Huh?" Aura asked, caught off guard by the sudden question.

"I never asked you, but what is your goal here? At this academy? In general?"

Aura pursed her lips.

Ronan continued. "Don’t answer. From your expression, I can tell you have one, and that’s all I needed to confirm. You have a goal, Aura. You know that, I know that. I will continue to give you instructions, and you are free to decline them should you feel they do not align with your goals. I am not here to restrict you, despite what you may think."

Aura stayed silent, unsure of how to respond.

After a few moments of silence, she asked.

"Are you going to tell me?"

Ronan smiled.

And he told her his plan.