The door of the student council room slowly opened.

The student council members had all heard about or directly seen the “relative of the Elandria family” at least once. After all, she was the most noticeable among the new students this year.

However, only Abelus and the two ducal heirs had spoken with Neris Trude or seen her up close.

So when the platinum blonde girl with purple eyes walked into the student council room, the members were shocked anew.

The junior member who had gone to escort her was heard closing the door, but no one looked in that direction.

Neris Trude’s presence was so intensely strange that once someone’s gaze fell on her, they truly couldn’t look away.

“Hello, seniors.”

After greeting them, Neris stopped in front of the mahogany desk at the far end of the student council room.

That desk was Abelus’s seat, where Megara had nonchalantly made eye contact with him earlier. However, unlike Megara, Neris kept about three steps’ distance from the edge of the desk.

Unlike Megara who had only been visible to Abelus earlier, Neris in this position could receive equal attention from all the student council members.

Her straight back, shoulders at a perfect textbook angle, and neatly clasped hands. Her elegant and composed appearance was imprinted in everyone’s eyes.

She’s definitely purple-eyed. The students who had only heard about Neris exchanged glances and mouthed to each other. The purple eyes of the Elandria family.

Right, no wonder Senior Nelrysion was concerned. Though she’s from a branch family, how could the family traits be so evident… Maybe she’s actually quite close to the main family despite being from a branch.

Otherwise, how could she have received such good education? No, if you consider bloodline…

Whether or not the silent debate was heating up, Abelus stared intently at Neris’s face.

His disinterested eyes examined her in detail, perhaps one of the few times in Neris’s past and present lives that she had been scrutinized so closely.

When Neris maintained a calm and dignified expression even under the prince’s searching gaze, Abelus’s eyes soon took on a different light.

He gestured with his chin to Megara and Idalia sitting to the right of his desk.

“You’re in the same year, right? They’re witnesses.”

“Witnesses to what?”

Idalia, who hadn’t said a word since entering the student council room and had been intimidated, glanced at Nelrysion’s face and stiffened at Neris’s calm question.

Nelrysion spoke gently.

“Neris, His Highness the Crown Prince called you here because he has something to ask you. There’s an issue that needs to be confirmed now, and to avoid any misunderstandings, just answer honestly without being afraid.”

What misunderstanding. Megara, who had been watching Neris’s expression since she entered the student council room, inwardly sneered coldly.

Nelrysion seemed to be trying to protect his family member, but it was useless.

Because at this very moment, someone sent by Abelus would be finding the missing exam paper in Neris’s room.

When Megara learned that Neris hadn’t attended the social exam rehearsal last night, she had been angry, thinking this girl had decided to spend time studying other subjects instead of “trivial” first-year classes.

It was natural, since all her preparations had gone to waste.

However, upon hearing Mahradi Ennim’s words, the “day of wasted effort” turned into a “day of heaven-sent opportunity.”

If Joseph Caren’s testimony was true, Neris Trude had definitely come near the classroom. But she didn’t actually enter, so there must have been some circumstance.

Of course, whatever that circumstance was, it was none of Megara’s business. The important thing was that even the person sent to check Neris’s dormitory brought back news that “there was no one in the room.”

Between last night and early this morning, Megara moved quickly. She had the exam paper stolen from Sheriff’s office and placed in Neris’s room.

She wasn’t worried about Neris returning to her room in the meantime. Since it was past the students’ curfew, Megara thought if Neris really had urgent business elsewhere, she would sleep there and come back.

Why would she risk running into one of them somewhere without knowing the student council members’ full schedules?

It was hard to understand how a first-year from an insignificant family could have urgent business in the middle of the night, but well. What did that matter? It was good that a nice opportunity had arisen because of it.

The execution was carried out by Idalia’s maid, just in case. When Megara asked to borrow her maid, Idalia looked reluctant but couldn’t refuse in the end.

Megara benefited from Idalia’s timidity. Both in preventing betrayal and in deflecting suspicion if needed.

Neris was quick-witted, so if even one thing went wrong in the middle, this whole affair could have come to nothing. Megara brought Idalia to sleep in her own dormitory.

And as soon as morning came, she confirmed through appropriate channels that a commotion had occurred in the student council, pretended to have coincidentally heard about it, and came to the student council room.

Everything went according to plan up to Neris being summoned.

Megara thought it worked out perfectly, even though she didn’t know when Neris had returned to her room, since she was caught there. It was flawless.

If there were two things that bothered the perfectly pleased Megara, the first was Idalia, who had insisted on coming along because Nelrysion was here, but was now just sitting uselessly. And the second was Neris’s expression.

‘But that will be resolved soon.’

Expecting Neris’s expression to contort with bewilderment, Megara maintained her doll-like pretty smile.

Having finished his observation, Abelus asked slowly.

“Where were you last night?”

“I was in my room.”

Got her! Megara’s eyes flashed with joy for a moment.

Idalia grabbed Megara’s sleeve. To prevent Idalia from saying anything unnecessary, Megara gave her a warning look.

She would probably say something like “But they said you weren’t in your room.”

What did it matter whether Neris Trude was actually in her room last night or not? The fact that she was lying now meant that whatever business she had last night was of a nature difficult to tell others.

Then she wouldn’t be able to provide an alibi either. Could it be more perfect than this!

“From what time to what time?”

“From around 9 PM, I think. I was in my room continuously until morning, Your Highness. Where else would I have gone?”

Though that tone of questioning back was a bit cheeky, Neris’s expression was so calm that no one focused on that fact. Natasha frowned and confirmed.

“Didn’t you say you were going to social class yesterday evening?”

“Yes, I saw you on the way there, Senior Natasha. But then I suddenly got a headache, so I went back to my room.”

Some of the simpler student council members looked at Neris with contemptuous eyes, convinced. That’s what you call an excuse.

On the other hand, Abelus and Nelrysion’s gazes became more cautious than before.

The two men knew they had missed a very good opportunity last night.

Hudis Tipian, that cunning and heartless old man, had tried to offer his granddaughter as a sacrifice to the imperial family. Abelus accepted the deal without much deliberation.

If he could kill the monster Cledwin and finally get his hands on Maindlant, what was giving up a little land as the Viscount Tipian wanted?

But just when they had barely surrounded Cledwin and inflicted a fatal wound, the rat in the trap disappeared.

It was even more frustrating because Abelus and Nelrysion had sent their most trusted knight to track Cledwin.

Could that monster fly or something? They had received reports of inflicting deep wounds on several places including his thigh and stomach, so how did he hide?

The frustrated Abelus even got angry at Ralph’s report of “meeting the Elandria family’s purple-eyed girl while searching the Remnant Building.”

What did it matter if first-year kids came to that place and witnessed the struggle between the imperial family and the grand ducal family! Shouldn’t they have thoroughly searched first!

Knowing that if the situation had really been discovered, lightning would have struck, Ralph conducted an all-night search and hadn’t returned yet.

Abelus’s speculation that they might have lost Cledwin in the Remnant Building, and the regret based on it, grew larger.

But what if Cledwin didn’t escape on his own, but with the help of this little one?

The same possibility crossed both men’s minds. Nelrysion tensed unusually, and Abelus shot him a glance of anger.

If Neris had helped Cledwin, the chances of it being her solo act were low. There was no reason for that young child to help an unfamiliar bloody senior. Unless Nelrysion had betrayed him.

Abelus asked as a test.

“Is there anyone who can prove that?”

“No.”

Neris shook her head gently.

Megara watched that sight with relish. Even excitement rose in her heart. Excitement at the expectation of finally seeing Neris cry and complain of injustice.

Excitement that she might finally be able to remove Neris from her sight.

“Neris Trude, we are looking for a criminal right now.”

Abelus’s word choice was clearly meant to scare the child. A question arose in Neris’s clear purple eyes.

“A criminal?”

“Yes. Because a thief broke into a teacher’s office last night. If you don’t tell us where you ‘really’ were last night, you must be the culprit and will be expelled.”

Having paid astronomical tuition to enter the academy, Neris probably didn’t want to be expelled either. Abelus thought he had sufficiently threatened the child and was satisfied with the troubled expression that soon appeared on Neris’s face.

He firmly believed he would soon hear the truth. Whether about the exam paper incident or about Cledwin.

But to hear the truth, the other students in this place were a hindrance. The fact that the imperial family had tried to annihilate a noble family shouldn’t be widely known to other high nobles.

Abelus gestured for the other students to leave. The student council members quickly left the room, and the two servants who had accompanied Idalia and Megara earlier briefly entered to escort their masters.

Idalia had been regretting following Megara here since earlier. She had come wanting to catch Nelrysion’s eye, but he hadn’t even glanced in her direction.

Idalia, who hadn’t slept properly last night due to Megara’s plan, staggered momentarily from fatigue. Her servant caught her.

“It’s okay, Simon. Let’s go.”

Simon, Idalia’s servant, was the very person who had gone to Neris’s dormitory twice last night, confirming Neris’s absence and placing the stolen exam paper in the room.

He had also said he didn’t run into Neris on the way, and since he finished all the work before the first-year curfew was lifted, Neris shouldn’t be able to recognize Simon, but he felt a bit uneasy for no reason.

The timid Idalia unconsciously glanced at Neris. And seeing Neris’s eyes widen slightly, she flinched unnecessarily.

‘What, why is she looking at me?’

Neris soon returned to her usual expression. Idalia blinked a few times in confusion but soon reassured herself.

Yes, there was nothing Neris could do now. That’s exactly why Idalia lent her servant as Megara wanted.

Neris’s existence was the strangest and most wrong “phenomenon” in this school. Idalia was a good person and at first, Megara’s request sounded bad.

But maybe it was okay to use slightly wrong methods for such a wrong thing.

Yes, once the problem disappeared… She could act kindly again like before. She would pray hard at the temple and reflect.

The door closed behind Idalia’s back.