"...could you say that one more time…?
Headmaster Lazalarius rubbed his forehead as if bothered by a splitting headache and looked back at teacher Mivoress, nervously fidgeting in front of his desk.
"I have some reason to believe that student Vallhall is attending our Royal Academy only to test it. I came to the conclusion that Vallhall family isn't satisfied with how we operate, but instead of voicing their opinion and pressuring us with their authority, they've sent someone to point out the problematic areas by showing an example so we could fix it by ourselves. They're giving us a chance."
"..."
The woman took a deep breath and repeated herself, and by the end of her explanation, the headmaster turned to the side, facing the window with a thousand-yard stare.
"Isn't student Vallhall the first member of his family in thirty years to attend? He's already older than most third-year students, not to even mention those who started early. Getting enrolled despite the fact that originally his cousin, the daughter of the current patriarch, was announced to enroll next year as the first Vallhall to study here again..."
Teacher Mivoress continued, struggling to sound convincing without having to reveal what she believed to be the truth.
…she was mistaken, but was in so deep that she wouldn't believe the truth even if Rotsard, or the actual patriarch of the Vallhall family, spelled it out to her…
"That girl is a genius, a true prodigy of their bloodline. She already made a contract with a fae… Their family knows her best, and is it really that odd to believe they would want to create the best environment for her to develop in the right direction? I wouldn't be surprised if student Rotsard actually completed his education already, but is now meticulously abusing the shortcomings of our current methods just so that none of them harm his cousin's future."
The woman finished, this time intending to remain silent until the headmaster spoke up on the subject.
As for the man behind the desk, he remained still for a few minutes as if mulling over something…
"...when pointed out, it makes a lot of sense…"
Finally, he moved, turning back to face teacher Mivoress only to slouch in his seat and let out a bitter sigh.
The next thing he did was to reach towards his desk and take out a stack of papers that he then spread out.
"Those are…?"
"Rotsard Vallhall's assignments for evaluation of each subject."
The woman asked, and the man responded with a sour expression.
"This one has only gibberish. This one was left blank. In this, the focus was put on the irrelevant parts of the questions, missing the point. They're all like that."
The headmaster started pointing at each paper and explained what was wrong with them.
"This one in particular should have made me realize early that he was doing it on purpose."
As he tapped the last paper with his index finger, the headmaster scoffed and shook his head, annoyed at himself.
"It answers the opposite of the correct ones. Exact opposite. It would be impossible to achieve without a deep understanding of the subject."
He said while shaking his head at himself.
"It's like he was taunting us. Without a proper achievement and punishment system… a carrot and a stick, crudely speaking… how can we be certain that our students are progressing…? All of us in the Royal Academy have grown complacent. Saying that the students will do their best to uphold the honor of their families, while at the same time, there was absolutely nothing that could make them feel threatened… Well, neither to feel pride or strive for betterment, too…"
Headmaster Lazalarius put one hand to his forehead before leaning into his armchair and sighing.
"I've come to the same conclusion."
Teacher Mivoress nodded her head vigorously, no longer anxious.
"...not to mention that we have nothing that could protect a student if they lose control…"
"...?"
The headmaster added, and the teacher raised her brow at the comment.
"At the beginning of the first semester, when Student Vallhall lost control over his spell and harmed some of his classmates, I didn't consider that it could have been done on purpose. But it must have been a stunt showcasing the problem. After all, back then, the teacher present was barely able to resolve the situation… Let's be honest, the two of us did talk about how lucky it was that the collateral damage was so insignificant, didn't we?"
"...that's right…"
The woman pointed out, causing the man to make an expression as if he was in physical pain over the realization, as he nodded.
"...and in the same manner, today, he tried to use a spell three times. For the first two attempts, he spat out blood each time, and on the third time, his spell exploded."
"...if there was a clear problem, why wasn't he stopped after the first attempt…?"
The headmaster followed up with another realization, and teacher Mivoress questioned in a somber voice.
"Exactly. And then, in the afternoon, during the physical examination, Student Vallhall sprinted head-first into the wall. Once again, there were no preventative measures in place. He wasn't stopped. Just rammed into it. Judging by the damages to the wall, if it wasn't done on purpose… if it was an actual accident… the same situation would have resulted in a student's death!"
The man smacked his hand against the desk and groaned restlessly.
"Even his actions against other students, I originally wrote off as despicable, although still difficult to excuse, brought forth the creation of rules so that the same situation won't be repeated… He created a controlled situation in which a victim wouldn't get seriously harmed… He didn't escalate the situation beyond a certain point, but if it was someone else in his place, someone purely controlled by emotions…"
The headmaster was now speaking more to himself than to teacher Mivoress, but the woman didn't intend to interrupt him.
"Faced with such actions coming from a student, my immediate response was attempting to expel him without addressing the core of the problem, instead of making sure that our students have the best environment for growth. I… I feel so ashamed of myself…!"
Headmaster Lazalarius said and breathed out bitterly.
"Change is in order. We need to create rules, not to spite someone, but to make the Royal Academy a better place. The same with the defense system and security as a whole."
He declared, clenching his fist with determination.
"I'll inform the rest of the faculty. During the next faculty meeting, we could discuss everyone's ideas."
"Please do."
Teacher Mivoress said, straightening her back and earning an approving nod from the headmaster.
Meanwhile, Rotsard, completely unaware of the massive misunderstanding happening in the headmaster's office that shifted the faculty's opinion overwhelmingly in his favor, left the hospital wing after receiving rudimentary treatment, followed by his butler attempting to offer him more of the special drink…
"Young Lord, that's not the way to the dormitory…!"
The butler called out after the bleached-blond-haired boy who unexpectedly turned the corner.
"I know. I'm going straight back to the cold room."
Rotsard glanced at him over his shoulder before shrugging and answering dismissively.
"B-but…!"
"While we're at it, could you increase the ice glyphs' power? You know, to lower the temperature to how it was during the latter part of my house arrest."
The butler let out a gasp, but Rotsard interrupted him with a mocking smirk.
"!!!"
The smirk that grew wider upon seeing the shock on the butler's face as it instantly turned ghastly pale.
"Y-young Lord… I… I don't know what you're talking about…!"
The man stuttered, struggling to keep eye contact with his master.
"Sure you do~ You've done it before anyway, why play a fool?
"Y-young Lord, I..! I have never! I don't…!"
Rotsard snickered, waving his hand dismissively while his butler was panicking.
"You can do it. It's your chance. Make this one count."
The bleached-blond-haired boy added encouragingly before passing through a heat barrier protecting the rest of the Academy from the frigid air released by the cold room's formation, leaving the terrified butler behind.