A Hidden Motive

"Hey, did you hear? A third-year gave the Vice President flowers."

"I saw it! They look so good together…!"

"Wait, are they dating?!"

"Who knows? Maybe…"

"It does seem like it."

"Nooo…!"

Everything only fell on deaf ears.

Cosette just continued striding through the hallway, an inscrutable smile splattered on her face. Though she knew she'd be stirring a crowd with this gesture, she didn't expect that news would spread this fast. Then again, Noah Altera was one of the most popular guys at school. It shouldn't be surprising that students would immediately catch wind of it. Though she didn't see any harm in that, she still found the unwanted attention a bit distracting.

"These fangirls just never knew how to zip their mouths for once..." she thought, an eyebrow twitching in annoyance as people kept murmurring and glancing her way.

Bringing a bouquet of sunflowers was probably a bit overboard. She knew that, but she simply had no choice since she rushed the preparation. With the flower exhibition taking place tomorrow, her hands were currently full with club activities. Even when she's busy, however, she couldn't forget how Noah helped her the other day.

That time, she suddenly found herself inside the infirmary with him. He said that she collapsed back in the hallway. Later that afternoon, the Student Council President also came and checked her condition for some reason. If these fangirls were to know about these incidents, they'd probably do something more troublesome than tittle-tattling and spreading rumors.

"Quite a mood you caused, Ms. Cosette."

At this, the blonde swerved around, only to find the seventh grade's adviser grinning at her enigmatically. Cosette only returned an indifferent expression at this, her smile dropping as soon as their eyes met. They were now facing each other at an empty staircase. Ominous silence sprawled between the two for a moment until Ms. Ivy finally paced closer to her.

"I must commend you for taking responsibility, though," she started, crossing her arms before leaning on the wall.

"Take responsibility? I thought I already did that when I accepted to act as a sacrifice," the blonde replied, eyebrows furrowed in miff.

"Such a small price to pay for exposing my lord's Realm, don't you think?"

"It's an accident, Ma'am. I didn't know about Angelica Claes before nor did I expect she could trigger the opening like that, and didn't you want to spy on them, anyway? If anything, I was able to utilize myself more than what we originally planned. "

Ms. Ivy then heaved a sigh at this, wondering just how sharp-minded Cosette could be. Then again, she wasn't really who she appeared to be. Aside from being a cool beauty and an exemplary pupil, this young lady was secretly cunning and tactful. She had completely turned a disadvantageous situation into a fruitful one, after all.

"I'll pretend to be your sacrifice, then. This way, that girl and the Champions won't suspect that I'm working with a villain. It'll also be a good opportunity to gather data on her. Depending on her reaction, she could be a potential ally," was what she said to Lord Caspar right after they got sent inside his Realm inadvertently.

Cosette was the one who proposed to test the waters and further their observation after accidentally hauling her underclassman to Amethyst Falls. By reasoning Lord Caspar's long-time mission to unveil the Champions' secrets, she was able to get away with her carelessness and even convinced the lord to turn the tables on them. In the end, that incident turned out to be a blessing in disguise for them, thanks to her.

"Indeed, you pulled it off quite splendidly, my dear. We initially planned to conduct that big of an observation during the exhibition tomorrow, but because of your clever recklessness, we managed to do it that early. Most importantly, we won't even know that there's indeed a summoned creature who's disguised as a student here had it not happened," Ms. Ivy mused out loud with a knowing look.

"With regards to the plan, I also have to report something, Ma'am. It's about Noah Altera..." Cosette trailed off, expression turning forebodingly scheming.

"...I was able to hear his whole quarrel with Angelica Claes that time. He seems to be very knowledgeable about the villainess residing in her, so I took it upon myself to make him my first target, and of course, this is all according to the lord's plan."

At this, Ms. Ivy couldn't help but grin from ear to ear, mustering the face of someone who just had her expectations exceeded. She then let out a chuckle as an insight dawned on her all of the sudden.

"May I ask something, Ms. Cosette? Are you really only a third-year?" she asked out of nowhere to which she only returned a flabbergasted look.

"Come again?"

"Well, the way you speak and that look in your eyes - they're certainly not that of a normal teenager. As a fortune teller, I discern so, and that's saying a lot."

Cosette appeared to be contemplating, unsure of how to react. At this, Ms. Ivy just sighed and shook her head back and forth, thinking that she wasn't really aware of that all along. Right now, however, she's satisfied enough that they had someone like her.

"Anyway, tomorrow's the big day. Do your part properly and Lord Caspar will make sure to fulfill his promise," Ms. Ivy continued before turning around to leave.

"Of course," Cosette simply replied.

Then, with that, the two proceeded to part ways as if nothing happened. Ms. Ivy just silently made her way towards the faculty room while Cosette paced down the flight of stairs. All the while, the blonde remained deep in thought. Despite how placid she appeared on the outside, she turned out to be in the middle of a heavy pondering.

At that moment, an image of a certain boy with ghastly silver hair kept repeating in her mind.

"Just wait a little longer... I promise I'll protect you this time..."