In the following days, Shion Lan went to Karath Academy, and after finishing his classes, the fascinating beauty Pearl Jewel stopped him and asked,
"Do you have any plans during this period?"
Shion looked at her and observed her beauty before thinking to himself,
'Ever since I distanced myself from Shi Yun Lan and my emotions began shining brighter and brighter, I started carrying some passion despite Solan being with me… should I regain that cold feeling once again?'
But he replied,
"I'm going to train. Is there something you wanted to discuss?"
Pearl nodded and said,
"To be honest… there are some agreements that may become a threat and damage the reputation of the Jewel Guild, so I wanted to talk to you about a few matters."
Shion looked confused and said,
"I don't think I'm connected to the Jewel Guild in any way other than being classmates."
Pearl felt a slight disappointment in her heart, but she still said,
"Well, you might have information I'd like to buy."
Shion thought for a moment.
'Information… Jewel Guild… damaging reputation…'
Then realization struck him.
"Do you have some relations with the Ranus Family?"
Pearl nodded.
"And the Razor Family as well. I want to know whether we should terminate our contracts with them or something similar."
Shion replied,
"That depends."
Pearl misunderstood immediately and asked,
"How much do you want?"
Shion looked at her sharply with displeasure and said,
"I think you're speaking like a merchant now, not like a friend. Aren't you?"
Pearl stayed silent.
'If it were another noble, I'd assume he wanted an unreasonable price or some favor… but Shion…'
She looked at him awkwardly and said,
"I forgot that you're straightforward and dislike unnecessary talk. But what did you mean by… 'that depends'?"
Shion asked,
"Is Her Highness the type to finish matters efficiently?"
Pearl was puzzled, but answered anyway,
"Well, she's the type who never leaves something unfinished and always completes it perfectly. In the end, she's a princess competing for the throne."
Shion smiled charmingly and said,
"That's exactly what I expect from her."
Pearl thought bitterly,
'Did you really have to smile like that while talking about her?'
Though inwardly frustrated, she said,
"From what I understand now, it seems the Second Princess is currently interested in the Ranus and Razor Families, and judging by your smile, those two families are about to face extremely difficult times. So I suppose I should cancel the Jewel Guild's deals with them."
Shion replied,
"Then it seems this wasn't worth arranging a meeting for. It's pretty simple."
But Pearl shook her head.
"We still haven't discussed the price of the information. That's why we needed an urgent meeting to determine the payment."
Shion thought briefly before his eyes turned cold.
"I want you to investigate anything suspicious related to those two families. And although I already requested this from Her Highness, I want you to assist as well."
At that moment, Pearl stared at Shion in shock and concern.
'I never expected Shion to carry such an angry side… I'm worried.'
She thought sadly before saying,
"We'll handle it, Lord Lan."
But Shion smiled and said,
"Do you remember how, during our first meeting, you tried to deceive me? And now you're talking about fair exchange. I never expected that from you."
Pearl froze before blushing deeply as she remembered what happened before—how Shion had once placed his hand on her forehead.
She took a deep breath and quickly retreated from in front of him.
As she exited, she suddenly felt a heavy pressure on her shoulders. Turning around, she found herself facing the hostile gaze of Solan Neumann, who approached and said,
"What are you doing, you sly fox?! Why are you hovering around Shion?!"
Pearl replied irritably,
"Sol Hart, although there was a problem with a deal before, there's no need to be hostile toward me. I'm the one distributing the goods in the end, not the one producing them."
Solan answered,
"I don't care about that trivial incident anymore…"
Then she leaned close to her ear and whispered,
"If you get close to Shion again, I'll turn your life into hell."
At that moment, Shion exited the classroom and asked,
"Sol? What are you doing here?"
Solan's expression instantly transformed from anger into a gentle smile.
"Nothing."
Pearl stared in shock.
'Sol Hart! The girl once possessed by a cursed aura is speaking gently with Lord Lan?! Could it be…?!'
"Pearl!"
Pearl turned and saw Shion calling for her.
"I'll give you a piece of advice: build more connections with the followers of the Second Princess, Jina Joul. She's going to rise greatly in the near future."
Then he smiled and added,
"And that advice is free. You don't owe me anything for it."
Without realizing it, Pearl smiled warmly at the concern Shion showed her.
"Thank you, Shion."
Before Solan could react, Shion asked,
"Sol, what brought you here? Don't you have classes right now?"
Solan decided to ignore Pearl for the moment.
"My classes ended, so I came to see you because I wanted to talk about something."
Shion walked away with Solan, leaving Pearl behind as she thought,
'Shion… Shion… Shion… why can't I get you out of my head?!'
She also glared sharply at Solan's back and muttered quietly,
"I never expected I could feel this angry…"
Meanwhile, Solan was interrogating Shion.
"So tell me… how many girls have gotten close to you?!"
Shion was surprised by the question, but answered honestly,
"Around half the girls in my class, and some from the Royal Division as well."
Solan narrowed her eyes.
"Only your class? Or are there girls from other years too?"
"Some from the first year, others from the third year, and rarely one from the fourth year. It's their graduation year after all."
Solan's tone sharpened.
"And what was your reaction to all that?!"
Shion remembered that the only two girls who had truly moved his heart in addition to Solan Neumann were the Second Princess Jina Joul and Pearl Jewel.
Trying to suppress those thoughts, he replied,
"Why would I search for flowers when the most beautiful blossom is already in my hands?"
Solan tried not to show how affected she was, but her face flushed red.
"Stop saying cheesy things. I asked what your response was."
Shion smiled.
"I kept them within their limits, so don't worry, my love."
Solan punched his shoulder to stop him from teasing her, but Shion asked,
"Still, why are you suddenly so concerned about this?"
Solan replied,
"I heard a lot about you in the class I attended. The girls kept talking about you admiringly, so I wanted to make sure you didn't know anything."
Shion answered calmly,
"In that regard, don't worry. Solan Neumann is my beloved."
Solan hit him again before fleeing with a red face.
Shion's expression changed as he headed toward the library.
'For some reason, I haven't heard anything from the princess, and I don't think revealing the truth about Roto Night should take this long. So what happened?'
Upon reaching the library, he picked up a book discussing magical theories and thought,
'I shouldn't think this way. She's a princess after all. Nothing would happen to her, and with her ambition for the throne, she won't be shaken by what surrounds her. It's probably just some unexpected matter… and now… let's focus on what's in front of us.'
He began studying, absorbing the contents discussing the synergy between magic and aura.
Although Shion already understood the concept—because in Shi Yun Lan's world, magic and aura didn't exist separately, only energy—this was the foundation of his training from the start.
His circles gathered stardust from different techniques, while the core star acted as the heart of the circle that created spells.
Both his fire and water attributes had already reached the brink of the Fourth Level.
Shion thought,
'The technique (Path of Stellar River) is the foundation of Fourth-Level Aura. But the other incomplete spell I want… is the foundation of a Fourth-Level Mage's Mind. All I need now is to complete the spell to create synergy between magic and aura and unleash the power of the Fourth Level.'
At that moment, Shion decided to focus on magic more than anything else.
...
The Second Princess arrived at the headquarters of the Shadow Forces, where the commander welcomed her warmly.
"What does Your Highness desire?"
Jina asked,
"What happened with the investigations?"
The commander replied,
"As for the Shine Family, they're extremely cautious. But it seems Jayden can no longer wait because of his agreement with the organization he's working with. Therefore, he'll be forced to approach the other participating families, and we're simply waiting for him to fall into the trap."
The princess then said,
"So that's why he's been sweating lately and acting nervous. Alright… what about my other request?"
The commander asked,
"You mean Lord Lan?"
Jina nodded.
The commander continued,
"Honestly, I know nothing about the current Shion. His strength is increasing rapidly, he established a noble family, and—"
Jina interrupted him.
"I wanted to ask about the assassination attempts against him and who was responsible for poisoning him."
The commander answered,
"Regarding the assassination attempts, there were four direct attempts, which is strange. I mean, if Shion was truly worthless back then, no one would have cared if he died. His father had many ways to kill him, and nobody would bother investigating. Yet after he left the family, assassination attempts almost disappeared. Aside from the attempt to offer him as a sacrifice, there were no further attempts."
Jina grew furious as she examined the reports.
"That bastard! Is he even human?! He already tried to kill Shion while he was still in his mother's womb?! No wonder Shion doesn't know anything about this!"
Then she added angrily,
"We already know his father was behind everything and repeatedly tried to kill him, but how am I supposed to tell Shion that?!"
The commander interrupted her thoughts.
"Lord Lan probably already knows and is merely waiting for confirmation. Now, allow me to tell you about the investigation results regarding the son of Fery Lucius."
Jina looked confused.
The commander clarified,
"That is Vioni Lucius's mother—one of your subordinates as well. She requested an investigation into her son's disappearance at the beginning of the academic year, if you remember."
Jina nodded in realization.
"Yes, I remember now. That was after Shion recommended her to me. I feel grateful toward him."
Warmth slowly filled Jina's heart.
Then suddenly, a question struck her like lightning.
"Your Highness… do you love Lord Lan?"
"W-What?!"
Jina felt slightly dizzy before vehemently denying it.
"Of course not! He's a third-rank noble, and he's not even my subordinate! If he weren't the teacher of Baro Ferrer and Fiore Tai, I wouldn't have even looked at him! And if he hadn't helped us in the recent mission and aided the Night Family, I wouldn't have thought about helping him, a-and…"
She looked at the commander, who stared at her strangely before saying,
"If I had asked you about Jayden, you wouldn't have tried to justify everything. You would've answered coldly in a single sentence. So…?"
"..."