"How the hell did you even end up becoming a personal bodyguard?" Matthew asked as we walked back toward the dorms.
"Why not?" Robert shrugged. "Who wouldn't want to guard a girl like that?"
"You're telling me you signed up to slave away for ten years under some aristocrat just because she's pretty?" Matthew frowned.
"It's not just her face," Robert shot back. "Have you seen her body?"
"I'm serious," Matthew said sharply. "You wanted to coast through your ten years without putting in any real effort. And now you choose something like this?"
"What's the real reason?"
Robert paused.
Then said lightly, "Let's just say… someone I actually care about made me start thinking about my future."
His eyes flicked toward me.
Brief.
But enough.
"…Alan?" Matthew asked, disbelief clear in his voice.
I understood.
It didn't fit.
Robert. Caring about someone?
That didn't match who he was.
Didn't match how we started.
We weren't even friends.
We were rivals.
And yet—
"Holivan," Matthew said, sharper now. "What the hell is going on?"
"It's… complicated," I said. The words came out wrong no matter how I tried to put them together. "I needed help. And this was the only way."
"So you needed help," he repeated slowly. "And you trusted him?"
His eyes narrowed.
"And for that, he had to become a personal bodyguard?"
He exhaled sharply.
"How did he even get chosen?" he went on. "He never cared about results. He fought for fun. And only where brute force was enough."
"That's not enough."
A pause.
"First you. Now him."
"What am I missing?"
He wasn't wrong.
Out of all of us, Matthew was the obvious choice.
Disciplined. Driven. Focused.
I should've told him everything.
But I couldn't.
…Or could I?
I stopped.
"Matthew," I said, "are you satisfied with how things work in the hidden world?"
He tensed.
"What are you getting at?"
"Just answer."
"I don't care how the system works," he said flatly. "You know what I want."
"And what are you willing to do to get it?"
"Anything."
No hesitation.
"What if I told you there's a way for you to get a position—dangerous, but one that would let you take your sister away and keep her safe?"
"If I can see her whenever I want," he said immediately, "and get her away from our mother…"
He didn't even blink.
"I'll bet my life on it."
"Even if it means facing someone stronger than you?"
"Even if it means walking straight into hell."
"…Then come to the student council office tonight. After dinner."
He frowned.
"I don't understand. Why would I go there?"
"You said you'd do anything," I replied. "I'm giving you a way to get what you want."
"If you're serious, come."
"Torent went too?" he asked, glancing at Robert.
"Yeah."
Matthew nodded once.
Then turned and walked away.
"You sure about this?" Robert asked quietly. "Silius wants him too?"
"No."
I exhaled.
"This was my idea."
Robert smirked.
"You've got guts."
A pause.
"What if he sells you out?" he added. "Or hears everything and walks away? You're not worried?"
"He'll agree," I said, watching Matthew disappear down the corridor.
I knew he would.
"I should warn Silius," I muttered.
I turned the other way.
Two figures in white came into view.
"I need to talk," I said as I approached.
Silius was mid-conversation with Christina.
"This is getting unusual," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Second day in a row you're the one looking for me."
I frowned.
"Come on," he said. "Chris, later."
I followed him.
But instead of heading toward the academy, he turned toward the elite dorms.
"Snacks. Coffee," he said to a passing staff member without even looking.
Then he opened the door to his room.
"Why not your office?" I asked, hesitating in the doorway.
"Does it bother you?" he said lightly. "Being alone with me in my room?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Then stop hesitating."
I stepped inside.
He shrugged off his jacket, dropped onto the couch, and looked at me.
"You're not going to sit?"
"I won't take long," I said quickly. "Vauzer asked questions. I invited him. Seven o'clock."
Silence.
Silius didn't move.
Didn't speak.
He just looked at me.
Too long.
I shifted under his gaze.
Then broke first.
"He's capable," I said quickly. "He'll be useful. You invited Robert—why not Matthew too?"
"I never said we couldn't," Silius replied calmly.
A pause.
"Torent, I understand," he continued. "I know what to offer him."
"Vauzer is different."
His voice cooled.
"You don't just throw invitations around. You should've told me before pulling something like this."
"He won't be a problem."
"He's disciplined," Silius said. "Follows the rules. Works himself into the ground trying to earn a position in the administration."
His eyes sharpened.
"Why would he join us?"
"For his sister."
A pause.
"…Sister?"
"I didn't know he had one."
"She stayed with their mother," I said. "He's doing all of this for her. He wants to reach a position where he can take her away."
"That's not happening anytime soon," Silius said flatly. "Bodyguard or administration, it doesn't matter. He won't be allowed to take a child with him."
"I know."
"That's why I invited him."
One eyebrow lifted.
"You want me to arrange a family reunion?"
"If you can give him what he wants," I said steadily, "he'll be your most loyal ally."
Slowly, a smile spread across his face.
Sharp.
Cold.
"Interesting," he murmured. "I didn't think you still remembered how to use people, Holivan."
"I'm not using anyone—" I snapped, then stopped.
Because I was.
At first, I just wanted to help Matthew.
He was suffering.
But somewhere along the way, I turned that into leverage.
"…I meant well," I said quietly.
"I know," Silius replied. "Your intentions were good."
He leaned back.
"And it might even work."
"Vauzer was already on my list. You just made it easier."
A pause.
"I'll see what I can do."
Then his voice sharpened slightly.
"But understand this."
"He won't be raising a child while working with us."