Chapter 16: Confession Crisis
Evan Lafard had confessed to Jaina.
Just knowing this made it difficult for Evan to face her.
What if she asked about that moment?
What if she asked if he remembered what he said?
And if, by some chance, Jaina said she’d reconsider?
“Just to clear up any misunderstanding, my feelings haven’t changed since then. I still don’t have any interest in you.”
At least that was a relief.
Her feelings hadn’t changed.
But… what was wrong with him?
No. Now’s not the time to get prideful. Getting any more entangled with her would be a disaster.
Evan reminded himself of who he was.
I’m Evan Lafard’s stand-in. I absolutely can’t let this be discovered.
Showing a changed demeanor so far was fine.
There were reasons for it, and he hadn’t fully revealed himself before.
But bringing up the past was a different matter.
Even Jack, who wasn’t always by Evan’s side, didn’t know everything about Evan Lafard.
That meant even the smallest detail, like a needle in a sand dune, could be unknown.
“Yeah, got it. Let’s not bring up the past anymore. By the way, can you leave now?”
Evan tried to get Jaina to leave as quickly as possible.
But his reaction only provoked her further.
When he was clinging to her, and now pushing her away, it stirred her even more.
“I thought you were acting out to show off after I rejected you. Like using my family’s swordsmanship to provoke me. But seeing your reaction now, it doesn’t seem like that.”
“Yeah, back then I just wanted to face that swordsmanship head-on. No other intentions.”
“Alright. If you say so, I’ll believe you.”
“By the way, keep your promise. Don’t bother me.”
Seeing Evan constantly push her away, Jaina’s misunderstanding deepened.
It’s in the past, but he’s still embarrassed? Well, I was pretty harsh…
Not that she didn’t understand, so Jaina decided to back off.
“Got it. Keep working hard. I’ll leave for today.”
Until Jaina left, Evan only showed her the back of his head.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of stepping on leaves.
As the sound faded, Evan finally turned around, His forehead beaded with sweat.
Damn it, I really need to avoid her from now on… Wait, she said she’d leave for today? Just today?
Her final words brought a wave of unease.
Evan was in no mood to train.
Jack. I need to see Jack.
Abandoning training, Evan slipped through the doggy door back into the Academy and headed straight to Jack’s room.
“Jack!”
Meanwhile, Jack, drying his hair in his room, welcomed Evan.
“Oh? Where were you? Lady Jaina Vaberin was looking for you.”
“That’s why I’m here. Did you know that I—no, Evan Lafard—confessed to Jaina and got rejected?”
“Huh?”
As expected, Jack seemed clueless.
“That happened? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“Of course. He wouldn’t share something that embarrassing with you.”
“But where did you hear that? Even I didn’t know.”
“From the person herself.”
“What? But Young Master, you already… Wait, really?”
Hearing Evan had met Jaina, Jack grew curious.
“And then?”
“I brushed it off. We agreed to avoid each other, but it won’t be easy.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to avoid someone while at the Academy.”
“I’ll need your help.”
“How?”
“If Jaina brings up the past, step in and block her. I feel like I might slip up.”
Combining Jaina’s and Jack’s accounts, Jack wasn’t at the confession scene.
Thus, Jack could say anything without consequence.
Since he wasn’t there, even a mistake would sound plausible.
“Got it? And if you get the chance, do some subtle probing with Jaina. Find out where and what happened that day.”
“Of course. You’re paying me, and there’s loyalty, too.”
“More than that, I hope Jaina stops coming to me.”
***
But despite Evan’s wishes, Jaina came looking for him the very next day at lunch.
“Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t come? Don’t tell me there’s no other seat.”
Before Evan could take his first bite, Jaina set her tray down across from him.
“I’m having trouble. When I try what you told me, my balance keeps getting off.”
She sat down naturally.
The cadets’ gazes on them were a bonus.
“That’s your problem.”
“But you did it so well. Can you teach me how?”
“No way. Have you no pride? Learning from someone you looked down on?”
“Yeah. If it means getting stronger, what’s pride got to do with it?”
A commendable mindset.
Worthy of taking her as a disciple.
But getting involved with Jaina now would bring nothing good, so he flatly refused.
“I don’t want to. Who knows what rumors would spread if we hung out.”
“Because of that confession…”
As that word came up, Jack, sitting beside, jumped in.
“Oh, oh! Sorry to interrupt, but please avoid that topic. The Young Master has a wounded heart.”
“Oh… Sorry.”
Fearing she’d bring it up again, Evan grabbed his soup and stood.
He slipped into a spot among the assistants eating in the corner.
As if daring her to follow.
Was I too harsh in rejecting him…
Muttering to herself, Jaina watched him, And Jack noted her words.
Harshly rejected? Nice, one piece of intel acquired!
From then on, whenever Jaina got the chance, she approached Evan, asking for swordsmanship lessons.
Each time, Evan refused, threw Jack at her, and fled.
“You’re too standoffish. Was it wrong to insult you back then?”
“What did you say, Lady?”
“Get lost, you loser.”
“Oh, I see.”
As time passed, Jack pieced together the confession day bit by bit.
Meanwhile, Jaina, stalled in her swordsmanship progress, pondered how to rope Evan in.
If only there was a way to force us to stick together.
While Jaina schemed to be with Evan, The instructors gathered for a meeting.
***
At the Academy’s main building, in the top-floor meeting room,
Head Instructor Everhart had summoned the instructors because of the end-of-month evaluation.
“Is everyone here?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, Head Instructor.”
Having been informed of Brook’s actions, Everhart began with a grave expression.
“If the Dean had learned of the evaluation incident, it would’ve been a disaster, Brook. Be thankful he’s away.”
At Everhart’s gaze, Brook bowed his head.
“I’m sorry…”
“Many-on-one duels or whatever, fine, but ending it like that—how are we supposed to evaluate? It’s made things a mess. The evaluation must happen monthly.”
Due to Evan’s chaotic duel with everyone, the evaluation was a shambles.
No proper results emerged, Leading to the unprecedented delay of the evaluation.
“I’m sorry.”
“So we’ll have to redo it. But who would duel with standouts like Evan or Jaina? They’d collapse before showing their skills.”
Duels for evaluation revealed true potential when the opponent’s strength was unknown.
But knowing their prowess in advance would intimidate anyone from the start.
Thus, evaluating certain individuals properly was naturally impossible.
“If anyone has other ideas, speak up. Should we just hold a test? Or try another method?”
The Head Instructor sought alternatives.
A test suited to the current curriculum.
Advancing future tests would be too soon for cadets, And repeating past ones would be too familiar and easy.
“Speak freely. That’s what this meeting is for.”
Perhaps the root cause of this mess, Brook cautiously raised his hand.
Nell, sitting beside him, elbowed him to lower it, but Everhart was quicker.
“Brook, speak.”
“I deeply apologize, Head Instructor. If you give me a chance to make amends, I’ll gladly offer a suggestion.”
“What’s the suggestion? I’ll warn you, my bias is that it’ll be bad, so you’d better change my mind.”
In other words, Give me a brilliant idea, or you’re dead.
Knowing this, Brook took a deep breath and spoke firmly.
“I, Brook, propose a mandragora hunt for the evaluation. The regular event with Roten Village and our Academy.”
“That’s something assistants do for community support. You’re suggesting cadets take it on?”
The instructors murmured.
A mandragora hunt had never been considered a test at the Academy.
“Yes, mandragoras are monsters assistants can handle easily, even while distracted. They’re not very dangerous. The Kingdom’s bestiary doesn’t even rank them.”
“So how would you evaluate with it?”
“By the number of mandragoras caught. They’re hard to catch despite not being dangerous, making it a perfect test for weapon-handling talent.”
Mandragoras only had mild toxicity and loud screams, not posing much threat.
Even ordinary farmers could catch them, But their numbers and agility made it a task assistants handled.
“Even if something goes wrong, they’re so noisy we’d locate them quickly.”
The only risk was their poison, but that was only if ingested, and prior education would prevent issues.
Though whether any cadet would eat a moving mandragora was questionable.
“Hmm…”
“And instead of going alone, groups of three would prevent accidents. If that’s still risky, we could issue signal scrolls.”
“Enough. I’m thinking.”
Everhart pondered.
Brook’s proposal was a novel evaluation method.
Not a bad idea, so it might be worth trying.
“What do the other instructors think?”
No one answered readily.
Neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but with no clear alternatives.
“No one’s speaking, so it seems there’s no better plan. Alright, draft a plan, Brook. You personally.”
“Yes! I won’t disappoint you.”
“Obviously.”
Thus, instead of the disastrous duel, a new evaluation method was adopted.
Brook planned the [Mandragora Hunt] and, crucially, created the three-person team list.
He drafted it with two assistants, randomly assigning names and keeping it confidential.
But secrets always find a way to leak.
One of the assistants secretly shared the list with the influential Vaberin family.
“Lady, here it is.”
“Thank you. I didn’t want to ask for this, but I needed it.”
Jaina smiled, taking the list.
“No trouble at all. Considering your family’s generosity, this is nothing.”
Though noble privileges were supposedly shed at the Academy, such personal ties persisted.
Thus, ducal families like the Vaberins often received discreet favors.
“Hmm… As expected, we’re not in the same group.”
Frowning at part of the list, The assistant cautiously gauged her reaction.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing… Since I’m already asking, can I make one more small request?”
“What would that be? I’ll do what I can, but beyond an assistant’s authority…”
Jaina gave a faint smile.
“It’s fine. It’s a small favor. No one will notice.”