Chapter 60: Background Characters Always Gets Dragged Along...

"The academy will be taking a trip to the Leon Federation later this afternoon. Prepare your belongings for a week-long educational visit."

The entire class erupted, a chorus of groans, confusion, and half-shouted questions. There hadn’t been so much as a warning. Most of the room had clearly been caught flat-footed, and no one was prepared for a sudden trip out of the country.

"Sir, what’s with the sudden announcement!?"

The class leader’s palms slammed against his desk.

Fortunately, I already knew what was happening.

The Leon Federation’s head academy had been compromised. Whoever was pulling the strings had abused the Treaty of the Five Kingdoms to force the visit through. Their goal was simple: weaken and infiltrate our academy from the inside.

As for why, well, that was obvious.

Lucius.

The golden boy was finally entering his most serious arc. And as side characters, we’d inevitably get dragged along for the ride.

Such is the fate of people like us.

"H-How did you know this was going to happen?"

Anna asked from beside me, already having arranged for a carriage’s worth of belongings back at her estate.

I’d done the same. I’d warned her about this days ago.

As for Trish, my warning had been pointless. She’d prepared too, but the current mess with the Bank had excluded her from the trip entirely, courtesy of an excusal letter from my father and House Fillaunete.

I learned about it after finishing my bath, when Father came directly to my door and handed the letter to Trish, who then read it aloud to me.

Apparently he knew about the trip and didn’t warn me about it. Guess he was still testing how far my competence went...

Tough love, huh?

That meant Trish’s character development would have to pause for now.

But that was fine. Once this trip was over and I returned, I’d get to reap the results and see a newly transformed Trish.

In the novel, the destruction of the Bank of Aurion had been her catalyst for full transformation. Her motivation was different this time, but hopefully it would produce the same outcome.

"I’m just that talented."

I grinned.

And Anna, as always, never doubted me.

✧ ✦ ✧

The afternoon came faster than expected. By the time the academy gates came into view, a line of ornate carriages had already assembled in the courtyard, their crests a mix of noble houses and academy insignias.

Students milled about in clusters, some still complaining, others quietly excited despite themselves.

Anna walked beside me, her hand resting lightly on my arm. She’d changed into traveling clothes, practical but still elegant, the Rose family colors stitched subtly into the collar.

"Looks like we finally met our dorm partner."

I said it casually, but the words cemented something I’d already suspected: Anna was definitely not content to relax on the sidelines.

Normally, dorm partners were paired within the same gender. Apparently, I was the exception.

At the last minute, one of the papers holding my partner assignment had been ’burned.’

On its own, it sounded like a simple mistake.

But after seeing who my other partner was besides Anna, it cemented just how much work she was doing in the shadows.

"Lady Crimson, how coincidental."

"Yes... how fortunate."

While Anna smiled, Lady Lillith Crimson was far more restrained. Her expression suggested she was more than a little annoyed, or troubled, by the sudden change to her original entourage.

Seems their relationship wasn’t as close as I’d originally thought.

Maybe they were more like business partners than actual friends?

"Lord Reyn."

Lillith bowed, her head turning left and right to check on the other carriages.

"It seems the others have already entered theirs. Shall we?"

"Yes, we shall~"

Anna said in a triumphant tone.

That pretty much confirmed it for me.

The three of us climbed into the carriage, and I quickly understood the other reasons why Anna had gone to such lengths to arrange this seating.

The interior was spacious by carriage standards, two facing benches, a small folding table between them, and enough room for four passengers to travel without their knees touching.

But with only three of us, the space felt almost intimate.

Anna claimed the seat beside me before Lillith could move, patting the cushion with a smile that dared anyone to object.

Lillith, left with the facing bench, settled across from us with the controlled grace of someone who didn’t really care about sitting beside me.

"This is... cozy."

Lillith observed, folding her hands in her lap.

"Isn’t it?"

Anna replied, leaning just slightly into my shoulder.

The carriage lurched into motion, and the academy grounds began to slide past the window. Other carriages fell into formation behind and ahead of us, a small convoy winding its way through the capital’s streets toward the eastern gates.

"Lady Rose, the moment we arrive, I hope we can... continue our agreement?"

"Of course. The plan doesn’t change."

I noticed Lillith smiling when Anna reassured her. That definitely made things interesting. Because what in the world could she possibly offer to make Lillith that happy?

Not much, honestly, at least from what I already know.

Unless...

"Are you two dealing in blood?"

I said it jokingly to test the waters, but Anna and Lillith looked as if they’d been stabbed by the mere mention of the word. Lillith more so, her already pale face growing paler at the sound of it.

"W-What...?"

"Well, first there’s the weird crackdown on ’disobedient’ students back at the academy. Next is your sudden cooperation with Anna, almost like a mercenary. And then... your complications as a half-vampire."

It was obvious, wasn’t it? Lillith Crimson of House Crimson. The name alone was a major red flag, and the novel certainly hadn’t bothered hiding how obvious it was.

The woman sitting across from us was a vampire. A half-vampire, to be accurate.

"Y-You knew!?"

Both women spoke at the same time.

The carriage lurched again as it hit a rut in the road, but neither Anna nor Lillith seemed to notice. Their eyes were fixed on me, one pair pink with alarm, the other crimson with something closer to fear.

"I’ve known since the assessment."

I said, keeping my voice low. The driver wouldn’t hear, but the walls of a carriage were thin.

"The way you reacted to sunlight during the outdoor portion. The way your mana fluctuated when you were near light-magic users. And well... your paleness"

Lillith’s fingers had gone white where they were laced together in her lap.

"I mean, at first I was planning a joke with the blood remark, but judging by your simultaneous ’You knew’, guess I accidentally hit the mark, huh...?"

Obviously, I was lying. I’d known the whole time what Lillith was. Better to integrate myself into whatever agreement they had before letting it run amok.

Two villainesses were plotting together, after all. Expecting me not to join in would be a violation of all that I stood for.

Besides, this would be my second attempt at establishing relations with Lillith. The first had failed simply because the Bank of Aurion never targeted her house.