Jacqueline nudged Shannon in the side with her elbow and whispered,
“Are you serious? You’re really thinking of joining Professor Winslet’s fan club?”
“I never said I’d join. I just want to check it out.”
“Isn’t that basically the same thing?”
As Jacqueline pressed her, Shannon shot her a look that clearly said, “Just keep quiet for now.”
“So, you’re interested? Hmm.”
Stephanie Wells gave Shannon a once-over from head to toe, then nodded slowly with a satisfied expression.
“Yeah, you easily pass.”
“Pass?”
Shannon blinked.
“That’s right. You think just anyone can get into our fan club? We have standards, you know. Here, take this.”
Stephanie pulled a small paper card out of her pouch and handed it over.
Shannon asked,
“What is this?”
“It’s an invitation to our club. You’ll need that to get into the event space. It just so happens that tomorrow is our regular club meeting. We’ve booked the entire fourth-floor lounge of the First Magic Department Hall for a morning event. If you’re curious, feel free to come check it out.”
Renting out a whole lounge wouldn’t be cheap. But as the daughter of a count, Stephanie clearly had the funds to run such a club.
Then Stephanie turned her gaze to Rita.
“You there, with the black hair. Mind taking off your glasses for a moment?”
“Like this?”
Rita removed them.
The moment Stephanie saw her face without the glasses, her eyes lit up.
“Oh my, I really hope you come by tomorrow to check it out. Actually, forget that. How about I personally recommend you and make you a full member right away? Professor Winslet likes pretty girls, so having you in the club would definitely boost our appeal.”
“I’m not so sure. I don’t really have any plans to join a club right now since I want to focus on my studies.”
“What? Think it over. If you join our club, my friends and I could help you out with all sorts of things around the academy.”
“In that case… I’ll think about it.”
Finally, Stephanie turned to Jacqueline.
Jacqueline swallowed hard, waiting for Stephanie to say something.
It was only natural that she’d be next in line to get an invitation too.
But Stephanie simply looked down at her with an indifferent expression and said,
“What are you staring at?”
“Hey! Why didn’t you say anything to me?”
“Why should I?”
“Why didn’t you ask me to join the fan club!”
Stephanie let out a long sigh.
“Ugh, what would we even do with some tacky redhead like you in the club?”
“You keep calling me tacky, but for your information, my name is Jacqueline Dogwood, okay? And I wasn’t interested in your club anyway, so don’t even bother asking me!”
With that, Jacqueline turned her head sharply and crossed her arms.
Stephanie gave a condescending little laugh.
“Liar. You think I don’t know you’re only taking the same class as me because you’re interested in Professor Winslet?”
“W-What? That’s not true!”
“You were lurking near the professor’s usual route on the day of the entrance ceremony. Don’t think I forgot.”
“Ugh… So you did remember that…”
Jacqueline hunched her shoulders.
The memory of her bad first encounter with Stephanie came flooding back.
That noble upperclassman who had hurled insults at her instead of offering help when she was lost on the day of the entrance ceremony was none other than Stephanie.
Stephanie twirled her long hair around her finger, clearly pleased with herself.
“Hmph. Just because you’re with them, I’ll make an exception and let you attend as a guest. Come, have a cup of tea and then leave.”
“Yeah, sure. Thanks sooo much.”
Jacqueline replied with a pout and clear sarcasm. It was as good as bowing after being shoved.
Stephanie went on.
“Anyway, you three, listen to me. Don’t get swayed by what that nobody said earlier, alright?”
“You mean Senior Luke?”
“Yes. If it’s an ant-Winslet club, then obviously it’s just a bunch of pathetic losers. Nothing good can come from getting involved with them. Got it?”
With that, Stephanie turned and walked off, clearly done talking.
Once again, only the three of them remained in front of the bulletin board.
Jacqueline, Shannon, and Rita all felt mentally drained, like they’d just been swept up in a storm.
“This is all so confusing.”
“I can’t believe there’s both a fan club and an anti-fan club for Professor Winslet at our school. And that we’ve been sharing classes with both their presidents…”
“So, what are we gonna do?”
Rita looked at the other two.
Like it or not, both the Winslet fan club and anti-fan club had reached out to them.
And to top it off, both meetings were scheduled for the same time tomorrow.
Without hesitation, Shannon said,
“We’re going.”
“To which one?”
Jacqueline asked.
“Both.”
***
Jacqueline recoiled in disbelief.
“You’re seriously planning to go to both the fan club and the anti-fan club meetings?”
“Mhmm. We need to hear from both sides if we want to make a fair judgment about what kind of person Professor Winslet really is.”
Shannon’s voice was calm but serious.
That made Jacqueline raise an objection.
“Hold on. Why are we acting like we have to find out what kind of person the professor is?”
She hadn’t expected things to escalate this much. And now she was starting to regret bringing up that hospital visit in the first place.
Tomorrow was Saturday. She had planned to spend the entire day lounging around the dorm.
Sensing her reluctance, Shannon coaxed her with a subtle tone.
“Aren’t you the least bit curious? About Professor Winslet’s secrets?”
“Hmmm…”
Jacqueline rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
Professor Winter Winslet.
A well-known figure at the academy.
Not just famous within the school. He was something of a celebrity even outside of it.
To say she had no interest in him would’ve been a lie.
And then there was what Luke had said.
If they showed up at the location on the note, he’d reveal the ugly truth about Professor Winslet.
Ugly truth?
“Well, that I can’t ignore.”
But there was one problem with Shannon’s plan.
“Didn’t both Luke’s and Stephanie’s meetings say they’re happening in the morning? At the same time?”
Shannon smiled.
“Then the solution’s simple. We split up.”
“You mean we each go to a different one?”
“Right. We each gather information, then come back and compare what we saw and heard.”
Who would go to the fan club, and who to the anti-fan club?
The first to make a choice was Rita.
“Then I’ll go to the fan club.”
“Why?”
“To begin with, I’m not all that interested in Professor Winslet’s flaws. Plus, everyone in Stephanie’s group is from a noble family. Even if it doesn’t build real connections, getting my face known could come in handy someday. Not that I plan to actually join the fan club, though.”
“You already thought that far ahead?”
Rita was sometimes frighteningly quick at calculating things.
Jacqueline also made up her mind quickly.
“Then I’ll take the anti-fan club.”
“Why?”
“Sounds fun, doesn’t it? I’ll use this chance to dig up Professor Winslet’s weaknesses.”
As Jacqueline said that, she rubbed her hands together, savoring the dark thrill of her ambition.
At the same time, Shannon made her decision too.
“Then I’ll go with Jacqueline. I don’t feel comfortable sending her alone.”
“What? You don’t trust me?”
“It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s Luke Rousseau. That guy gives me the creeps.”
“What’s creepy about him?”
“A lot of things.”
Luke Rousseau gave the impression of being calm, like the surface of a still lake. But Shannon hadn’t missed the fact that beneath that surface, strong currents were flowing.
Because she had once been like that herself.
And one more thing.
“That senior, he’s a 5th-class mage. He’s been hiding his abilities.”
“What! 5th-class?”
The Royal Academy of Laurencia only taught up to 3rd-class in its curriculum.
Even among graduates, most barely reached the early stage of 3rd-class and only a rare few senior students who had delayed graduation ever attained 4th-class.
Reaching 4th-class was a level only those with exceptional talent could achieve, after years of training and a stroke of luck to break through that wall.
And as for 5th-class mages….there were only a handful even among the faculty.
When Shannon first came to Laurencia as an exchange student, she had already reached 5th-class.
She had broken through another barrier during her duel with Professor Winslet, but even so, with a bit of exaggeration, Luke Rousseau was on par with Shannon.
“Why would someone like that still be at the academy instead of graduating?”
“That’s exactly why it’s suspicious. Stephanie said he’s the president of the anti-fan club, but we still don’t know for sure what kind of group Luke’s leading. If he has bad intentions and tries to harm you two, you could be in real danger.”
Shannon gave a warning, but Jacqueline only seemed more intrigued.
“Wow, but if he’s 5th-class, that’s amazing. He might be the academy’s top prospect. He could become really famous later.”
“If you include graduates, there are a few mages who’ve reached 5th-class. But most of them studied abroad in Karaf after graduating, thanks to noble sponsorship. That’s the case for most of our professors, too.”
Rita, who knew all the ins and outs of the academy, explained.
Jacqueline wagged her index finger side to side.
“But Luke reached 5th-class while still being a student here. That basically means he did it on his own, right?”
“Maybe so.”
“Wow. How’d he even manage that?”
At Jacqueline’s admiration, Shannon muttered quietly.
“There are geniuses even in places like this.”
“A genius? Like you?”
“No, I’m in a different league.”
“……”
Jacqueline narrowed her eyes and muttered,
“Ugh, sometimes you really do remind me of Professor Winslet.”
“What did you just say?”
“Huh?”
“I said, what did you just say?”
Startled, she turned around to see Shannon glaring at her.
“W-Wait, did that upset you?”
“Say it again.”
“I said… you’re like Professor Winslet…”
Just as Jacqueline was about to apologize, watching Shannon’s reaction—
“…Really?”
Shannon lowered her gaze and started blushing shyly.
Jacqueline twisted her lips at the sight.
It was the look of someone who had seen something they’d rather not.
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