The Informant Unmasked
The whole story, as it fell from Nathan's lips, went something like this.
For a noble, Nathan's family wasn't exactly wealthy, and in a moment of impulse he had stolen a friend's belongings to scrape together money. Once became twice, twice became three times—and it was right at that point that Jared, of all people, caught him.
Just when he believed his life was over, that devil Jared had proposed a deal. He would pretend not to know, and even wipe out Nathan's debts. In exchange, the blame would be pinned on Aidan. If Nathan would simply act as his witness, Jared would handle everything else.
It was a story that strayed hardly at all from expectations. Watching the boy orchestrate all this while keeping his own hands spotless was, in a word, so very Jared.
"I-I'm sorry. I really didn't want to do it. Believe me, I swear!"
"Was it also his order to throw away the things you stole?"
"...No."
"Then what? When he beat your face in like that, what did he say?"
"He told me to put them somewhere... in secret, where no one would ever look..."
"In my room, you mean?"
"Mm-hmm..."
"That son of a—right to the very end!"
Aidan could picture the man's face perfectly—the one who had stirred everyone up, insisting they ought to search Aidan's room if they couldn't catch the culprit.
"Stealing from the friends you're close with, Aidan—that truly wasn't my idea. That was Jared scheming to blow the whole thing up. I only meant to steal enough to pay off my debt and then stop. I-I'm sorry!"
"One or two victims wouldn't have been enough to drive me out for good, I suppose."
"C-could you ever forgive me? I'll do anything you ask. Please, please don't tell anyone! Okay?"
"That's what you're worried about? Now?"
His mouth kept tripping over apologies, but in truth, the only thing Nathan cared about was his own sins coming to light. It seemed far too late to go hunting for a conscience he'd long since thrown away.
"Humans really are hopeless."
Quinn, who had been listening in silence, finally couldn't take it anymore and spat out the words. The look on his face as he regarded Nathan was one of barely suppressed revulsion.
"So. How do we get our revenge?"
He couldn't possibly sleep if they simply let this go—the injustice would keep him up all night. He didn't need to guess to know Jared would swear up and down that he knew nothing about it. Worse, the man might paint himself as a fellow victim of Nathan's lies. Given his shamelessness and his family's backing, that story would transmute into truth without much difficulty.
"Let me ask you just one thing."
Just as everyone had sunk into their own deliberations, Aidan spoke up abruptly.
"That place where you all gather to play—where is it?"
"Huh? Where what is?"
"Why do you want to know that...?"
"You said you wanted forgiveness. If you tell me, I won't breathe a single word about you."
"Really?"
"That's what I said."
Aidan nodded as if to say, trust me. Nathan hesitated a moment, then confessed.
"Aidan... you'll keep your promise, right?"
After everything had been settled, as they were heading back to the dormitory, Aidan smiled and gave his word to the boy who asked one last time. Nathan never knew it, but the promise was genuine. There were plenty of other ways to crush him.
"You're serious?"
Since the promise came from the man himself, Eli held his tongue, but inwardly he was fuming.
"Yep. A promise is a promise."
"What exactly are you planning to do with the hideout?"
"Raid it. Catch them in the act."
"...We do this?"
"No. Someone with the power to actually punish them."
Even if they did all that, the moment House Hector intervened it would end in a token slap on the wrist—but still, it had to start somewhere.
"And I'm going to send a note."
"A note?"
Out of nowhere—what note?
"It's time we called on Schubik's talents."
"What talent could that boy possibly—wait, you're sending HIM a note...!"
Eli's eyes went wide mid-sentence.
"Aidan. You... don't tell me you...?"
"I figured you'd catch on eventually, but now? Now?"
"Rai, what's wrong?"
Bayul couldn't make heads or tails of what had startled him, or at what point.
"Bayul, you haven't figured it out? It's him. He's the one who's been sending Schubik the notes!"
"What notes are we even talking about?"
"When I say 'notes,' what comes to mind?"
"Hmm, what cou—oh!"
It dawned on him all at once. The mysterious benefactor who, like a phantom, always knew the news before even Schubik—the academy's fastest information broker—and passed it along! The benefactor's method of delivery had been notes all along.
"Aidan, then the benefactor is...!"
Looking back, it made perfect sense. Aidan, who could commune with animals. The one person capable of gleaning information from them was, without question, the ideal candidate for their mysterious helper.
The night he'd been forced to play chess with Jared—the meeting had taken place at the Crow's Nest, where Sebastiano lived. Not a single other soul had been there, and yet the whole affair had spread through the school as though that person had witnessed it firsthand.
Who could it have been? How had they seen it? It had been a tangled knot of questions—until now, when every piece slid neatly into place.
Really, it was absurdly simple. Sebastiano had seen everything that day, and Aidan had heard it from him. And then he had sent a note to Schubik.
"That's why the information always seemed handpicked to humiliate Jared!"
"Heh. This is fun."
Quinn snorted, looking thoroughly entertained.
"I think I've learned a little too much about this one's secrets today, don't you?"
The family, the ability to commune with animals, the secret double life. He'd thought he knew Aidan well—what a colossal misjudgment that had been.
"But, Aidan. What exactly do you think telling Schubik will accomplish?"
"Wouldn't it be infuriating if this whole affair just quietly blew over?"
"Duke Hector won't let anyone make a real fuss out of it, though."
"That's the Academy's position. Not ours."
Aidan's eyes gleamed shrewdly.
"Let's tell the entire student body. What that bastard Jared has actually been up to."
"Ah—you want to make some noise about it?"
"So the professors can't just sweep it under the rug this time."
"Works for me."
"I'm in."
"Quinn?"
"Should be quite a show."
He'd maintained his air of indifference throughout, but why would Quinn not hate Jared? A fine spectacle like this was not one he intended to miss, either.
"So the very first thing we need to do is..."
And so, a grand scheme to put one insufferable boy in his place quietly began to take shape.
Chapter 9 — Finally, We Meet
"Hey, did you all hear? There's gonna be a disciplinary hearing. For real?"
"They ran a gambling den. Of course there's going to be one!"
"Even so, it's Jared. You really think it'll happen? His family isn't just going to sit still."
"And what if they don't sit still? It won't be so easy to bury this one. If the hearing gets cancelled again like last time, the entire student body will rise up."
"Right, this time it went too far. Gambling, booze, brothels. Ugh, just imagining it turns my stomach. And this wasn't even the first time?"
"Behaving like that already—what's he going to do when he's older? Tsk tsk."
"Word is some fourth-years were there too. Do you think those seniors will even graduate?"
"How should I know? Personally, I just want to watch that bastard Jared finally get punished."
"If he's suspended he'll automatically repeat the year, so we'll be in different grades from next spring. That part, at least, I like!"
"Strutting around because of his daddy, and now he's getting his comeuppance. Serves him right. Did he really have to torment people like that? He even framed Aidan as a thief!"
"I heard about that too. The stuff Aidan supposedly stole showed up at the gambling den, right? Isn't that beyond shameless? Stealing it himself, then trying to pin it on an innocent man?"
"What's Aidan saying about it? His family's said nothing?"
"He hasn't said a word this whole time—what do you think? Aidan hasn't changed one bit. They say he's still working at the library, too?"
"Seriously strange. No wait—is it admirable? If it were me, I'd have been insufferably smug. It's fascinating, honestly."
"Keeping up an ordinary front with a background like that is no small feat either."
"Shh, quiet! Here he comes."
"...What?"
"Aidan's coming, you fool."
The chatter of the students gathered at the riding grounds died down all at once. They all pretended otherwise, but every single one of them was staring at the same spot.
"Hey, con man! Finally gracing us with your presence?"
Schubik popped out from among the whispering students, his hand thrust high in the air.
"Hey, Bayul! And Quinn, hello there...!"
"Oh, Schubik. Hey!"
The moment Schubik's cheerful greeting collided with Quinn, he shrank back a little. Quinn, naturally, didn't spare it a glance.
"Could you maybe cut out the 'con man' thing? I just didn't tell you, that's all."
Aidan was thoroughly fed up. Ever since the day of the incident, Schubik had needled him with the same joke several times a day at every meeting, to the point where Aidan himself was starting to wonder whether he really had run some sort of scam.
"Every time I look at you, I feel deceived. What do you want me to do about that?"
"Fine, say I deceived you. But did I actually cause you any harm?"
"Obviously!"
"...What, exactly?"
"You cracked my reputation! Me, not knowing something at this Academy—does that even make sense? And such an enormous truth, on top of it!"
"Good grief. Anyone listening would think I'd done something truly terrible."
For Aidan, it was maddening beyond words.
"And you still haven't even apologized, by the way."
"Does this really call for an apology? Give it a rest already. If anything, you should be thanking me for restoring your pride. Though you don't even know it."
"What's that supposed to mean? What restoring?"
Who do you think made it possible for you to learn every last detail of Jared's crimes?! The entire table was laid by ME! I brought the whole meal to YOUR door, you ungrateful—!
The words boiled up to the back of his throat, then swallowed themselves again. If this idiot ever learned that his mysterious benefactor was Aidan himself, the absolute circus that would follow—Aidan didn't even want to imagine it.
"Oh! Professor's coming!"
Just then, Professor Janet came into view over Schubik's shoulder.
"Hey, what was that! You can't just—"
"No idea. Later."
"Oh, come on! You get a man all curious and then cut out? That's just dirty!"
"The professor's right there. Did you forget there's an exam today? Get your head in the game!"
"Gah—right!"
He'd forgotten, too busy resenting Aidan. Today was the day of the riding practicum that counted toward their midterm grades. For Schubik, a student of the Knight Department, there was no exam more important.
"If I mess up, it'll be entirely your fault, Aidan. Got that?"
"Everyone knows you have no talent for riding—me and the professor. Practice more before you go blaming other people. Keep your mind off useless things!"
"Wow, listen to this—gets a little good at riding and starts cursing out his own frie—huh? Hey, isn't that Logan?"
Bayul's head whipped around like a lightning bolt. He doubted his own ears for an instant—he had to confirm that he'd truly heard right.
'Lo... Logan...!'
Bayul's gaze locked onto a single point as if nailed there. It really was Logan. Two years had passed, but Bayul recognized him at a glance.
Logan had always stood a head taller than their peers, and he was still tall as ever. The long hair that swept across his back, the confident stride—everything was exactly as it had been then.
Thump. Thump.
The closer Logan drew, the harder Bayul's heart pounded. He wanted to face him at once. He wanted to stand before those golden eyes that shone like sunlight and speak to him.
I missed you. So very much.
Have you been well?
And... do you still resent me?