“You’ve misunderstood me.”
Lily’s voice remained steady and composed, as if she either hadn’t noticed—or simply didn’t care—about the shift in Avery’s attitude.
“I don’t need you to step in on my behalf or get tangled up in any disputes. I also don’t need you to interfere with the betting pool’s outcome. But situations change, and so do bets. Between us, there’s only a transaction of information.”
“Oh?” Avery’s interest was piqued once more.
“You said that because everyone has no confidence in me, no one wants to bet on me winning. But what if they did have confidence in me?”
If they gained confidence in her, the one-sided betting trend would naturally shift, and Avery wouldn’t need to close the pool.
But if Avery wouldn’t give her the money, why would anyone have confidence in her in the first place?
That was a contradictory paradox.
Lily revealed a smile that bared her intentions. “It’s simple to make everyone have confidence in me—and I don’t need you to lift a finger. Like I said, I won’t drag you into this. How about this—after the winds shift and you’ve confirmed the facts for yourself, then you can pay me the information service fee.”
Without waiting for Avery’s reply, Lily turned and walked away, heading back to the bustling academy avenue.
She had spotted a few familiar faces over here earlier—and they would help her complete her plan.
For instance, Ray was currently helping maintain order alongside members of the Student Council. He had received an invitation from the Council right after enrolling and was now already one of its members.
Once the hangers-on around him had dispersed, Lily immediately approached.
Seeing Lily, Ray’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. What was she doing here?
Ray’s stance toward Lily and the bet made at the school gate was: ignore it.
He couldn’t possibly prop up a Leyne commoner with little magical talent just because of some nonsensical bet. Otherwise, he’d be dancing to Chris’s tune.
As long as he maintained his “ignore” attitude, the outcome of the bet was of no consequence.
What Ray was relatively pleased about was that Lily hadn’t shamelessly clung to him after enrollment, begging for resources.
That was a smart move. Because if Lily had actually come to him, Ray would have publicly told her: You’ve got it wrong—we were never on the same side.
That would have made her situation in the academy even more difficult.
But unfortunately, with the freshman assessment approaching, she couldn’t stay “smart” forever—at least, that’s what Ray believed. In his view, Lily was here right now to ask for his help.
Ray’s gaze was indifferent. He was already prepared to coldly reject her and wash his hands of the matter.
However, Lily opened her mouth and made a series of garbled sounds.
A question mark slowly surfaced on Ray’s usually composed face.
What was she saying?
Ray couldn’t understand a single word.
Lily paused briefly—whether to let him digest the information or wait for his reply, he wasn’t sure.
Then she said another string of things that Ray couldn’t comprehend.
“What?” Ray had already forgotten what he had initially planned to say to Lily; he could only ask.
“Nothing.” Lily nodded, placing her index finger to her lips. “Shh.”
Ray: ???
He felt like he and Lily were separated by an invisible wall, their communication completely missing each other. Yet Lily acted as if she had accomplished her goal—what was all that about?
Could it be that the pressure had finally driven her mad?
On one point, he was actually right: Lily had indeed accomplished her communication goal!
What Ray hadn’t realized was that the scene of him and Lily interacting looked… rather unusual.
Lily spoke, and he listened intently. Ray had always been a rigorous and serious person, but his usual seriousness was different from the focused attention he had just shown. Earlier, his expression had been especially concentrated (because he couldn’t understand her), as if his eyes were fixed solely on Lily.
What exactly was the relationship between these two?
Were they really not close? Or were they pretending not to be, while actually…
Ah, who in this day and age hasn’t read a romance novel or two!
Even Ray’s own people began to doubt: Ray was never the type to wear his emotions on his sleeve; he rarely talked about his personal feelings or private matters. The two of them… it wasn’t impossible!
Just as Lily was about to “quietly” slip away, she noticed someone staring at her with a complicated expression. She kindly greeted them, “Hi.”
The person instinctively raised a hand in response. “Hi.”
But inwardly, they felt more and more puzzled: He had never crossed paths with Lily before, so why was she greeting him with such familiarity?
Unless… Ray had introduced her to him, making her a familiar face in his eyes…
The person’s expression gradually shifted from surprise to dawning realization. “You and Ray…”
As if startled by his words, Lily glanced around nervously, realizing she had “accidentally” drawn too much attention. She hastily waved her hands. “Ray and I aren’t close at all!”
As if afraid those words weren’t convincing enough, she continued, “I was afraid I wouldn’t pass the freshman assessment, so I came to ask Ray for help, but he rejected me! Really!”
If they hadn’t witnessed the interaction between the two, Lily’s “excuse” would have been quite convincing. That was exactly the kind of person Ray was.
But with the preconceived suspicion already planted, coupled with Lily’s reaction that seemed to protest too much… everyone knew better in their hearts. They had their own judgments.
Why were the two of them keeping their relationship under wraps?
That was also easy to understand. For one, their statuses didn’t match. For another, Ray might very well be looking for an opportunity to set Chris up.
Ray sensed something amiss from the attitudes of his friends and the people around him.
Wait—are you all misunderstanding something?!
He opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn’t even know where to begin explaining.
“We’re not in the kind of relationship you’re imagining… No, we have no relationship at all. I won’t offer her any help, no matter what it is.”
“Mm-hmm, Ray’s right!” Lily immediately chimed in agreement.
Ray’s face darkened slightly. “Don’t echo me!”
Now he was certain—she was doing this on purpose!
“Okay… uh, not okay!” Lily started “contradicting” Ray instead.
But in the current context, it only seemed to further prove that she was taking cues from him.
Lily seemed to realize that no matter what she said—whether agreeing or disagreeing—she was only causing trouble for Ray. She lowered her head and said softly, “I’ll be going now.”
Ray’s friends silently made way for her.
Ray screamed internally: She can’t just leave like this!
If Lily didn’t clear things up, he’d be stuck with this blame for good!
But forcefully grabbing her wasn’t Ray’s style either. And even if he did stop her, how would he explain himself?
Ray spent a long time organizing his words in his head but never found the right ones—anything he said could easily backfire as “the more you explain, the more you cover up.”
With that delay, Lily had already disappeared into the distance.
…
“Gossip! Huge gossip! The son of the Archon and the commoner girl—their untold love story!”
“A romance that crosses social boundaries—how romantic…”
“Can you all stop being such hopeless romantics? Ray isn’t some naive boy. The Leyne-born mage who defected from the New Federation already made them lose face. And now, if Ray plays his cards right with Lily, we’ll see a Leyne native betraying the Kingdom of Leyne—then the shame falls on Leyne instead.”
“Huh? Ray’s manipulating an innocent girl’s feelings? That’s a bit too much! He seems so reliable—I had no idea he was that kind of person…”
“Don’t keep going on about feelings. They’re not as naive as you think. Does Lily really not know that Ray might be using her? Whether it’s genuine or just a facade, for her, this is an opportunity.”
Some spun an epic, star-crossed romance for Ray and Lily, while others leaned more toward conspiracy theories. But one thing was universal: Ray and Lily were now seen as a pair.
All sorts of gossip spread rapidly throughout the academy, and the line of people lining up to place bets with Avery grew longer and longer…
Lily, who had frequently been at the center of gossip since enrolling, attracted even more attention. After nightfall, she finally managed to escape everyone’s gaze and met up with Avery in a secluded spot.
“I have a question—what did you say to Ray at the start that made him listen to you so intently?”
Lily shrugged. “I cursed him out. In my local dialect. He couldn’t understand, so he had no choice but to listen carefully.”
Avery burst out laughing, nearly crying from amusement. “Lily, you’re something else…”
She had witnessed Lily’s entire act. Ray’s expression back then was priceless! He probably racked his brains without ever imagining that someone would insult him in a casual, chatty tone.
After laughing for a while, Avery gradually sobered and adopted a more serious tone:
“You’re borrowing influence—both Ray’s and mine. But I have to warn you: without real strength, this is just cleverness. Because in essence, you still have nothing.”
Ray and Lily weren’t truly “close,” and what Lily really depended on was the gold coins from Avery. If Avery broke her promise, the show Lily had staged would collapse, and the freshman assessment would still be her endgame.
With that, Avery shifted gears. “That said, since you’re amusing enough, I’m willing to throw you a lifeline.”
After all, Lily was the one who had muddied the waters herself—no one would suspect that her money came from Avery. For Avery, that removed the biggest risk of being “dragged into the fray.”
She tossed over a coin purse without hesitation. “Ten gold coins, as promised. No need to count.”
“Thanks.” Lily took the purse, opened it, and counted—only nine gold coins and nine silver coins inside.
Lily silently looked up at her.
Avery argued plausibly, “That’s a bearskin purse, worth far more than one silver coin. I’m selling it to you at a discount!”
Lily promptly poured out all the coins, stuffed them into her own pocket, and handed the purse back to Avery—clearly trying to get that one silver coin back.
What kind of business lets you return a completed deal?
Avery said with exaggerated heartache, “Lily, don’t you trust me? I’m not like those shady merchants out there. I don’t want to make money off you—I just want to look out for you. Your status is different now; carrying a bearskin purse would be more fitting.”
Lily was equally sincere. “Royle, it’s not that I don’t trust you—it’s that I’m afraid you trust me too much. Ray, who had nothing to do with me, already got dragged into the mud. If I used a purse you sold me, I’m worried I might accidentally implicate you…”
Avery’s eyelids twitched at those words.
The subtext was clear: Aren’t you afraid that one day, just like Ray, you’ll be forcibly tied to me? If you’re not, then go ahead and sell it to me!
Avery was willing to make an “initial investment” because Lily was clever and amusing enough, but she genuinely didn’t want any public association with Lily as she was now.
Keeping it as a “purely monetary transaction” with no physical evidence was much safer.
“Well, since you’re being so thoughtful, I’ll take it.” Lily made a move to put the purse away.
Avery immediately grabbed her hand, snatched the purse back, and shoved a silver coin into Lily’s palm instead. “Just kidding. You’re tight on cash right now—better not be spendthrift.”
The deal was finally struck. They both flashed each other toothy smiles.
“Heh heh.”
“Heh heh.”
Their mutual trust, it could be said, was rather fragile.