The Foundation Building was already bustling with activity by the time the four girls arrived.
Students streamed through the broad corridors, some balancing cups of coffee while others hurriedly compared timetables as they searched for the correct lecture halls.
Amelia glanced down at hers.
"After Governance, we all have Mathematics in Lecture Hall Two."
Claire smiled.
"At least we’re together the whole morning."
Eleanor nodded.
"Lunch too."
"What about this afternoon?" Vivienne asked.
Claire checked the timetable again.
"I’m in Biology Section B."
"I’m Section A," Eleanor replied.
"So am I," Amelia added.
Vivienne looked at her own.
"Section A as well."
Amelia patted Claire’s shoulder dramatically.
"We’ll see you at dinner."
Claire laughed.
"Or after Geography."
"Yesterday was just good luck," Eleanor said. "We happened to end up in the same lectures."
"It’ll probably change depending on the subject."
Vivienne nodded.
That sounded much more like the university she remembered.
Some classes were shared.
Others weren’t.
There was always the possibility of meeting different people throughout the week.
The four girls entered Lecture Hall Three just before the bell rang.
Unlike the orientation hall, this lecture theatre was noticeably smaller, though it still seated well over a hundred students.
Rows of seats curved gently toward the front where a large blackboard stretched across the wall.
They settled somewhere near the middle.
Not too close to the professor.
Not too close to the back either.
"Perfect," Amelia declared.
"The safest distance."
Claire laughed.
"You really think professors choose students by distance?"
"I choose to believe they do."
Vivienne smiled before casually letting her gaze wander around the room.
Most of the students were chatting quietly while waiting for class to begin.
Near the front, however, one familiar figure sat with complete concentration.
Long chestnut hair rested neatly over one shoulder.
Her notebook was already open.
Beside it lay a thick textbook with several pages marked by neatly arranged tabs.
Lady Evelyn Sinclair.
She wasn’t reading yesterday’s notes.
From the way she occasionally turned another page before making neat annotations in the margin...
It looked as though she’d already begun reading today’s lesson before class even started.
Vivienne smiled to herself.
Advance reading...
As expected of the heroine.
No wonder she consistently ranked among the top students in the novel.
She wasn’t simply talented.
She worked hard.
The lively chatter gradually faded as Professor Ashcombe entered the lecture hall carrying several folders beneath one arm.
She placed them neatly on the lectern before picking up a piece of chalk.
In steady handwriting, she wrote across the board:
Foundations of Governance
Turning back toward the class, she offered them a small smile.
"Good morning."
"I trust all of you survived your first day."
A ripple of quiet laughter spread through the lecture hall.
"I’m pleased to hear it."
"Now then..."
"Let’s begin."
There was no orientation.
No reminders.
No speeches.
Only the lesson.
Professor Ashcombe folded her hands behind her back.
"My first question."
She looked slowly across the room.
"Why do human societies establish governments?"
Silence.
No one volunteered.
Vivienne suddenly found the blank page in her notebook fascinating.
Please don’t call on me.
Please don’t call on me.
Please don’t call on me.
A hand rose near the front.
Professor Ashcombe nodded.
"Yes, Miss Sinclair."
Evelyn stood gracefully.
"I believe governments exist to maintain order, protect the rights of their citizens, and establish institutions capable of resolving disputes peacefully."
Professor Ashcombe nodded approvingly.
"A thoughtful answer."
"But let me ask you another question."
"If maintaining order were the only purpose of government..."
"Would every orderly society necessarily be a just one?"
Evelyn paused.
She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she considered the question carefully.
"I don’t believe so, Professor."
"And why is that?"
"Because order and justice are not always the same."
"A society may be orderly because people obey its laws."
"But if those laws themselves are unjust..."
"Then order merely preserves injustice."
For the first time that morning, Professor Ashcombe smiled.
"Excellent."
She turned and underlined one word on the board.
Justice.
"Remember that distinction."
"Governments seek order."
"But good governments also seek justice."
Vivienne quietly watched the exchange.
Amazing...
It wasn’t simply that Evelyn knew the answer.
Anyone could memorize definitions.
What impressed Vivienne was the way she listened.
She didn’t rush to speak.
She thought first.
Then answered calmly.
No wonder people naturally admired her.
Professor Ashcombe looked back toward the class.
"Now..."
"Who would like to challenge Miss Sinclair’s conclusion?"
Vivienne immediately lowered her eyes to her notebook again.
Heroine...
I’m cheering for you from back here.
Just don’t let the professor notice I exist.
The lecture hall remained quiet for a moment.
Then, another hand slowly rose from the opposite side of the room.
Professor Ashcombe nodded.
"Yes, Mister Danley."
A young man stood from his seat.
"I agree that justice is important, Professor."
"But isn’t justice itself subjective?"
"If every person has a different idea of what is fair..."
"Wouldn’t maintaining order become the government’s first responsibility?"
Several students nodded thoughtfully.
Professor Ashcombe smiled.
"An excellent counterpoint."
She turned back toward the board and wrote another word beneath Justice.
Order
"Mr. Danley argues that without order..."
"There can be no justice."
She looked toward Evelyn.
"Miss Sinclair argues that order alone is insufficient."
The professor faced the class once more.
"Neither answer is entirely correct."
"And neither is entirely wrong."
"The purpose of today’s discussion is not to determine who wins the argument."
"It is to understand why people have debated this question for thousands of years."
She paused, allowing the words to settle over the lecture hall.
"The moment we assume there is only one acceptable answer..."
"We stop thinking."
Silence filled the room.
No one spoke.
Not because they had nothing to say.
But because everyone was considering what she had just said.
Professor Ashcombe picked up a piece of chalk once more.
"Political philosophy..."
She wrote the words neatly beneath the previous headings.
"...begins with questions."
"It survives because humanity continues searching for better answers."
Vivienne found herself unconsciously writing that sentence in the margin of her notebook.
She liked it.
Very much.
Perhaps that was why St. Albion had earned its reputation.
The professors weren’t interested in producing students who merely memorized textbooks.
They wanted students who could reason.
Who could question.
Who could defend their beliefs.
Professor Ashcombe spent the remainder of the lecture introducing the origins of governance, tracing how societies gradually evolved from tribal leadership to kingdoms, republics, and modern constitutional governments.
Rather than asking students to memorize dates or definitions, she continually interrupted her own lecture with questions.
"What gives a ruler legitimacy?"
"Can laws exist without justice?"
"Should citizens always obey the law?"
Each question sparked another discussion.
Sometimes the students agreed.
Sometimes they didn’t.
But every opinion was met with another question instead of immediate correction.
Before anyone realized it, the bell rang.
Professor Ashcombe glanced at the clock before closing her notes.
"We’ll stop here for today."
A few students visibly relaxed.
Then she added with a small smile,
"For Thursday..."
A collective sense of unease immediately swept across the lecture hall.
"I’d like you to read Chapters One and Two of your textbook."
"And prepare a brief response."
"No more than five hundred words."
"Answer this question."
She turned and wrote across the board.
Should governments exist to preserve order, or to pursue justice?
"You may support either position."
"What matters is not your conclusion..."
"But your reasoning."
She placed the chalk down.
"I look forward to reading your thoughts."
As soon as she left the lecture hall, a chorus of quiet groans echoed through the room.
Amelia let her head fall dramatically onto the desk.
"...Another essay."
Claire laughed.
"I think every professor made a secret agreement."
Eleanor calmly slipped her notebook into her bag.
"At least this one’s only five hundred words."
Vivienne stared silently at the question still written on the board.
"..."
"...Why does every professor like essays so much?"
Amelia sighed.
"I was wondering the exact same thing."
The four girls gathered their books before joining the steady flow of students leaving the lecture hall.
As they stepped into the corridor, Vivienne glanced once toward the front.
Evelyn had already been stopped by some classmates asking about one of Professor Ashcombe’s questions.
She answered them with the same patient smile she’d worn throughout class.
Vivienne couldn’t help smiling to herself.
As expected.
People really do gravitate toward her.
Then she looked away.
There was no envy in her heart.
Only quiet acceptance.
After all...
There was only one person she intended to compete with Evelyn over.
And that had absolutely nothing to do with Governance.