Rover pushed open the heavy fire door.
Her footsteps echoed across the empty concrete floor.
The wind on the teaching building rooftop carried the fresh scent unique to the Academy Metropolis and gently brushed against her hair.
In one corner of the rooftop, near the shadow of the water tank, a white figure leaned against the wall.
Camellya had her arms crossed, looking bored as she lightly kicked the ground with the tip of her shoe.
When she heard the footsteps, she lifted her head and saw Rover.
Her eyes instantly lit up with a complex light mixed with reverence, attachment, and a trace of grievance.
“Leader!
You’re here!”
She quickly walked forward.
The camellia flower vines behind her head swayed happily.
But right after, as if remembering something, her steps suddenly stopped.
A flash of guilt crossed Camellya’s face.
Her gaze became slightly evasive.
Rover stopped in front of her.
Her golden eyes calmly looked at Camellya without speaking right away.
This silence felt more oppressive than any direct question.
Camellya finally couldn’t hold back.
She spoke first, her tone carrying a hint of coquettishness but lacking confidence.
“Leader, you finally agreed to see me!
I’ve been waiting for so long… You came to the academy but didn’t even look for me first…”
“I came to find you because of what happened last night.”
Rover’s voice was steady and revealed no emotion.
“Shorekeeper told me you went to the C Zone boys’ dormitory last night and stayed for seventeen minutes.”
Camellya’s face instantly turned pale, then quickly flushed red.
She reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and almost jumped.
“She… she’s monitoring me?!
No!
I was just trying to…”
“Trying to do what?”
Rover interrupted her and took one step closer.
Her gaze was sharp.
“Trying to test this new research assistant for me?
Or because you felt he was taking up too much of my time and you were unhappy about it?”
Camellya had been hit right on target.
Her lips moved a few times, but she couldn’t argue back.
She could only stubbornly turn her head away and mutter in a small voice, “I just don’t like the look of him.
A guy with an unknown background who talks smoothly and keeps sticking to you… Who knows if he has bad intentions!”
“Whether he has bad intentions is something I need to judge.
Not you.”
Rover’s tone became stricter.
“Camellya, I remember telling you that during this infiltration of the academy, you must act low-key and prioritize gathering intelligence above everything else.”
“You broke into the boys’ dormitory at night and used your Resonance power.
You almost caused a conflict.
If the academy security personnel had found out, do you know how much trouble it would have caused?”
“I… I was careful!
Camellya quickly tried to defend herself, but when she remembered how miserable and humiliated she had been last night, her voice dropped.
“Besides… I’m the one who suffered a loss, okay…”
Her last sentence was almost mumbled under her breath, but Rover still heard it.
She recalled Noah’s sleepy appearance in class and his meaningful metaphor.
She understood immediately.
It seemed Camellya hadn’t gotten any advantage from Noah.
She had even taken a small loss.
This made Rover’s evaluation of Noah rise another notch without her realizing it.
That young man was clearly not as simple and harmless as he appeared on the surface.
“Suffered a loss?”
Rover raised an eyebrow slightly.
“So you’re admitting that you went there to provoke him on your own and ended up failing?”
Camellya choked.
Her face turned bright red.
She felt both ashamed and angry, but she couldn’t deny it.
Seeing her like this, Rover’s anger faded a little and was replaced by a trace of helplessness.
She had always known about Camellya’s obsession and possessiveness toward her.
This loyalty was pure and passionate, but it often got out of control, like a child who never grew up.
Rover sighed and softened her tone.
“Camellya, I took Noah in and kept him by my side for my own reasons.
His Resonance ability is somewhat special.
It might be helpful for our research in Lahai-Roi.”
“Besides, right now he’s a blank slate.
He’s worth observing and guiding, not making an enemy of him without reason.”
Camellya looked up.
Her red eyes were full of unwillingness.
“But Leader!
What if he…”
“There is no ‘what if.'”
Rover’s voice was firm.
“Before my observation period ends and I make a final judgment, you are not allowed to cause trouble for him again.
This is an order.
Do you understand?”
Camellya bit her lower lip hard.
Her eyes turned slightly red, but she still lowered her head.
“…Yes.
I understand.”
“Also.”
Rover added, her gaze sweeping over the vines behind Camellya’s head that were swaying in the wind.
“I don’t want to hear the details of how he taught you a lesson or exactly how you suffered a loss from any other source.”
“As a Senior Bloom Bearer of the Personnel Department, you represent Black Shores’ reputation.
I shouldn’t need to remind you of that, right?”
Although Rover didn’t know exactly how Noah had taught Camellya a lesson, judging from his playful expression and her understanding of Camellya’s personality, the other party had probably used some method to catch Camellya’s weakness and force her to retreat in defeat.
However, these words were like a needle that accurately pierced Camellya’s most shameful sore spot.
She suddenly looked up and met Rover’s golden eyes that seemed to see through everything.
In that instant, she understood.
The Leader actually knew everything! The source of this chapter is g.com.
She knew what underhanded methods that bastard had used to humiliate her!
Camellya instinctively misunderstood Rover’s meaning.
A huge wave of grievance and shame overwhelmed her.
She could no longer hold it in.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she cried out with a sobbing voice, calling Rover by name.
“Rover, you knew!
You’re always taking his side!
I’m the one who has followed you the longest!
Why does some guy with an unknown background get to…”
“Camellya!”
Rover’s voice dropped, carrying undeniable authority.
Camellya’s crying stopped abruptly.
Only her shoulders trembled slightly as she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.
Rover looked at her and was silent for a moment.
In the end, she reached out and gently patted Camellya’s shoulder.
The action was light, but it made Camellya’s body tremble violently.
“Do your own job properly.”
Rover’s voice became gentle again.
“Continue keeping an eye on the Council’s movements in the academy.
I’ll handle things with Noah.”
After she finished speaking, she didn’t stay any longer.
She turned and walked toward the rooftop exit.
Camellya stood in place, watching Rover’s departing back until the fire door clicked shut.
Only she remained on the rooftop, along with the howling wind.
She raised her hand and roughly wiped away the tears that had seeped out from the corners of her eyes.
A flame reignited in her red eyes.
It was unwillingness, grievance, and an even more stubborn fighting spirit that had been provoked.
“Noah… just you wait!”
She muttered in a low voice, her fingers pinching the hem of her uniform skirt.
“This isn’t over!
The Seed of Fate won’t let me deal with you openly… Hmph, we’ll see!”
She wouldn’t go against Rover’s direct order and provoke him violently again.
But she had a thousand ways to make that annoying guy’s life in the academy difficult!
At the same time, Rover, who was walking down the stairs, lightly pressed her fingertip against her earpiece.
“Shorekeeper.”
“I’m here.”
“Starting today, increase Noah’s protection level and guard against any accidents.”
She paused, then added, “Also, raise the frequency of daily behavior monitoring on Camellya.
If she makes any small moves targeting Noah that go beyond normal classmate interactions, notify me immediately.”
“Understood.
Instructions updated.”
Rover lowered her hand and let out a soft breath.
One was a guard who was overly obsessed with her and easily lost control.
The other was a newcomer who carried secrets, appeared harmless, but hid sharp edges.
Fate had placed these two on the same stage.
It seemed her seemingly peaceful academy life was destined to be anything but calm.