Chapter 797: Marren Voss
Chapter 797: Marren Voss
HhyThree days passed after Lady Seraphina Vale gave the observation assignment, and in those three days, Liam took his time choosing exactly who he wanted to observe.He did not rush into picking someone the way some of the other students likely did. There was no point in attaching himself to the first interesting target he found, especially when the assignment gave him enough room to choose nearly anyone outside Tactical Espionage.
A careless student would pick someone loud, obvious, or conveniently impressive. A proud student might choose a noble, a ranked fighter, or someone difficult enough to make the report feel more valuable than it needed to be. Liam considered all of that and ignored most of it.
His goal was not to impress Seraphina. It was to complete the assignment efficiently, learn something useful if possible, and avoid giving the woman any more entertainment than necessary.
During those three days, he scanned the academy with more attention than usual. He watched first-years rushing between classes with their bags held too tightly and their eyes still too open. He watched second-years moving with the newer habits Nalim had carved into them, more aware of corners and crowds than they had been at the beginning of the year. He watched the rare third-years when they appeared, though most moved quickly enough that observing them would have required effort he had no desire to waste on an assignment that did not deserve to consume his life.
In the end, he chose someone who almost escaped his attention entirely.
Her name was Marren Voss.
She was not exactly a student, though at first glance she could have passed for one. She seemed around the age of a second-year, perhaps a little older, though her role placed her somewhere between academy staff and advanced assistant.
Marren was an academic aide, one of those quiet figures who existed in the margins of classes, records, supply rooms, and faculty errands. She wore the modest dark uniform given to aides, simple enough that most students looked through her rather than at her. Her brown hair was usually tied back with practical neatness, and she carried herself with the dull efficiency of someone trained to avoid interrupting anything important.
She did not speak loudly, did not linger in dramatic places, did not draw attention with beauty, arrogance, fear, status, or power. In a school full of students trying to prove themselves, Marren Voss had made herself almost invisible by simply being useful and forgettable.
Liam almost did not pick her for that exact reason.
She had been so unnoticeable that she only caught his attention the day after the assignment was given, when the afternoon bell rang and students began spilling out of their classes. Liam had been passing near the Fire Magic wing when he saw Professor Vale, Seraphina’s uncle and the Fire Magic instructor, stepping out with several papers in one hand. Marren walked beside him, carrying a sealed case and a stack of thin folders pressed carefully against her chest.