Chapter 813: Time For The Reports (2)
Chapter 813: Time For The Reports (2)
The next report passed with varying degrees of damage. The student had chosen a training grounds assistant and was criticized for focusing too much on physical route and not enough on who approached him. Seraphina’s comments shifted between velvet-edged praise and surgical mockery, while Kaine cut away anything impractical with the efficiency of a man trimming useless flesh from a wound. No report escaped untouched. Some survived with dignity. Others bled quietly across the classroom.Eventually, the screen rippled again, and Charlotte’s name appeared at the top.
"Miss Charlotte Raven," Seraphina announced, and there was immediate interest in her voice. "Now this should be entertaining."
Charlotte straightened with a smile that was entirely too pleased with itself. "I do try."
Liam glanced at the screen.
Charlotte had observed one of the academy’s junior disciplinary clerks, a woman who moved between the administrative offices, punishment logs, detention assignments, and instructor notices. It was a clever choice. Not powerful. Not famous. Not someone most students would think to watch. But someone who handled records connected to student behavior, punishment history, instructor requests, and patterns of trouble that could reveal far more about the academy’s internal priorities than a combat student’s routine ever would.
Seraphina’s brows lifted slightly as she read.
"Oh," she said, pleased. "That is a lovely choice."
Charlotte’s smile became shameless. "I was hoping you would say that."
"I am sure you were." Seraphina continued reading, her expression sharpening with genuine interest. "A disciplinary clerk. Access to punishment requests, detention schedules, repeated offenders, instructor complaints, and behavioral records. A person almost every student avoids out of fear of being assigned extra work, which creates blind spots around her. Very nice."
Charlotte leaned back slightly, basking in the praise with no intention of pretending humility. "I thought she had a certain charm."
Liam said, "You mean usefulness."
"That too."
Seraphina’s eyes moved down the report. "Your observation of social avoidance is good. The note about students instinctively lowering their voices near her, even when she is not listening, is better. It means the target influences behavior simply by being present. That can be exploited."
Charlotte’s smile widened.
Then Seraphina paused.
"But."
Charlotte’s smile dimmed. "There it is."
Seraphina turned, looking back at her with fond cruelty. "You became too interested in how people reacted to your target and not interested enough in the target herself. The report is clever, but indulgent. You enjoy reading rooms, Miss Raven, and it shows. Unfortunately, the assignment was not merely to prove that you are good at noticing discomfort."