CHAPTER 17: WHAT CAN I DO?

I leaned back in my chair, watching as the class reluctantly got to work.

Wallace stood at the front, arms crossed, eyeing the group like a man sentenced to death. "Alright, listen up. If you mess up your runes, I suffer. So if you don’t want me to descend into madness, do it right the first time."

Julien grinned. "Sounds like a you problem."

Wallace sighed. "I hate this class."

"You’re stalling," I pointed out. "Start the lesson."

Wallace grumbled but turned to the board and began drawing the first rune. The class, miraculously, paid attention—for about ten seconds.

Then Felix, still looking mildly traumatized, poked Leo. "Hey. You ever wonder if runes have feelings?"

Leo stared at him. "What?"

Felix gestured at the board. "Like, we carve them, force them into rigid formations, then expect them to work perfectly every time. Maybe some runes don’t want to function. Maybe they just want to be free."

Wallace dropped his chalk. "I—what?"

Mira groaned. "Felix, I swear, if this is another side effect—"

"It’s a valid question!" Felix protested. "I mean, think about it. If a rune misfires, maybe it’s not because we messed up. Maybe it’s rebelling."

Julien smirked. "So what you’re saying is... runes have free will?"

Felix nodded sagely. "Exactly."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Felix, shut up before Wallace decides to eat a cookie just to escape this conversation."

Wallace muttered, "Don’t tempt me."

Felix sighed dramatically. "Fine. Oppress the runes. See if I care."

Mira jabbed her quill at his arm. "Focus, idiot."

With that, the class actually got to work. Sort of.

Wallace moved between them, occasionally groaning in frustration whenever someone carved a rune incorrectly. Julien was deliberately carving his rune at the slowest possible speed just to be annoying. Leo looked like he was reconsidering every life choice that led him here. Felix, despite his earlier nonsense, was actually doing well—probably because he was too scared of me forcing another ’miscalculation’ on him.

Mira, unsurprisingly, worked efficiently. And Cassandra...

I frowned. She wasn’t writing.

Instead, she was watching Wallace, her expression unreadable. Her quill rested against the parchment, but she hadn’t started.

I leaned forward. "Cassandra. Problem?"

She turned her head slightly, eyes meeting mine. "No."

"...Then why aren’t you working?"

She was silent for a beat before answering, "Just observing."

I narrowed my eyes. "Observing what?"

She smiled faintly. "Connections."

That was vague and unhelpful.

But before I could push further, a sharp crack split the air.

I snapped my attention to the source—Julien’s desk.

His rune had shattered.

"Whoops," he said, entirely too casual.

Wallace looked horrified. "How the hell did you mess that up? It was a stabilization rune!"

Julien shrugged. "I got bored and added a little flourish."

"A flourish? This isn’t calligraphy, you lunatic!"

Julien just grinned. "Well, technically, runes are a written form of magic, so—"

I cut in before Wallace had an aneurysm. "Julien. If you’re going to intentionally sabotage your own work, at least make it entertaining."

Julien brightened. "You want fireworks?"

"I want accuracy."

"Ugh. Boring."

Wallace, still rubbing his temples, muttered, "I am not getting paid enough for this."

"You’re not getting paid at all," I pointed out.

He looked at me with dead eyes. "Exactly."

I smirked. "Then maybe you should work harder so I don’t make you eat another cookie."

Wallace immediately straightened. "Alright, listen up, you useless runecarvers! If you mess up again, I swear to the gods—"

I leaned back, satisfied.

The class groaned but resumed their work.

Cassandra, however, was still watching. Still waiting.

I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

The lesson continued—if you could call it that. Wallace was still pacing like a man on the edge of a breakdown, occasionally stopping to glare at someone’s work. Mira worked without issue, Felix was double-checking every stroke like his life depended on it, and Julien... well, Julien was still Julien.

Leo, meanwhile, was staring at his rune like it had personally insulted him. "I don’t get it. I followed the structure perfectly, but it still feels off."

Wallace leaned over his shoulder, then sighed. "That’s because you’re pressing too hard with the engraving tool. You’re supposed to carve, not stab it to death."

Leo groaned. "Great. Even my rune carving is a failure."

I snorted. "No, your attitude is a failure. The rune’s just suffering from friendly fire."

Felix chuckled. "Told you runes have feelings."

Wallace shot him a look. "Don’t start."

Cassandra was still watching everything quietly. Every now and then, her gaze flickered between the students, like she was taking notes in her head. It was unnerving.

Finally, she picked up her quill and began carving—slow, precise strokes, almost too careful.

I raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you’d just observe the entire time."

She didn’t look up. "Observing leads to understanding."

Julien smirked. "And what have you understood?"

Cassandra finished her rune, then exhaled. "That trust is given too freely."

The room went quiet.

Mira frowned. "You gonna explain that, or are we supposed to just sit here and let the cryptic nonsense hang in the air?"

Cassandra finally looked up, meeting my gaze. "You trust Wallace to teach. You trust us to follow instructions. But trust doesn’t guarantee results."

Wallace muttered, "Yeah, I got that loud and clear when Julien destroyed his rune."

Julien shrugged. "I made it better. It had character."

"IT EXPLODED."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Cassandra, are you saying you don’t trust Wallace’s teaching?"

She shook her head. "No. But I am saying that the structure of learning is flawed. If Wallace fails, he eats a cookie. If we fail, we get humiliated. That’s not teaching—that’s control."

I frowned. That was... a strangely insightful way to put it.

Julien grinned. "Are you accusing our dear professor of being manipulative? Because if so, I’d like to formally say: Duh."

Mira rolled her eyes. "He’s not wrong."

Felix nodded. "We’re basically lab rats."

Wallace looked horrified. "I’m a lab rat by association!"

I take out the monocle of evaluation and take a look at Cassandra. To see whether her condition worsened.

__

Cassandra:

➤ Attributes: ???

➤ Element: ???

➤ Combat: ???

➤ Weakness: ???

(Special note: Under puppet magic and mana sealing, need to lift those to view student assessment.)

(Special note: Currently being manipulated by removing the free will to speak.)

__

’Damnit, another special note?’ I said to myself.

She was already under puppet magic and mana sealing and now this? I don’t want to do put my head in trouble but this is getting dangerous.

I stared at the monocle’s assessment, suppressing a sigh. Cassandra was already under heavy magical restrictions, but now there was another layer—one that actively silenced her.

I glanced at her again. She was still watching me, still waiting.

What did she expect me to do?

More importantly... what could I do?

Messing with puppet magic and mana sealing was already risky enough. But manipulating someone’s ability to speak? That was more than just control. That was suppression on an entirely different level.

And the worst part?

I still had no idea who was behind it.

I set the monocle down, masking my thoughts behind an easy smirk. "Well, Cassandra, I’d say you’ve given me a lot to think about, but unfortunately, I’m already at my limit for the day."

She blinked, just once. "Of course."

Her tone was perfectly neutral. But now that I knew she wasn’t speaking freely, every word felt like a hidden message.

Damn it.

I leaned back, rubbing my temple. "Alright, class dismissed. Get out before I change my mind and make you redo the entire lesson."

The students didn’t need to be told twice. They packed up their things, eager to escape. Julien clapped Wallace on the back as he passed. "Good job, assistant teacher. You only looked mildly traumatized today."

Wallace groaned. "I hate you all."

Felix stretched, then eyed me warily. "You’re not going to do anything weird to me today, right?"

I smirked. "No promises."

He visibly shuddered before bolting.

Mira left without a word, though she shot Cassandra a brief, curious look before disappearing out the door.

Leo lingered for a moment before muttering, "Still think runes have feelings," and leaving.

That just left Cassandra.

She gathered her things slowly, almost deliberately.

I watched her.

She didn’t seem worried. Not afraid. Not in distress. Just... waiting.

Finally, as she passed by my desk, she paused and turned her head then force a smile.

Her expression was composed, but now that I knew she wasn’t speaking freely, that forced smile felt unnatural—like a mask barely holding in place.

I met her gaze, searching for anything beneath the surface.

Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out. She hesitated, then simply nodded before turning to leave.

I didn’t stop her.

But the moment the door shut behind her, I exhaled slowly, my fingers tightening around the monocle.

This wasn’t just some background plotline anymore.

Someone was pulling the strings.

And Cassandra?

She was the puppet dangling right in front of me.