Hayna whispered, "I actually haven't graduated yet."
And this was just questioning...
But before she could finish her sentence, she was gently interrupted by Aiwass:
"Being able to enter the Supervisory Bureau without having formally graduated... I see, Miss Hayna, are you studying at the Royal University of Law?"
Aiwass spoke with a standard, clean accent, free from the sense of nobility that Royal Capital dwellers took pride in—the "Elvish accent." But this only made Hayna, who had come from a small place to study abroad, feel more favorable towards him.
Therefore, she nodded in response, "Ah, yes."
As she spoke, she puffed out her chest proudly, "I was the student council president last year, and also the top female student in the senior year. As a distinguished graduate of the Royal University of Law, I obtained employment permission from the Supervisory Bureau a year early. Although my Sword hasn't been issued yet, my name is already there at the bureau."
"In that case, you could also be considered my senior,"
Aiwass said as he interlaced his fingers and rested them on his knees.
He relaxed his upper body back, speaking deliberately, "I'm actually also a student at the Royal University of Law. A freshman this year."
Hayna expressed her surprise, feeling more affinity for this common ground, "But I haven't seen you..."
"That's because I've been ill. I fell seriously sick even before matriculating and ended up bedridden at home for three months."
The paleness of Aiwass's complexion lent credibility to his words.
"I understand. You are indeed innocent... When I return, I will report to the bureau chief."
Hayna nodded repeatedly, feeling pity. The slight envy she had felt for Aiwass dissipated.
Feeling ashamed for this, she, as an Inspector of the Supervisory Bureau, half a Knight at that, had forgotten the teachings of humility and compassion instilled by her mentor... Envy is truly ugly.
"Then, senior," Aiwass suddenly spoke up, "did you see what's in the fireplace?"
"The burning thing..."
Hayna turned back, uncertain in her response, "It's hard to tell now. It doesn't seem like firewood."
Aiwass said gently, "Perhaps it's evidence of my collusion with the Demon Scholar.
"Just like the book I have here."
As he spoke, he closed the book in his hand and threw it into the fire.
At his words, Hayna gasped in shock.
Instinctively stepping forward, she reached out and, with no time to prepare, intercepted the book in midair before it could reach the flames.
She frowned deeply and looked down, only to recognize the book as "Chedler's Poetry Collection Eighty Selections."
Of course, Hayna knew this book as it was the textbook for the "Elvish Language" course in her freshman year.
She leafed through it uneasily to confirm that it was certainly not any evidence of collusion with a Demon Scholar. Inside, many important and difficult points were even marked with different colored pens.
Aiwass's lips curled slightly upward, "I am, after all, the victim here, senior. Didn't you just say that... Why did you grow suspicious again at a mere mention? Don't you have any confidence in me?"
Hayna suddenly realized that this seemingly gentle and refined young man may have some hidden malice.
"These are serious matters, not to be joked about."
She put on a stern face, reproaching with the seriousness of a school setting, "The Demon Scholars often use living people as material for sacrifices, and to eliminate any witnesses, they kill the offerings after the ritual. It's absolute evil! They would kill people as mere material without any grudge or grievance; it's infuriating! How can you make a joke about such things?"
As she spoke, something came to her mind, and her gaze sharpened, "Come to think of it... if you were an offering, how did you survive?"
"They tried to sacrifice me to summon a powerful demon, but they didn't expect the demon to favor me more. So, I turned the tables and commanded the demon to kill them all."
The young man spoke with an ever-increasingly ridiculous grin, "In fact, the Moriarty family is filled with evil deeds; my father, Professor James Moriarty, is a Demon Scholar with dreams of destroying the world. And I'm not his adopted son, but a demon he summoned from another world, capable of destroying the Kingdom of Avalon within a year."
Hayna was dumbfounded halfway through before realizing Aiwass was just spouting nonsense.
"...What are you rambling about?!"
She shouted angrily, part of her anger stemming from embarrassment that she had, even for a moment, taken Aiwass's wild words seriously.
This youth, who looked gentle as a poet, was cunning like a fox, spouting lies about anything and everything!
Her anger flared, but not daring to raise her voice in front of the old butler, she ended up with a flushed face, "Come clean—why were you at the Demon Ritual? Someone filed an anonymous report that you went to Stone Arch Gate Park of your own accord, and were not coerced."
"I'm telling the truth, if you don't believe me, just take me to the Supervisory Bureau,"
Aiwass shrugged, appearing genuinely regretful.
But Hayna knew that was impossible—with the obvious bias in favor of Aiwass at the Supervisory Bureau, she couldn't arrest him without evidence. Indeed, if she took Aiwass, who was still in a wheelchair, the one to suffer would likely be herself.
Afterward, Aiwass slowly tucked away that foxy smile.