After Seraphina and her cousin left, Helena approached where I sat recovering.

"You lasted seven minutes against an S-rank duelist. That's not bad."

"I lost."

"You survived and you impressed her. Against someone of her caliber, that's victory enough." She examined my bandaged ribs. "Another time you've cracked these. They're going to have permanent damage if you keep this up."

"Occupational hazard of being ambitious."

"Or stupid. Sometimes hard to tell the difference." But there was approval in her voice. "Seraphina Valorheart doesn't offer compliments lightly. What she said about your fighting style, that's rare from her."

"You know her well?"

"Trained with her once. Years ago. Different battlefield." Helena sat on the bench beside me. "She's pure. Honorable to a fault. Sees the world in terms of worthy opponents and unworthy ones."

"And I'm worthy?"

"Apparently. Which means she'll be watching you." Helena leaned back. "Question is, what will she see?"

Before I could answer, Damian appeared, looking worried.

"Young Master, we have problems."

"What kind?"

"The economic kind. Three of Isabella's suppliers just canceled contracts. It seems some nobility are pressuring them."

I sighed. Of course. "Adrian's making his move."

"It gets worse. The Academy Board announced new regulations this morning. All student organizations must register and submit to oversight within one week, or disband."

"Let me guess...oversight controlled by Adrian's backers?"

"Exactly."

```

[QUEST ALERT: THE ECONOMIC WAR BEGINS]

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OBJECTIVES

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1. Survive economic pressure from Adrian's faction

2. Navigate new academy regulations

3. Maintain faction stability under attack

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TIME LIMIT

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

1 week to register or disband

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

DIFFICULTY

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B-RANK (Manageable but serious)

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FAILURE CONSEQUENCES

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- Faction forced to disband

- Economic collapse

- Loss of legitimacy

- Member defections possible

```

"Gather everyone," I said, standing despite my ribs' protests. "Emergency meeting. Tonight."

"What are you planning?"

I smiled grimly. "If Adrian wants economic war, we'll give him one. But on our terms."

☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆

In her private quarters, Seraphina removed her armor piece by piece, methodically as always. But her mind was elsewhere.

Sir Cedric watched his cousin with concern. "You let him get blade to your throat."

"He earned it through tactics and preparation."

"He's still a villain. Adrian says...."

"Adrian says many things." Seraphina cut him off with a scoff, examining her sword for damage. Not that there would be any as she maintained her equipment religiously. "What has Adrian said about Hadeon Ravana that's actually proven true?"

Cedric hesitated. "He calls him manipulative, cruel, power-hungry...."

"I saw none of that today. I saw someone who fights smart because he has to. Who respects combat. Who could have used dishonorable tactics but chose not to." She set the sword aside.

"Adrian is the hero. The chosen one. You've fought beside him for two years."

"I know." She sat down, troubled. "But Cedric, answer honestly. Have you noticed anything... off about Adrian lately?"

"Off how?"

"The way he talks about people. Like they're pieces on a board instead of individuals. The way he reacted when Hadeon saved his life, he's more angry than grateful." She looked at her hands. "The way he treats his followers. Is that how a hero should act?"

"You're questioning him. And is it our place to say how a hero should act and not?"

"I'm questioning everything." She met her cousin's eyes. "Adrian saved my life once. I owe him a debt of honor. But debt doesn't mean blind loyalty, it doesn't mean I stop thinking."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying Hadeon Ravana got blade to my throat today. Just like Adrian did two years ago. Both earned my respect through skill and courage." She stood, moving to the window. "But only one of them fights like he has something to prove. The other fights like he has something to protect."

"Which is which?"

"That's what I need to figure out."

☆☆▪︎☆☆

In his private quarters, Adrian Celestius stared at the report his followers had brought him.

"Seraphina fought him and she was... impressed."

The advisor shifted nervously. "She said he lasted seven minutes. Got blade to her throat once."

Adrian's expression darkened. Something cold entered his eyes. "Impressed."

"Students are talking and some are saying he's not as bad as....."

"As I've said." Adrian stood, pacing. "First he saves my life at the festival makes himself look noble. Now he impresses Seraphina. Next what? He'll cure plague and rescue kittens?"

"What do you want us to do?"

Adrian was quiet for a long moment, thinking. When he spoke, his voice was controlled again with its hint if Calculation.

"We can't attack him directly. He's too visible now with too many people watching. Any obvious move looks petty." He turned to face his advisors. "We need to be subtler. Economic pressure. Social isolation. Make associating with him costly."

"The new registration requirements for student organizations...."

"Exactly. Force him to either submit to our oversight or operate illegally." Adrian smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Either way, we win. He submits, we control him. He refuses, he becomes a legitimate target."

"And his faction members?"

"Don't touch them directly. That makes me look bad." Adrian moved to the window, looking out over the academy. "But we can make their lives difficult. Threaten their families. Pressure their other connections. Eventually, they'll realize following Hadeon Ravana costs too much.

"Everyone is selfish, and they would never choose him above themselves."

"You think they'll abandon him?"

"Everyone has a breaking point. We just need to find theirs." Adrian's hands clenched. "Hadeon thinks he's clever. Thinks he can build something lasting. But loyalty bought with fair treatment is just another transaction. When the price gets high enough, people always choose self-preservation. It's our nature."

His advisors exchanged glances. There was something in Adrian's tone that troubled them. A bitterness that hadn't been there before.

But they said nothing. He was the hero, after all. He must know what he was doing.

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