Chapter 3

Corisande's POV

The silver cutlery rattled on the dining table as Hastin slammed his hand down.

"Ninety-second!" Hastin’s face was livid as he pointed right at my nose, shouting furiously, "You’ve ruined the reputation of the Thalyn family! At Oakhaven Arcane Academy, a score like that is an absolute joke!"

"I moved up from rank one hundred and fifty to ninety-second, and my advanced rune derivation ranked in the top fifty. I consider that clear progress," I said, lifting my head to look calmly back at him.

"Shut up! Progress? You have the nerve to talk back!" Heltrude shrieked, her eyes brimming with disgust. "I heard rumors outside that you're hanging out with ruffians at the school gate every day! Acting flirtatious and shameless—are you trying to completely destroy our family name?!"

Beside them, Oriana cut her steak elegantly, a gloating smile gracing her lips.

"Sister, don't blame Mum and Dad for speaking harshly," Oriana took a sip of red wine, her eyes full of provocation and arrogance. "In a place where strength speaks, academic background and grades are everything. What's the point of looking good? You're nothing more than an ornament for men to play with. Look at me, firmly at the top of the year. Naturally, Mum and Dad prefer someone who brings honor to the family."

I looked at my so-called family, feeling entirely detached.

In my past life, when I worked my heart out to win the highest honors, they used me as a tool to flatter the elite and boost their social standing. In this life, when I fell from grace, they were the first to stomp on me. There was never any pure love in this family—only cold, calculating utilitarianism. I had long abandoned any illusions about them.

To ruin me completely, Oriana escalated her tactics. She secretly went to Mum, falsely claiming that Jovyn Haleck was aggressively pursuing me, and that I was already swooning over him.

Enraged, Mum immediately put me under strict surveillance and suspicion, even placing eyes on me to catch me "doing something out of line."

At the same time, knowing Jovyn’s volatile, hot-tempered nature and simple mind, Oriana ran to him to stir the pot.

"Jovyn, my sister said you're just a brute relying on your family name, utterly unworthy of her, which is why she rejected you over and over."

This hit Jovyn right where it hurt.

The next day, at the academy gate.

An infuriated Jovyn brought a few lackeys and headed straight for me. He grabbed my wrist roughly, his eyes bloodshot: "Corisande! Who do you think you are?! How dare you look down on me behind my back? If I don't teach you a lesson today, I'm not a Haleck!"

The surrounding students quickly scattered, pointing and whispering.

Going toe-to-toe with a hotheaded idiot was a total waste of time.

So I pulled the same old trick.

Under the influence of the Pact of Charm, tears welled in my eyes right on cue.

"Are you... are you going to bully me too, Jovyn?" I whispered, my voice cracking gently.

That completely broke him.

Jovyn froze mid-rage, his aggressive aura deflating in a split second. His grip on my wrist slacked, and a deep, mortified flush crept all the way up his neck.

"I—what? No!" He panicked, frantically rubbing his hair as embarrassment washed over him. "Damn it, I didn't even touch you! Stop looking at me like I'm a monster!"

I stayed silent, letting the tears do all the heavy lifting.

Standing in front of his crew, red-faced and utterly flustered, he had nowhere to direct his anger. Cursing under his breath, Jovyn shoved his hands into his pockets and practically ran off, his followers awkwardly scrambling behind him.

The second his back was turned, I wiped my cheeks, my eyes instantly turning cold and sharp.

However, Oriana clearly wasn't going to leave it at that. She laid out a lethal trap.

That afternoon, under the pretext of "discussing advanced alchemy assignments," Oriana warmly invited Jareth Corvyn and a group of noble classmates to the secluded Rune-Vault Chamber.

On the other hand, she secretly tipped off Hastin and Heltrude, claiming firmly: "Sister insisted on following that thug Jovyn into the locked secret room, and the two are behaving scandalously inside!"

Receiving the news, my furious parents brought a crowd of alerted academy mages and students, marching angrily toward the Rune-Vault Chamber.

Oriana walked right at the front, barely able to hide her smugness. She couldn't wait to see me condemned by the school, rejected by our parents, and completely ruined.

Reaching the door of the chamber, the atmosphere reached a boiling point.

"Dad, Mum, please don't hit her when we go in," Oriana pretended to plead, though her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. "Sister might just be confused. Although flittering around with Jovyn inside is truly outrageous..."

"Enough! She's dragged our family name through the dirt!" Hastin bellowed. Stepping forward, he kicked the door of the chamber wide open!

"Corisande! You shameless little—"

Hastin’s roar came to a sudden halt.