Click!—
Ayla stepped out of the shower, wrapped in a white towel and using another to dry her hair. And when she was drying her hair, she suddenly heard strange noises in her ear.
Tic-Tac-Tic-Tic-Tac.
She slowly looked up and was surprised to discover a handsome black-haired boy seated at a table, solving her favorite puzzle cube.
"What are you doing in my room?" Ayla exclaimed, wrapping the towel around her body tightly.
Tac!—
The boy— Ares finished solving the puzzle cube and looked at Ayla.
"I don't see what you're attempting to cover because there's nothing fascinating to view there," Ares said straightforwardly with a sly grin.
Ayla glared at him unpleased by his comment on her body.
"T-Tell me what are you doing here? Why are you in my room?" She demanded.
"That's what I wanted to ask you," Ares said, laughing. "Why don't you explain what you were trying to achieve before I show your brother this footage of you?" He held up a recording crystal ball that had arrived in his hand out of nowhere.
"What footage are you talking about?" Ayla regained her composure and inquired, her brow furrowed and her gaze fixed on the crystal ball.
"So you don't want to come clean?" Ares mumbled as he stepped down from the table.
He approached Ayla and bent down to whisper in her ear, "It's the footage of you collaborating with Zerix."
!?
"What are you on about? I've never worked with him," Ayla answered, her brows furrowed in confusion.
"It doesn't matter whether you acknowledge it or not because I already know you were behind that plot; I'm just interested in why you chose to help Zerix while your brother was doing everything he could to support Erina," Ares asked as he played with the crystal ball.
Catch!— Catch! —
Ayla remained silent, staring at the crystal ball as if she intended to snatch it from him.
Ares looked at Ayla with a grin and stated, "Hmm, frankly speaking, I think I already know why you planned all this and chose to back Zerix, instead of Erina."
"...."
"...If you already know that, did you merely come here to blackmail me with that so-called footage? Which might be your made-up falsehood?" Ayla spoke while folding her hands.
"I don't really care, even if you think it's fake," Ares simply shrugged.
"Even if I chose to help Zerix rather than Erina, it shouldn't upset you because you don't care about any of them, right?" Ayla made a remark.
"So you're finally confessing you were behind Zerix's plot, huh?" Ares continued to smile as he spoke.
"...Yes, since there's no use in hiding it from you now if the tape in your hand is genuine," Ayla explained.
"What if it's a forgery?" Ares expressed his curiosity.
"That's irrelevant now because you already knew it was me, and that's also why you're here so late at night, right?" Ayla elaborated.
***
During The Faction War: Erina Vs Zerix ~
Ayla's Pov ~
I was not really interested to become involved in the rivalries and power struggles of the Zerix and Erina's factions, or anyone else's within the academy.
As I believed that in due time, all would fall before the formidable might of Ares, and that monstrous lass that is obsessed with him.
And in fact, it was me who alerted everyone in the first year, now part of Ares' faction, about Zerix's attack on Erina's stronghold that day.
I learned about the attack coincidentally by following Diana, who was wandering foolishly while recording herself with an autonomous flying camera.
I was intrigued by what this idiot Diana was doing when everyone else was preparing for the upcoming tournament, so I decided to follow her.
And while following her, I overheard dumbo Diana talking to herself about Zerix's plan while recording on a camera.
"...."
After confirming the veracity of the information, I alerted the members of Ares' faction of the impending attack by posting it on an internet group I had created, with only me and Ares as administrators.
Though this little detail would not typically be significant, Ares's lack of internet activity leaves me in the leadership of the group.
Regardless, upon receiving my message that Ares is in support of Erina, something he had already expressed in our previous meeting, the members of Ares' side rushed to Erina's aid, as no one wanted to incur Ares' wrath.
I would not have gotten engaged in the matter if it hadn't been for the information I received from Kevin during our meeting that Erina came to meet Ares in their advisor's training ground.
knowing Ares' personality, and, based on the way Ares had talked of her and the ease with which he had left Claude to persuade Erina to join him, I knew he had already formed an agreement with her.
And I also realized that I was already on Ares' radar and that I could fool everyone with my naive act but not him, so I made the decision to assist Erina in an effort to appease him.
And all went well; Erina's side was saved from annihilation thanks to my intel, and as the fight came to a conclusion, it appeared that my efforts had been fruitful...until I witnessed something unpleasant.
When I watched my brother Lucas, I could tell from the way he behaved during their chat that he is drawn to Erina.
I had nothing against my brother finding happiness with ladies, but now was not the time for such distractions, as involving women in his life now would hinder our future ambitions.
So, with a calculated mind, I devised a new plan to eliminate Erina before Lucas' feelings for her grew stronger.
I approached Zerix, offering him a strategy to defeat Erina once and for all.
The plan was to his liking, for it would not only rid him of his weakest members but also give him the opportunity to defeat Erina.
And he did not care about the small amount of money he have to spend in order to recruit those useless sacrificial students from Alpha and Beta classes.
With my guidance, Zerix set about creating three different bases, using two as a diversion while he prepared to ambush Erina at her most vulnerable moment.
I then went to Erina, pretending to aid her while secretly leaking information about the two bases to her that I got from Zerix himself.
I also approached Diana as I already knew that she gets all the information from the elves, just so I could explain that I got Zerix's bases information from her so no one could suspect my involvement with Zerix.
..
And as the battle began, it seemed that all was going according to my plan as I got Erina where I wanted.
...But then, Suddenly, Ares appeared out of nowhere, having cleared a mysterious gate, and in an instant, my plans were laid to ruin as he saved Erina effortlessly.
I had even warned Zerix to prepare for the unforeseen, as I already anticipated something like this would happen, but nothing could have prepared us for the might of Ares as he singlehandedly defeated each and every one of Zerix's faction members, including that useless bastard Zerix.
And so, in the end, I could only watch as my schemes were laid to waste by Ares.
***
Presently ~
"I had planned on disposing of that useless beastman after dealing with Erina, by giving you the location of his stronghold when you returned to the academy," Ayla stated coolly.
"You're finally showing your true colors, huh?" Ares remarked with a smirk.
Ayla moved towards her bed and sat down, crossing her leg.
"You have no right to say something like that to me. If someone were to see your true self, they would wonder if you were some kind of devil incarnate," Ayla said with a sly grin, her innocent facade now gone.
"The same goes for you. I wonder how your brother would react if he saw this side of you," Ares replied, matching her grin.
When Irethiel saw their identical evil grins, she pondered, "Are they, long-lost siblings?"
"So, what do you want from me? If you wanted to expose me, you would have gone directly to my brother with that footage or posted it online already," Ayla questioned.
"You're right. I do want something from you," Ares said as he slowly approached her and held her chin.
Ayla looked into Ares' eyes, her expression unchanging. "What is it that you want?"
Ares leaned in closer,. "I want you to work with me. Together, we can accomplish great things. We have a similar mindset and similar goals. Imagine what we could achieve if we joined forces."
Ayla looked into Ares' eyes, her expression unimpressed. "What's in it for me? Cut to the chase, I don't have time for vague offers."
Ares smiled, and quickly got to the point.
"Power and influence, financial benefit, and the ability to achieve your goals faster and more efficiently."
"...You are talking like you know what my goal is," Ayla asked with a straight face.
Ares gave a small smirk and said, "I may have an idea of what your goals are."
***