Sonia clenched her teeth, glaring at Janice, but she didn't dare get physical with her as she had with Lola and Ace. Frustrated, she snapped, "Scratchifer is never wrong! If there's nothing wrong with your mirror, then he's lying."
Janice raised an eyebrow, but before she could respond, Lola—now in her regular form and dressed in casual clothes—stepped forward, arms crossed. "What reason does he have to lie?" she shot back, immediately coming to her friend's defense.
Ace, meanwhile, blinked at Sonia, biting back a sigh. He was mentally adding this to his growing list of grudges against her. She was making things way more complicated than they needed to be. He hadn't thought much of blowing up berserk Sonia this afternoon, but now, he was starting to regret it.
Sonia huffed, determined to justify herself and defend Scratchifer's honor, "I don't know! But he's been acting suspiciously from the start. I couldn't sense any fear from him, but he kept pretending to be scared—right from the beginning."
Matthews, who had been observing quietly, nodded. "She's not wrong." Then, she elaborated, "His actions have been off since the beginning. When I first saw him under Astrid's control, there wasn't fear in his eyes—just this… unnerving calm. If I weren't duty-bound, I would've stood back and let things unfold just to see what he'd do."
Janice's eyes narrowed. She trusted Matthews knowing she wasn't one to twist facts to suit her side. Instinctively, she glanced at Ace, doubt creeping in, but before she could voice her thoughts, Matthews spoke again, "Is there a way for me to see the Inner Mirror while he is holding?"
Janice exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "Not unless you're Void-Tier."
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. The Inner Mirror was a cursed tool that only revealed its full potential in the hands of a Void-Tier. Otherwise, it was limited to its passive abilities. She had borrowed it from her grandfather to study it, intending to return it…but before she had the chance, he vanished.
"Young Master will be back from this urgent mission soon. He should be able to tell if he's lying—" Delores began, only to be cut off mid-sentence.
"No, he won't," Matthews interjected flatly. "He's on guard duty."
Delores frowned, " You mean Lola, right?" she asked, pointing at the girl in question.
Matthews shook her head, explaining, "No, it's a mortal. The Everhart Guild has targeted them. He won't be back until things are cool on that end."
Janice's breath hitched. "Then what about Lola?" she asked, fear creeping into her voice. She knew that once her uncle freed himself from the void, he'd come straight for her.
Matthews, however, remained unfazed. "She's officially part of the C.I.B. now. Even though she'll start as an agent-in-training, I'd love to see who dares to come after her. Also, I will be taking her off your hands today," she said, her voice carrying a weight of finality.
Lola, still processing everything, suddenly perked up and asked with hope flickering in her eyes, "Wait—do agents-in-training make also a six-figure salary?" Because it was the reason why she agreed to join the C.I.B. in the first place. A government job with a six-figure salary was too good to pass on. Now, her parents could finally stop taking every odd job in town just to scrape by.
Matthews gave a small nod. "Yes, but the best part is that the Bureau will be providing you with all the training resources you need. The higher-ups have agreed to prioritize your development."
Across the room, Sonia—who had been listening in keenly—finally spoke up. "What about me?" she asked, her voice even. Money wasn't an issue for her, but she was curious if the C.I.B. planned to invest in her training as well. Considering, she was more of a hostage than an agent to them. She wasn't holding her breath.
Matthews, however, didn't hesitate. "Same goes for you. They've even commissioned Crimson Eyes' request to create a curse art specifically designed to bring out the true potential of your innate curse art."
Sonia blinked in surprise, her disbelief flickering for just a second before realization set in. Of course. Her father must have sacrificed something—something big—to make sure she got a fair shot in the C.I.B.
"Also, you two need to get along because you'll be in the same training batch. You might even end up on the same team," Matthews added casually, dropping a bombshell on both Lola and Sonia. "It'll be an advantage for you during training."
Lola and Sonia exchanged a look, both clearly unamused by the idea. Janice, however, seemed more intrigued hearing Matthews bring up this year's C.I.B. trainees. "I heard Layla say that Ava is joining this year's batch. Is that true?" she asked, leaning forward with interest.
Many people assumed Matthews had no intention of passing down her curse arts to her daughter, leading some to try and get on her good side in hopes of them or their progeny being chosen as heirs to her collection of curse arts that allowed her to become an EAD in C.I.B. at such a young age. If Ava was really joining, though, a lot of dreams were about to be crushed.
Matthews smirked answering, "Yeah, that girl finally came around—mostly because of him." She tilted her head toward Ace, who had been trying his best to fade into the background, relieved that the conversation had moved on from him. But just like that, Matthews dragged him back into the spotlight.
"Me?" Ace blinked, pointing at himself. "What did I do?"
Matthews shrugged. "I don't know the details, but after you rejected her, she suddenly had a change of heart. So, thanks for that. Oh, and don't worry—I no longer hold a grudge against you for turning down my daughter." She offered him a small, almost amused smile deciding that meddling in Ava's love life wasn't worth the trouble.