Chapter 80: Nora’s Scheming

Cyrus’s request for guidance on bloodworm cultivation had prompted Shani to double-check the exact details of her contract with the Mortis Company.

Right after leaving class, she had called Lawyer Rivers and recorded their conversation so she could review the legal terms mentioned by the attorney later on.

Unexpectedly, that very recording turned out to be the exact evidence she needed.

Nora stared at the earpiece in Shani’s ear with wide, stunned eyes. Her crying cut off abruptly, as if those pain-riddled screams from seconds ago hadn’t even come from her.

Wasting no time, Shani played the recording, starting from Nora’s very first words right up to the part where she explicitly admitted it was all an act.

"No! That’s fake!" Nora screamed, genuinely panicking now.

Shani didn’t say a word, simply pinning her with a cold glare. The other students weren’t foolish enough to blindly take Nora’s word for it either.

"Yeah, you really are a pretentious princess. No one beats you," one student called out, throwing Nora’s recorded words right back at her.

"This is way out of line. She didn’t just ruin one person’s reputation, she’s tarnishing Grand Academy’s reputation as a whole," another student chimed in.

Nora shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face in a picture-perfect display of distress.

"You’re all being tricked! Why would I slap myself?! This recording, all of this, was set up by Shani!"

Nora hadn’t given up yet. She was clinging to her absolute last lifeline.

If it were proven that she had paid Mrs. Rourken to frame Shani, her academic life would be ruined beyond repair.

"I came into the restroom first! How could I have known Shani would walk in? She followed me in here just to stage this entire scene!"

"She refuses to take responsibility for her own actions, so she picked a fatherless girl like me as her scapegoat!"

Nora’s argument sounded logical on the surface, and paired with her tear-stained cheeks and delicate appearance, it might have easily swayed an unsuspecting crowd.

But the girls gathered inside the restroom were no longer easily fooled by crocodile tears.

Still, a few began to waver, suspecting there might be a kernel of truth to Nora’s words.

"Nora, remember, this academy has security cameras everywhere. There’s one right in the hallway outside. We can easily check if I trailed you in here," Shani countered calmly.

Nora twitched, straining to maintain her weeping act. She constantly forgot about security cameras because there were almost none inside the Ashbourne Mansion.

In that household, far too many things could never be recorded or leave a trace.

"Sure, maybe it didn’t look like you followed me down the hallway. But somehow, you knew I was in the restroom and came in anyway!"

"Otherwise, why would you linger in the classroom long after class ended? Wasn’t it just to wait until I was alone?"

"She’ll probably claim she stayed behind to check her bloodworms, but none of her other classmates did that, right?"

The onlookers turned their gazes back to Shani. They too were curious why she had stayed behind.

They themselves belonged to the same class, staying to discuss their own practical assignment.

Nora sobbed uncontrollably, covering her face with her hands. Though behind them, a triumphant smirk spread across her lips.

Neither Nora nor the surrounding students noticed one girl in the crowd furrowing her brow.

"I’m Shani’s classmate. I was in the classroom too," spoke up none other than Cyrus.

Once again, Nora’s facade nearly cracked, but she instantly forced back her aggrieved expression.

"But it wasn’t mandatory! Shani doesn’t stay behind to check her bloodworms every single day either. Why did it just so happen to be today?" Nora emphasized the final question.

Before the crowd could spiral into doubt, Shani dropped another counter-question, "I don’t stay behind every day? You seem awfully familiar with my daily routine."

Shani’s tone was light, laced with biting sarcasm, instantly shifting suspicion back onto Nora.

"Shani, you really are amazing at twisting words!" Nora cried out dramatically, breaking into heavy hitches.

"This is exactly how you got me expelled from class! Your words are pure poison, Shani!"

While the surrounding students stood bewildered, unsure of whom to believe, Shani let out a cold, sharp laugh.

"I’m great at twisting words? Are you describing yourself? Do you really think I can’t request the footage from that day in class and let everyone judge for themselves?"

"You always talk about security footage, proof, and recordings. You’re so good at weaponizing those things to crush a helpless person who knows nothing, like me," Nora whimpered through her tears.

She then turned to the gathered girls. "Every piece of evidence points to me. Don’t you see that this whole thing was orchestrated by Shani from the start?"

Playing the pity card was her only remaining way out.

"Nora, the whole point of evidence is to uncover the truth, especially concrete proof that can’t be tampered with," Cyrus interjected, her gaze filled with resignation.

"You... Did Shani pay you to help tear me down too?" Nora choked out, looking like the picture of ultimate betrayal.

Cyrus shook her head with an incredulous look.

"I’m speaking up because I was once a victim of your lies. I just don’t want any more students falling for your manipulation."

Cyrus’s words struck home with the crowd, snapping them out of the spell Nora’s performance had cast over them.

"You’re lying! You two are colluding together—" Nora scrambled to defend herself.

But one of the students, a Class 4 classmate of Nora’s, had had enough. Unwilling to let Nora sway the crowd any further, she stepped forward.

She declared loudly, "Nora has gone completely overboard. She’s committed a criminal act. I’m reporting this directly to the Class 4 main instructor."

Nora’s head snapped toward her, her bloodshot eyes glaring viciously. "Don’t you dare—" she screeched in an instinctively threatening tone.

The girl recoiled with a furrowed brow. "You...!"

Realizing she had blundered beyond repair and had no way out, Nora scrambled to her feet.

Without even bothering to smooth out her rumpled shirt or wrinkled skirt, she shoved her way out of the restroom.

Everyone stood watching her escape, utterly dumbfounded.

...