Theron raised an internal eyebrow. He hadn’t been expecting such a result, honestly.
At first, he thought that maybe she was just saying this to cut him off. But his intuition shot that down quite quickly.
Though he and Dean Pennel didn’t see eye to eye on everything, he had never felt that she was hostile. Though that might have been a great deal due to the fact she was close to Teacher Fern and Theron quite liked Fern, Theron could feel that she wasn’t targeting him either.
Rather, the vibe he got from Dean Pennel was that she was used to being in a place of authority and had the pride that came with that. So when she formulated her plans, she naturally placed herself at a higher position than those she was moving around like pawns.
Theron didn’t begrudge her that. She had put in the years of training and experience to reach her level. She was also the first person with control that shocked him enough to feel inferior.
The only reason he hadn’t gone along with her plans—whatever they may be—initially was because he truly didn’t have the time to get embroiled with the machinations of yet another powerhouse. It would just make things more difficult for him to slip out of his province.
He thought that with the Dean’s pride, she wouldn’t drop the topic and not bother to bring it up again. But it seemed that he had miscalculated a bit this time.
Dean Pennel wasn’t very prideful, at least not beyond the normal sense. She had the natural authority to her actions Theron mentioned, but outside of this, she carried also a bit of the shamelessness of an older person who had lived enough life to not care about what others thought.
Though it seemed to take a while for Theron to finish thinking through all of this, he realized the crux of the matter instantly.
“Ah, I see. When was it made official?” Theron asked with the same gentle smile, not even bothering to argue.
Dean Pennel’s smile became wider and looked toward a watch on her wrist.
“Hm, I would say about three, four… five seconds ago?”
Theron almost chuckled inwardly. Indeed, the old didn’t have to care about the opinions of others at all. They could be as shameless as they wanted and who would say something about it?
Once he got his answer, Theron looked toward the herald.
“I believe that all of these incidents happened last night under your reports. So, again… my response remains the same.”
BANG!
Dean Slater looked as though he was truly about to lose his mind. What was this farce?
The loophole in the rules was very clear and obvious. At first, he thought Theron had slipped out, then Dean Pennel spoke up and he thought things had been saved, only for things to revert back to the same state as before.
If he had known Dean Pennel would respond like that, he would have spoken up first and lied. Clearly, Dean Pennel was making things up too, so why couldn’t he?
Theron raised another internal eyebrow. Why was this guy so mad?
Theron’s gaze shifted to the name tag the lay engraved in brass on the judge’s bench.
Dean Slater.
Slater was actually the name of a Knight Clan. This Dean must have worked quite hard to reach his current standing.
Was it just a matter of him being a stickler for rules, then? Or…
‘A puppet?’
The odds someone with no backing could reach this level were slim to none. Either he was a genius amongst shocking geniuses, or he was someone’s useful idiot.
Or maybe not so much of an idiot if he knew exactly what he was doing.
“Enough.” Dean Slater growled. “This is a courtroom—”
“Not exactly accurate.” Theron interrupted. “A courtroom is a name reserved for those that act under the authority of His Imperial Majesty. Like I said before, this is the academy’s court.”
“I didn’t ask you for a history lesson, boy.”
“I’m only making sure that Dean Slater doesn’t accidentally offend those he shouldn’t. I apologize if I’ve overstepped my bounds.”
A vein popped across Dean Slater’s forehead and Dean Pennel seemed to be doing a terrible job of trying to hold her laughter back.
Dean Slater clenched his teeth hard. He wouldn’t usually lose control of his emotions so easily, especially not in front of a junior. The main problem was that he felt like he couldn’t do anything in the face of Dean Pennel’s willfulness, and that left him feeling suffocated.
This frustration wasn’t only Theron’s doing.
But it was already clear that what he wanted to do today wouldn’t be allowed by the Dean.
“Tell you what,” Dean Pennel suddenly began to speak again. “What you’re being accused of did, indeed, happen before you were officially a student. But, as you know, the burden of a student of our academy comes with an exceptional weight to it.
“While the rules won’t allow us to punish you for what you may or may not have done in the past, disciplinary action for those deemed to be of questionable character is still unavoidable.”
Dean Slater’s eyes lit up as though he had found an opportunity, but Dean Pennel continued to speak without missing a single beat at all.
“The last time we spoke, you didn’t seem interested in it. But now, I am not asking. This will be your mode of rehabilitation.
“Two months from now, there will be an exchange between Imperial Academies of the surrounding five provinces. Unfortunately, our slot for First Years has been left vacant due to reasons I’m sure you’re aware of.
“In this coming time, you will be tasked with training and preparing for this exchange. Be sure to win your lane and I will personally write all of this off and take you as a disciple.
“Fail, and I will have you tried in a real court.”
Dean Pennel smiled gently.
Theron recognized that smile well, the smile that was the very reason everyone shivered when this old woman walked into any room. It was the same reminder this world liked to give him all the time.
It didn’t matter how clever he was. If someone powerful enough felt the need to act, they didn’t need any evidence at all.
Clearly, Dean Pennel didn’t need proof to believe Theron had done it.
Theron smiled gently back.
So what?