"Her name? It's Vivienne Cross."
"What?"
"Vivienne Cross!" Mason Pike looked at him with deep sympathy. "You must be really wiped out from the intensive training—can't even think straight. Go sleep, man."
Westley rubbed his temples in frustration—maybe he really wasn't thinking clearly.
Just hearing a name had made him instantly recall that woman from the art exhibition…
Westley tried to calm himself. "I misheard. Go on."
The young duke never suspected that this "Vivienne Cross" might be the same "Yshi." After all, Sentinels primarily evolved in terms of physical strength. When Mason mentioned Jan Squire's Sentinel partner, Westley had subconsciously assumed the person must be an SS-level physically enhanced Sentinel.
But Ixchel was someone who had been effortlessly abducted by bodyguards. Even Westley could tell her physique bore no signs of formal training—her evolutionary level was clearly not high
"What a shame there's no photo. She's very private," Mason said regretfully. "Otherwise, I'd show you—she's really pretty."
Westley gave a soft "mm," and those long, butterfly-wing lashes fluttered across his mind.
"But it's no big deal—you'll see her soon enough…"
"All right, go get some rest for a couple of hours—scratch that, just take the whole morning off." Milo's concern was obvious as she looked at the pale-faced new student with dark circles etched under her eyes. "Get some real sleep. You young people are so fragile these days, I'm honestly worried you'll drop dead…"
By the time Vivienne was "provisionally released" from the disciplinary office, it had been four hours since her narrow escape from Westley's dorm.
She felt reborn.
"What the hell was all that…"
She licked her dry lips, desperate to get back to her dorm, lie down for a bit, and drink some water.
Then maybe take a hot shower and wash off all this ridiculous bad luck and fatigue.
…
She slept until noon, and then had a full schedule in the afternoon.
As expected, she was given special attention in class, swarmed by curious teachers treating her like a rare specimen.
Vivienne, distracted during class, began searching up information on the "Seven Schools Trial."
That day, after she'd asked Milo, the woman had explained the competition to her for a solid half-hour.
The Seven Schools Trial—a biannual competition, as the name suggests, hosted by the seven most prestigious universities in the Empire, including the Imperial Military Academy, University of Croatia, and Tianshu Academy.
Since it was a competition, of course, there were prizes.
It was said that the government considered the trial results when allocating educational funds and teaching resources. The better a school performed, the more funding they received.
"Battle of dragons and tigers?" Vivienne silently mouthed the promotional phrase on the public page. "More like a pit of dragons and tigers."
"Vivienne?"
Tony Zane came over during the class break and asked, "Why'd you skip class this morning?"
Vivienne replied listlessly, "Hangover. Wasn't feeling great."
She didn't mention that she'd gotten into trouble—she was afraid word would spread and Westley would come after her.
"No kidding, three people in our class called in sick today. Even Jan did—"
"Tony, do you remember who walked me home last night?"
Tony didn't hesitate. "Dong Ping'an. Said it was on his way—wait, he also called in sick today…"
Tony finally realized something was off and walked away, deep in thought.
Vivienne: "…" This guy wears his every thought on his face.
But Dong Ping'an? She tried to recall the person—vaguely remembered a guy with round ears who was good at throwing out witty comebacks.
Didn't show up to class… must've already been caught.
She really hoped the school would "interrogate him thoroughly" and clear her name!
Meanwhile, Joey Yu withdrew her subtle gaze. Some school staff had come to ask her for details about the night at the KTV.
Being sharp as ever, she instantly smelled something fishy. Vivienne Cross… no wonder she's an SS-level. Stirring up drama already in the first few days! Though… it doesn't seem like good drama…
…
Just after her last class of the afternoon, Vivienne received a call from an unfamiliar contact: "Hello?"
The voice on the other end was all too familiar—bright and cheerful: "Vivienne! Come to the combat training hall—your teacher is waiting!"
…Ms. Milo was terrifyingly efficient.
She'd only told Vivienne about the extra training this morning, and now it was already arranged. Vivienne replied tactfully, "Teacher, I haven't eaten yet."
"No problem! We've got free nutritional meals here. You train, the school feeds!" Milo was well prepared. "I've even adjusted your schedule through the academic office—you're free tonight, so it's the perfect time to train!"
Milo didn't use the regular training area for their private sessions. Instead, she chose a spacious room with just the two of them.
As soon as Vivienne arrived, she went straight to the point she cared about: "Miss Milo, did the school confirm who walked me back to the dorm? Tony said it was Dong Ping'an."
"Based on your testimony, we've already locked in on a suspect," Milo said solemnly. "Surveillance footage and testimonies from Joey Yu and others confirm it. Dong Ping'an is currently under review. We'll have results by the day after tomorrow at the latest."
"Great." Vivienne joked, "Hope I can clear my name soon."
If she was cleared, she wouldn't have to join this ridiculous Seven Schools Trial…
But she was already on board this pirate ship. No backing out now.
Plus, she still needed the school to help conceal her identity from Westley.
Though Jan Squire had warned her that they'd eventually need to collaborate with second-year students for final exams, that's a problem for future me. The situation might change any day. Delay, delay, delay!
Everything would work out! Who knew, maybe she'd randomly drop out and vanish before then!
After finishing her nutrition meal and a brief rest—well, a working rest—Milo lectured Vivienne on combat techniques.
Then came some warm-up exercises: jump-squats, shuttle runs, high knees…
"Training might be tough," Milo said, circling around her, "but it builds both body and survival instinct. Imagine if you'd been just a bit faster that day in the Guide dorm—maybe the little duke wouldn't have caught you."
Or… maybe she'd have gotten stopped by the entry gate and caught red-handed by the dorm supervisor.
"Every drop of sweat you shed now will nourish the success of your future."
"When you're on the battlefield, every bullet dodged, every drop of blood not spilled—that's all profit."
Teacher, there are no explosions or battlefields in my future plans… At most, there might be a battlefield of love triangles.
…
Milo insisted on teaching Vivienne every move, one by one. Rapid mastery of 36 close-combat techniques.
Tianxing Fall, Solar Reach, Moon Grab—
"Oh right, you missed last weekend's session…"
Vivienne half-heartedly lifted her arm, only to be hauled up by Milo's hands-on adjustment.
Milo chuckled. She'd been a student once too, and knew full well how kids avoided make-up lessons. "You'd better not come up with any nonsense excuse again this weekend…"
But Vivienne instantly responded, "Actually, I do have plans this weekend…"
Milo was skeptical. "What plans?"
Daring to make social plans right after nearly getting set up? Kids these days sure were bold.
Thankfully, she really did have plans. With righteous conviction, she replied, "The class rep invited me to his house."
"The class rep? Jan Squire?"
"Mhm." Vivienne tilted her head innocently, her dark eyes glistening like grapes. "Teacher, is that okay?"
Milo blinked.
This girl… her little calculations were practically being thrown in her face.
But her eyes were so sincere, her tone so earnest, it didn't come off manipulative at all. If anything, it made her seem cheeky and clever.
At that moment, Vivienne wasn't just asking if she could go see Jan Squire over the weekend.
She was asking:
Ms. Milo, do you think—
Can I trust him? Would Jan Squire ever set me up?