Chapter 71: Being Framed

I let Emma happily hyperventilate against my collarbone for a few more minutes, enjoying the soft warmth of her body pressing against mine. Her initial, terrifying Yandere aura had completely dissolved into a puddle of compliant, blushing devotion.

But as much as I enjoyed having a beautiful, obsessive fiancée straddling my lap, we had a serious problem to discuss.

“Alright, my little angel,” I murmured, gently grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her back just enough so I could see her face. “You’ve had your hug. Now, bring your brain back online. We have business to discuss.”

Emma blinked, her golden eyes still hazy with affection. “Business, Sir Alex?”

“The demon rumor,” I stated, my tone shifting from flirtatious to dead serious. “You said it was circulating among the noble factions in the Capital. Tell me exactly how it started.”

At the mention of the rumors, the hazy affection in Emma’s eyes vanished, instantly replaced by that chilling, razor-sharp hostility.

“It was sudden,” Emma explained, her hands curling into tight fists on my chest. “Usually, noble gossip takes weeks to travel from the Academy to the Capital’s tea parties. But this? This spread like a wildfire in just three days. It was too coordinated.”

From the armchair, Lily uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, her playful demeanor dropping. As the Head Maid of the Edelhart estate, she understood the lethal nature of political rumors better than anyone.

“A coordinated smear campaign against a Ducal Heir?” Lily frowned, her golden eyes narrowing. “That requires serious backing. Who was the primary source, Lady Emma?”

Emma shot Lily a brief glare—old habits died hard—but she answered for my sake.

“It didn’t start with the students,” Emma said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “My father’s informants traced the first whispers back to a ’concerned faculty member’ here at the Academy. They supposedly sent a private letter to the Marquis faction, claiming that Sir Alex’s sudden surge in power during the forest expedition felt ’unnaturally tainted’ and ’reeked of abyssal contracts’.”

My [Calculation] instantly flared to life, connecting the dots in a fraction of a second.

’A faculty member,’ I thought, a cold, calculating smile creeping onto my face.

“They are trying to make you a scapegoat, Master,” Lily realized, her face paling. “But why?”

“Because of the mutated boss in the Whispering Forest,” I replied calmly. “Someone on the teaching staff intentionally corrupted that monster. They set a trap, and my group completely dismantled it.”

I tapped my finger rhythmically against Emma’s hip.

“Think about it,” I continued, looking between the two fiercely loyal women in my room. “The traitor in the faculty knows someone ruined their little experiment in the forest. They don’t know exactly what I found, but they know I was at the center of it. If the Academy’s Headmaster launches an investigation into the dark mana residue left behind… the traitor needs a fall guy.”

“And who better to blame than the ’Defective Noble’ who miraculously gained immense power overnight?” Emma hissed, her delicate face twisting into a mask of pure fury. “They are framing you! Sir Alex, give me a name. I will sneak into their quarters tonight and carve their heart out with a spoon!”

“While I appreciate your enthusiasm for culinary torture, Emma, no,” I chuckled, gently flicking her forehead.

“Ouch,” she pouted, rubbing the spot, though she immediately leaned back into my touch.

“We don’t know exactly who the Rat is yet,” I explained. “It could be Professor Alaric, it could be someone else entirely. But this rumor… this is their first mistake. It leaves a paper trail.”

I looked directly into Emma’s eyes.

“This is why you transferring here is actually perfect timing,” I said, leaning in. “You are the daughter of Count Arlon. You have the face of an absolute angel, and everyone thinks you’re just a sweet, innocent, lovesick girl.”

Emma puffed out her chest proudly, the thin fabric of her nightgown straining slightly. “I am

a sweet, lovesick girl! For you!”

“I need you to use that,” I ordered. “I need you to infiltrate the high-society cliques among the first and second-year noble girls. Drink tea with them. Gossip with them. Act deeply concerned about my ’dark aura’. Find out exactly which Professor they are quoting. I want the Rat’s name.”

Emma’s golden eyes practically glowed in the dark. Being given a direct, secretive mission from her beloved target was the ultimate validation for her obsessive nature.

“Yes, Sir Alex!” she whispered fiercely, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I will be your perfect spy. I’ll rip their secrets out of them! And then I’ll rip their—”

“Just the secrets for now, Emma,” I interrupted smoothly.

I turned my gaze to my maid. “Lily. You have the run of the servant’s quarters. Professors talk, but they are blind to the people pouring their wine and doing their laundry. Find out which faculty members have been acting paranoid or holding secretive meetings late at night.”

“Understood, Master,” Lily smiled, a dangerous, competitive glint in her eye as she looked at Emma. “I won’t let a mere transfer student outdo the Head Maid in serving you.”

“Are you challenging me, you over-inflated cow?” Emma snapped, her grip on my shoulders tightening.

“I’m simply stating facts, you flat-chested stalker,” Lily retorted, standing up and smoothing her skirt.

“Ladies,” I sighed, though I couldn’t completely hide the smug smirk on my face.

Having two beautiful, highly capable, and extremely dangerous women competing for my approval was incredibly satisfying, even if managing their murderous intent toward each other was a full-time job.

“We are at war with a traitor,” I said, my voice dropping to a low, commanding timber that made both of them shiver. “I expect perfect results from both of you.”

“You’ll have them, Sir Alex,” Emma promised, her body completely melting against mine.

“Of course, Master,” Lily bowed deeply, offering me one last, lingering view of her cleavage before stepping toward the door. “I will leave you to your… reunion. Goodnight, Lady Emma. Try not to bite him.”

With a mocking wave, Lily unlocked the door and slipped out into the hallway, leaving me alone with my angelic, psychotic fiancée.

Emma immediately looked down at me, her cheeks flushed, her golden eyes burning with absolute, unfiltered devotion.

“She’s gone,” Emma whispered, her voice trembling with anticipation as she shifted her weight on my lap. “It’s just the two of us now, Sir Alex. Did you… did you want to finish what we started?”

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