Chapter 136: Image

“These are all the students who have applied for the council.”

A third-year student handed the list to the girl before him.

Sitting on the chair with legs crossed, Ashlyn was the epitome of beauty for many.

Her fingers lightly skimmed across the pages as she read the names given in the list.

“Have you gone through it?”

Turning to her left, Ashlyn questioned the girl sitting beside her.

Ana raised her head from the book she was reading to look into Ashlyn’s eyes.

“Yeah, I did.”

Her answer was short.

“And?”

Ashlyn wanted to know her opinion on the new batch.

“There are good ones, but I don’t think we can possibly bring them to our side. Victoria’s faction already has a decent reputation due to her being the Vice President, and also because of the recent…”

Ana stopped mid-sentence, not wanting to say the words.

“Did the news of my House scare them away?”

Ashlyn asked without being upset about it.

Ana just observed her friend.

Though Ashlyn looked indifferent about the news from the outside, Ana knew better.

Ashlyn had always put her House before her own personal needs, and had always strived to excel not for herself but for the growth of the Levaiths.

“It didn’t exactly scare them away, but the students are indeed being a little cautious before joining us. For them, we are—”

“A sinking ship.”

The room went quiet as Ashlyn completed her friend’s statement.

“Hey! But you don’t have to worry about it. And it’s not like these new recruits would be of any real use to us. What we need are just a few strong backers, and I have been working in that department.”

Ana tried to placate Ashlyn, but the latter didn’t seem upset in the least.

“Aside from the disciplinary committee, who else do you think will join me, taking into consideration the current circumstances?”

Ana went silent, trying to process any sort of reply she could come up with, but to no avail.

Just a day ago, Ashlyn’s faction was one of the strongest and most influential in the student council as well as in the academy. She was among the top contenders for the position of Student Council President, but the recent events had reduced her entire hard work to ashes.

Let alone the new students, even the ones who previously admired and supported her were now re-evaluating their decisions.

They hadn’t left her faction, at least not yet. But the changes were visible.

The students who were always eager to get in her good graces were now taking a measured approach.

Everyone was maintaining a safe distance—not being too close to be seen as one of her supporters while at the same time not looking distant.

And Ashlyn didn’t blame them for it.

From how the events had transpired in her duchy, it was obvious that the standing and reputation of her House had taken severe damage.

Though her family was not in the wrong, the thing called public image just needs a single spark to burn everything to the ground.

Remembering the attack on the auction house, Ashlyn really wanted to find those criminals and kill each one of them with her own hands.

If they wanted to loot, couldn’t they have done that in other territories?

But luck didn’t seem to side with the Levaiths, as now the entire world’s attention was on them.

And it was that attention that had increased the burden on Ashlyn’s shoulders.

Winning the position of Student Council President had become even more important than before.

But along with the importance, the difficulty in achieving it had increased dramatically.

Ashlyn’s main competitor wasn’t someone who could be easily defeated.

Victoria Frost, despite being a third-year, was already the Vice President of the council. And not only that, but being a Frost made her position even stronger than it already was.

House Frost was the strongest Dukedom in the Veltran Empire, while at the same time, their actual strength was acknowledged even by the major races in other empires, including the elves, vampires, werewolves, and dwarves.

Also, the Emperor had close relations with Duke Frost, making Victoria’s image even stronger in the minds of students who were already enthralled by her beauty and brains.

Victoria had already secured many of the heads of other committees in her faction, cementing her already strong position.

To defeat someone like that…

Ashlyn needed something even bigger than mere support from council members.

The only saving grace in the situation was Ashlyn’s own position as the head of the disciplinary committee.

The disciplinary committee was the only one that engaged in direct combat against students who were going against the academy’s rules.

That required them to recruit the strongest possible members of the council.

So at present, the disciplinary committee had some of the strongest students across all the years, excluding the first years.

That made each of their votes much more valuable than the votes of average council members.

Still, Ashlyn couldn’t relax. Defeating Victoria meant she had to secure every possible advantage she could before the final fight.

Until the results were declared, Ashlyn couldn’t drop her guard, as even the current members of the disciplinary committee could possibly betray her at the last moment.

That was why she was constantly trying to bolster her chances, the best example being the list before her.

The first years were like dark horses, and if she managed to secure some strong ones among them, that would only end up increasing the legitimacy of her faction among the entire first year.

At present, it was this credibility that she wanted more than anything else…

“I think there is some hope among the first years.”

Ana, who was checking through the list again, voiced her thoughts.

Clearing her throat, she pushed the list towards Ashlyn.

As Ashlyn glanced at the paper before her, a single name was highlighted by Ana.

“Noah?”

Ashlyn tilted her head as she pronounced the name on her tongue.

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