At the same time, in Lillian Ashbourne's office—
Sitting behind her desk, Lillian swiped her hand across the screen, bringing up footage from the inter-academy tryouts that had taken place earlier that day.
Although she had watched the entire event through the monitors in the arena, seeing it only once hadn't allowed for proper analysis. Now, alone in her office with the recordings at her fingertips, she could finally dissect every movement in detail.
Overall, she was satisfied.
Both teams representing her class had emerged victorious, and naturally, that was a relief. But satisfaction didn't mean contentment—not to Lillian.
As her sharp eyes scanned through the footage, frame by frame, her expression began to tighten.
Two names surfaced in her mind, uninvited and unwelcome.
Evelyn and Emma.
She leaned back in her chair, lips pressed into a thin line.
They had both underperformed—significantly.
