Inside the classroom, Aldric let himself fall into his chair, feeling like he'd just survived an encounter with a dragon.
Ren's words kept resonating in his mind, each one a small wound.
"I don't need you anyway."
"Things would have turned out the same."
"There's nothing I can't get in the first place."
Each phrase had been a dagger. Veiled threats that clearly communicated that Ren knew exactly what Aldric had tried to do. And that it hadn't worked even a little.
The boy was a master schemer. He had to be. The casual way he'd delivered those threats, as if they were simple observations...
It was terrifying.
But now Aldric had an exit. A way to compensate, to avoid Ren's wrath, and potentially even gain some advantage for Seiya in the process.
The "reward" he had promised.
Baelthon was right. If they couldn't control Ren's power, if they couldn't manipulate his intellect, then they had to win him over through where he was vulnerable.
Emotions. Distractions. Love.
