Kaelan's eyes swept the grand hall. This was the formal graduation prom for Aethelgard Academy's senior class. School officials, influential representatives from major corporations, and even military recruiters were present, mingling among the students. Many were already casting curious, assessing glances toward the disturbance.
*In a public venue like this, drawing too much attention is dangerous. Better to leverage her family's influence directly.*
He offered a calm, respectful smile to the stern woman. "My apologies, Aunt Lin. I only acted because I suspected someone might be using me as a vector to harm Miss Selene."
The answer was unexpected. Aunt Lin's eyes narrowed to slits. The grey-haired old man beside her lost his gentle demeanor, his posture shifting imperceptibly into something watchful and poised.
"Explain. Quickly," Aunt Lin commanded, her voice low but penetrating as she scanned the periphery.
"Because something unusual happened today," Kaelan answered, matching her quiet tone. "**Damon** secretly dosed my drink with an unknown substance. He then spent the evening aggressively encouraging me to make a public confession to Selene."
Seeing he now had the full attention of both guardians and Selene herself, Kaelan laid out the facts with cool precision. "I reasoned that if I refused to play along, he might resort to more direct methods. So, I complied, staging the scene you witnessed to draw out his true objective."
"You're saying you ingested the drug willingly?" Aunt Lin's gaze was like a scalpel.
"I am. And there's also this." Kaelan reached up, fingers probing the spot on his shoulder where Damon had slapped him. With a slight wince, he pulled out a thin, **black needle** tipped with a smear of his own blood.
Aunt Lin's expression hardened. The elderly man, **Grandfather Li**, let out a soft, dangerous sigh. The atmosphere around them grew several degrees colder.
The Su family had conducted a thorough background check when Selene first befriended the scholarship student two years ago. Over time, they had grown to accept his character. That was why his normal proximity to Selene hadn't raised alarms. To think the threat would be funneled *through* him…
"Are you… feeling unwell anywhere?" Selene asked, her voice laced with genuine concern. Their friendship was real, and she didn't wish him harm.
"Of course. My libido feels like it's currently trying to forge a sword in a blast furnace," Kaelan replied with a deadpan, half-joking tone.
Selene's cheeks flushed a brilliant crimson. "Y-you…!"
Without a word, Aunt Lin produced a slender dagger from her sleeve. In a motion too fast to follow, she made a tiny incision on Kaelan's fingertip, caught a single drop of blood on the blade's edge, and brought it to her tongue.
She tasted it for a moment, then spat discreetly. "Hmph. A potent aphrodisiac. Military-grade, by the chemical aftertaste." Her eyes flicked back to Kaelan, now holding a glimmer of surprised respect. "And yet you're standing here, lucid. You have impressive self-control, young man."
Kaelan gave a dry laugh. "I'm clinging to my sanity by my fingernails."
In truth, a minor circulation of the spirit energy in his **dantian** had already quelled the drug's fire. But this world did not yet know of **spirit energy**, and Kaelan had no intention of revealing his first, greatest secret.
Selene, sharp as ever, pieced it together instantly. She tugged on Aunt Lin's sleeve, her plea earnest. "Auntie, you're a master apothecary. Please, help him."
With a curt nod, Aunt Lin produced a small vial from within her robes and handed Kaelan a single white capsule. "Swallow. It will neutralize the residuals."
Kaelan took it without hesitation. As the capsule went down, he continued his analysis. "It seems his goal was a dual humiliation—to destroy Selene's reputation and ruin my life in a single, public spectacle."
All eyes in their immediate circle turned toward **Damon**.
Seeing the plot unravel completely, Damon's face went ashen. A primal chill seized his spine. He spun on his heel, attempting to melt back into the crowd.
The movement ignited cold fury in the two guardians. The scenario was now clear. By using Kaelan—a trusted friend—as the proximate threat, any sudden, violent advance would have momentarily confused their response. In that split-second of hesitation during a crowded, chaotic scene, an assassin could have found their opening.
Grandfather Li's figure seemed to *blur*. One moment he was beside Selene; the next, he stood directly in Damon's path, a placid smile on his aged face.
"Now, now, young man. The waking world is so full of strife," Grandfather Li murmured, his voice suddenly taking on a rhythmic, melodic quality. "Wouldn't you prefer a pleasant dream?"
He placed his large, calloused hands on either side of Damon's head. As Grandfather Li slowly closed his eyes, so too did Damon's eyelids slide shut.
A strange, resonant chanting began, the old man's voice dropping to a hypnotic whisper that seemed to bypass the ears and speak directly to the soul. "Come, come. Share your secrets with me, and I shall grant your deepest desires…"
A blissful, vacant smile spread across Damon's face. "I'll tell… I'll tell you everything…"
A murmur rippled through the surrounding crowd at the bizarre, quiet spectacle.
Kaelan watched, intrigued. "Is that… a **Paragon Ability**?"
Selene, standing close beside him, nodded quietly. "Yes. Grandfather Li is a Paragon whose gift is **Truth Extraction**."
**Paragons** were individuals born with a unique, innate power—a **Profession** that manifested spontaneously, could not be learned, and grew according to its own mysterious laws. They were considered touched by fate, hence the title.
In this Primary Reality, humanity's elite combatants were categorized into four major types: **Paragons, Martial Artists, Espers, and Celestial Descendants**, each with their own strengths. Alongside them existed the more common instruments of war: high-performance mechs and interstellar-class warships.
If Selene was correct, Grandfather Li's ability was a form of high-level, compulsion-based hypnosis.
As everyone watched the interrogation, Selene leaned closer, her voice barely a breath. "Kaelan… thank you."
"No thanks are needed," he replied curtly, his eyes still on Damon. "I acted in my own interest. Had I actually assaulted you here, my fate would have been… exceptionally grim."
He spoke the absolute truth. He had lived that fate.
Selene shook her head, her sincerity unwavering. "A woman's honor is not a small thing. I must thank you for preserving mine. And… if any trouble comes for you because of this, I swear I will do everything in my power to protect you."
Selene was not a fickle girl. In the past life, even after being utterly betrayed and heartbroken, she had still knelt before the Patriarch of the Su family for three days and nights, begging for Kaelan's life. That act of mercy had etched her name permanently onto his frozen, battle-scarred heart.
*That's just how she is*, Kaelan thought, a faint warmth cutting through his icy resolve. *Once she considers you a friend, her loyalty is absolute.*
He simply smiled, offering no further reply. Some things in this world were understood without words.
His focus now was on the question that had haunted him for a lifetime: *Why?* What motive could possibly drive Damon to such treachery?
He was so absorbed he didn't notice the girl beside him stealing another glance at his profile, her gaze lingering.
After a moment, Selene looked away, a confusing swirl of new emotions stirring in her chest.
She couldn't shake the feeling that Kaelan was different today. Something about him had fundamentally changed.