Even a few upperclassmen had stopped their training to watch.
Perfect.
"Here's what I think happened. Someone with money and connections hired an intermediary. That intermediary approached Elena, threatened her family, and gave her very specific instructions on what to say and when to say it. The goal was to destroy my credibility completely. Make sure I had no defense."
Marcus took a physical step back, his practice sword lowering slightly as the sheer weight of the crowd's stares hit him. "You... you think anyone is going to take the word of a disgraced bastard over a Thornwell? My family—"
"You're right." Lucian nodded. "I can't. Not definitively. But Elena can identify the intermediary. And the intermediary—once the administration gets involved, once they start asking the right questions—well. People have a tendency to talk when their own futures are on the line."
"This is—you're bluffing—"
