Meanwhile, back at the academy, Elias was gazing at Aamiya silently, not knowing how to feel or react.

It had been obvious to him that the young lady was a lot more cunning and calculative than she appeared, but he didn't expect to be roped into her ploys so easily.

At the very least he thought that he of all people would be able to notice whenever he was being used, but she had completely pulled one over him.

Aamiya watched him contemplate with a spurious smile, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ever-so-delicate ears.

"Oh come on Eli. It's not that big of a deal, at the very least I took the initiative to tell you myself didn't I?"

Elias looked at her with a sigh, before running his hands through his tussled black hair.

"I would have preferred if you did that before you roped me into the entire thing in the first place."

"And where is the fun in that?"

Aamiya giggled in glee, her amusement of the entire thing quite evident on her face.

Elias suddenly felt exasperated, confused as to why all of his friends were such chores to deal with.

He let out a long sigh,

"What's your reason for doing this, Aamy? I'm sure it's not just to tease me, so what's your real goal?"

Upon hearing Elias's question, Aamiya's countenance shifted from that of a playful teenage girl to that of a tactically prepared merchant, almost as if she had been waiting for him to ask.

She spotted a group of students passing by and moved to grasp Elias's arm, her intention to intensify the rumors evident from her actions.

Elias was too fed up with the entire situation and tried to back away, but he caught Aamiya giving him a signal and let her do as she pleased.

After all, they were just rumors, so long as they didn't have an epitome of truth to them, it didn't matter to him in the slightest. He also concluded that Aamiya must have a valid reason for her actions because even if she appeared to be quite the cunning fox, he was well aware that she had a heart that was as good as any.

They walked hand in hand for a few moments before Aamiya finally decided to speak.

"As you know Eli I'm a businesswoman, and we businesswomen don't make decisions without factoring in the profits and losses.

"I do vaguely remember telling you about the son of a Viscount who had once gifted me a scarf?"

Elias nodded, signaling that he was well aware.

He remembered that there was a particularly high-quality scarf that Aamiya owned that was stated to be a gift to her, as well as some other items he had noticed being delivered to her over the course of their friendship.

Elias didn't say anything because he noticed the subtle annoyance and disgust concealed under her expression whenever she received such gifts, so he simply acted like he didn't notice anything.

Aamiya acknowledged Elias's nod, before continuing her talk.

"Well he is a second year in the academy, and he seems to be quite interested in me. He has been sending such gifts for the past year now and honestly, it's been quite the bother."

The annoyance in her voice was vastly evident at this point, almost as if she was no longer trying to conceal her displeasure about the entire situation.

Elias listened to her in silence, wondering what her admirer had done to warrant such a reaction.

"So you plan to use the rumors going on about us as a deterrent to this senior of ours?"

Aamiya nodded, indicating that he was correct.

"Exactly. Even though that senior is the son of a noble, he is known for having a virtuous personality. I have verified this myself, so there is no need to worry.

"Once he finds out that I am already interested in someone else he is bound to back away. He will most likely investigate to make sure the rumors are true, then he will respect my decision afterward."

Elias felt puzzled. If this senior was such a nice guy and hadn't done anything wrong, then why did Aamiya seem so vexed whenever she received his gifts?

He decided to ask her outright since he now had the right to know since she had successfully roped him into the situation.

Aamiya smiled slightly at the question, gently stepping over a rock that was in her way.

"You noticed that? Quite the observer you are. Even Yves didn't notice until I made it glaringly obvious.

"You are right in saying that he hasn't done anything wrong, but in contrast, he actually did everything wrong to begin with. Affection and romance have no place in my life, most especially from men who view me as an accessory that would look good at their side."

They continued walking towards the cafeteria as they talked, drawing occasional glances and attention from the passing crowd.

Both of them remained unfazed by the attention, as Aamiya continued to talk in a tone only Elias could hear.

"You see Eli, whenever I'm looked at with affection, I'm able to see the intentions hidden beneath the layers of smiles, the ones perfectly concealed in their heart. Anytime I'm gazed upon with eyes glistening with love, all I see is someone who either yearns for me due to my physical appearance or for the numerous benefits that come with forming a connection with me, the head of the Silver Swan enterprise and daughter of the Financial Minister.

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"To the sons of aristocratic nobles, I'm a beauty who would add to their overall status when claimed, while to their fathers, I'm a source of connection to increase their wealth. All of these blatantly selfish reasons disgust me, most especially because I've seen this trait in every single one of them that has shown any interest in me over the years."

The cool evening wind brushed across her shoulder causing her to shiver slightly, with Elias quickly responding by unlocking their hands to take off his jacket to put it over her.

She thanked him with a gentle smile, before once again locking hands with him as if she knew that Elias wanted to get out of the situation.

"Thank you. Now back to what I was saying, even the random passersby who glance at me hold some sort of lustful and indecent expectations in their gaze, so I refuse to be treated as some sort of item by these people.

"I believe that love has no place for me, as it now seems to be purely based off benefits. Be it financial, physical, emotional, or sexual, it's all the same to me. They all see me as an object of their affection for these reasons without even making an effort to get to know the real me. It disgusts and sickens me to the bone, and I want nothing to do with it.

"The only form of unconditional love I've gotten in my life has been from my parents, and that is more than enough for me."

Elias looked ahead with a complex glance, feeling the heavy emotions hidden within Aamiya's words.

Even if she tried to appear unbothered by it her voice still held a tone of disgust, a completely warranted reaction as even he wouldn't like to be treated as some sort of decorative piece.

He now understood why the advances of their senior had been seen as such a disturbance to her because even if his actions were forthright while he also seemed to be a respectable gentleman, his interests were still based on physical and possibly financial benefits.

Elias gazed at Aamiya with somewhat of an understanding gaze, before breaking the silence by deciding to speak.

"Then why are you so comfortable being around me? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were the one who had interest in me."

Aamiya flashed him an innocent smile, perfectly unbothered by the latter part of his sentence.

She gazed at the cat who was resting quietly in his arms, before responding to his question.

"That's easy Eli. It's simply because whenever you look at me, I don't see a trace of expectancy or affection hidden beneath your eyes."

Elias observed her face in silence, before turning away and continuing his walk.

Indeed he had no such interest in Aamiya, as his aim has always been to foster an amicable friendship rather than one of intimacy.

His heart was currently preoccupied by other more important things, so he didn't have the time to worry about such leisurely worries like romance and affection.

He wouldn't say he hadn't been stunned by Aamiya's appearance on several occasions as unless one was into men, a man couldn't look at her indifferently.

It was just that romance was always off the table for him, so he was able to translate those feelings to 'appreciation' rather than 'affection.'

There was once a time when he had a crush on a girl when he was younger, but she had moved out of Lowe soon after and since then, romance had been a topic that had sparked his disinterest.

'I really do pity any man that will have his heart stolen by her in the future. Imagine being despised for your affection for the sole reason of you having that affection, to begin with. It is honestly so ironic.

'On a side note, these eyes of hers are quite scary. Imagine being able to perceive the intent of someone else simply by looking into their eyes. Not only can she gain random visions from it, but it is also capable of performing extreme deductions by sight.

'Isn't this almost a mix between the Echelon of Possibilities and the Echelon of Sapience? We are a lot more similar than we both thought, no wonder we were able to become such good friends in such a short while.'

They both walked on in silence after that, admiring the calming ambiance of the evening while the wind brushed across their faces.

It took them coming before the cafeteria before Elias broke the ice, posing a question that he thought up during their silent walk.

"Aamiya I have a question. You seem quite ambitious and I feel like your reasons go beyond just what you've revealed. So if you don't mind me asking, what's your real goal?"

Aamiya appeared shocked by the impromptu question, before breaking into a light-hearted laugh.

Elias sighed while keeping her steady while she laughed, completely confused as to what she found so amusing.

She came to after a few minutes, before grasping Elias's hands tighter while gazing at him with twinkling eyes.

"I knew there was something about you that I liked. I can't believe I was seen through so easily. Indeed there is something else, a much grander goal to all my preluding actions."

She suddenly stepped away from Elias's hold, turning to face him with an atypical gaze of resolution and determination.

Her gaze caused Elias to even hold his breath, as he was stuck in expectancy of what it was he was about to hear.

Her delicate lips parted softly, as her words became clear for Elias to hear.

"It's not much, I only want to become the first independent noblewoman in all of the kingdom of Wessex. I don't want to live under the banner of any man."

...

It was dark out and Elias could be seen lying lazily in bed, as the subtle shine of his table lamp cast an illuminating glow over the entire room.

He was silently thinking back to his entire conversation with Aamiya, as he hadn't expected the young girl to harbor such a grand but almost impossible goal.

It was grand because it was always nice to see a teenager with such high aspirations—especially as a girl who was raised in a conservative society, but it was also impossible in the same breath due to the circumstances surrounding the goal itself.

The Kingdom of Wessex traditionally issued aristocratic titles to the family heads which were the men, meaning that the women would have to come under the banner of her husband's name and title for them to be granted similar patrician titles.

A Duchess would only remain one so long as her husband was a Duke, and she would similarly fall in noble standing once her husband did so as well.

The family's stance depended solely on the contributions of the head of the house, and the women were mainly regulated to supporting roles. Even if the wife made some sort of grand achievement it would naturally be relegated to the husband, meaning that it was almost impossible for a lady to become an independent aristocratic due to her own titles and achievements.

This was seen as the norm in the Kingdom of Wessex and seemed to be the status quo that Aamiya aimed to break. It wouldn't be an easily attainable goal because she risked incurring the wrath of all of the existing noble families, as what was hated the most by society was an outlier who wished to break out of the norm.

Lars's voice softly echoed in Elias's mind, almost as if he was thinking the same thing as him.

"She has a surprisingly grand goal. I rarely would have guessed it from her appearance."

Elias smiled slightly, completely in agreement with him.

"This is why you don't judge a book by its cover. She is a lot stronger than we all give her credit for."

Lars nodded, sharing the same sentiments.

Elias stretched and rose from bed, making his way to the table.

"In the end, it worked out well. She promised me compensation for going along with her whims, while I'm happy to help a friend in any way I can. In all honesty, I would have done it for free, but she went on about how a merchant must always live by the rule of equivalent exchange.

"It ended up being favorable to me anyway, as I'll now be able to send home some money from time to time. A monthly compensation of 150 Nels is a lot of money after all."

Elias slowly came before his reading table, settling down into his seat with Lars hovering beside him.

He reached for the quill settled into the ink bottle, before moving his hands onto the white parchment paper before him.

"Now it's time for me to write home, I'm sure they must all have been worried."