Vanitas stood on the stage and allowed his gaze to sweep across the auditorium before glancing toward the corner of the hall.
Standing there were Cassandra and Silas. In front of them were two professors. One of them was presumably the Professor Lena Cassandra had mentioned. The other was a stranger to Vanitas, though he hardly needed an introduction.
Was confirmation necessary? No, not in the slightest.
Cassandra's abilities might not have been fully proven yet, but Vanitas didn't doubt Silas. The boy had moved through noble society and the university like a ghost, as Vanitas's left hand.
Ezra, meanwhile, maintained the public front of the university as his right hand. Those two, who had once opposed him at one point, had somehow become indispensable.
These students, who had once cursed him behind closed doors, had grown into some of his most valuable assets.
"You may begin, Marquess Astrea."
Vanitas nodded once the panelists signaled for him to begin.
