Sherry (Elizabeth) hid around the corner of the staircase, pressing her back against the wall as she peeked cautiously toward the music classroom.
That little pink-haired girl, Aurora, was standing at the door, glancing around as if she'd sensed something. Her sharp, intelligent eyes scanned the hallway.
"Tch, these brats are way too sharp," Sherry (Elizabeth) muttered under her breath, a scowl forming on her face.
Luckily, the girl didn't spot her and retreated back inside, allowing Sherry (Elizabeth) to breathe a sigh of relief. Her disguise as a student was still intact.
Just as she was about to leave, another small figure with distinctive silver hair entered the classroom.
"It's Noah..."
Sherry (Elizabeth)'s mind began to churn, a wicked smile playing on her lips.
"So, the girls from Leon's family all gather here one by one for piano practice, and now Noah is joining them. This couldn't be more convenient."
Her initial plan had been simple—smear glue on the piano to prank Muse, making her cry in frustration when her hands got stuck. But now? She could take care of all of them at once.
Her hand gripped the dark gray staff she carried, and she began channeling magic into her palm. A faint, dangerous glow started to form.
Suddenly, someone pressed a hand onto her shoulder from behind.
Startled, Sherry (Elizabeth) immediately dispersed her magic, thinking she'd been caught. She whirled around to see who it was, only to roll her eyes in irritation when she recognized the familiar face.
"Mevis, can you not sneak up on people like that? You scared me to death."
Mevis's dark eyes regarded her coldly, showing no emotion. "What were you about to do, Sherry (Elizabeth)?"
Sherry (Elizabeth) straightened up and crossed her arms, adopting a defensive posture.
"Leon's daughters are all in the music classroom. We could take them out in one fell swoop and finish the task Lord Shadow assigned us."
Mevis's tone remained icy, mirroring her expression, which was as frosty as Noah's often was.
"It's after school hours. The hallways are busy with students and staff. Unless you can eliminate them instantly and silently, someone will notice, and not only will you expose yourself, but you'll also risk exposing Lord Shadow's entire operation."
Sherry (Elizabeth) huffed in frustration. She didn't like taking orders from this woman, but Mevis had a point. Acting rashly could jeopardize their carefully laid plans.
"Fine, this was a spur-of-the-moment idea. I didn't have time to prepare properly."
"Spur of the moment?" Mevis raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Then what was your original reason for coming here?"
Sherry (Elizabeth) leaned against the wall with an air of nonchalance, though her eyes still gleamed with malice.
"I grabbed some glue from the storage room and smeared it on the piano keys. You know how Muse loves her little games. Just imagining her little dragon paws stuck to the piano, crying for help, is hilarious to me."
Her tone dripped with gleeful malice, but Mevis remained unimpressed, her expression utterly calm and unmoved.
"What's with that face? Don't tell me you have a problem with my methods."
"No," Mevis replied, pausing briefly before adding with subtle disdain, "I just think it's childish."
"Humph. Whatever. I'm not letting those brats have an easy time of it. This failure is just the start—next time, I'll be ready."
Mevis didn't respond, letting Sherry (Elizabeth) ramble on about her grand, vengeful schemes.
"What are you even doing here?" Sherry (Elizabeth) asked, changing the subject.
"I came to observe Noah while she practiced piano," Mevis replied matter-of-factly.
Sherry (Elizabeth) squinted at her suspiciously, her gaze piercing.
"You've been shadowing her pretty closely lately. Are you two best friends now?"
"Lord Shadow tasked me with staying near Noah, monitoring her developments, and earning her trust. That's all I'm doing." Mevis's response was so smooth and rehearsed that Sherry (Elizabeth) almost wanted to accuse her of having prepared it beforehand.
"Well, you seem to be doing a decent job of it," Sherry (Elizabeth) remarked sarcastically.
"Mm."
Mevis turned to leave, but Sherry (Elizabeth) suddenly ran after her, a new spark of mischief in her eyes.
"I've got a new idea."
Without breaking stride or looking back, Mevis asked, "What idea?"
"Let me see Noah's class schedule."
Hearing this, Mevis's steps faltered slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. She said nothing, merely leading Sherry (Elizabeth) to her office in silence.
Each teacher in the academy's Youth Dragon Division had a private office, decorated to their personal taste.
When Sherry (Elizabeth) entered Mevis's office, however, she found the decor so minimalistic and bare that it reminded her of an imperial washroom.
"Your office is less cozy than my bathroom back in the empire," she scoffed, looking around at the sparse furnishings.
Ignoring the comment, Mevis retrieved Noah's class schedule from a drawer and handed it over without a word.
Sherry (Elizabeth) skimmed it quickly, then shook her head in mock disapproval.
"You're such a considerate teacher, Mevis."
"Why do you say that?" Mevis asked, though she already knew where this was going.
"This schedule is so light. Anyone looking at it would think Noah was here to retire, not study." Sherry (Elizabeth) tapped the paper with her finger. "Where's the rigor? The challenge?"
Mevis took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation Sherry (Elizabeth)'s remarks stirred within her.
"So, your idea is to increase her workload?"
"Of course! She needs to learn the value of effort and discipline," Sherry (Elizabeth) said with an air of superiority, as if she were an educational expert.
"Fine. What do you want to add?" Mevis asked, already bracing herself for the ridiculous demands to come.
"Start her day with twenty laps around the field. She needs a proper warm-up before anything else!" Sherry (Elizabeth) declared, grabbing a pen from Mevis's desk to make edits to the schedule.
"Thirty laps," Mevis muttered sarcastically under her breath, knowing it wouldn't make a difference.
Sherry (Elizabeth) smirked triumphantly as she finished writing. Tossing the updated schedule at Mevis, she added, "Don't feel bad for her, Mevis. Thirty laps is just the start. Let's see if she can still keep her breakfast down!"
The next morning, Sherry (Elizabeth) stood at the edge of the field, watching Noah jog her laps with effortless, graceful strides. The young silver-haired dragoness moved with a natural athleticism that was frustrating to witness.
"Twenty... twenty-one... twenty-two... thirty laps!"
Sherry (Elizabeth) gawked as Noah completed her run, barely breaking a sweat and her breathing still even and controlled.
"What the...?! Mevis, what is going on?" Sherry (Elizabeth) sputtered, her plan already foiled.
"I was going to warn you yesterday," Mevis said, arms crossed as she observed Noah's cool-down stretches.
"Warn me about what?" Sherry (Elizabeth) snapped.
"About feeling sorry for Noah. Twenty laps is nothing to her. Or thirty."
Sherry (Elizabeth)'s eye twitched in frustration. "Nothing?!"
Mevis watched Noah as she slowed to a gentle jog, her silver hair shimmering in the morning light. "From her first semester in the Youth Dragon Division, Noah has done fifty laps as her standard warm-up. Your extra twenty laps were barely a challenge. She probably considered it a light day."
Sherry (Elizabeth)'s frustration was palpable as she stormed off, her plans in ruins once again.
"Where are you going?" Mevis called after her, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"To my cursed morning classes!" Sherry (Elizabeth) shouted back without turning.
Mevis's usually frosty expression softened slightly as she allowed herself a rare, subtle smile.
"Such a troublesome woman," she murmured before turning her attention back to Noah, her professional demeanor returning.
"Noah, that's enough! Let's start today's lessons."