(Third Person POV)
The Botanical Greenhouse located on the east side of the Academy was now bathed in pale moonlight penetrating the high domed glass roof. By day, this place was a colorful paradise for flora lovers admiring exotic flowers from all over the continent. However, as night fell, that beauty mutated into something far more gripping and mysterious.
The air inside the greenhouse felt warm and humid, smelling of wet earth that stung the nose, mixed with the sickeningly sweet aroma of nectar. Vines crept up the stone walls like green snakes lurking in silence, ready to ambush their prey. In dark and hidden corners, the fine teeth of giant Venus Flytrap leaves gnashed softly, as if waiting for careless prey to pass nearby.
Amidst the lush greenery that seemed to breathe, a white iron table with intricate carvings was set neatly. The table looked like an island of civilization in the middle of a wild and savage mini-jungle.
Elena Rhyms sat there gracefully.
She wore a dark blue velvet evening gown, making her blend perfectly with the shadows of the night itself. Her silver hair was tied in a neat bun, showing off her pristine white slender neck. Her graceful right hand poured tea from a silver pot into a porcelain cup with movements so calm and measured, as if she were in the comfortable living room of her father's mansion, not in the middle of a carnivorous plant nest.
Not far from the table, leaning casually against a stone pillar overgrown with thick moss, stood Rose Carlos.
She did not sit comfortably. She did not drink warm tea. She was cleaning her nails with the tip of a Mithril dagger that shone coldly. Her sharp eyes, like a wild cat's, stared straight at the path outside the glass door, alert to even the slightest movement of a leaf.
"Target sighted. He is coming alone," Rose muttered softly, her voice breaking the silence filled only by the sound of dripping condensation. A thin smirk, implying no friendliness at all, was carved on her lips.
Hesitant footsteps were heard clashing with the stone floor out there.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A young man emerged from behind giant fern leaves with careful steps. He stopped for a moment at the doorway, his eyes sweeping the entire room with high vigilance before deciding to enter.
The young man had brown hair and a sturdy posture identical to Karl Benzzi. His face was a perfect reflection of his brother. He had a firm jaw, a sharp nose, and emerald green eyes. To anyone glancing briefly, they would surely think Karl had come to visit.
However, the aura was different. Vastly different, like earth and sky.
If Karl was a wildfire burning the forest with his arrogance and uncontrolled rage, Kars Benzzi was the cold ash left behind in silence after a great fire. His eyes did not radiate explosive vanity, but rather deep exhaustion, cynicism, and the wariness of a beast realizing it was walking into a spider's web.
"Good evening, Kars. Glad you could come," greeted Elena without turning, placing her teapot down with a soft clink that echoed in the quiet room. "Please sit. The tea is still warm. Earl Grey imported from the south, your mother's favorite, isn't it?"
Kars stopped a few steps from the table, keeping a safe distance. He glanced at Rose who stood blocking the exit casually yet threateningly, then looked back at Elena with an inquisitive gaze.
"Why did you summon me here, Lady Elena?" he asked point-blank, his voice sounding smoother and more controlled than his brother's, yet there was a clear tremor of tension there. "If Karl finds out I met you in the middle of our faction's cold war, he will kill me."
"Karl will not know, trust me," interrupted Elena gently, finally turning and looking into Kars's eyes. The smile on her lips looked friendly, but her golden eyes were as cold as polar ice. "Unless you want to shout for him now. But I doubt he would hear you. He is too busy screaming at Vesper and smashing antiques in his dorm right now, isn't he?"
Kars was speechless. His shoulders tensed stiffly because the guess was spot on. He knew very well the situation in the Benzzi dormitory right now. Karl's screams, the sound of breaking glass, and the stinging smell of alcohol were the lullabies for their dorm residents lately.
Hesitantly, Kars stepped forward approaching the table. He pulled an iron chair opposite Elena and sat on the edge, ready to flee anytime if the situation worsened.
"Get straight to the point, Elena," said Kars stiffly, not touching the teacup in front of him in the slightest. "What do you really want? You want me to spy on Karl for you? Give info on exam strategies? I will not do it. He is my brother. Blood betrayal is a huge taboo for our family."
Elena smiled thinly, sipping her tea slowly with enjoyment. She let the silence torture Kars for a few seconds, letting the crunch sound of carnivorous plants closing their jaws in the distance become a terrifying background music.
"Brother," repeated Elena softly, as if tasting the flavor of the word on her tongue. "A beautiful and sacred word. Karl really loves shouting about family honor and brotherhood in public to cover up his rottenness."
Elena placed her cup down slowly, then looked at Kars with an intensity that made the young man want to turn his face away in shame.
"But tell me, Kars... Who cleaned up his mess when he destroyed the recreation room last night? Who wrote apology letters to instructors when Karl skipped training due to being dead drunk? Who bribed servants to keep their mouths shut when Karl beat a Class C student to a pulp?"
Kars did not answer the question. His jaw hardened holding back emotion, his eyes staring at the white tablecloth blankly.
"That is my duty as the family representative," answered Kars defensively, though his voice sounded weak and unconvincing. "Someone has to maintain the Benzzi good name."
"That is a servant's duty, Kars. Not a sibling's duty," cut in Rose from behind. Her voice was sharp like her dagger, piercing straight into Kars's fragile ego. "You are not his brother; you are his janitor. You clean up his filth so he can keep looking shiny as the 'Perfect Heir'."
Kars clenched his hands on the table until his knuckles turned white. Those words struck right at his old wound that never healed. The wound of being "The Spare." The wound of being the shadow of a twin born only minutes earlier, who was more dominant, more loved by father, but far more emotionally incompetent.
Elena took a brown envelope from her lap and placed it on the table. She pushed it slowly toward Kars with one index finger.
"Look at this. Read it yourself."
Kars glanced at the envelope suspiciously, hesitated for a moment, then opened it with trembling hands. He pulled out the sheets of paper inside. His eyes widened as he read the contents.
"This is... the financial report of the Benzzi mines? And... a land title deed?" Kars looked up, staring at Elena in disbelief. "Where did you get this?"
"Benzzi stocks dropped twenty percent since Karl started the cold war with me and blocked the antibiotic logistical path," explained Elena coldly. "Your father, Duke Benzzi, is in a huge panic. He needs liquid capital immediately to cover operational losses and pay failed trade contract fines."
Elena leaned forward, her voice lowering into a deadly whisper.
"And do you know what Karl suggested to Duke Benzzi this morning to cover the losses of Vesper's completely failed logistics?"
Kars shook his head slowly, a bad feeling choking his neck until it was hard to breathe. His hands holding the paper began to tremble violently.
"He suggested selling the plantation land in the Southern Valley," said Elena without mercy.
Kars's face paled instantly; blood seemed to drain from his face.
"Impossible... That... that is Mother's inheritance land," whispered Kars with a broken voice. "That is the only asset named under me personally. That is my inheritance share to start an independent life later."
"Karl does not care," whispered Elena cruelly. "To him, you are a spare asset, just like that land. Yours is his. He will burn your inheritance, your future, and your dignity, just to finance his crazy obsession with killing Arin."
"He... he wouldn't be that evil..." Kars's voice weakened.
But deep in his heart, he knew Karl would do it. Karl always took what he wanted since childhood. Kars's toys, Father's attention as teenagers, and now Mother's inheritance as adults. Karl was a black hole swallowing all light around him without leftovers.
"He is cancer, Kars," said Elena firmly, every syllable full of the poison of truth. "And cancer does not stop eating until the host dies. If you let him lead the Benzzi family... in five years, your family name will be nothing but a bankrupt and shameful history."
Kars looked down deeply, staring at the cold iron table. His hands trembled violently holding back emotion. Anger, feeling of betrayal, and fear mixed in his chest. He felt small, helpless, and cornered in the ring corner.
"What do you offer me?" asked Kars hoarsely, without lifting his face. "You want me to betray him? You want me to kill him with my own hands? I cannot do that."
Elena smiled. This time not a mocking smile, but the smile of a Queen offering a crown to an exiled prince.
"I am not asking you to be a killer, Kars. That is dirty work for people like us. I offer you... justice. And the position you should have had from the beginning."
Elena poured tea into the empty cup in front of Kars. The reddish liquid swirled inside the white porcelain, reflecting Kars's desperate face.
"I know Karl assigned you to plant a 'Special Supply Box' in Dungeon Sector 9 tomorrow, didn't he? Spare gas masks, stamina potions, and poison antidotes for his troops so they can survive in the gas Vesper will spread."
Kars nodded stiffly. That was indeed his task tomorrow at dawn before the exam began.
"Do not fill that box with gas masks," whispered Elena conspiratorially. "Fill it with plain water. Or leave it completely empty. Or fill it with river stones."
Kars's eyes widened. He stared at Elena in horror. "That... that will make them trapped in their own gas. Vesper and Karl will panic. Their plan will be totally destroyed and endanger their lives."
"Exactly," responded Rose from behind, playing with her dagger deftly. "They will lose badly. Not because of a strong enemy, but because of a ridiculous 'logistical error'. Karl will be humiliated in front of the entire academy. In front of the Council. And most importantly... in front of your father."
"Father will be furious," whispered Kars, imagining Duke Benzzi's beet-red face from anger. "He will look for a scapegoat to slaughter."
"And that is where my main offer comes in," cut Elena quickly.
Elena placed one more document on the table. The document was thinner, but its contents were far heavier and more valuable. It was a list of names of black market traders, bookies, and smugglers managed by Vesper all this time.
"Vesper will be finished after tomorrow's failure. Arin and I have prepared a legal trap he cannot avoid. He will be expelled, maybe imprisoned for life. The position of Benzzi family 'Shadow Treasurer' will be vacant."
Elena looked at Kars deeply, her eyes flashing with the promise of power.
"When Vesper falls... the entire academy underworld network he has held all this time will lose its master. Gambling money, smuggling, black market connections... everything will be wild and masterless."
Elena pushed the document into Kars's open hand.
"If you cooperate with me, Kars... I will give you the key to take over all of that. When Vesper is dragged out by security... you will be the person holding control over that network. You, not Karl."
Kars was transfixed staring at the document. His breath held.
"Think carefully, Kars," cajoled Elena, her voice smooth like winding silk. "Your father is a pure businessman. He does not care who sits on the heir's throne, as long as that person makes money. If Karl fails and embarrasses the family... while you appear as the savior securing the 'underground' fund flow so it doesn't break... whom will your Father see as the more valuable heir?"
"The wasteful and emotional Karl? Or the calm, smart Kars who holds the vault key?"
Kars stared at the document intently. His trembling hands slowly became steady as he touched the paper.
It was not mere betrayal. It was an elegant and perfect coup.
He didn't need to draw a sword against his brother's chest. He only needed to let his brother fall into the hole he dug himself, then take over the ship's helm when the captain drowned.
"Power over the academy underworld..." muttered Kars softly. That meant he would hold money. And money was the only language his father understood. It was his golden ticket to save his mother's legacy land.
"And as an added bonus," added Elena, leaning her back casually against the chair. "If Kars Benzzi becomes the heir... the Rhyms Family will reopen negotiation doors and lift economic sanctions against your family. We will support you politically as the 'New Sane Face of Benzzi'."
That was checkmate.
This offer was too perfect to refuse. Asset security, financial power, and political support from the greatest enemy.
"But if you refuse..." Rose's voice cut Kars's daydream, cold and sharp as a razor. "You will walk out of this door, and tomorrow you will sink with Karl's ship when we destroy it. You will lose your mother's land, lose your dignity, and forever remain a pathetic shadow under Karl's feet."
Kars stared at the teacup in front of him. Hot steam still rose from it, dancing in the air.
Inside the cup, he saw a distorted reflection of himself. Not as the obedient and weak younger brother. Not as the worthless spare. But as the true Young Master Benzzi.
"Father will kill me if he knows I conspired with you," whispered Kars fearfully.
"Your father will not kill his only competent son," corrected Elena confidently. "He will praise you for successfully negotiating with the enemy when your brother failed completely."
Long silence enveloped the greenhouse. The night wind blew softly, swaying the leaves around them, creating dancing shadows on Kars's face.
Slowly, Kars's hand reached out. His fingers gripped the handle of the teacup. As if it were his only lifeline in the middle of a storm.
He raised the cup to his lips.
His eyes looked straight at Elena. There was no more doubt there. There was only the cold determination of a man who had just decided to sell his brother for his own future.
"The supply box in Sector 9 will be empty," said Kars flatly, before sipping his tea. "And when Vesper falls... make sure his network data is on my desk that very night."
Elena smiled widely. A satisfying smile of victory. She raised her own cup as a toast.
"Deal, Young Master Kars. For a brighter Benzzi future."
"For the future," mumbled Kars, then drank the tea in one long gulp.
The clack sound when Kars's cup was placed back on the table sounded like a judge's gavel delivering a death sentence.
Kars stood tall. His face no longer implied fear. His face was now cold, emotionless, similar to the mask Vesper often wore. He had traded his soul, and he felt lighter for it.
"Destroy him, Elena," said Kars as he turned to leave, his voice full of vengeance. "Destroy Karl until he cannot rise again. Because if he rises... he will kill me."
"He will not rise," promised Elena calmly. "Arin will ensure it."
Kars nodded briefly, then walked quickly leaving the greenhouse, disappearing into the darkness of the night, returning to the dormitory to prepare his greatest betrayal.
After Kars left, Rose chuckled while twirling her dagger and sheathing it back at her waist.
"You are terrible, Elena," commented Rose with a tone of admiration mixed with horror. "You just made a younger brother sell his own older brother, and you made it sound like a noble heroic act."
Elena stared at Kars's used cup with a blank gaze. She poured the remaining tea in her pot into a carnivorous plant near the table. The plant closed its jaws happily, swallowing the liquid.
"He did not sell his brother, Rose," murmured Elena softly, her eyes gazing far away. "He just bought his freedom. Just like I bought my freedom through Arin."
Elena stood up, smoothing her crumpled dress. Her face returned to the mode of an arrogant and untouchable noble.
"The pawns are in position. Karl has lost his logistics even before the war started. Vesper will fall, and his replacement is already in our pocket."
Elena turned off the magic lamp on the table with a snap of her fingers, letting darkness rule the greenhouse again.
"Now... just waiting for Arin to do his part in the Dungeon. The stage is ready for his performance."