20
Elias
I confirmed the truth the first week. The roster said Adrian Elowen. The person who arrived was careful in ways that had nothing to do with first-year nerves. The bindings were too exact. The hair dye had stained the edges of the scalp where a household would rush and a mother would pretend not to see. The gait was wrong for a noble son who grew up with fencing tutors and hunting weekends. That kind of boy walks into a room assuming the room belongs to him. This one mapped every exit.
I haven't said anything. I didn't need to. Naming a secret in a place built on secrets doesn't help anyone. The better choice is to adjust the variables around it so the person carrying the secret can get from morning to night without bleeding out.
My approach was simple: teach her to survive. Not to win, not yet. Winning is loud. Survival is quiet, repeatable, and costs less.
