"As stated, the top 400 of each division have passed! The final class assessments will be announced after the orientation tomorrow morning!"
The instructor's voice boomed throughout the massive chamber. Then, he vanished, leaving behind only the noise of the students.
Some students clenched their fists and glared at the board; others glared at one another. Some looked down and glared at themselves.
Ronan didn't react.
He'd already confirmed his position.
Already confirming what he needed to know, he turned around and walked towards the exit along with the flow of the students.
He was internally satisfied.
Barely passing. It was perfect.
It was low enough to avoid any unwanted attention, and it allowed him to stay in the game.
"Ronan."
A voice stopped him in his tracks.
It was a familiar voice, and Ronan already knew who it was before he turned.
Irene Ashbourne stood a few steps away, blocking the path of exiting students. Her posture was straight, and her expression was blank–
No, her expression was confused and surprised.
And there was something else.
"Irene," he greeted, signaling her to move away from the flow of students trying to exit the building.
With a nod, Irene followed him to the edge of the massive corridor where no one could hear them.
Despite that, it was clear that quite a few eyes were on the pair of siblings.
"You passed," Irene stated.
Her gaze briefly flickered towards the board before it landed back on him.
Ronan shrugged.
"I said as much during dinner."
Irene's brows furrowed as he said that. She hadn't expected that calm, dismissive answer.
"This isn't some ordinary test," she said. "This is the entrance exam for the most prestigious academy in the entire world."
Ronan internally scoffed at the usage of 'world', but he didn't say anything.
"I'm aware."
"And you passed. There are people here who have trained their whole lives and couldn't pass the top 1,000, yet you passed."
"That's correct."
Silence filled the air before Irene spoke again.
"That should be impossible."
"Really?"
"Yes. You are you. You don't have the discipline, the control, the rank, or the capability to pass an exam like this. Even taking a good look at a mana node in this exam shouldn't have been possible for you."
With a chuckle, Ronan replied. "Wow, that's harsh, don't you think? I'm not that bad."
Irene didn't miss a beat.
"You are."
Ronan shrugged.
"Is that all? I want to eat. That exam was tiring."
"No, that's not all. Tell me how you did it."
Ronan let out a deep sigh.
"I got lucky."
"..." Irene paused as she stared at him. "Are you insulting my intelligence?"
Two hands raised, Ronan shook his head.
"Of course not."
"Then tell me, how?"
With a pause, Irene waited for an answer.
But it didn't come.
"Did you cheat?"
"No."
"Then how?"
"Luck."
"That's not–"
"Look," Ronan started, cutting her off. "I passed. That's what matters."
Irene's jaw clenched.
Ronan took this as his opportunity to leave. He turned and started walking towards the exit.
"Ronan, stop."
This time, her voice was absolute, and when Ronan turned around, he could see her eyes were cold as ice.
Her hesitation was gone.
"...Did father interfere?" Irene asked.
The words hung in the air.
Ronan met her gaze with his own.
She believed it.
Or at the very least, she thought it was a possibility.
Ronan took a step forward, conveying confidence in his next words.
"Do you really think Father?" he paused, emphasising the word. "Would he interfere in matters like this? Do you think he would help me pass this exam and risk getting caught?"
Irene didn't answer.
She knew he raised a good point, but she still thought something was wrong.
"He cares about the family name," she said. "If you got disowned by the family, that would look bad for us."
It was a weak argument. Ronan's reputation was already in shambles, disowning him from the family after revealing he took the exam and disobeying the head of the family wouldn't do them much harm.
Ronan smiled as he looked her straight in the eyes.
"If you think I cheated," he started, "Then go ask him. We have one day before the ceremony."
Ronan's voice dropped.
"Ask him if he cared about me that much to do this for me."
Silence.
That one hit.
Ronan stepped back and turned around.
"When you ask him that, tell me what he says. I'm interested, honestly."
There was no response from Irene, and Ronan could only imagine her expression as he walked towards the exit.
➜➜➜➜➜
Irene watched as her brother walked away.
She didn't call out to him again, nor did she move towards the exit.
She just stood there frozen, like a mannequin.
Because for the first time in her entire life, she didn't know how to respond to her brother.
Irene had always been the smarter one of the two. Smarter, stronger, more disciplined, kinder – these were all things people had told her growing up.
People blamed Ronan for his incompetence while they put Irene on a pedestal.
But Irene didn't blame him.
She knew better.
Ronan just coped differently. Irene and Ronan were born in the same year, having the same father but two different mothers.
One day, both of their mothers were assassinated.
It was a tragedy, and everyone in the family, her father included, went into mourning for a long time.
But they all snapped out of it.
All but Ronan.
Ronan couldn't let his mother's death go, and he started acting out. He became rude, lazy, and unmotivated.
The disappointment of the Ashbourne family.
Irene's fingers curled.
But despite that, no matter when it was – before or after their mothers' deaths – Ronan had never acted like that.
Even at the dinner table.
He was different. Ronan was never one for diplomacy, and he said whatever was on his mind, causing numerous problems.
But this… was different.
She'd worded her confrontation carefully to make him angry, but that didn't happen.
"Since when?" Irene muttered to herself.
Since when did Ronan stop reacting emotionally?
Since when did Ronan choose his words before he spoke them?
Since when did his expression look like that?
"If you think I cheated, then go and ask him."
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't understand.
There are two scenarios, Irene thought. Either Ronan has changed or something has changed him.
Irene turned towards the exit, where her brother was long gone.
"I'll ask him," Irene muttered as she walked towards the exit.
Not because she didn't believe Ronan, but because for some odd reason–
She did.