# Chapter 9: The Devil's Ledger
The adrenaline from the raid faded, leaving behind the cold reality of what I had just done.
I sat on the edge of my bed in the Omega Dorm, staring at the small velvet bag Lysandra had been forced to hand over before we left. Inside were ten vials of raw Ambrosia.
Purple liquid, viscous and bubbling. In the game, this was a consumable that gave +50% All Stats for 5 minutes, followed by a -80% debuff for 24 hours. It was a "desperation move" item.
"Garbage," I muttered, tossing the bag onto the desk.
"You called it power earlier," Caelum said. He was standing by the door, refusing to sit. He looked shaken. The golden light of the Hero was dim tonight.
"I lied," I said simply. "It's crude. Unrefined. It burns out the user's mana channels. It creates junkies, not warriors."
Caelum clenched his fists. "Then why? Why did you make her keep brewing it? Why did you take it? We should have turned her in to the Headmaster!"
I stood up and walked over to him. I was shorter than Caelum, but in that small room, I loomed over him.
"Think, Caelum. If we turn her in, what happens? Her father, Duke Blackwood, pays a fine. Lysandra gets suspended for a week. She comes back angry, and she hires a professional assassin to kill you in your sleep. Can you stop a Shadow-Blade assassin?"
Caelum opened his mouth, then closed it. He knew the answer. No.
"But now?" I continued, my voice smooth as silk. "I have her leash. She works for me. Which means she isn't poisoning first-years anymore. She is brewing for an audience of one."
"And what are you going to do with it?" Caelum asked, suspicion heavy in his voice.
I picked up a vial, holding it to the light.
"I'm going to fix it."
***
The next morning, the Academy was buzzing with gossip.
"Did you hear? The price of Ambrosia skyrocketed on the black market overnight."
"I heard the supply dried up. Someone said a gang war broke out in the lower districts."
I walked through the corridors, ignoring the whispers. My destination was the Alchemy Wing.
Lysandra was there, standing by her cauldron in the back of the advanced lab. She looked terrible. Her eyes were sunken, and she flinched when the door opened. When she saw me, she dropped her ladle.
I walked past her station, not stopping. As I passed, I slid a piece of parchment onto her desk.
It wasn't a threat. It was a recipe.
**[Recipe: Tears of the Seraph]**
*Base: Ambrosia.*
*Additive: Moon-Nectar (Neutralizes toxicity).*
*Process: Triple Distillation at 80 degrees.*
In *Aethelgard Online*, players discovered that if you purified Ambrosia, it didn't give a stat boost. Instead, it became a **High-Grade Mana Restoration Potion**.
The Academy's current best potion restored 50 MP.
Tears of the Seraph restored 200 MP.
It was a revolution in a bottle. And it was legal.
I glanced back. Lysandra was reading the parchment, her hands trembling. She looked up at me, confusion warring with fear. She realized I wasn't just a thug. I was giving her a way out of the drug trade, into something far more lucrative.
I winked.
[System Alert]
[Loyalty Update: Lysandra Blackwood]
[Fear -> Confused Gratitude]
[Loyalty Level: 20%]
I left the lab, feeling satisfied. I had just secured a monopoly on the potion market.
But as I turned the corner into the main hallway, the temperature dropped.
Frost began to crawl up the stone walls. The students in the hallway stopped talking, their breath misting in the air. They parted like the Red Sea.
Seraphina von Zephyr was walking toward me.
She wasn't wearing her usual bored expression. She looked... irritated.
"Valerius," she said. The temperature dropped another five degrees.
"Lady Seraphina," I bowed slightly. "To what do I owe the pleasure? You are freezing the ink in my pen."
She stopped a foot away from me. She was tall, her heels clicking ominously on the stone. She leaned in, sniffing the air near my collar.
"You smell," she whispered.
"I showered this morning, I assure you."
"No," she narrowed her amethyst eyes. "You smell of death. Rotting lilies. *Lysandra*."
My heart skipped a beat. Her senses were unnatural.
"And underneath that," she continued, her voice tightening, "you smell of burnt ozone. *Caelum*."
She pulled back, her eyes flashing with dangerous light.
"You have been busy, little villain. Sneaking around with a Necromancer and a Hero in the middle of the night?"
She slammed her hand against the wall next to my head, trapping me. Ice spikes formed around her fingers, embedding themselves in the stone.
"Are you building a collection, Valerius?" she asked softly. "Am I not enough to keep you entertained?"
[System Warning: Yandere Trigger Event.]
[Seraphina feels "Neglected/Replaced".]
[Danger Level: Critical.]
This was bad. If I lied, she would know. If I told the truth, she might kill Lysandra out of jealousy.
I had to reframe the narrative.
I looked her dead in the eye. I didn't pull away. I reached up and brushed a stray lock of silver hair from her shoulder.
The crowd gasped. Nobody touched the Ice Witch.
"You are mistaken, Seraphina," I said, keeping my voice low and intimate. "I am not building a collection. I am clearing the board."
"Explain," she demanded, though her eyes softened slightly at my touch.
"Lysandra is a tool. Caelum is a shield. They are useful pieces of furniture."
I stepped closer, invading her personal space until our noses almost touched.
"But one does not converse with furniture. One uses it."
I lowered my voice to a whisper that only she could hear.
"I spent the night securing resources. Do you know why?"
"Why?" she breathed, the ice on the wall retreating slightly.
"Because the Student Council President has taken an interest in me," I lied—well, half-lied. "And if I am to survive Aric, I need pawns to sacrifice so that the King..." I pointed to myself, "...can remain standing."
Seraphina stared at me. Then, a slow, terrifying blush crept up her neck.
She misinterpreted it. She thought I was doing all of this to survive... for her? Or perhaps she just liked the ruthlessness.
"Pawns," she repeated, testing the word. "So they mean nothing?"
"Less than nothing," I confirmed.
She smiled. It was radiant and completely unhinged.
"Good," she patted my cheek. Her hand was freezing, but she was gentle. "Play your games, Valerius. Break your toys. But remember..."
She grabbed my tie, pulling me forward so her lips brushed my ear.
"If you let another woman leave her scent on you again... I will freeze your blood while it's still inside your veins."
She released me, spun around, and walked away. The frost melted instantly, leaving puddles of water on the floor.
I leaned against the wall, my legs feeling like jelly.
[System Alert]
[Crisis Averted.]
[Seraphina Relationship: Obsession increased to 20%.]
[Villain Points Earned: 100 (for bold social manipulation).]
I let out a shaky breath.
"I need a drink," I muttered. "Or a priest."
[System Notification]
[Villain Points Available: 300]
[Shop Update: New Items Available.]
I opened the interface. I needed something to handle these monsters. My stats were catching up, but my mind was constantly under siege.
There, in the 'Mental Arts' section.
**[Skill: Mind Palace (Level 1)]**
*Cost: 250 VP*
*Effect: Creates a mental fortress. Grants immunity to basic Fear, Charm, and Intimidation effects. Allows the user to partition emotions, effectively turning off "Panic" at will.*
"Buy," I mentally screamed.
[Skill Acquired: Mind Palace.]
Instantly, a cool sensation washed over my brain. The lingering fear from Seraphina vanished. The anxiety about Aric quieted. My mind became a library of perfectly organized files.
I straightened my coat. The trembling in my legs stopped.
I was calm. I was ready.
I pushed off the wall and walked toward my next class.
I had a drug empire to legitimize, a Hero to corrupt, and a Prince to serve. There was no time for fear.