The plan to kill Prince McHart was carried out with both secrecy and caution.

In truth, McHart himself wasn't particularly threatening. His personality was fundamentally timid and indecisive, and he was more focused on indulging in a hedonistic lifestyle rather than becoming stronger.

When comparing the time it took for McHart to awaken as a demon to other characters, his weakness became even more apparent. For instance, Karaham, who also borrowed the power of demons in the original storyline, completed his transformation in less than a year, while it took the fool McHart a total of five years to do the same.

Because of this, McHart often became a meme within the community. People would joke about how it took as long to produce five Karahams as it did to produce one McHart, and yet, even five McHarts combined wouldn't be as strong as one Karaham.

In terms of difficulty, McHart, the boss of the fourth chapter, was actually easier to deal with than Harold, the boss of the second chapter, or Marquis Auguste, the boss of the third chapter.

Moreover, McHart hadn't even completed his transformation yet and was still a human borrowing the power of demons. So, in his current state, as long as we formed a party to take him on, he wasn't particularly threatening.

The only reason we couldn’t kill him before he fully transformed was that he was still a member of the royal family. Although he wielded the power of demons, he hadn't fully awakened yet, so killing him now would be considered regicide.

Therefore, there were two main tasks we had to accomplish before killing McHart:

The first was to create a situation where McHart would let his guard down, making it possible to confront him. The second was to gather evidence or methods that would prove McHart's connection with demons after his death, thereby justifying his execution.

…And the strategy we devised to achieve the first task—making McHart lower his guard—was a mock duel between Agnes and me during the final evaluation.

Since McHart currently sees me and Agnes as close friends, we need to make him believe otherwise, to make him doubt that.

The reason McHart couldn't easily approach me within the Academy was solely because Agnes or Ethan was always around to keep him at bay.

Usually, Agnes would stick close during morning classes, while Ethan would accompany me on the way back in the afternoon.

Given McHart’s cowardly nature, he wouldn't dare attack me unless he was sure he could win, as he had proven last time. However, that didn’t mean he had given up on me. He would likely continue trying to find an opening to claim me. The game had depicted McHart as someone with a considerable obsession.

Ethan was an unavoidable presence as my master and dorm mate, but Agnes was a different story.

The plan was to make McHart believe that my relationship with Agnes had soured, leading him to let his guard down and attempt to attack me again, just like before.

To initiate the first step of this plan, a week before the evaluation match, Agnes and I had a seemingly casual conversation in front of the Academy’s Central Hall, near the fountain.

Pretending to be on our usual walk from the Magic Department to the Swordsmanship Department, we began the plan to lure McHart into a false sense of security.

"Shall we begin, Lady Agnes?"

"Are you sure about this? We don’t really have to go to such lengths."

"If we don’t do this now, I might be in danger from Prince McHart not just this semester, but next year as well. While it might seem unnecessary, I'd rather do everything I can and regret it later than leave things undone and regret it even more."

"…Alright, then."

With that exchange, Agnes and I sat down on a bench near the fountain in front of the Central Hall and began speaking in slightly louder voices than usual.

We wanted to ensure that the people around us could overhear our conversation and start paying attention.

"This semester has been really tough, Lady Agnes."

"…You too, Lillis."

"Agnes, you’re at the top of the class again this semester, right? I just can’t seem to keep up with you."

"…That’s not true, you did well too."

We had practiced this conversation several times in advance, so it flowed naturally, even with the slight awkwardness in Agnes’ tone, given that she wasn’t a professional actor.

Still, it wasn’t enough to seem suspicious to anyone listening. After all, Agnes rarely spoke to anyone except me or Seraphine, so it wasn't like anyone would notice a difference in her usual tone.

Feeling confident that our plan was going smoothly, I continued the conversation with ease, speaking loudly enough for the students who had begun to gather around to overhear.

"So, all that’s left is the final evaluation duel, right? Have you decided on your opponent, Lady Agnes?"

"……!"

"……."

The moment I said those words, I felt the attention of the people around us intensify.

There were especially many gazes from the Magic Department students, recognizable by their large staffs or cloaks that enhanced magical sensitivity. It made sense, considering their major classes had just ended.

They were all listening intently, curious to know who Agnes would choose as her opponent for the evaluation duel. Most of them were probably praying, “Please don’t let it be me.”

Agnes seemed to notice the increased attention just like I did, but she remained calm, continuing to speak the lines we had rehearsed.

"Yes, I’ve decided."

"Could you perhaps give me a hint as to who it is?"

"Why? Are you not considering the possibility that I might have chosen you?"

"While it’s not impossible, I don’t think you would choose me, Lady Agnes."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, because I’m your friend. If you wanted to duel, I’d be happy to oblige anytime, but you wouldn’t pick me for something as important as the final exam, right?"

"…Yes, you’re right. It’s not you, Lillis."

"……."

"Th-Then why only me…?"

The moment Agnes confirmed that she hadn’t chosen me as her opponent, I heard a subtle shift in the people around us.

For a brief moment, I thought I heard Isolbe, who had been beaten by Agnes in last year's evaluation match, but I didn’t have time to check.

The Magic Department students who had gathered around us, seemingly anticipating a long conversation, began using various methods to eavesdrop.

They employed wind magic like "Whispering Wind," or arcane magic such as "Mana Communication," among other eavesdropping spells. It was a very typical Magic Department scene.

If this had been a normal conversation, I would have disrupted their spells by scattering my mana, but instead, Agnes and I suppressed our natural mana leakage, allowing them to overhear us.

This conversation wasn’t a secret; it was a rumor we wanted to spread to as many people as possible.

"It’s not you, Lillis. I’m choosing Karan."

"Kyaa…! Mmph, mmph?!"

"……."

"……."

I thought I heard a muffled scream from Karan, but I didn’t have the nerve to check. I could only assume that the third-ranked student in the Magic Department had been listening to our conversation.

Someone must have quickly covered her mouth to prevent any further outburst. They couldn’t afford to cause a scene and risk exposing their eavesdropping.

"You mean Karan Iris Stormweaver, the third-ranked student in the Magic Department?"

"Yes. She’s the next highest after you, Lillis."

"Now that you mention it, last year you chose the second-ranked Isolbe, didn’t you? That’s very much like you, Lady Agnes."

"What about you? Have you decided on your opponent?"

"Not yet. But I do have someone in mind."

"……!"

"……."

"……?"

Hearing that they might also learn who my opponent would be, the intensity of the eavesdropping spells increased once more.

Although I wasn’t as overwhelmingly intimidating as Agnes, I was still the second-ranked student in the Magic Department, and most students wouldn’t want to face me in the evaluation duel either.

Some of the students who had watched my duel with Luke last year might even consider me more challenging than Agnes. After all, fighting with a dagger required them to be prepared for both long-range and close-quarters combat, making me a difficult opponent for students at this level.

So, it was only natural that they were eagerly waiting for my next words. But I didn’t give them the answer they were hoping for.

From the beginning, there had been only one thing I wanted from this conversation.

The reason we chose to have this conversation in front of the Central Hall, the most crowded spot in the Academy right after the end of all the Magic Department’s major classes, and didn’t block the eavesdropping spells, was so that as many people as possible would overhear it.

"Oh, by the way, Lady Agnes."

"Yes?"

"That curved magic circle you submitted as your final project this semester…"

"…Yes?"

"I must say, now that I’ve seen it, it was really unimpressive."

"…?!"

"…!!!"

"……."

Simply letting rumors spread about a falling-out between us wouldn’t be convincing enough.

To make our falling-out seem real, we had to clearly show the cause of our supposed rift.