Chapter 157 - Exposed Liar

"Thank you for sharing it all with me," Anakin exclaimed. "I'm really sorry about earlier, about how I acted and divided the groups. I just… I was so proud."

The tone of his voice, the emotions in his eye, and the gestures he was imposing were all staged. Anakin practiced and sharpened his skills in lying. No one could pierce through his façade. Not anyone. And he had tested this trick to anyone possible—to the women who would offer their v.i.r.g.i.nities to him just because he said he would 'come back' for them, down to the nobles who think they would be able to have connections with the Disfiegro house by 'befriending' him.

Anakin tricked them all.

Now, since he was done getting all the information he needs, he had to get rid of the competition.

What. He wasn't that generous to have commoners passing the exam. He doesn't even think that they were worthy to be walking with, much to study with! Anakin still was smiling apologetically as she talked to one of the filthy commoners while he thought of a plan to lead these stupid miscreants to their doom. 

And as Anakin continued to walk, he felt the crystal on his left pocket react. 

A monster is close.

Anakin smirked on the inside, but he gave a hesitant smile on the outside.

"Umm… this path we're going with kinda set me off… what if we take another route? For instance, the left path? I know it leads back to the castle."

"Er… Levi told us to simply walk straight."

Levi. Leviticus. That name ticked Anakin beyond reason. Anakin simply smiled.

"I've actually seen the castle that way. Maybe we should head there."

"But we need to obey Levi—"

"You don't need to obey anyone. We're all equal here, right?" Anakin said with a smile. 'That's right. Taste your own medicine.' Anakin thought.

"That's right, we don't need to obey anyone." From a distance, a voice said. "Why don't you give us more lecturing, Mr. Noble boy?"

Anakin slowly turned towards the source of the voice. Rage welled up inside Anakin as his eyes catch the golden, magical hex earring which belonged to the person who made his blood boil from the start of the exam.

"Levi!"

"You're here!"

"Yes, I am," Leviticus says, and then turns to Michelle and the others. "Care to tell me why this spoiled rich boy is here, and Faustina isn't?"

**

"Care to tell why Faustina's not here?" Stella fidgeted anxiously as she glanced around the people around her. They were looking apprehensive and over the edge. No one was answering Leviticus' question. They were looking at each other, urging each other to answer Levi. Stella bit her lips, and then mouthed to talk.

"Sh-she got left…"

All of them glanced towards Stella with eyes that were filled with uncertainty. Stella isn't sure too, whereas to why she was feeling this way. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Levi was looking at them sharply—or more specifically—Anakin. Leviticus, after all, is perceptive. He could read the air and observe the surroundings to get the answer he needs.

Stella felt that Leviticus knows already, yet he still wants to hear it from them. His usually gleeful eyes were now cold, and his gaze was piercing. No one dares to speak, and Stella herself didn't know how to continue what she had started. She meant to say 'She got left because we told her to stay behind'. But Stella only felt a lump on her throat. She couldn't do anything. Someone has to say it—someone ought to tell Levi—

"I told her to get lost."

Stella blinked.

Anakin Disfiegro spoke.

Leviticus didn't give much reaction other than look at Anakin. Stella felt a rising tension between the two of them; it was as if a miasma was being emanated from each of the two. 

"So you kicked her out." Leviticus didn't mean this as a question—but as a conclusion. "Care to enlighten me, everyone?"

"L-Levi, we did it for a reason…"

"Yeah, that's right. We did it for a reason! We didn't just leave her behind."

Leviticus eyed the ones who spoke.

"What did she do?"

"She—"

"Why are you answering this guy's questions?"

Stella's gaze drifted toward Anakin. He had taken a step forward towards Leviticus, with chin held high. The two of them weren't breaking from each other's gaze. Leviticus' earring gleamed as his eyes narrowed down.

"What do you mean, Lord Disfiegro?" Leviticus gave Anakin a look.

Anakin sighed. "You see, I'm a changed man. I realized my mistakes soon after I got put in danger. There, I realize that each of us just wants to be mages. And mages are meant to be equal. When I had that kind of realization, I instantly thought about the people around me. We were just all equals. Why do we need to have a leader? Why do we need to obey someone and ask his permission when we simply could do it without the need for anyone's approval? We are our OWN masters. Why do we need to listen to him?"

Stella looked around. "Th-that's…"

"That's because we trust Levi." 

Stella turned her head towards the one who spoke.

**

Michelle felt as if she did something utterly terrible. When Leviticus arrived, the ease on her heart from shoving Faustina away became a heavy lump crushing her conscience. She felt heavy in the heart, in contrast to earlier. Michelle doesn't understand herself. She kicked Faustina out and told her she's a fraud. How in the world did she do that?

But at that moment, it felt… 'right'

Michelle can't understand how she decided on that earlier. Anakin's words were so slick, and they felt so smoothed over. It was like listening to a sly spell, and then succ.u.mbing to it without thinking further ahead. Now that Michelle had thought about it, they pretty much did injustice to Faustina.

"We trust Levi, Anakin."

Feeling an odd sense of release and heaviness upon seeing Leviticus, Michelle felt pretty much like breaking into a spell. Her mind was clearer and sharper. She couldn't exactly explain it, but it felt exactly like that.

"I-I know that. You trust him. He's your friend, I presume. That's completely understandable. But know that you are all examinees in the most elite magic school in Earthland. That speaks volumes. If you would think about it, you ought to demolish the hierarchy because this is mainly not a competition but an exam. We need to help each other out!" Anakin exclaimed with a smile.

Michelle analyzes Anakin. There was no fault to his smile, his gesture, and the light in his eyes. It was like he was looking at a completely different person. The Anakin earlier at the entrance of the exam had abandoned her—all of the commoners—from the vulture attack without batting an eye. But this Anakin was certainly different. He was now tame, all smiles, and had a light in his eyes. 

Looking at him put one at ease. 

Michelle considered that as one of the factors why Anakin was able to let them all agree to kick Faustina out of the group. 

But then…

There was something else.

Something else Michelle cannot put her finger into. And whatever it is, it bothered her to the greatest extent.

**

Anakin wanted to stomp on that Leviticus' face. He was looking at him as if he was looking at someone weaker than he is. Leviticus, whose name was unfit for a commoner, didn't seem to listen to Anakin's explanations. Anakin wanted to rip his face to shreds from the visible disinterest he was showing. And that ticked Anakin off. No one can do that to him—no one could be disinterested with Anakin Disfiegro.

"I—I mean we—only left Faustina behind because of the mistrust. She broke our trust, Leviticus."—Anakin wanted to vomit upon uttering his name—"We cannot dismiss the fact that she had mana revitalizers resting on her pockets. That's a cheap trick to do; to absorb the mana of those around you. It was only natural to leave her because we can't trust she doesn't have any fragments hiding on her body. Of course, we couldn't do a more thorough search considering she's basically untouchable, being the Duke's daughter. Well, a liar, nonetheless."

"How do you know she had it?" 

"Huh?"

Leviticus took a step forward. "I asked, how do you know that Faustina had the mana revitalizers?"

"That's because of my special ability to see things that normal people couldn't."

Anakin wanted to clench his fist and glare at this miscreant. Why in the world is his spell—which makes people obey him—not working on this mongrel? 

"Really? You have average mana, though." Leviticus exclaimed.

"A-and how are you sure about that?"

"It's because you're keeping this." Leviticus then snatched Anakin by the elbow and then, with a swift move of his arm that no eye could have caught, made several orange-colored crystal fragments fall to the floor. 

Anakin blinked. "Huh?"

"Hey… those are…"

"Mana revitalizer crystal fragments…!"

Anakin blinked. What? What the hell just happened? How in the world did those crystal fragments—who were safely secured in his body—fall off to the floor in the blink of an eye?

"Looks like this cost you a lot." Leviticus knelt to pick one of the crystal fragments. "What are these for? To make up for your lacking mana?"

Anakin's brow twitched, and his smile crooked.

"There's no need to pretend to be nice since you're exposed," Leviticus exclaimed, crushing the crystal fragment in front of Anakin. "Who's the liar now?"

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