She went back to her scroll, producing another strange sniffle that made her readjust her chair. “Regardless, since no one knows my first name and Professor Dovey is frozen at the bottom of a dungeon, I suppose this is all rather irrelevant. Though I’m quite envious of Clarissa, given she doesn’t have four hundred students to supervise now, with Young, Old, Ever, and Never all attending class in one castle. So if you don’t mind, I’ll get back to my lesson plan before next session starts—”

“Speaking of your lesson plan, what is it you’re teaching them exactly?” Sophie asked. “You’re the only teacher who locks her door during training so that I can’t stop by.”

“Nor can my son, and given the School Master has made it abundantly clear he’ll let Aric kill me, locking my door seems the least I can do. As for what I teach them, I’m preparing them for war, just as you instructed, my queen.”

“Is that so? I’ve stood outside your door after class ends and never once has a young student come out looking like they’ve been in a fight.”

“Because teaching them to fight means teaching them to protect themselves,” Lady Lesso glared. “Particularly when the fight is an unfair one.”

Sophie smiled wryly at the Dean. “It was you, then, wasn’t it? You taught them black magic to fight against the old villains.” She paused, confused. “And yet the old villains were still in the classroom the whole time.”

“I put them to sleep while I taught the others,” said Lady Lesso. “A simple mist of Sleeping Willow. When they woke up, it was as if they were never in class at all. Surely you remember the effects of it from your first-year Trial.”

Sophie’s jaw clenched. “You had no right to disobey orders!”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Lady Lesso replied swiftly. “The young students are brimming with confidence. The old villains have been forced to raise their level, since the new students are giving them a fight. The teachers now fully support you as their leader. Even Rafal no longer looks as if he’d made a mistake in letting love guide him.”

Sophie said nothing.

Lady Lesso let out a long sigh. “Sophie, my dear. You think I’m working against you, when helping Evil to win has been my life’s work. After all, I was the one who told you there were spies for Good plotting against you within this very school. But ever since you returned, I’ve feared that your emotions are too volatile to lead our army. I could feel the young students resisting you instead of respecting you. You cannot beat young souls down into believing in Evil. You yourself only gave Evil a chance when it gave you something to fight for. By helping the students fight back, I empowered them for the first time since they stepped foot in their new school. I helped them see that, Ever or Never, trusting in Evil is their only hope to survive.”