Thieren called Stacey to a meeting during breakfast. He rubbed his temples while he talked.
"You've caused a big disturbance," he told her. "Some sneaking informer has reported the situation to the government and said it's all your idea. As your husband and guardian, they've come to find fault with me. We've been fined as a warning for harbouring anti-government sentiments and for planning a public disturbance. It's not serious or a lot of money, so don't worry. The mentors and crew will talk to the other trainees as well. The plans made last night have all been scrapped. In reality, our rivals and enemies are just grasping at straws because they couldn't take us down for anything else. I thought I'd better let you know before you dig yourself any deeper into the hole you've made. Be very careful from now on. You're already considered a celebrity and an influential figure. Assume that there are spies everywhere."
"I'm sorry," Stacey hung her head, stirring her porridge. She had lost her appetite. "I got carried away."
"Remember that this isn't like your old world or your old country. Things are different here. Try to keep your head down and focus on your studies and doing your job. Don't try to do anything else or I may not be able to protect you anymore," Thieren said.
"Old world? Old country? You found out some stuff about my past?" Stacey lit up with excitement.
"No. Not really. It hasn't been confirmed yet," Thieren said hastily. "I shouldn't have mentioned anything. I don't want to give you the wrong ideas or information or you'll start to think I'm unreliable when I bring you some new piece of information that conflicts with what I told you last."
Stacey looked at the man with a frown.
"Why do I feel like you're more trying to hide something from me?" she asked.
"I'm not," Thieren flicked his hand to one side and poked her forehead. "Anyway, be more careful from now on. Although what you said and did wasn't exactly wrong, remember that as a celebrity, everything you do or say will have a tendency to be dragged out of context and overly exaggerated. Nothing has happened yet and we've managed to nip anything serious in the bud. So you should be fine. Just don't cause anymore trouble."
"I understand," Stacey said, looking up into his face with a scowl. She tried to blink away any tears. She held her forehead and rubbed at the red mark he had left on her skin.
"Tell the other trainees to stop whatever you all have been planning or this program might end up being banned this year before we can finish it. Whatever you all decide to do, be wise. Don't do anything overt. We have time and can take things slowly. Let me deal with it, ok? It's not like I'm going to allow other people to continuously bully my wife."
"Ok," Stacey said, putting a spoonful of the tasteless porridge in her mouth.
"And be prepared for the government to play dirty with us this weekend by causing the number of your votes to plummet. You will probably have to undergo a spanking on my knees again or something."
"Oh," Stacey put her spoon down. She couldn't force herself to eat anymore, nor could she meet Thieren's eyes. It seemed like she'd been causing him endless trouble ever since they had first met from what she had learned. "I'm done eating. I've got to go study," she said in a dull voice.
It felt like she was in a pressure cooker. The heat had gone up, along with the pressure.
"Wait," Thieren took hold of her wrist to prevent her from leaving. "Let me finish speaking first. I'll deal with this for you and the other trainees. I'll protect all of you, so you don't have to worry, but you need to tell your friends to be prepared. Anyone who's in a group with you will need to be prepared for the consequences if their fan base isn't big enough or your collective performances aren't good enough. After all, this is a competition. It's meant to be fair but now the government is involved, they aren't going to leave us alone. It's easy to invite a demon into a house, but almost impossible to get it to leave. You need to know that only the people they approve of will be successful this year. This will likely be the last year this program will ever run. They're going to try and create distance between you and the other trainees and ostracise you by making you the cause of misfortune."
"What can I do about it?" Stacey asked, looking out the window.
"Just do your best. Work hard. Study hard. Do nothing else and show no ulterior motives. Keep your head down and your nose clean. Tell your friends to do the same. As for the results, you'll just have to apologise to your friends. There's not much more you can do. Leave everything else to me."
"There's something else going on behind the scenes, isn't there?" Stacey said, finally meeting Thieren's eyes. His tone and expression were strange.
"Yes, but it's nothing to do with you or anyone else in this program. That's for me to deal with. All you all need to do is stay out of trouble and don't get involved in the upcoming political upheaval."
"Alright," Stacey agreed. "I'll let them know. Take care of yourself too."
"Of course I will," snorted Thieren. "I wasn't chosen as my family's successor for nothing. This is nothing. Just some child's play. It's just going to be a little time consuming and troublesome, that's all. Trust me."
"If I don't trust you, who am I supposed to trust?" Stacey gave him a twisted smile.
"You've been doing a good job so far," Thieren told her. "Your impromptu advertisements with your roommates are exceptionally well received. No one here has ever seen advertising like that before. You've started a completely new trend in the media. Keep it up."