While Raza was at home with his family, the headmaster, Junko Karam, was going through the files of the freshman students. She pulled up the files about Raza. She read through them, but she only became more frustrated.
"How could a mere Marquees be ranked for number one among the freshman students?" she said to no one in particular.
The more she researched, the more confused she became. Raza had no outstanding achievements, and it was common knowledge that he never left his home. His father had only recently increased in his noble status, but this was still too much.
Junko knew that Alden didn't have the resources to hire private tutors for Raza, but he managed to top the number one student in the school!
'The way he fought… it was like Raza had spent a whole lifetime perfecting his technique… but he was only 18 years of age!' Junko tried to piece together what she knew.
'Raza pressured Al into hand-to-hand combat. Not only that, but he aced the entrance exam. Some of the questions that were on the test were advanced topics, so the only way he would have gotten them right was if he studied for this exam specifically… Or if he cheated!' Junko concluded.
She got up and exited her office. She immediately walked to the teacher estate building that was on campus. All of the teachers lived on campus in luxurious apartments. Some of them even had families. When she entered the building, she walked to the fourth story.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Just a minute!" A muffled voice could be heard on the other side of the door.
Junko crossed her arms as she impatiently waited for the teacher. It wasn't soon until she started tapping her foot on the floor. After a moment, the door flew open.
The teacher who was giving the exam was wearing a bathrobe that was quickly thrown on. His glasses were slightly tilted and his cheeks had remnants of lipstick on them.
"What a lousy appearance for a teacher," Junko sighed.
"You came to my home on my day off. With all due respect, Headmaster Junko, if you were to get married, you would soon understand yourself," The teacher said.
"Watch your tone, Albert," Junko glared at him.
Albert clenched his jaw as he took a step back. Junko was the headmaster for a reason, and he didn't want to be punished over a stupid remark. He took a deep breath and bowed.
"My apologies, Headmaster Junko. How may I help you today?"
"That's better. I came here regarding Raza Angovo. It's suspicious that he received a perfect score," She told him.
"Yes, I thought so too," Albert nodded. "But first, I compared his grade to his friends' scores, and they didn't receive nearly as high remarks. I then checked the work that he had shown in order to reach every solution, and I have deduced that he knows and understands the content," He explained.
"Not even Alphonse received a score higher than 70 points. Raza must have cheated somehow," Junko frowned.
Albert was enjoying the worried and annoyed look that was on Junko's face. He had his fair share of problems with the king and his family. Albert burned this sight into his mind. Unfortunately, he knew better than to say anything to piss Junko off, so he chose his next words wisely.
"Headmaster Junko, even if he did cheat, I could not find any evidence. I watched the entire class take the test, so his method was hidden well. If we wish to catch him cheating, it will have to be during the act of future tests," Albert suggested.
Junko thought about this for a moment. This did seem like a logical plan. Since Raza refused to attend class, it would be easier to get the teachers to join her side in catching Raza in the act of cheating. She didn't care if the evidence was forged, as long as Raza was out of her school. The headmaster nodded her head.
"Yes, that should do. I expect you to have a plan in place by Monday," She ordered him.
"Yes ma'am!"
Albert didn't actually care about catching Raza in the act since he was confident that Raza didn't cheat. He seemed to have hated every moment of the test. No one like that would put in the effort of cheating on the test. The only thing that was on Albert's mind was getting back to his wife.
"And if you are not able to catch Raza, it would be your head since you passed him," She warned him.
Now this was a problem. He gulped as he was trying to figure out if she meant figuratively or literally. Albert suddenly had a new motivation for catching Raza "cheating."
"U-understood," He nodded his head.
Junko didn't say anything else. She slowly turned around and went on her way. Albert was worried about his life, but once he saw his wife again, he quickly forgot his worries.
The headmaster rushed back to her office. Even though she made plans to find a reason to expel Raza, Junko still wanted to know as much about this student as possible. She pulled out a letter, designated to The Ring. This was the underground infomat organization that Alfred Montgomery coincidentally ran.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in," Junko sighed as she put the letter away.
"Good afternoon Sis!" Alphonse smiled at Junko.
"What do you want, Al?" She raised an eyebrow.
"A little bird told me that you want to find a reason to expel Raza. I can't have you doing something like that," He kept up his smile.
'I just finished talking to Albert! How the hell did he know about that already!?' Junko thought to herself.
She practiced her right to silence and refused to reply to Alphonse's statement. Junko's little brother's smile slowly faded and the light in his eyes dimmed. His bright expression shifted to one that no one that people who didn't know Alphonse as well as Junko did would believe he could make.
"Junko," Alphonse said softly as he walked to her desk. "You aren't acting like this because you think my little match against Raza would affect my ability to take the throne, right?"
Junko shivered at his voice. The two siblings didn't bear much resemblance to the king, but Alphonse picked up a very unique trait from their father. His desire. While the king would lust after women and wealth, Alphonse lusted after power. Whether that meant dominating someone or just pure strength, it all meant the same to Alphonse. Junko had to break eye contact.
"I understand that you are supporting me, but I will not tolerate you underestimating me, Sis. I will handle Raza on my own terms. You will sit back and enjoy the show. You get that?" Alphonse said coldly.
"Yes, I understand, Alphonse."
Junko may have been weaker than her younger brother, but she refused to be bullied by him. She had her own pride and status to uphold. Junko locked eyes with Alphonse, but this only made him smile. Junko didn't know what Alphonse was thinking.
"Now that we have come to an agreement, I expect you to leave Raza to me. This will be a very entertaining battle for me," Alphonse returned to his usual bright smile.
However, Junko knew that his eyes were still filled with desire. She did not ever want to become a target for Alphonse.
"If that was all you wanted to say to me, you can leave now," She shooed him away.
"'Kay! See you on Monday, Sis," Alphonse left the office.
Once he left the office, Junko sighed in relief. Naturally, her pride as the second princess and Alphonse's older sisters made her refuse to completely comply with her brother's demands. She pulled her letter back out and began writing. Junko was not completely confident in Alphonse's ability since he already lost once. She wrote her request.
"I-Target: Raza Angovo
Quantity: A
Requester: KJ- 16379"
Junko rolled up the letter and put it into a small pouch. She walked to the window in her office and whistled. After a moment, a crow flew in her window and landed on her desk.
'Even if this letter is found, no one would be able to trace it back to me,' Junko proudly thought to herself.
Junko tied the pouch to the leg of the crow. She leaned in close to the crow and whispered a code to it. The Ring had highly trained crows, and the code that she whispered told the crow that she was a client of it.
Caw!
The crow flew back out the window. Junko collected any feathers that it may have dropped and tossed it in the fire place in her office. She then closed the window and sat back down. She took a deep breath before she resumed her duties as the headmaster.
'In case my idiot brother doesn't take care of that disrespectful student, I will,' She promised herself.