Morning unfolded beneath a pale sky, its light spreading gently across the grounds of St. Aurelius Academy. The corridors gradually filled with the familiar cadence of footsteps, laughter, and hurried conversations. To the students, it was another ordinary day.
To a handful of men, it was anything but.
The Bais estate remained as tranquil as ever.
Servants moved through its marble corridors with quiet discipline, attending to their duties as though the world beyond the gates had never changed.
Ananth entered through the eastern hall, removing his gloves as he walked. His thoughts had scarcely left the events at the school.
Thomas.
His early arrival had unsettled more than a schedule.
It had unsettled certainty itself.
Expecting only routine reports, Ananth made his way toward the estate office.
Before he could announce himself, a calm voice emerged from within.
"Come in."
Pratap Bais.
Ananth paused briefly before opening the door.
The office was spacious yet austere. Shelves lined with ledgers stretched from floor to ceiling. Sunlight streamed through tall windows, settling across an immense wooden desk where Pratap sat in composed silence.
He was not studying contracts.
Nor financial reports.
His attention rested upon nothing.
That, more than anything, troubled Ananth.
"You wished to see me, Sir?"
Pratap slowly folded his hands.
"I did."
His tone was neither warm nor hostile.
Merely measured.
Ananth waited.
After a long silence, Pratap finally spoke.
"Why is my son attending a class devoted to superstition?"
The question landed like a stone dropped into still water.
Ananth remained expressionless.
"I beg your pardon?"
Pratap's eyes lifted.
"They are children."
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
"They ought to concern themselves with examinations... friendships... foolish quarrels."
His gaze sharpened almost imperceptibly.
"Not forgotten legends."
Ananth lowered his eyes.
"There are circumstances beyond—"
Pratap interrupted.
"I know there are."
The words were calm.
Too calm.
"I have tolerated many things because they served a purpose."
Another pause.
"But I will not have those children dragged into a society already consumed by its own corruption."
The room fell silent.
Ananth searched for an answer.
None came.
Pratap was no ordinary patriarch.
He bore the title of Rawal.
His authority was law to all beneath that rank.
Even Ananth.
After several moments, Pratap leaned back.
"I trust my meaning is clear."
"...Yes."
"You may go."
Ananth bowed his head slightly before leaving the office.
Only after the door closed did he release a quiet breath.
"...So you noticed."
At St. Aurelius Academy—
The classroom buzzed with idle chatter. Some students laughed in groups, others leaned lazily against their desks, completely ignoring the man standing before the blackboard.
He was tall, dressed in a slightly wrinkled coat with an amused smile plastered across his face. His messy brown hair only added to the carefree impression.
He clapped his hands once.
"Good morning, everyone!" he announced cheerfully. "My name is Thomas. As for your introductions..." He waved his hand dismissively. "No need. I'll know all of you eventually."
"..."
No one cared.
The murmuring only grew louder.
"Who's this guy?"
"He looks more like a failed magician than a teacher."
"I heard he's new."
Thomas scratched his cheek awkwardly and chuckled.
"Tough crowd."
Still, not a single pair of eyes met his.
The smile on his face slowly faded.
Silence.
It wasn't forced.
It simply... descended.
The air turned strangely heavy, as though the classroom itself had forgotten how to breathe.
Every whisper stopped.
Every student instinctively looked toward the front.
Thomas stood exactly where he had been, yet he somehow felt like an entirely different person.
His calm eyes swept across the room.
"Now that I have your attention..."
No one dared interrupt.
"You are all gathered here for one reason."
His voice wasn't loud, yet every word echoed clearly.
"To learn the truth of this world."
A few students frowned.
"The truth?" one boy muttered.
"What does that even mean?" a girl whispered.
Thomas smiled faintly.
"Don't misunderstand."
"I'm not saying you'll uncover every secret."
He tapped the blackboard once.
"Perhaps you'll only grasp a tiny fragment."
He paused.
"But even that tiny fragment..."
"...will decide whether you survive your future."
The room fell deathly silent.
A student near the window raised his hand hesitantly.
"Sir... are you talking about history?"
Thomas looked at him with a mysterious smile.
"If only history were that simple."
Another student couldn't help asking,
"Then... what exactly are we going to study?"
Thomas turned toward the window, watching the clouds drift across the sky.
"The lies you've believed."
"The truths hidden beneath them."
"And the things humanity was never meant to know."
He faced the class once more.
His playful grin returned as if nothing had happened.
"Well then..." he said lightly, picking up a piece of chalk.
"Let's begin with the first lie."