<h4>Chapter 529: Like a Secret Agent?</h4>


    Students clenched their fists, flexed their fingers, bounced on their feet. It wasn’t just a test of skill, it was a performance. A proving ground. A war for dignity.


    No one was nning to walk away in defeat.


    Many of the students already had a n, stay far, far away from anyone they knew could crush them in one move. Especially the top two of the martial arts ss: Stephanie and Nichs.


    No one wanted to be the name whispered after getting mmed into the stage in front of the whole school.


    Nnenna stood at the edge of the third year arena, scanning her surroundings. Her heart thudded steadily, not from fear, but from awareness. This was new territory. Different.


    And though she had trained hard, really hard, she still didn’t know how she would measure up against people who had been doing martial arts practically their whole lives.


    Sure, what happened in the exam hall was... something. Nichs hadn’t been able to lift her. That alone shocked the ss into silence.


    It proved that she had grown stronger, a lot stronger. But that didn’t mean she could defeat him or anyone like him in a real fight. Skill, reflex, control, those weren’t things brute strength alone could cover.


    She had to be smart.


    ---------


    Few hours ago.


    During breakfast that morning, Nnenna barely said a word. While the others chatted quietly or mentally reviewed forms and stances, she sat still, deep in thought. Her spoon paused midway to her mouth more than once, her eyes fixed on nothing as she yed through scenarios in her head.


    No one disturbed her.


    They assumed she was just trying to focus.


    They didn’t know that in her mind, she was already stepping into the ring, over and over again, repeating moves, correcting posture, predicting counters, calcting weaknesses. Again. And again.


    It was nerve wrecking


    And the silence wasn’t helping.


    If anything, it made things worse.


    She didn’t need silence, she needed distraction. A conversation. A joke. Something.


    But no one noticed she was nervous. No one saw the tension tucked between her calm expression and still hands.


    Carl had already returned to his ce. Somto had disappeared again the night before, apparently on some assignment, but had promised to make it back in time to watch herpete.


    Ava was knee deep in her own exam prep, probably mentally halfway to the microbiologybs by now.


    The only person she could possibly talk to... was Arthur.


    But that wasn’t happening.


    Technically, nothing stopped her from approaching him. They weren’t in the training ground, so it wouldn’t vite any official rule. But still, what would she even say?


    "I’m nervous?"


    "I don’t think I’m ready?"


    She scoffed at herself internally.


    Right. That would go well.


    Because in his mind, wouldn’t that mean she thought he hadn’t trained her well enough? That her Sensei had failed to prepare her?


    And Arthur... he wasn’t the type to take that lightly.


    No matter how cold butforting his voice could sometimes be, there was always an edge to him, precision in expectations. A quiet pride in his teaching. His silence wasn’t cold, it was calcting.


    So she swallowed her nerves and kept quiet.


    She could hear his voice in her mind anyway, calm and sharp as ever:


    "If you’re not ready now, then you never will be."


    And she was ready.


    She had to be.


    After breakfast, the two girls headed downstairs and walked out through the grand doors of the main castle entrance.


    As usual, the car was already waiting.


    They climbed in without much thought, Ava had her nose buried in a thick textbook, and Nnenna, lost in her own thoughts, barely nced up. Neither of them noticed anything unusual.


    The drive to school was smooth and quiet. Ava barely looked up once, muttering forms and microbiology keywords under her breath. Nnenna, still mentally rehearsing her martial arts forms, didn’t speak either.


    When they arrived at the academy, Ava finally nced up.


    "Alright, good luck!" she chirped, mming her book shut and hopping out of the car. "Bye, Uncle Driver!" she waved without looking, and hurried off toward thebs.


    Nnenna, out of habit, turned to the front seat to properly thank the driver too. "Thank you, sir. And good—"


    She froze.


    Her words caught mid air.


    Her eyes locked on the driver’s face.


    That wasn’t their usual driver.


    Her entire body stiffened.


    It was Arthur.


    Arthur. The same Arthur who had trained her like a merciless machine. The same Arthur who had thrown her into pain and growth without blinking. The same Arthur who had once gone three entire days without saying a word during training and called it "mental discipline."


    And he had just... driven them to school? Quietly? Like it was normal?


    Not a single word. Not a cough. Not a "good morning." Not even a raised brow when Ava cheerfully waved him off like he was a background NPC.


    Had he seriously stayed silent the whole way, on purpose?!


    Nnenna blinked, her hand still half raised.


    "You could’ve at least cleared your throat or something," she muttered in disbelief, barely loud enough for him to hear.


    Arthur,pletely unbothered, shifted the car into gear without looking at her.


    Not a word.


    Not a nce.


    Just a slight tilt of his head, as if to say "You should’ve been more observant."


    Nnenna blinked as she thought through the whole thing. She was observant but... he was just too quiet.


    "...What kind of older brother drives you to school like a secret agent?"


    Ava would have screamed if she found out who had driven her to school. Or worse, demand a full recap and pout that she hadn’t gotten a "Big Brother pep talk."


    No wonder Ava sometimesined that Arthur didn’t show love the way normal brothers did. His quietness wasn’t just calm, it was chilling.


    Nnenna made a mental note to tell Ava exactly what her brother had pulled off this morning.