And that was why Faith could see Myra as the perfect element for his plan, ever since he targeted Kain before the academy tournament. Because Faith had personally observed the person beside Kain after their chess game in the garden concluded.

Mera, on the surface, seemed shallow and straightforward, but in reality, she possessed an incredibly tough inner core. Or rather, her confidence manifested through decisive actions rooted in a firm foundation. In contrast, genuinely shallow individuals might also exhibit many outward behaviors, but this display is often a lack of control and frivolity; they don't pay much attention, so they reveal themselves, but when they do pay attention, they retract. Mera, however, pays attention, which is why her behavior is "decisive."

Katie, inward and clear-headed, also possessed a very tough inner core. But unlike Mera, she wasn't overly fond of connecting with people she didn't want to. She had a good foundation and her observational skills were not bad, though they couldn't compare to Faith's.

But even so, whether it was Mera or Katie, Faith was confident he could manipulate them, given enough time and the necessary circumstances. This doesn't negate the abilities of those two girls, but rather highlights Faith's own confidence.

Unfortunately, controlling thoughts and strategies is easy, but controlling the heart of a person without obvious weaknesses is very difficult, even for a master like Faith.

He didn't have the appropriate circumstances or the right time. Most importantly, the "foundations" of those two girls leaned towards Kain; they were protected by Kain. And who Kain was, well, that goes without saying.

Until, Faith saw Myra.

Outwardly, she seemed like a combination of Mera and Katie: confident, composed, profound, and possessing decent cognitive and observational abilities. But when she was near Mera, Faith saw her weakness. An invisible inferiority complex, an invisible evasion, from every slight step back, every sudden bow of her head, to the gesture of putting her hand behind her back while conversing. Faith realized that Myra was like a beautiful porcelain vase on the outside, but shattered from within.

He had found the weak point in Kain's team.

Having identified Myra as the sole vulnerability in Kain's team, Faith personally sought to meet her, using the exact same method he used to invite Kain: a letter.

The letter's content was simple:

"Hello Myra, I know your secret, therefore... I can fulfill your desire."

"If you're interested, come to the academy garden at this time."

"Signed, Faith."

Compared to the "intellectual challenge" letter sent to Kain, the one for Myra didn't need to be as elaborate. Faith simply needed to phrase it as a gentleman's correspondence, directly targeting Myra's already fragile inner state, to capture her attention.

"My secret? I don't have any secret, do I?"

"But... fulfill my desire?"

Faith was certain Myra would think this upon receiving the letter.

In fact, even the phrasing was intentional.

Faith, of course, didn't know if Myra had any secrets, but he only needed her to question herself upon reading that sentence, initiating a process of connecting with her inner emotions. Then, upon reading the next sentence, "I can fulfill your desire," Myra wouldn't dismiss it but would begin to ponder.

This was essentially a twisted form of sales strategy: selling a story. A product on its own might be nothing, but if the story behind it emotionally connects with the customer, the likelihood of a purchase increases.

Similarly, if Faith had merely sent a blunt letter saying, "I can give you what you want," Myra would almost certainly have ignored it and thrown it away, as she wouldn't feel any connection.

And just as Faith predicted, Myra came to the garden. They spoke, though it was primarily Faith reading Myra and presenting a deal for her to accept.

Myra agreed, and that's how things unfolded during the tournament. However, it was only much later, in the final stages of the championship round, that Faith realized Kain had deliberately pushed Myra towards him, making her the final move that shattered Faith's seemingly perfect plan.

"Tch, I thought Myra was the rip in your diagram, but I never imagined she was the doorway into the labyrinth you opened, Kain..." Faith couldn't help but reminisce.

He rarely indulged in reminiscing, especially concerning intellect, as Faith had never encountered anyone on his level. He usually just cataloged memories to retrieve them consciously when needed, but reminiscing was an uncontrollable process.

Since his intellectual duel with Kain, Faith had found himself reminiscing quite often. It was the first time an opponent had pushed him this far, and also the first time he had been utterly defeated by another intellectual monster.

However, Faith would only admit he lost the match; he would absolutely never admit he was inferior to Kain.

Faith snapped out of his reverie, calmly speaking to Myra, who sat tensely on the small chair opposite him. "Myra, I apologize for having to tell you this, but... I don't have complete control over the Sword Family's affairs. Not to mention, I'm practically under house arrest."

The core of their agreement was that if Myra fully assisted Faith in the finals, he would use his position in the Sword Family to help her investigate her mother's death.

However, Faith's situation within the Sword Family was not good at all. Still, his promise to "use his position in the Sword Family" wasn't a lie. It's just that with his current standing, Faith could only "mobilize" his own subordinates, like Cody's group, and even the maid Aunt Lucia, if they needed dinner or hot water for a bath.

In short, Faith was deceiving Myra.

But now, Myra seemed barely to notice. All she wanted was to be with her sister and father, to hug them once more. However, Myra lacked the courage, so she just numbly followed her original objective all the way here.

"Ah, um..." Myra replied vaguely. Yet, Faith didn't relax because of it. Although the agreement indeed contained an element of deceiving Myra's perception, objectively, he still had to help her.