Bruto blinked.
Wait—
How could he recognize every word, yet fail to understand them when they were put together?
He instinctively read it again:
"I led a group of commoners and captured a noble alive?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible..."
"How did you get past the Construct Guards and reach this place?"
His shock disturbed Geya. She quietly put away the notebook in her hands, tried to compose herself, and turned to question them.
"I, I—"
The inexperienced Su Wen was still stammering, searching for an excuse.
The seasoned Bruto had already decided to strike first with an accusation:
"This is a restricted area designated by Headmaster Ulasang himself. What exactly are you after, sneaking around here?"
"The headmaster asked me to look for traces of the Stone Tablet's author. How am I supposed to determine his identity without reading what he wrote?"
"Then have you identified him?"
"What does that have to do with either of you?
Get out, or I'll have the guards throw you out—and then you won't simply be leaving the garden."
Geya was already struggling to suppress her anger.
Bruto knew she cared deeply about her image and rarely looked at anyone with such outright hostility.
Their stalking had genuinely angered her.
He was smart enough to pull Su Wen over to share the heat while backing away:
"What about your notes? Are those part of the headmaster's assignment too?"
So he saw them after all.
Geya remained composed. "Yes."
"So there won't be any problem if I report them to the headmaster?"
"..."
Silence settled over them. Geya knew he was threatening her.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Bruto breathed a sigh of relief and softened his tone:
"Hey, listen. I admit I was trying to dig up something juicy on you so you'd