Bound sovereign: Reincarnated with the lust system

The office was silent again. Selene sat slumped against her desk, her body still shivering from surrender, while Eran adjusted his collar with steady, unhurried movements. He didn't look back at her, not once.

When he stepped out into the corridor, the stone walls echoed with the faint sound of his own footsteps. Only then did the grin tug at his lips, sharp and measured.

THE FIRST CARD PLAYED

He could still feel the weight of her touch on his skin, but what lingered more was her words about grades, ranks, the Academy's merciless system. She thought she had warned him. She thought she had offered herself as his shield.

But Eran knew better.

This isn't her story. It's mine.

His smirk thinned into silence as he entered the empty dorm hall. He dropped onto the small couch by the window, letting the night breeze slip through the cracks. For a while, he just stared at the sky, the moon hanging like a blade above the Academy.

Grades. Nobles. Hierarchy. I'll need to know more. Every detail. Every weakness.

The thought pulsed steady in his chest. Selene was no longer just a conquest, she was his opening into the system.

He leaned back, closing his eyes, the faintest curve of a grin still resting on his face. I only need to keep quiet. To act weaker. And smarter, less they notice me…

The night stretched on. Eran didn't bother with sleep. He sat in the silence, calculating, waiting.

THE NEXT MORNING...

The bell tower rang across the Academy grounds as always, its chimes dragging students from their chambers into the courtyard. The sun spilled gold across the spires, and already the nobles gathered in glittering groups—robes pressed, sigils embroidered into their collars, laughter too loud and too sure of itself.

Eran stepped into the current of students quietly, his posture relaxed, almost unimpressive. No one turned their head at his arrival. No one noticed the boy with the steady eyes and the hidden smirk.

And that was exactly what he wanted.

Students were already gathered, the hum of conversation sharp and clipped—noble voices with noble weight.

Eran slipped into the back row, quiet as a shadow. He didn't miss the way heads tilted, whispers dragging across the room like knives.

"Who is he?"

"The same boy"

"A commoner, isn't he?"

"No crest. No sigil."

"How did someone like that end up here?"

A boy in the front.. tall, broad-shouldered, his cloak marked with golden threading—half turned, his gaze falling on Eran with the weight of mockery. "Hey, stranger. You lost your way to the stables?"

Laughter scattered across the room.

Eran only leaned back in his chair, eyes half-lidded, lips tugging at the faintest grin. How desperate they are to measure themselves against someone they don't even know.

The boy pressed further, standing now, his hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his side. "Answer me, commoner. Or are you too simple to understand?"

The tension coiled, whispers swelling, curious eyes darting between him and the noble. Eran's grin widened slightly, a sharp glint in his otherwise calm stare. So quick to draw lines… so easy to bend.

He parted his lips to respond slow, deliberate when the doors at the end of the hall groaned open.

Silence snapped over the room.

Selene stepped in, her stride graceful, deliberate, the kind of presence that bent every gaze toward her. Her eyes swept the classroom, resting for the briefest second on Eran, then sliding away like nothing lingered between them.

Yet the air shifted instantly. The boy who had challenged Eran froze, his knuckles tightening, his jaw clicking shut.

Selene's voice, smooth and cutting, broke the silence.

"Sit down. Or do you plan to embarrass yourself before class has even begun?"

The boy faltered. The tension hung suspended in the air, heavier now, charged—everyone waiting to see not what he would do, but how she would act.

Eran's smirk remained, faint and unreadable.

PERFECT!

The boy's jaw tightened, but he sat back down, swallowing his words. Selene walked past him without sparing another glance, her steps deliberate as she crossed the room to her seat at the front. The chatter that had been on the verge of breaking into chaos hushed to a controlled murmur, nobles leaning toward each other, whispering into their palms.

Eran lowered his gaze to the desk before him, expression unreadable, but his mind alive with silent laughter. Just a word from her, and the wolf tucked its tail. The mask of weakness still clung to him, but beneath it, satisfaction. He let them think they'd unsettled him. And let them think he was small.

"ATTENTION!!!."

The professor's voice caught, sharp as chalk against slate, silenced the last of the whispers. A wiry old man with robes darker than ink, he scanned the room with a hawk's eyes before snapping his fingers. With a crackle, glowing runes lit up across the walls, humming faintly with restrained power.

"Today's measure will separate true talent from decoration. Your ranks matter here not your titles, nor your family names. Those who cannot keep up… will fail."

That last word clung in the air like a threat.

Eran's fingers curled on the edge of the desk. So they test us this early? Good. The faster I see what this place demands, the faster I learn how to bend it to me.

A noble girl two rows ahead, silver hair braided with tiny gems—snorted, casting a glance back at him. "Then he should be the first to go. No crest, no mana signature. What's left but to sweep floors?"

Snickers followed her words.

Eran's grin returned, slight but dangerous. If only you knew… I've already claimed what you dream of holding. His eyes flicked toward Selene, who didn't look back, her focus on the professor. But Eran caught it, the smallest shift in her shoulders, the faintest hint of awareness.

"Quiet," the professor barked, and silence fell again. He raised his staff, its tip glowing with pale light. "Pairings will be drawn for practical dueling tomorrow. Today, we will cover the hierarchy you all claim to know but so few understand. For this class is not merely about strength, it is about the system that defines who you are allowed to be."

Eran's attention sharpened. Hierarchy. This was the moment he had wanted.

The professor's chalk scratched against the board, etching names and ranks in curling script. Letters that glowed faintly as if alive.

"Five grades. Five divisions. A, B, C, D, and E." His tone rang with authority. "Each bound by ranks.

Grade A, the VEYTHROS' Six ranks complete.

Grade B, the VELMEIRION' Five ranks.

Grade C, the VENUX' Four, down to three.

Grade D, the VRYNX' two ranks. And

Grade E, the lowest, the VEYLAR… a single, flickering spark."

The words pressed into the classroom like iron. Pride in some faces, discomfort in others.

The professor's eyes landed briefly on Eran. "And some… none at all."

A ripple of quiet laughter. Eran didn't flinch. He only leaned back further in his chair, smirk tugging lazily at his lips. Perhaps it's what Selene said earlier.

Selene's gaze didn't rise from her desk, yet Eran knew, she was listening too closely, too intently. Almost protective, though she would never show it here.

The board glowed brighter as the professor tapped his staff against the ground. "Tomorrow, your pairings will decide your survival. Pray you understand your place before then."

Eran's grin widened slightly. Perfect. Tomorrow, I show them just enough to confuse… not enough to reveal. Step by step until i unravel every mystery beneath.

The class ended in whispers, tension thicker than before. Nobles clustered in groups, throwing looks over their shoulders at him. Eran stood slowly, brushing dust from his sleeve, and his thoughts sharp as daggers.