The neighboring house study admits Lewis beneath a lintel of dark oak. Behind him, Parsley remains in the corridor, walking on toward his assigned duties, while Alexander accompanies Lewis inside.
A neighboring house prefect stands beside the writing table, one hand resting on a closed exercise book. His eyes pass over Lewis’s satchel, cuffs, and empty hands.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
Give us a discreet account of the library examination. Facts only, and nothing that needlessly implicates either house.
The Neighboring House Prefect
And make it accurate. We have no wish to inherit School House’s disturbances under the pretence of receiving a useful messenger.
Alexander takes the nearer chair but does not invite Lewis to sit. The prefect remains standing, making the arrangement resemble an interview rather than a conversation.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
Begin with Smewgy. What was demanded, who witnessed it, and what conclusion was entered afterward?
The study falls quiet except for a clock ticking above the mantel. Alexander watches Lewis with deliberate patience; the prefect watches for any answer that might become another house’s weapon.
“I give Alexander a precise, discreet report”
SUCCESS (Legendary Etiquette, rolled +2)
C. S. Lewis
Smewgy entered the library and inspected the ledger. He said the prep room was supervision, not kindness, and questioned my aptitude for difficult reading.
C. S. Lewis
He then presented a cane and ordered me to demonstrate firmness toward Parsley. Parsley urged compliance. Friedrich witnessed the exchange and certified that I had maintained order.
C. S. Lewis
Smewgy accepted Friedrich’s testimony and recorded the examination as successful. Parsley was sent out to receive the consequence privately. I followed him afterward.
Lewis keeps his account level and narrow, naming the authority exercised without repeating every humiliation. The prefect’s fingers remain still upon the exercise book.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
You omit nothing essential, yet you have supplied no phrase that can be used carelessly against us. That is satisfactory.
The Neighboring House Prefect
And Friedrich Wilhelm von Preußen witnessed the conclusion? Then School House cannot easily dispute the record.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
Precisely. This is how one survives an institution, Lewis: distinguish what happened from what may profitably be said about it.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Alexander's approval of this account
“Will the older boys enjoy spanking my bottom using the cane?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 45)
The prefect’s hand tightens on the exercise book. The question has found its answer in the record: the older boys did not merely enforce the cane; they took pleasure in exercising it.
The Neighboring House Prefect
Then understand the distinction. For them, it was punishment. For some of them, it was entertainment disguised as duty.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
And that distinction is useful. Enjoyment makes discipline less predictable, which means it creates leverage for anyone patient enough to observe it.
The prefect opens the exercise book and writes a brief line beneath the date. No accusation appears, only a careful notation that School House’s authority has become indulgent and dangerous.
The Neighboring House Prefect
You will not repeat this account in the corridor. Men who enjoy power dislike hearing its character described.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
The boy has learned submission, but he has also learned what the submitted-to reveal when they believe themselves unobserved.
Alexander rises and closes the distance to the table without touching Lewis or the satchel. The interview’s purpose is no longer fact-finding, but classification: witness, instrument, or liability.
“I ask Alexander whether my account has earned his approval.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Etiquette, rolled -2)
C. S. Lewis
Has my account earned your approval, Alexander?
Alexander studies Lewis in silence, then glances toward the neighbouring prefect. The pause makes the question itself feel entered into the record, alongside every careful fact.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
Yes. You reported plainly, concealed nothing essential, and offered no phrase that could be turned against us. That earns approval.
The Neighboring House Prefect
It also raises a question. You understand that well enough to shape an account. Such usefulness invites attention.
The prefect writes Lewis’s name beneath his notation, a small, concrete alteration to the house’s records. Approval has become visibility, and visibility is another obligation.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
You are not merely obedient, Lewis. You are observant. I approve of the distinction, but I shall expect the same precision whenever you speak for me.
Alexander closes the exercise book and returns it to the prefect. The answer is favorable, but Lewis now stands recorded as an instrument worth watching, not a boy easily overlooked.
Quest Complete
Secure Alexander's approval of this account