Lessons

The awarding ceremony was wrapped up in a hurry and the other participants were not even able to use their right to challenge, but when they learned that Alec Ward has been disqualified from the rankings, they immediately shut up. They weren't foolish people and they immediately thought that something fishy must have happened for the battle event to end in such a manner. It became more confusing since their family heads refused to tell them anything. 

To pacify the dissatisfaction of the participants, they were compensated by the Imperial Family. The compensation was more than what was promised to them and this made the participants happy. They also chose to remain silent about the strange ending of the battle event.

On their way back to the mansion, Aethelwolf sat inside his carriage with Janrose and the others. He wore a distant look on his face.