Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

In just a few words, Eunice managed to both imply that Zoe was a clueless farm girl and show off her own marksmanship in front of Shawn.
As soon as she said it, the surrounding students chimed in to back her up.
"Eunice is so kind."
"She's still thinking about her incompetent sister even at a time like this. I wouldn't be able to do that."
"Eunice's shooting skills are top-notch—probably only second to Philip and Herbert. Eunice, do your best! The honor of all honors class girls depends on you!"
This was the first time that Zoe found Eunice not completely useless.
Eunice made a point to emphasize in front of Shawn that Zoe was just a girl returning from a small village. For Zoe, this actually worked in her favor—it would only help her mission to assassinate Shawn, not hinder it.
After all, who would ever suspect that a girl from a village might have any connection to the internationally feared Queen of Mercenaries?
As expected, Shawn said nothing and silently accepted Eunice's suggestion.
Soon, the shooting training officially began.
Eunice was the first to step forward from the crowd. Among the entire honors class, aside from Philip and Herbert, she had the best shooting record.
Philip wasn't here today, and Herbert—who doted on her—naturally wouldn't try to steal her spotlight.
Eunice glanced at Zoe. Seeing her with her head lowered and silent, Eunice assumed it was a sign of embarrassment and low self-esteem.
She was thrilled to see Zoe, who had been so arrogant before, now reduced to this timid state, afraid of making a fool of herself.
Brimming with confidence, Eunice approached the shooting platform. She picked up the handgun and, imitating Shawn's posture, fired ten shots at the target.
The results displayed on the screen were well within her expectations: three bullseyes and seven shots in the nine-ring zone. A solid, impressive performance.
Naturally, the classmates showered her with praise.
"Wow!"
"Three bullseyes! Eunice's marksmanship has improved so much."
"Among the girls, only Eunice has the talent to come this close to rivaling our instructor!"
Eunice smiled smugly, basking in the compliments. She turned her gaze toward Zoe and curled her lips in a triumphant smirk. She firmly believed that where she started would always be far beyond where Zoe could ever hope to reach.
Eunice looked expectantly at Shawn and asked, "Mr. Ludwig, how was my performance?"
She was seeking his approval. After all, compared to her previous crush Philip, Shawn was far more outstanding in every way.
However, Shawn completely ignored her. The dismissal made Eunice's expression stiffen as she bit her lower lip in silent frustration.
As expected, Herbert didn't steal her spotlight. He put up a respectable performance with two bullseyes and eight nine-ring shots.
Jacob, on the other hand, was more talented with computers than firearms. His shooting wasn't as sharp, but he still managed to score one bullseye—which was commendable, especially considering most students couldn't even hit an eight-ring shot.
Once everyone had taken their turn, it was finally Zoe's turn.
As Zoe walked toward the shooting platform, Eunice—afraid no one was paying enough attention—put on a worried face and said loudly, "Zoe, you've never learned to shoot before, right? I'm really worried about you."
Unlike Eunice's fake concern, Herbert and Jacob were now genuinely worried.
Though their attitude toward Zoe had softened somewhat after seeing the scars on her wrist, they were still concerned she might embarrass the Evans family in such a serious class—especially in front of Shawn.
Herbert frowned and said sternly, "Zoe, if you don't know how to shoot, just give up early. Don't keep dragging the Evans family's name through the mud."
"If you don't know it, then don't pretend," Jacob added, walking over.
The surrounding students immediately joined in, tripping over each other to mock her.
"Yeah, seriously. Zoe, don't embarrass yourself by going up there."
"She already had the nerve to force her way into a world she doesn't belong to—what wouldn't she dare to do?"
"If you ask me, Zoe won't even hit the target once. That would be totally normal—she is just a bumpkin."
"Zoe, this is probably the first time in your life you've ever held a gun, huh?" Cheryl, in particular, didn't believe for a second that the scars on Zoe's wrist were proof of any real combat experience.
She assumed those gunshot and knife wounds were self-inflicted—or staged—just to gain attention.
Still resentful after being humiliated by Zoe last time, Cheryl now seized the moment to lash out in full force. She shouted her insult for all to hear.
The students burst into roaring laughter.
But amidst the chaos, there were exactly two people who remained completely unaffected: Shawn and Zoe.
As the taunts echoed around her, Zoe slowly raised her gaze, eyes burning with murderous intent. Under the intensity of her stare, what should have been an ordinary training session inside a shooting range now felt more like a battlefield of life and death.
The very next moment, all anyone saw was her swift, fluid motion as she snatched the pistol, loaded it on the spot, and aimed it at the target in one seamless move.
Just as everyone expected—Zoe missed. Her shot veered an entire three yards off center.
But it wasn't the bullseye she was aiming for. The bullet flew with chilling precision—right toward Shawn's forehead.
Zoe's true target had never been the paper target at all. Before the eyes of the entire class, she had just made a bold and brazen assassination attempt.