After being accepted into the Institute, each of the students are required to battle one another to the death. No mercy is permitted, and only one student may leave the room alive. This is not a new change to the institute, or policy, and no student is exempt from the contest.
However,
some of the contests are intentionally unfairly matched.
Darrow wins his match, not knowing who his opponent is, or anything about him.
He later realizes that his opponent/victim is
the brother of Cassius, his staunchest ally during the game.
and intentionally hides/skirts the question of who he fought in the Passage.
When the information becomes public,
Cassius turns on Darrow, for having killed his brother.
This feud carries over into the second book, as
The House Bellona still seeks vengeance on Darrow.
Parents and family of any student in the Institute know that half of the students going into the Institute do not come out. I understand the anger regarding the death in the Passage, but why is this taken as a personal slight - seemingly well above and beyond all of the other deaths?