episode_0032

The class had come to a halt, enveloped in a heavy atmosphere.

I left my seat as if fleeing from a verbal battle with the sky-blue fool.

＂…What on earth.”

My breath became slightly rough.

It wasn’t because I was tired; my heart was beating unnecessarily fast.

It was a feeling closer to annoyance than excitement.

The foolish face of the guy spouting nonsense came to mind, and I shook my head.

“…Sigh….”

I let out a deep breath.

My head felt a bit hot, like I needed to calm down.

“Nice…？”

Such a pure compliment was truly something I had never heard before.

That’s why I had no resistance to it.

“…And what was with that foolish expression?”

Even upon reflection, that expression was troubling.

He had asked me to listen to what he had to say, and I had thought he was about to do something strange.

But as he whispered in my ear, his face slightly blushing and smiling sheepishly.

I almost heard a whisper.

He may have been a fool, but I couldn’t deny that his face was exceptional.

“Weird guy….”

If he knew I was royalty, he should have been a bit more polite.

But that concept didn’t exist for him.

Whether it was Shashana, Seina, Princess Astel, or me.

He was consistently rude.

I wiped my face and assessed the situation more calmly.

Ria, that guy felt like something essential for a human was missing.

When the fireball flew towards Ria.

I hurriedly blocked it, but I clearly saw it.

He was scared.

He tightly closed his eyes.

It wasn’t that he didn’t feel fear.

He just acted nonchalant as soon as the danger passed.

“Emotions can arise in an instant, but they don’t disappear suddenly.”

That’s what I learned.

While emotions can suddenly appear, they don’t vanish as suddenly.

Even if the emotion disappears, its residue remains.

And if it’s a negative emotion like fear, it’s even more so.

“…Curiosity.”

I approached Ria out of curiosity.

And that curiosity only grew with each passing day, despite his rudeness.

Over a month, all I learned was that he was a fool.

My curiosity showed no sign of being satisfied.

Since my curiosity wasn’t being satisfied, I couldn’t help but worry.

Ria.

To be honest, I couldn’t see him in a good light.

He kept spreading strange rumors, was rude, and lacked manners.

If he really behaved that way on purpose, I would have punished him long ago.

Spreading malicious rumors about royalty was a serious offense.

But I knew.

He wasn’t doing it on purpose.

Nobles, especially those at the top like royalty, were sensitive to others’ intentions.

It was engraved in their souls as instinct rather than reason.

The trembling of the voice, the handling of the gaze, every action and word.

Even if I didn’t want to pay attention, I couldn’t help but observe instinctively.

Despite observing all these things, my judgment of Ria was that he ‘doesn’t think.’

If he wanted to do something intentionally, he had to think and act.

But he seemed to be lacking in the thinking department.

“…At this point, I’d rather he showed a bit of intentionality, even if it’s a little forced, at least he should think….”

His vacant eyes, always looking into the distance, or his slightly open mouth.

The only time he seemed to be thinking was when he stuck out his tongue as a habit.

With a sobbing gesture, whenever I met their gaze, I had to lower my head excessively, to the point where my throat hurt.

Raising my hand to a comfortable height, I occasionally raised my hand.

My temper wasn’t the best, growling at times.

Eventually finding a compromise, these days I found myself touching my cheeks, enjoying the softness.

＂Hmm….”

…Something felt strangely off in my thoughts, so I shook my head.

“Whatever it may be, the fact that he’s a strange fellow remains unchanged… and my curiosity remains unsatisfied, so I’ll continue for the time being…”

Thinking about enduring this for a while made me sigh involuntarily, but it didn’t feel unpleasant.

It was absurd and frustrating, and it made me clench my fists when I looked at it, but it wasn’t malicious or deceitful.

That was enough.

“…Impressive….”

The unfamiliar, tingling words lingered in my ears.

Whispering unnecessarily, the voice stuck in my memory even more.

I had heard praise to the point of being sick of it, as Lia had said.

But, a pure praise without any ulterior motives was something new.

My face that had just cooled down felt like it was heating up again, so I bit my lip and glanced up at the sky for no reason.

…The place was the same.

Every action I took was not free, and every word I heard had its own hidden intentions.

Whether it was beneficial to me or harmful.

I had lived among people whose words and actions were different.

And it had become chronic.

But now, receiving a pure praise without any hidden intentions was a strange story for me.

“…Ha. What’s so great about hearing just one word, ‘impressive’.”

I felt pathetic for reacting this way just because I heard the word ‘impressive’.

Honestly, I had seriously considered whether I was acting to win favor, but that contemplation always ended with ‘I didn’t have the intelligence for it’.

The fact that I was even having such thoughts in the first place was ridiculous.

I briefly bit my tongue, then composed myself and walked towards where I needed to go.

Since classes were canceled, the time was free, but for people like me, this time was not empty.

There were things that needed to be taken care of.

“Che Shan Ryun….”

A writer who served the Earl Wood.

“…Who enjoys showing off to others, obsessively clinging to impressing those higher than himself….”

His personality couldn’t be called modest.

He enjoyed volunteer work hypocritically to impress those higher than him, they said.

Even if it was hypocritical with a purpose, as long as he didn’t cross a certain line, there was no reason to see it as bad.

“He’s quite far from being repentant.”

Probably because it wasn’t a sight suitable for showing to children.

…It’s not my place to say.

How long had I been walking.

When I arrived at the repentance room, the guard at the door informed me that the professor had already been notified and allowed me to enter the repentance room.

The repentance room was underground.

The dark space, where not a single ray of light penetrated, was barely discernible in the faint light of the candles.

The sobbing voices from all directions overlapped and echoed throughout the repentance room.

If one had to stay in such a place for more than a week, they would likely lose their mind.

As I cautiously walked towards the repentance room, I saw the professor standing there with a magic torch in hand.

When the professor noticed me, he also noticed me.

“Have you come.”

I showed my displeasure at the polite greeting that bent down to my waist.

“You’re a student now, so please don’t say such things.”

“…I understand.”

There was a sense of distance between us.

As the former deputy commander of the Royal Knights, his skills were among the top in the kingdom.

I heard he had volunteered for the position of professor to train his successors.

＂First of all, my eyes are accurate, but there’s always a chance. I want to ask the student a few questions about directly stopping that… incident.”

“I will answer sincerely.”

Behind the professor, beyond the iron bars.

It was too dark to see anything, but I imagined Chechan trapped there.

“…First, how powerful was that fireball？”

“It was powerful enough to burn a person to ashes.”

It was a question of whether Lya would have been safe even if I hadn’t stopped it, and my answer was negative.

If I had been late, Lya would have been reduced to a handful of ashes by now.

“…In my eyes, it was a simple mistake, but it may be different from the perspective of someone who directly stopped it. Did you feel any intentionality?”

“I did not feel any.”

It was a question of whether the attack was intentional or not, and I denied it as well.

As Lya also said, it was indeed a simple mistake.

She had simply overexerted herself, causing her abilities to spiral out of control.

The reason was obvious.

She wanted to show off, to demonstrate her abilities.

It was a pathetic reason, but also the most realistic one.

“…In that case, the student’s punishment will be a deduction of 100 points and…”

It was the expected severity of the punishment.

“A fine, and if the fine is paid, a reflective measure will be taken. If the fine is not paid or the victim refuses the compensation, expulsion will be enforced.”

Normally, one would have to carefully consider right and wrong, but this incident was so clear-cut that there was no need to argue, and therefore the decision on punishment was immediate.

I silently watched the professor as he discussed the punishment.

Considering Lya’s personality, she would probably accept the compensation and forgive.

Because that’s the kind of person she is.

…I couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed by that, so I blurted out.

“…After the fine is paid, how long is the reflective period set for?”

“That is not for me to decide here.”

While the punishment itself was immediate, it seemed that the details needed further discussion.

So, it seemed there was room for my input.

“I kindly request for it to be as long as possible.”

“…I will consider it.”

The professor responded slowly to my calmly stated request.

The inexplicable annoyance subsided a bit.