Chapter 12

Saturn realized that the person who had interrupted was the Crown Prince, notorious as a madman in the Cropus Empire, and his eyes widened.

He froze in place as he was about to sit near Briseyes, his body stiffening as their eyes met.

“Come here. Sit down and tell me about it.”

When Callisten spoke commandingly, Saturn tried to look around to see who else was present. However, the only person there was Casius, who had originally been in class 2. They barely knew each other.

“Tell me the details.”

“Well… I… all I know is that she fell down the stairs and……”

“Could you please be quiet?”

Briseyes warned Callisten, who stared at her without blinking.

“Saturn Feril. Tell me in detail.”

Saturn glanced at Briseyes, but Callisten frightened him more, so he simply spoke. After all, Briseyes was a generous person, while the Crown Prince before him was already famous for being ruthless and dangerous.

“Someone pushed Bri down the stairs. That’s why Bri couldn’t come to first period the day before yesterday and was in the infirmary. Demian went to check on her.”

“Ah.”

Callisten smiled as he looked at Briseyes, who frowned because she didn’t want to talk to him.

“Ah, I see.”

He continued to look at Briseyes with a smiling face while she ignored him and continued studying.

Saturn sat behind Briseyes, and his twin brother Evusi sat next to him, giving him a questioning look. However, Saturn didn’t really know what was happening either, so he just shook his head.

By the time homeroom was about to start, all the students had arrived in the classroom.

“Baron went to class 2,” Ronald whispered to Briseyes.

“Why?”

“Because each class has a limit of twenty students. The less skilled ones were moved down.”

—Slide.

“Good morning, everyone. It’s nice to see you.”

Eventually, the professor in charge of class 1 entered. He quickly scanned the announcements he had brought and began to speak.

“Class 1 has three new students. Miss Delilah has come as a student whom His Majesty the Emperor personally requested to be educated at this Academy.”

The professor spoke as if planning to introduce everyone at once. He gestured for Delilah to stand up.

Delilah stood up with a bright smile.

“Next is Casius Rozefel. I hear he was the primary contributor to defeating the Biaten Emperor.”

Everyone started whispering among themselves when they heard that the white-haired man sitting in the middle was Casius Rozefel. He was quite famous.

Casius’s family was on the verge of collapse. However, what made him famous wasn’t that he came from an impoverished ducal family, but that his family held back his talents.

He was truly an exceptional warrior who had the skill to place second in the annual jousting tournament. He had earned his knighthood at a young age and wore medals personally awarded by the Emperor. He had practically lived on battlefields since childhood.

The reason he attended the Academy was obvious.

It was for the person he served as his lord.

“Next is Callisten Ethan Cropus.”

It was because of the Crown Prince.

Callisten was the one who had helped Casius’s family whenever they struggled. In the original work, Casius had been loyal enough to Callisten to give his life for him. In the original story, Casius had stepped back without ever confessing his feelings to Delilah and later died for her because of his loyalty to Callisten.

He couldn’t confess his feelings to the woman his lord loved.

“Everyone, please come forward and greet your classmates.”

The three students who were already standing went to the front.

“Pleased to meet you all. I’m Delilah, and I’m so excited to be at the Academy for the first time. I’m also living in Demian’s mansion and… well… By the time I graduate from the Academy, I hope to be a mother.”

After Delilah’s statement, which was almost like a declaration, everyone looked at Briseyes. She ignored the stares fixed on her and continued to look ahead with a cool gaze.

“Ho ho. That’s a nice dream. Next.”

As the professor pretended not to notice and moved on, Casius greeted everyone with a reddened face, unable to hide his embarrassment.

“I am Casius Rozefel. Pleased to meet you all.”

“Is that all?”

“Ah… um… Yes.”

As he awkwardly smiled and scratched the back of his neck, the professor laughed as if finding him bland.

“You too, introduce yourself.”

“Yes, pleased to meet you all as well.”

When Callisten unexpectedly gave such a bland greeting, the professor looked at him nervously and said:

“Well then, please be kind to these three students. Baron, Jeria, and Fedon have moved down to class 2.”

Everyone thought that although Callisten was smiling, he didn’t really seem to be genuinely smiling.

Callisten, who had been smiling with a strange expression like someone with a twisted mind, soon looked at where Delilah had returned to her seat. At Demian beside her.

Demian couldn’t understand why the mad Crown Prince was looking at him, so he stared back until their eyes met, then forced a smile and looked forward.

And so the first period began.

Briseyes thought it fortunate that she could attend class properly as usual, thanks to Callisten who, surprisingly, did not interfere with her listening to the lecture.

⁕⁕⁕

“Let’s go eat lunch together.”

At Wilhelm Academy, students had to bring their own lunch boxes. Originally, they had planned to operate a cafeteria, but it quickly disappeared.

The students attending Wilhelm Academy were children of the central nobility, the most prominent in the Cropus Empire.

If anyone fell ill because of the food, it would become quite troublesome. And the children of noble families, though they appeared healthy, often had many peculiarities.

Some had food allergies.

Therefore, it was most common for students to bring food that suited their individual diets and eat either in the classroom or in the garden.

“Where are you going to eat?”

Briseyes had planned to eat with Evusi as usual. However, Saturn and Evusi looked nervous as they stood near her, watching Callisten cautiously.

“Wherever you eat.”

Briseyes felt that she wouldn’t be able to shake off Callisten no matter how hard she tried.

“Saturn, Evusi. Would it be okay if Cal joins us?”

“Ah, sure.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Kaz too.”

“That’s fine.”

Briseyes invited Casius to join them as he seemed unsure what to do.

“Where do you usually eat?”

“On the rooftop.”

Briseyes said this as she gathered her lunch. Callisten, who had also brought a large lunch box as instructed, picked up both his and Briseyes’s lunch boxes.

“Hold them properly. Otherwise, they’ll tilt to one side.”

“Yes, I’ll hold them well.”

Callisten answered like an obedient animal to Briseyes’s words and smiled brightly. Then they headed for the rooftop.

When they reached the rooftop, someone had surprisingly already claimed a spot.

“Try this.”

“Ah.”

Delilah was feeding Demian, who was lying with his head on her lap.

“This is where we usually eat,” Saturn said as soon as he saw Delilah and Demian.

“Then you can eat over there.”

Delilah pointed to the opposite side of the rooftop and then turned back to Demian with a smile.

“I made this myself. How is it?”

“Delicious. I thought you were just smart, but you’re also good at cooking, Dili.”

“Thank you.”

Delilah beamed as she put another piece of food into Demian’s mouth.

“Do we really have to eat here?” Callisten asked with a frown as he watched the scene.

“Let’s just eat here.”

Briseyes felt stubborn and didn’t want to go elsewhere because of those two. She went to the opposite side and found a spot. She sat on the bench as usual and placed her lunch box on the round table.

Callisten then unfolded his three-tiered lunch box and said:

“I made everything myself.”

“You can’t cook.”

“I learned. From Kaz.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

Casius sat down next to Callisten with a smile, and Briseyes somehow ended up sitting next to Callisten.

Saturn and Evusi also sat nearby and opened their lunch boxes.

“Try this, Bri.”

What Callisten offered was a tart. Since it seemed unlikely that someone who had been roaming battlefields would have learned baking, Briseyes pretended to believe him and used the fork he gave her to pick up the tart and eat it.

“It’s delicious.”

“Why did you only bring this? It’s just greens.”

“If you look carefully, there’s also an apple pie.”

Callisten frowned as he looked at Briseyes’s lunch box.

“Eat what I brought.”

She was about to refuse, but the tart he had given her was unexpectedly delicious, so she agreed.

“Kaz must be good at cooking.”

“Ah, yes. I made mine too. Would you like a madeleine?”

“Yes, please.”

Callisten watched Briseyes eating the madeleine and said:

“You look like a rabbit.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Try one yourself. It’s delicious.”

Casius picked up a madeleine with his fork and gave it to her, which she then offered to Callisten.

“Feed it to me. Ah.”

He said this to Briseyes, but instead of giving it to him, she ate it herself.

“I ate it because you talked nonsense. This is really delicious, Kaz.”

“Thank you.”

Just as the conversation was about to continue, they overheard Delilah and Demian’s conversation.

“I’ve been taking folic acid supplements lately.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s medicine to prepare for pregnancy.”

Briseyes’s expression soured at those words, and seeing this, Callisten’s expression darkened as well. Casius couldn’t understand this and asked:

“By the way, why are you eating with us when you have a husband?”

Casius asked because he genuinely didn’t understand.

“If I were your husband, I would be jealous if a beautiful wife like Bri ate with other men.”