362 Rumors


    A week had passed since the visitation of the church and the evolution of Griffith, and we just entered the third month of the academic calendar. In addition to that, the spring had ended and we were now at the beginning of summer; the temperature was getting warmer and hotter nowadays. We still had one more month before the start of the two-month-long summer vacation. The academy was seemingly doing normal, and there was not that much big news that urred during that period of time. But one day, a certain rumor had been circting around the campus like wildfire. "Hey, Raphael, have you heard the rumors regarding the crown prince that he has been seeing someone other than his fiancee recently?" "I also heard that thing, Iris. It''s been hot nowadays." At noon, in the cafeteria, Sophia and I were chatting about something as we were eating our lunch. Not only us, but some students in the cafeteria were discussing the most recent news from the academy. As I was chewing my food, I was currently listening to what the other students had to say regarding the matter to gather some of thetest information. Sharpening my hearing, I focused on the table where two freshwomen were eating and chatting. "—I know that His Imperial Highness is not on good terms with her fiancee as of now, but to think that he has been seeing another girl. Someone even saw them discreetly going out around the city." "I know, right? I don''t know the whole story yet, I think His Imperial Highness deserves better. Who would want someone who is so serious that she might have neglected her rtionship with His Imperial Highness?" "Uh, huh. To be honest, I think Lady Christine has gone too far to the point of pushing His Highness Edward away. I heard that this girl is a first-year student, so they probably established a connection just recently."


    "Ugh! I''m so jealous of her! It should have been me!" It seemed like the rumors were likely true; there were even eyewitnesses—some sort of paparazzi. But there was no certainty if these were all true or propaganda to tarnish the prince or his fiancee. Even if it were true, we really did not know the reasons—if he was trying to get friendly or just to pester Christine. "I also heard that this person is a first-year student like us," Iris continued. "I don''t think she is someone in our ss, so she probably belongs to ss B or so," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "What do you think of this situation, Raphael?"


    "Well, this matter would cause conflict not only on campus but also with this nobility. On campus, I think that the response of the student body to this situation, more specifically, with this rumored girl, would probably depend on the court rank of this student herself." "I get what you are trying to imply." Iris nodded several times. "If this student belongs to a lower rank, the students would be disappointed and would treat her badly, as someone like her does not deserve to be by His Imperial Highness''s side." "You''re right." I was not personally interested in this matter and did not investigate it, so I did not know who this girl was or what her social status was. But given that she was being close with this empire''s crown prince, I should start getting the gist of it since this would cause friction between nobles. "On the other side, if it were the opposite, the students would mostly not get in her way. They might see that this girl was somewhat challenging Lady Christine, if only she intended to take him away from her." "I think Lady Christine would not let that happen. She is basically carrying the reputation of her family, so if she fails him, the consequences would definitely reflect on the Archduchy." "Yeah." She then took thest bite of her steak before changing the topic. "But anyway, let''s not forget to pass by the library." "Oh, right. We still have some materials to get there," I said before I began consuming my meal faster. ◆◇◆◇◆◇


    "I think the alchemy books are there." I pointed my index finger at the farthest shelf on the right side of the first-year''s library before we walked toward it. "The library is unusually vacant," she pointed out. "It is good that we finished our lunch before the others." As we were on our way, we suddenly heard voices inside, like a group of female students bickering somewhere on the opposite side of the library. Iris heard that as well, so we hid ourselves behind one of the shelves, and then we secretly eavesdropped on them. We also erased our presences, just in case. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    From what we could perceive, there was a group of three female students, probably from the third year based on their neckties, surrounding a first-year female student, who was not in the same ss as us, sitting on the floor. I recognized that the seniors were actually the followers of Christine Grise. From the gist of it, it seemed that bullying also urred in the academy. "Don''t get cocky, you bitch!" "How dare you try to get close with His Imperial Highness Edward when you are not on his level?!" "P-please stop—"


    "Waterball." Suddenly, one of the seniors cast a basic water magic spell and conjured a one-foot-diameter sphere of water above the head of the freshwoman''s head. The senior unhesitatingly released the waterball and dropped it on the poor girl. The water sshed all over her body, and drenched her uniform. I also noticed that one of them deployed a barrier on the bookshelf so that the water would not ssh on the books. Books were he expensive, and they probably could not afford to pay for the damaged ones. But to think that they prioritized themselves over the girl. "That''s what you get when you seduce the prince." One of them grinned as they stared down at the drenched girl. This is just the start, so distance your scious self from His Imperial Majesty''s grace." "Get lost, bitch. Let''s go, girls." After treating her so badly, the dejected girl maintained her gaze on the wet floor as her bullies wereughingly going out of the library. From the look of it, she was apparently the girl of the rumors.