At that moment, Ken sincerely wished he were an idiot — someone who knew nothing about Arcane magic, or better yet, couldn't even understand human speech.
The princess of the Flame Rose Empire and the prince of the Zijinghua Empire just had a full-blown duel right under my nose—on the first day of school?!
And worse — the latter had nearly been killed by the former.
But the most terrifying part?
He had scolded the prince just now.
The Norton family has dragon blood in their veins. Not a single one of their emperors has ever been known for their temper.
Watching Ken struggle to speak, mouth flapping like a fish out of water, Linen simply gave a calm, measured smile.
"Professor, considering the disturbance all of this has caused, wouldn't it be wise to disperse the students before the hallway gets any more crowded?"
"Y-Yes, of course, Your Highness," Ken stammered.
He quickly barked out orders to dismiss the students. Milian, still among the crowd, added her voice to help disperse the gathering.
The fun was over anyway, and with two teachers pushing them along, even the most curious students had no choice but to leave.
Once the crowd had thinned out, Linen spoke again.
"It's thanks to your intervention, professor, that this incident didn't escalate further. Both I and Her Highness Hysteria won't forget your assistance. I trust you won't be spreading word of this everywhere, will you?"
Intervention?
They'd already exchanged Tier 1 spells! How the hell was that "not escalating"?
But Ken understood the subtext and nodded hastily.
"Of course, Your Hi— I mean, Linen. I'll handle things with the administration. I'll make sure neither of Your Highnesses suffers any consequences."
"Ah, how pleasant it is to deal with reasonable people."
Linen snapped his fingers in approval.
But then Hysteria gave a snort and coldly interjected.
"Hmph. That won't be necessary. I'll take full responsibility. This whole thing was my doing — it had nothing to do with this bottom-feeder."
Linen shook his head lightly.
"Hysteria, I'm afraid you're mistaken. A duel requires two participants. I appreciate your willingness to take responsibility, but the academy isn't entirely staffed by idiots like Professor Ken."
"Besides—let's say, hypothetically—you really want to be honest. Do you think your father, the Flame Rose Emperor, would be pleased to hear that his daughter caused an international incident on her first day abroad?"
He smiled. "Just do it for my sake. Let's treat this as a minor misunderstanding, shall we?"
Hysteria paused for a moment, then muttered with layered meaning, "Your silver tongue… is dangerously good, bottom-feeder."
"I'm good at more than just talking, Your Highness. But if you'll excuse me, I have a few questions I'd like to ask Professor Ken in private."
With a harrumph, Hysteria turned on her heel and headed for the room the Academy had prepared for her.
From the moment she was born, no peer had ever managed to put her on the back foot — until now. This was her first real obstacle since setting foot in the Zijinghua Empire.
And it will be the only one!
She clenched her jaw, steeling herself as she left the corridor behind.
Still, something nagged at her.
That line he said... how did he know?
Normally, Hysteria considered it an insult to be helped by others. But this time—if he really was that person…
Just before she reached the door to her room, her steps faltered. She turned back and looked at Linen, her expression unreadable.
But in the end, she didn't ask.
She went inside without a word.
Back in the corridor, Linen waited a few moments. When no new system notification appeared, he sighed, a little disappointed.
As expected. If you go into something expecting a rejection, it doesn't trigger the reward.
Only genuine rejection counts.
Still, not a total loss. This was all part of the experiment.
And the results?
A complete success.
He'd found a long-term way to farm rejections from Hysteria and locked in their status as mortal enemies.
Think the coming events would steer them toward reconciliation?
Wrong.
With her personality, being saved by someone she saw as beneath her would only deepen her resentment.
She'd hate him even more for it.
That last glance she gave before going into her room?
Her cheeks were red.
Must've been flushed with rage.
Time to keep pushing.
But right now...
Linen turned and threw an arm around Ken's shoulders just as the man was trying to sneak away.
"Professor, you weren't just walking in at the end, were you? You were watching the whole time, weren't you?"
"You wouldn't want word getting out that you could've stopped the Flame Rose Princess from nearly murdering the Zijinghua Prince... and chose not to, would you?"
"Gulp."
Ken swallowed hard. His eyes darted toward Milian, practically begging for help.
But she just shivered and vanished into the women's dorms.
"Relax, professor," Linen said smoothly, keeping his arm firmly around Ken's neck. "I'm not a monster. I just have a few things I'd like to ask you."
With that, the two of them walked off, Linen still smiling.
---
Meanwhile, back in her room, Hysteria sat on her bed, deep in thought.
She replayed Linen's voice and face over and over in her mind.
"Hysteria. The weak aren't born to serve the strong. The strong exist to protect the weak."
Only two people had ever said those words to her.
Her late mother.
And the fiancé her mother had chosen for her before she died.
Could it be… him?
No. Absolutely not.
Her mother had told her he was a man of unshakable justice — the only person she could trust in this world aside from herself.
How could that possibly be the same silver-tongued rogue who flirted with her, provoked her, and dared to insult her feet?
And yet… he had helped her.
"Ugh. So annoying!"
They can't be the same person!
I'll prove it!
She shook her head hard.
But she didn't notice: ever since returning to her room, the blush on her face had not only failed to fade…
…it had quietly begun to spread.