Chapter 1.7

In truth, her dislike for Leonard wasn’t a big deal. Sometimes, there are people you dislike for no reason.

…Okay, she’ll be honest. She disliked him because he was annoying. She disliked him for consistently taking first place over her. She disliked him for being flawless in relationships, grades, everything, for being noble-born, unlike her. She disliked him because his presence made her feel insignificant. She disliked his dazzling blonde hair and his clean, white hands with calluses from holding a sword as the only sign of hardship.

Yes, you could call it an inferiority complex.

Once you start disliking someone, everything they do seems irritating, so there are likely more reasons than the ones mentioned. Her twisted personality might play a part too.

Why? Is it wrong for a lowly commoner like her to dislike a noble prince? It’s quite a common scenario, isn’t it? The second place student always pushed aside by the first place student ends up feeling jealous and hateful.

Moreover, the first place student she hated was none other than Leonard Klein, so it was natural for her to feel uncomfortable even encountering him.

Yes, just like now.

Since the class ended, Leonard had been following her. Of course, she was ignoring him.

It was burdensome enough having him sit near her and stare during class, but why was he following her now?

“Raven, wait a second!”

When Leonard persistently following her grabbed her shoulder, she finally sighed deeply and stopped walking.

“…Let go.”

“You finally respond.”

When she shook off his hand and snapped at him, Leonard smiled brightly as if pleased. His face, tinted with a rosy glow, shone refreshingly.

She looked at him with a weary expression.

Honestly, both of them seemed a bit out of their minds.

“Raven, if you don’t mind, would you like to join my group? I purposely left a spot open.”

Leonard offered unexpectedly. His white face, asking kindly, was flushed with pink in anticipation.

“…What?”

Did he just ask me to do the project together? Leonard… you?

About to immediately refuse without thinking, she held her tongue to figure out his intentions.

Why me, of all people? What’s he planning by teaming up the first and second place students? What kind of outstanding project does he want to submit?

Suppressing her rising questions, she forced herself to maintain a neutral expression and said, 

“No. I already have a group.”

Upon hearing that, Leonard obediently released her shoulder.

“I see. It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped.”

Even though she had firmly rejected him, Leonard didn’t lose his smile. His straight eyebrows lowered slightly in disappointment, but that was all.

He continued standing before her, so she was about to snap at him, asking if he had more to say, but before she could speak, Leonard turned around and said with a bright smile, 

“Do your best, Raven.”

Watching Leonard wave his hand as he turned away, she gave a loud scoff.

“…Ha!”

Did he just mock me? Right?

If not, why did he follow her all the way here after what happened this morning to say that?

Of course, Leonard wouldn’t deliberately try to upset someone, but thinking he did it with pure intentions made her even angrier.

What? Do your best? Do your~ best?

He probably thought he was encouraging her, but unfortunately, she couldn’t help but interpret the words of the first place student who always beat her negatively. If she were the type to take things at face value, she wouldn’t have ended up at odds with Leonard.

Fine, she won’t just do her best; she’ll submit the best project.

She lifted her chin defiantly and moved forward with renewed determination.

* * *

Unfortunately, the next day was the one with the most overlapping classes with Leonard, so her mood hit rock bottom. To the extent that students passing by in the hallway were startled by her expression.

Entering the classroom, the students were gathered in the groups they had formed last time. The stress of the group project, which she had momentarily forgotten, began to give her a headache.

As soon as her group gathered, she spoke in a flat voice, 

“Who wants to be the group leader?”

“……”

Everyone avoided her gaze. Expecting this reaction, she continued without wavering.

“Then I’ll be the leader. No objections, right? Let’s start with dividing roles. Don’t even think about shirking.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl who had asked to team up yesterday confidently raised her hand. She had been silent when deciding the leader but suddenly became proactive once the leader was decided.

“We’re presenting on the culture during Emperor Julius’s era, right? I’ll do the research.”

You’ll probably go to the library the day before and pick books based on their titles. With no organization or underlining, I’ll end up doing all the research again.

While grumbling internally, a boy with dark brown hair spoke boldly.

“I’ll write the report. I’m confident in my writing.”

Using research as an excuse, you’ll procrastinate until I, less confident than you, write it more fluently.

Adjusting her glasses and sarcastically thinking, a boy with a particularly loud voice spoke.

“I’ll do the presentation. Who else but me? Haha.”

…There’s a 100% chance I’ll end up doing it.

Feeling disheartened, she rubbed her temples.

“…Ha, then let’s prepare our tasks well by next time. I’ll help with the research too, so be thorough.”

I’ll judge how hopeless it is after seeing it. It’s always been like this, but today feels especially exhausting.

“So make sure to have it ready by next time.”

Looking up at her with eyes full of trust, her group members made her anxious, prompting her to remind them once more. Then, laughter came from the group next to them. She glanced over and immediately frowned before saying anything.

Students gathered around Leonard, who was speaking softly, gazed at him with admiration. They seemed ready to eagerly accept whatever task he assigned, whether it was research, report writing, or presentation.

Yes, Leonard’s group would show fantastic teamwork. After all, the leader was the prince of the Klein family; who wouldn’t listen to him? They’d do it meticulously just to impress him.

Still, it’s better to do it all herself than join that group.

She snorted quietly and turned her head away.

* * *

She finishes her meal much faster than other students. Since she’s eating alone, she gets up as soon as her meal is done.

Leaving the dining hall with a hastily eaten dessert cookie, she headed straight to the next classroom. There were still 30 minutes left of lunch break, but she had no intention of spending time in the dormitory or hanging out with friends like others. Not having friends to spend time with was one thing, but homework and previewing the next class were more important.

Arriving at the classroom for the next class, she began organizing the books and writing tools she had brought, but she sensed an unusually dense atmosphere filling the surroundings. Feeling an unpleasant premonition she normally wouldn’t, she instinctively frowned and looked around, spotting two figures by the wall.

A male student with disheveled platinum blonde hair hanging down to his shoulders was embracing a female student’s waist and flirting.

“…….”

Her expression, already displeased by the trivial sounds from inside the classroom, became even more scrunched.

What a pathetic guy.

“Hello, Raven.”

She tried to escape before encountering him, but she was a step too late.

Turning her head, Enoch was already looking at her.

In the dark classroom, his teal eyes stood out.

“…….”

“Enoch, do you know her?”

The female student, with her arm around Enoch’s neck, tilted her head in curiosity, glancing at her with interest.

Enoch lazily smiled and licked his lips. Some female students might find such a display charming, but knowing his true nature or perhaps having seen him since childhood, she found it just ridiculous. As she continued to express her disgust, he spoke to the female student.

“Ella, you should leave now.”

“What? Already?”

The female student hesitated with a reluctant expression before leaving.

As Enoch stood up and approached her, his appearance, previously obscured by the darkness, became visible.

His physique had grown considerably since childhood, and his consistent swordsmanship revealed muscles on his arms, contrasting perfectly with Leonard, nicknamed the angel, with his fierce and sharp eyes and somehow delinquent posture.

“Hello, perpetual second place. You seem to be in a bad mood again today. Is it because of Leonard Klein?”

With a crooked smile, his unusually sharp canine teeth gleamed from his slightly parted lips.

Reacting to Enoch’s barbed words, she retorted irritably with a frown.

“Don’t call me that. And what does it matter to you?”

“Your sponsorship money comes from the family I’m set to inherit, so of course it matters. If you’re attending the academy with our family’s money, shouldn’t you show some results? My father surely doesn’t expect such grades from you.”

“Oh, does he? But isn’t that something you shouldn’t be saying?”

She scoffed and retorted sarcastically.

Indeed, Enoch, who consistently ranked below 20th and maintained his upper-tier status solely through swordsmanship grades, wasn’t in a position to talk. Objectively, Enoch’s grades weren’t that bad, but it was laughable for him to say such things to her. After all, Leonard was the only one above her.