Chapter 3.1

Sitting blankly and staring into space, she came to her senses.  

She had been distracted for a moment, thinking about something that happened a year ago. And it was during class, no less.  

She hurriedly gripped her pen again and turned her gaze to the blackboard. Fortunately, she hadn’t missed any notes.  

But she kept feeling a gaze on her….  

While quickly copying what was written on the board, she scratched the back of her head and turned toward where she felt the gaze.  

“…….”  

Looking to her side, she saw familiar purple eyes smiling brightly in front of her. It was such a blissful face.  

Leonard, with a silly grin, seemed to be mouthing something to her, but feeling uncomfortable, she quickly turned her head away.  

In the morning, she was too flustered to say anything and was dragged around by Leonard, but now she really had to decide what to do about this ridiculous situation.  

Resting her chin on her hand, she twirled the pen she held.  

To think positively, at least, it wasn’t a meaningless waste.  

She had heard from her roommate and other students, especially the male ones, that their grades drop once they start dating. She didn’t know why, but maybe Leonard would be similar. 

With his personality, he wouldn’t be anything but devoted to his partner. He would do everything she asked and follow her around like a puppy. It was obvious just from how he acted around her already.  

And as far as she knew, Leonard received many confessions but never dated anyone since entering the academy.  

So wouldn’t it be fine to continue this ridiculous relationship with Leonard until the next exam? Anyway, unlike Leonard, she wasn’t sincere, and if things went wrong, she could just break up with him.  

She felt sorry for Leonard in many ways, but with the Marquis’s trust in her waning, she had no room to care for others.  

“…….”  

She drew lines in the margins of her notebook with a frown.  

Still, was this situation even reasonable? 

She decided to think seriously about it after class.  

Whether to follow this ridiculous plan or reveal it was a lie and just break up with Leonard. Of course, that would mean her first relationship would end in about a day.  

“What’s the next class, Raven?”  

…Anyway, she had to endure this until then.  

Leonard stood up as soon as class ended, as if he had been waiting. Almost every student glanced at him as he approached her.  

She felt a headache coming on and sighed, resting her hand on the desk. She had sighed so much today that she felt like she’d lost a year of her life.  

“…What the.”  

Going outside the classroom didn’t improve the situation.  

Peter Grayson, who had seen her and Leonard together, stood with a sour expression and spoke.  

“I thought Greyson was seeing things, but it was real?”  

Peter tapped Leonard’s shoulder with a shocked face.  

“Are you crazy, Leon?”  

“Huh? Not at all.”  

Leonard rubbed his shoulder and smiled smoothly, making Peter look exasperated.  

“Ahem.”  

At a small cough, Peter finally looked at her with an unwilling expression and greeted her.  

“Long time no see, Winston.”  

“Oh, hi.”  

She shrugged and accepted his greeting. Then he spoke again in a prickly tone.  

“I don’t think I’ve seen you since last semester. It’s been a while, huh?”  

The way he looked at her was oddly hostile. Well, Peter was Leonard’s closest friend, so it was understandable.  

“So you two ended up like this? Then why did you go through all that last year?”  

Standing still without much thought despite his sharp reaction, she flinched and turned Leonard toward her.  

Feeling a chill down her spine at Peter Grayson’s words, she questioned Leonard with a sharp voice.  

“Wait, did you already tell him?”  

“What, that you two are dating?”  

Instead of Leonard, Peter answered her words with a crooked stance. Hearing that, she froze coldly, and he rolled his eyes before speaking.  

“Leon didn’t say anything, but everyone knows. The entire academy is already buzzing about it. Hey, hey, Leon. Who buys that many roses in the morning? Greyson thought he was seeing things this morning.”  

“Oh, really?”  

While Leonard reacted calmly, her mind went cold at Peter’s snickering words.  

…Oh no! How could I not think of this?  

Given how bad their relationship was, what would the students think when they saw Leonard bringing roses and acting more affectionate than usual?  

No matter how much they reconciled, who brings flowers to a friend? Of course, they’d imagine unnecessary things. She could see it clearly in her mind without even looking.  

She groaned and held her head.  

“…….”  

At this point, even if she wanted to undo what happened with Leonard, there was no way now. The rumors had likely spread and inflated, and everyone was probably gossiping about it everywhere.  

If she told Leonard she wanted to break up now? She might return to her peaceful life, but Leonard would be heartbroken. Then she’d be buried by Leonard Klein’s enraged followers.  

Even just the rumor of dating Leonard was overwhelming, but if it spread that she dated and dumped him, she wouldn’t be able to dream of a normal school life.  

So, her life started spiraling downward the moment she misspoke yesterday. She tried to bring Leonard down, but instead, she was the one falling apart. How ridiculous and pathetic.  

“Ha….”  

If she could, she wanted to tie up yesterday’s self and lock her in a room. 

Damn, why did I think that? Was I going crazy before the exams?  

Feeling a sharp pain in her head, she ruffled her hair. Muttering a small curse was a bonus.  

“This damn….”  

“What?”  

Peter narrowed his eyes at her curse, and Leonard awkwardly smiled beside him. Regardless, she stood still, twisting her lips.  

“Anyway, what’s your real intention? You can’t be serious, are you trying to torment Leon or something?”  

Peter shot at her in a rough voice, and she mumbled quietly, full of annoyance.  

“What are you talking about?”  

“You…!”  

Seemingly hearing her, Peter growled with an angry face, and Leon stopped him. The purple eyes that seemed soft now held a firm expression.  

“Stop it.”  

“Hey, Leon! I don’t get it. Do you have no pride? Why would you follow someone like her around when you lack nothing?”  

Peter shouted, pointing at her, and she shrugged while picking her ear.  

She wanted to ask what was wrong with her but refrained, knowing she had done some things.  

“There are enough girls who like you to fill the academy building. Don’t you remember how you were down the whole break after being rejected? She’s just a commoner who acted so arrogantly towards you. Why do you like someone like her?”  

Peter ranted in the middle of the hallway, his voice echoing loudly.  

“Don’t talk about Raven like that.”  

From the moment Peter mentioned ‘just a commoner,’ Leonard’s face turned cold.  

When Leonard spoke in a calm yet cold voice, she interrupted him with an annoyed expression.

“Step aside.”  

She had tried to hold back, not wanting to create conflict from the first period, but her irritation was starting to boil over.  

Facing Peter directly, she frowned faintly and opened her mouth.  

“You’re treating me like I’m some notorious villain.”  

“What?”  

“Honestly, what did I even do? Did I hit him? Did I curse at him? No, right?”  

She gestured toward Leonard with her chin, and he flinched. Ignoring him, she continued with a crooked smile.  

“Why are you so sensitive? He can handle his own business. Why are you the one getting involved and making a fuss? He’s old enough to take care of himself. What’s with all the meddling?”  

“You…!”  

Peter’s face twisted with anger, but she smirked nonchalantly and tilted her head.  

“Oh, sorry about that. Just consider it an act of mercy from a lowly and presumptuous commoner. Got it?”  

“…….”  

“Well then, I’m off. The bell’s about to ring.”  

Before Peter could respond, she turned away abruptly. Leonard quickly followed after her.  

As the sound of footsteps echoed behind her, she hastened her pace. Leonard’s steps quickened as well.  

“Stop following me.”  

She said indifferently, but Leonard replied with a laugh in his voice.  

“Sorry, I can’t do that.”  

Of course, he couldn’t.  

Clicking her tongue, she kept walking.  

After following her persistently for a while, Leonard spoke in an apologetic tone.  

“Sorry about Peter. I don’t know why he’s acting like that today.”  

Well, she thought she might know.  

Rolling her eyes silently, she responded in a dry tone.  

“You’ve got a great friend.”  

“Do I?”  

Leonard chuckled awkwardly before speaking again.  

“But you were really cool earlier, Raven.”  

“What was? Don’t tell me you think arguing with Peter was… cool? Isn’t he your friend?”  

He’d been standing there with a dumbfounded expression while following her earlier.  

Turning to look at Leonard with an incredulous expression, she saw him shrug and smile.  

“Well, Peter did say some mean things. Even if he’s my friend, I can’t just let him be rude to you.”  

She clicked her tongue softly, just loud enough for him to hear.  

Peter would probably feel so wronged if he knew. Poor guy.