11.3

“There’s an empty seat here. I’ll sit there.”

‘Oh no, don’t come here!’

Unfortunately for Adolf, Ella was still reeling from the shock of the dream she had early that morning. Though her reddened ears were endearing, Ella wasn’t ready to face him yet. As she hesitated, unsure of what to do, Adolf began taking steps closer to her—one by one.

Finally, standing beside her, Adolf awkwardly asked in informal speech, 

“This seat is empty. May I sit?”

“Hahaha, unfortunately, this seat is taken.”

Ella forced a faint laugh before turning to look at Liam, who stood idly behind her. She mouthed words to him.

‘Come here quickly!’

‘I don’t want to. He’s scary!’

‘Can’t you come now?’

As Ella’s glare intensified, Liam reluctantly approached the table and, putting on a bold face, said to Adolf.

“Haha, Professor, I’m sorry, but this is my seat.”

“…….”

Adolf’s expression noticeably darkened. Seeing his gloom, a female student sitting next to Ella jumped up in fright.

“Professor, please take my seat!”

She quickly moved to another table. As Adolf brightened and was about to sit in the now-vacant seat, Ella desperately clung to the chair with all her might and quickly spoke up.

“This seat was actually reserved for my friend. Haha. Shua!”

However, Shua, who had earlier worried about Ella not drinking too much, was already passed out on the table, fast asleep. Ella’s eyes filled with panic.

‘Now I can’t even escape until Shua wakes up!’

Noticing that the woman Ella referred to was already asleep, Adolf promptly took the seat next to her. Once he was seated, the tension in the room began to ease slightly. Though initially startled by the sudden appearance of a stranger, the students resumed their lively chatter once it was confirmed that he was a professor.

‘What should I do now…?’

In contrast, the tension at Ella’s table remained palpable. While Ella was contemplating how to start a conversation, one of the male students, who seemed both intimidated by Adolf’s presence and intrigued by the word “professor,” spoke up first. He was the same person who had earlier mocked Ella for being a commoner.

“If you’re a new professor… may I ask your name?”

“…Adolf de Ludwig of the Ludwig Ducal Family.”

“Gasp.”

The questioning student’s eyes widened like saucers. Since it was still the beginning of the semester, Adolf’s presence was known only to senior students in the Swordsmanship Department, those who took his classes, and a few high-ranking noble offspring.

Excited by the sudden appearance of a high-ranking noble—especially the second son of a founding Duke’s family—the male students eagerly introduced themselves one after another.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Daniel of the Olpham Viscount family. My father works as a junior officer in the Treasury Department.”

“Your Lordship, I am Mikhail of the Kalian Baron family. I deeply respect Duke Ludwig.”

“I see.”

As expected, the male students, who had previously been keen on distinguishing between commoners and nobles, seemed more focused on Adolf’s background than his appearance. Moreover, being young and from relatively modest families, they appeared unaware of the rumors surrounding Adolf. Their fear quickly dissipated, and they leaned toward him, hanging on his every word. Adolf answered their questions with an indifferent expression.

Meanwhile, Ella watched quietly, her eyes darting around. After witnessing an embarrassing scene the previous night and having a… peculiar dream early in the morning, she found it incredibly awkward to face Adolf less than a day later.

To make matters worse, she hadn’t yet told Shua that Adolf was her professor or that she had encountered him again. She feared that if she spoke to him too familiarly, Shua might wake up mid-conversation and misunderstand the situation.

Ella decided to pretend she didn’t know him. She subtly shifted her body toward Liam to distance herself from Adolf. Noticing her subtle movement, Adolf, who had been answering questions, quickly directed a comment toward her.

“Congratulations on your admission.”

“…Thank you. Liam, what were you saying earlier?”

“Huh? About what?”

Adolf’s awkward attempt to finish his sentence in a casual tone was almost comical, and Ella struggled to suppress a laugh. Not wanting to encourage further conversation, she quickly turned to Liam and poked his side to prompt him to respond.

Adolf, noticing Ella’s reluctance to engage with him, tried once more to strike up a conversation, only to be pulled back into the flood of questions from the other male students.

***

The one who answered Adolf’s belated congratulations on her admission to Ella was, unexpectedly, another student.

“Haha, thank you. Congratulations on your appointment as well, Your Lordship. By the way, I found ‘A Sharper Tongue than the Sword’ incredibly inspiring. My father loved that book so much that the pages are completely worn out.”

“For me, it was ‘The First Step in Negotiation.’ That book is what made me decide to become a diplomat.”

“Those are books I’ve never heard of.”

“…Ahaha, they’re authored by Duke Ludwig, your father… I see. Then, perhaps another book…”

The male students continued their chatter, but Adolf’s mind was already a mess. He had come worried that she might get drunk, yet seeing her not even letting him sit beside her left him feeling a little dejected.

‘I guess it’s my fault for showing up uninvited…’

He began to regret how, upon hearing the words “freshmen’s welcome party,” he had rushed to find Ella without a second thought. Just a day earlier, she had asked him not to treat her differently, not wanting to attract attention, and he had nodded in agreement. Yet here he was, practically announcing to the entire school that he had some sort of connection with her.

Adolf gazed at the back of Ella’s head with a look of apology.

‘She’s sticking close to that Liam fellow…’

Despite his guilt, seeing her grow closer to another man made his blood boil. However, he knew well that he had no right to interfere since there was nothing between them. He was also fully aware that his mere presence was already making her uncomfortable. And yet…

‘It’s so frustrating…’

Although his mind understood, his heart couldn’t help but ache. Adolf, worried that his feelings might show, shifted his gaze from her back to the table. Perhaps misunderstanding his glance, one of the male students who had been bombarding him with questions stood up.

“Now that I think about it, we haven’t properly offered you a drink yet. Please accept this wine glass.”

Adolf found the male students’ incessant chatter irritating, but he couldn’t refuse their hospitality and accepted the glass. Besides, his throat was parched. When Adolf willingly took the glass, the excited student filled his own glass and enthusiastically proposed a toast. With a sycophantic cheer of “To the Ludwig Ducal family, the pillar of the Empire!” they clinked their glasses and drank.

As Adolf took a sip of the wine, something strange caught his eye. Something was moving on the table.

‘Is that… hair?’

Narrowing his eyes, he continued drinking. But as he drank halfway, the black object began to wriggle.

It was… a cockroach.

And it was heading straight for him at full speed.

“Ahh!”

Crash!

Adolf, his entire body shivering in disgust, flung the glass onto the table. As he screamed, the wine he had been holding in his mouth dribbled down the corners of his lips. The crimson wine spilled everywhere, and the shattered glass shards scattered across the table. At the same time, the room fell silent. Everyone was staring at Adolf in stunned silence, including Ella.

Unable to admit that he had been terrified of a bug in front of Ella, Adolf swallowed his pride and spoke through gritted teeth.

“This wine tastes terrible.”

“…”

“I’ll take my leave now.”

Leaving behind a classroom filled with awkward silence, Adolf hurriedly exited the room.