### Episode 46: Vengeance (3)
“Umm… For some reason, it seems like the students in the same department have been avoiding me since the first class…”
“Maybe it’s because Ria is the Young Lady. Approaching the Young Lady too casually might feel awkward, so they’re probably taking time to gradually get closer.”
“Is that so…?”
After the morning classes ended, it was lunchtime.
Cecilia insisted stubbornly that she wanted to have lunch together. Since I didn’t really have any other friends, I decided to spend the lunch break with her.
“This must be the cafeteria. I’ve heard that the Royal Family doesn’t skimp on support for the Academy, but a full buffet… and the food quality is also excellent.”
Thanks to the Emperor’s bold investment in nurturing the talents who will shine in the Empire, the facilities of the Academy were all designed to give immense satisfaction.
This applied to the cafeteria as well—since it was buffet-style, there were highly skilled chefs, some of whom had previously worked for the Royal Family. The dishes they served could easily be called exquisite cuisine.
‘The cost of the staff and ingredients must be astronomical… Quite a bold investment.’
After walking around and picking out some dishes we liked, Cecilia and I found an empty seat.
“Uh… Ria, don’t people usually sit across from each other to eat?”
“How will other students eat if they can’t find seats because of us? It’ll be easier for them to sit next to us this way, don’t you think?”
“Are… are you sure?”
Though I was somewhat confused by Ria’s confident attitude in sitting next to me, upon reflection, this was similar to how she always sat next to me during dinner at our household, so it didn’t seem particularly odd.
Thinking about it, I enjoyed a pleasant lunch with Ria.
“Oh, by the way, continuing from before, Ria is so pretty and carries an air of nobility, which might make it difficult for people to approach her. That’s not Ria’s fault, but it might be a good idea for her to take the initiative and approach others.”
“Beautiful?! Ah, well… That does sound like a good approach.”
Ria seemed flustered at what I said, and even coughed slightly.
Had she been eating faster than earlier? Or was that just my imagination?
Muttering around us—
“Hmm, it’s getting noisy around here.”
“…It’s only natural we’d get attention if we sit like this and eat together.”
With the atmosphere getting more restless than when we first entered the cafeteria, Ria seemed puzzled. But the truth was, given our prominence and the fact that we were eating together so amicably, it was inevitable that we would draw attention.
“Really, did he do that?”
“That’s what I heard. Even I couldn’t believe it when I saw it with my own eyes, so imagine how others felt.”
“…?”
What’s going on? It feels like everyone’s gaze and conversation are somehow directed at me.
“Young Master? Those people seem to be talking about something related to you.”
“Yes… It seems so.”
Upon closer inspection, the people gossiping appeared familiar. They were students from James Professor’s morning class.
It seems the news of my duel with Maiten has spread, thanks to them.
“Do you know them? Did something happen?”
“Well, it’s…”
Eventually, feeling guilty that I was disturbing lunch, I recounted the recent events to her. Upon hearing that I had won the duel, Ria looked genuinely delighted.
“Incredible! The Grace family is famous for their martial arts skills, and you managed to defeat their promising heir after only about a year of training!”
“It was all luck. If he hadn’t been rash and made poor judgments, I would have lost.”
“That’s part of skill too! Someone who can’t control their own mind can only lose. You staying calm and finding a way to victory—that’s what makes Young Master so impressive.”
I felt oddly awkward and turned away at Ria’s enthusiastic compliments.
Because of all the contemptuous and jealous looks I’ve received, it felt somewhat strange to accept such sincere praise directly.
But Ria kept sending admiring and respectful glances my way, seemingly finding even my bashfulness adorable.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Just as we had that unusual interlude, an uninvited guest approached—
“…Arthur?”
“Peace to you, Young Lady.”
It was none other than the original main character, Knight Arthur.
“What’s this rudeness? I clearly said I would separately send my greetings.”
“This is a cafeteria. I merely sat down for a moment in an empty seat. I don’t see how this could be considered impolite.”
“…Tch.”
Ria frowned, clicked her tongue, and openly showed her displeasure with the situation.
Though she usually maintained a good relationship with Arthur in the original story, remembering our disastrous first meeting, I could understand why she was acting this way now.
“By the way, why did Arthur act so hastily? In the original, he accidentally met Ria when she was feeling depressed about academy life, and they fell in love. Did he have any specific reason to approach her first here?”
Despite being a womanizer earlier on, Arthur had been genuinely devoted to Cecilia in the beginning.
There was something uncomfortable about how he ignored class differences and obsessively pursued Cecilia—like he felt something was being taken away from him.
“I have heard from the Duke.”
At Arthur’s voice cutting through my thoughts, my hand that had almost grasped some kind of clue dropped futilely.
Such an unhelpful guy…
“He said it was a betrothal arranged based on the family’s interests. And I’ve also heard that Young Master’s reputation with women isn’t the best either.”
“So what?”
“Please give up on Young Lady. Don’t wound her with a loveless marriage.”
What to do… Should I just kill him?
Before, I thought facilitating their relationship was the way to make her happy, but after learning the truth about him and the broken original story, I find myself increasingly reluctant to hand over Cecilia to this womanizer.
Even if I can’t be with her, it seems impossible to trust her to this Arthur now.
Thinking this, I was about to clench my fists and punch his overconfident face when—
Tap.
Cecilia grabbed my hand under the table, signaling me to stop.
When I relaxed my fist at her gesture, she smiled brightly and offered me a side dish from her plate.
“Young Master, aa~”
“!!”
“?!?!”
With the sudden feeding gesture, not only I but also Arthur sitting in front of us and the curious onlookers around us were stunned into silence.
“Ah~”
“Ah, ah… Yes.”
With her cheerful smile, she kept insisting, and I reluctantly accepted the side dish to avoid making her arm tired.
“…”
Arthur, who had witnessed the entire scene, wrinkled his brows, clearly displeased with the current situation.
“Well, I’ll take my leave first, Young Master. I have some messages to relay to my parents through Arthur, and there are also things I want to discuss privately.”
With a bright smile, Cecilia reassured me, but her face suddenly turned cold towards Arthur. She nodded briefly, silently instructing him to follow her.
And so, with those two leaving, the students were left eating their meals in an oppressive atmosphere.
*
Leaving Arthur for a while, Ria headed to a quiet secluded place.
“Building’s backside should be rarely visited, right? It should be fine since it’s lunchtime.”
After turning her head and confirming the absence of people, Ria looked at Arthur, who was patiently waiting for her.
“Haa… Arthur, are you even in your right mind to say such things?!”
“Huh, but Young Lady! That man is wicked! Just from the rumors, you can tell what sort of cruel person he is! There are also many claims that his first-ranked admission was thanks to family support! Compared to that man, isn’t it better for me to be your protector?—”
“That’s enough.”
At the suddenly icy atmosphere, Arthur instinctively took a step back.
“What?!”
“Even if you’re an excellent knight, you’ve overstepped. Arthur, criticizing another noble in front of a commoner like yourself is absolutely unacceptable.”
Although Cecilia usually treated everyone, whether commoners or nobles, equally kindly, hearing insults towards her fiancé, and combined with Arthur’s overconfident behavior, made her speak out of concern and advice.
‘Is it that your self-esteem has gotten inflated thanks to your looks and talents? Confidence in yourself is good, but excessive pride will only lead to your downfall. This might have been the reason why he was hitting on one woman after another in previous chapters.’
Arthur, with his handsome looks and talent, was someone who had been favored by the Duke, further boosting his self-esteem.
The problem was that his pride was excessive.
Showing such arrogance even to nobility like Young Lady Cecilia wouldn’t bode well if he continued this attitude.
“No matter how talented you are and how much pride you have, keep this up and you might find yourself in danger.”
“Young Lady—”
“That’s enough. I won’t entertain any more arguments. Here’s a letter for my parents. And from this point forward, please avoid appearing before me and the Young Master. Remember that my leniency towards your arrogance goes only this far.”
Paralyzed by her imposing manner, Arthur was left standing there as Cecilia walked away. She then noticed a familiar figure with a distinctive hair color quietly slipping away.
“Kuh… Cough…”
Does Arthur know?
That her somewhat grim expression was simply because she was trying not to laugh at her silly Young Master secretly worrying about her.
