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Chapter 2
Genevieve frowned for a moment before grabbing a fistful of the man’s hair.
“Aaaagh!”
Ignoring his cry of pain, she pulled him away from her.
“Owen, this is Edward. Edward, this is Owen Blythe.”
Ignoring Owen’s dramatic reaction, she briefly introduced them.
When Owen gave her a look that clearly asked for more explanation, she continued.
“You know The Responsibility of a Ruler that we borrowed? Edward needs it too, so we’re sharing it.”
“Thank you.”
Edward spoke in a voice so quiet it was barely audible.
“Don’t mention it~”
Owen replied cheerfully.
“So, when are you going to do Professor Hethers’s assignment?”
“…What if I don’t want to do it?”
Owen asked cautiously.
“Hey…! Then why didn’t you return the book today?!”
Genevieve smacked his arm with all her strength.
Listening to them, they sounded more like enemies than friends.
Yet without saying a word, they naturally took care of each other’s needs.
“I already said I’m sorry about today! Junior, if there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask Genevieve. She’s incredibly smart! She’s the second-ranked student in the third year, you know?”
Owen praised her while giving a thumbs-up.
“Hey, Owen! Want to play a game of speed chess?”
“Sure~ Genevieve, sorry for leaving you alone in the swamp of assignments. You understand this big brother’s feelings, right?”
“We’re the same age. Stop calling yourself my big brother. I’ve never had an older brother like you.”
Since Owen knew practically everyone, it wasn’t difficult for him to escape Genevieve.
He came and went like a storm.
Once he disappeared, the area quickly became quiet again.
“Sorry. Owen hates sitting down and studying.”
“It’s okay.”
“Looking at him, there’s no chance he’ll actually do the assignment. Feel free to use the book. My deadline isn’t until Friday, so I have plenty of time.”
“I understand.”
Edward returned his attention to his assignment.
Although he had expected the work to take two full days, Edward completed nearly half of it in only three hours.
The unexpected progress felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Um… Edward?”
“Yes?”
“It’s dinner time now.”
Genevieve spoke awkwardly.
The clock on the wall was already pointing at six.
In accordance with Saint John’s College’s rule that students should not skip meals, the lounge temporarily closed during meal times.
“Should we continue after dinner? I need to start using that book myself soon.”
She nodded toward The Responsibility of a Ruler.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
“Oh. Then do you want to have dinner together? We’re heading the same way anyway!”
“…It’s okay. I’ll see you at eight.”
Genevieve casually invited him, but Edward shook his head and declined.
Kindness felt unfamiliar and uncomfortable.
With a stiff expression, he left the lounge first.
* * *
Although the seats in the dining hall were not officially assigned, students naturally sat according to their year groups.
Most had their own friend groups and preferred spots.
Unless there was a special reason, students generally stayed within their own areas.
Edward disliked meal times.
In fact, he almost hated them.
If it weren’t for the school rules, he would never set foot in the dining hall.
Saint John’s College promoted itself as a place where future leaders could build social connections.
More accurately, it encouraged friendships among noble students.
Because of that, students constantly formed alliances and competed under the names of their families.
Of course, they were still teenagers who had not even reached adulthood.
No matter how elegant they tried to sound, most of their conflicts were nothing more than childish power struggles.
And Edward wanted no part in any kind of conflict.
Since he belonged to no noble family, he was always the one caught in the middle whenever nobles fought.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“Seriously! I can’t even hit a girl!”
“Were you taught to hit people in the first place?”
A loud argument could be heard nearby.
Charles Collins and Abigail Reitman were the ones arguing.
Judging by the atmosphere, Charles had lost a verbal battle due to his lack of wit.
With neither professors nor dorm supervisors present, the argument dragged on endlessly.
It didn’t look like it would end peacefully.
Edward noticed a school employee desperately avoiding eye contact with the students.
In a society with a strict class system, how could an ordinary staff member stop a fight between noble children?
It was an understandable choice.
Sensing trouble in the air, Edward quickly stuffed the remaining food into his mouth.
He needed to leave as soon as possible.
He knew very well that he was often Charles’s favorite target when Charles needed to vent his frustration.
“Ednerd!”
Just as expected, an irritated voice called him by the mocking nickname.
Edward ignored him and stood up.
“Are you deaf?”
Charles called again.
Edward still pretended not to hear.
“This bastard…!”
Charles’s face turned red with anger.
“You’re ignoring me?”
He strode over and grabbed Edward by the back of the neck.
A violent situation like this might have shocked others.
But for the second-year students, it was a familiar sight.
The only difference was that the classroom had been replaced by the dining hall.
Half the students watched as if they were enjoying a play.
The other half acted as though nothing unusual was happening.
Meanwhile, the first-years and third-years couldn’t hide their shock.
The murmuring grew louder.
Yet no one stepped in.
“Ednerd, Ednerd. Looks like our scholarship student has finally lost his mind.”
Charles shoved the back of Edward’s head down hard.
“Collins, my name is Edward, not Ednerd. Though considering you failed your Literature exam, I suppose it’s understandable that you’d get confused…”
After stepping away from him, Edward replied in an unpleasant tone.
His pronunciation was perfect.
His voice carried all the way across the dining hall.
It was exactly how a noble would speak.
Yet unlike the subtle insults nobles usually preferred, his words were direct enough to mean:
“You’re such an idiot that you can’t even remember someone’s name.”
The second-year section immediately burst into laughter.
After all, it was well known that Charles had failed the Literature exam—a subject considered easy—and had spent the summer taking remedial classes.
“Y-You…!”
SMACK!
His face burning with humiliation, Charles swung his fist hard into Edward’s cheek.
Edward staggered forward and lost his balance.
CRASH!
Another dull sound echoed through the hall.
His head struck the edge of a table.
The leftover food on it spilled all over him.
His glasses flew off.
His vision immediately became blurry.
Edward reached around desperately, trying to find them.
“…”
But he couldn’t see anything.
Only sticky stew dripped down from his hair.
“Do you think this dining hall belongs to you?”
While Edward crouched on the floor searching for his glasses, a third voice entered the conflict.
Edward turned toward the sound.
In his blurred vision, he saw a golden figure.
He couldn’t see clearly.
But he immediately knew who it was.
Genevieve.
“Who dares—!”
Charles started to shout but immediately fell silent when he realized the person speaking was a third-year student.
“If you need to vent your frustration, do it by yourself. Stop dragging innocent people into it.”
Genevieve sighed.
Her voice sounded completely fed up.
“And stop ruining everyone else’s meal. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“If you need to vent your frustration, do it by yourself. Stop dragging innocent people into it.”
“And stop ruining everyone else’s meal. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“…”
Charles didn’t argue back.
Nor did he try to defend himself.
Instead, he sat down irritably.
For several minutes, his friends complained about Genevieve, criticizing her and trying to make Charles feel better.
“…”
Edward’s face burned.
Unable to bear it any longer, he fled toward the dormitory.
* * *
In the end, he never found his glasses.
Based on the way Daniel sarcastically told him to “look carefully” before he left, Edward guessed they had hidden them somewhere again.
Every student at Saint John’s College was assigned a private room.
He had heard that scholarship students used to live in a separate building from ordinary students.
However, after complaints from a government minister who had once been a scholarship student himself, the rules had changed.
Now scholarship students lived in the same building as the noble students.
Edward had no idea what kind of school life that minister had imagined.
Thanks to that decision, every corner of Saint John’s College felt like a minefield to him.
He never knew when or where he would be bullied.
“…”
Entering his dorm room, Edward turned on the light.
The room looked exactly the same as it had on the first day he moved in.
The small room contained a luxurious mahogany desk and bookshelf.
The bed and wardrobe took up most of the space.
Other students decorated their rooms with paintings or changed the furniture to suit their tastes.
But Edward’s room still had the same empty gray wallpaper.
The only sign that someone lived there was the bookshelf packed with books.
Edward opened a drawer.
Since his glasses broke so often, keeping spare pairs was only natural.
Unfortunately, it seemed he had already used up his last good pair.
Every remaining pair was damaged.
Some had broken arms.
Others had cracked lenses.
“Haah…”
Nothing ever seemed to go right.
After thinking for a moment, Edward picked the least damaged pair.
The lenses had a large crack running across them.
After gathering his glasses and a change of clothes, Edward entered the bathroom.
“…I’m injured here too.”
He muttered softly while looking at the cut above his eyebrow.
The wound stung when water touched it.
But he didn’t have time to treat it.
Only about thirty minutes remained before he was supposed to meet Genevieve.
After changing into comfortable clothes, he gathered everything he needed:
His half-finished Governance Studies assignment.
The outline he had spent a week preparing.
A pen.
And extra paper.
Carefully, he slipped out through the back door.
From the direction of the front entrance, he could hear students returning after dinner.
Thankfully, he had managed to leave before running into anyone.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he arrived in front of the lounge.
Just then, he sensed someone’s presence.
It was Genevieve.
Unlike earlier, she looked neat and tidy.
Her hair was neatly braided, and she immediately noticed him.
“Sorry for being late.”
Edward apologized in a flat voice.
“I came early, so it’s fin—”
Her voice trailed off.
There was no need to guess what had caught her attention.
“It’s fine.”
Edward lowered his head, trying to hide the injury on his cheek.
“How is that fine? And your glasses too…”
Her beautiful brows furrowed.
“How is that fine? And your glasses too…”
