“Greg, don't you find it strange?”
The noble girl leading the group raised her voice, her shrill words echoing down the corridor:
“She's just a commoner, yet she was chosen as such an important representative. That's not normal at all! She must have made some shady under-the-table deal with the academy's top brass!”
These words instantly shattered the bizarre silence between Greg, Victoria, and Silvia.
In his heart, Greg silently thanked this loud-mouthed noble girl.
She's practically a hero! Saving me from the fire time and again—I'll never forget such profound kindness in this lifetime!
Greg then cleared his throat and immediately began to trash-talk without hesitation:
“By your logic, I'm also a commoner now that I've been kicked out of my family, and yet I'm a representative too. What, are you trying to say the academy administration made some shady deal with me as well?”
Victoria was slightly taken aback when she heard this.
She hadn't expected Greg to bring up his own circumstances just to speak up for her.
Even though he was usually so carefree and never took anything seriously, at a critical moment like this, he stood by her side without hesitation, even willing to reopen his own wounds.
This sent a wave of complex emotions through her heart—partly touched, and partly a feeling she couldn't quite put into words.
Another noble girl chimed in, refusing to back down:
“But she even gets a scholarship! Why does a commoner get a scholarship? There's definitely something fishy going on here!”
...
Greg fell silent for a moment, then slowly turned his head. He scrutinized Victoria from head to toe, rubbing his chin as he spoke thoughtfully:
“...So, when did you secretly start fooling around with the Headmistress?”
Victoria: “???”
Although the three noble girls didn't understand what Greg meant by that, judging by his questioning tone, they assumed he was on their side.
Their faces instantly lit up with joy.
However, Greg's next words utterly shattered their illusions.
He turned his head, his cold gaze sweeping across the three faces that had just bloomed with delight:
“Of course, don't get me wrong. I'm not on your side. I'm just purely jealous of her scholarship. Unlike you guys—who clearly relied on family connections and money to grease the wheels just to get your representative spots—yet still have the nerve to slander others here.”
The faces of the three noble girls instantly froze.
Greg's words were like a sharp needle, precisely piercing the secret they least wanted anyone to bring up.
Their lips trembled, but they couldn't make a sound. Indeed, they had only been forced into the representative team because their families had donated a large sum of money to the academy and pulled numerous strings.
Thus, they had absolutely no way to refute him.
Greg paused, then continued:
“Besides, I know that everything Victoria has now was earned through her own hard work. Every single one of her achievements was built with sweat and time. There are absolutely no backroom deals like you claim. I suppose because you got chosen through those methods, you assume everyone else did too.”
A brief silence fell over the corridor.
Standing where she was, Victoria looked at Greg's profile, her emotions riding a rollercoaster.
At first, she thought Greg had believed them, but it turned out he hadn't taken their words seriously at all.
Victoria opened her mouth, only to find herself at a loss for words.
She had never imagined that Greg would acknowledge her like this...
Victoria lowered her head, thinking silently to herself:
This guy... though he really can be a scumbag sometimes, he isn't actually a bad person. I guess I can treat him a little better from now on.
“Please... do not insult my most precious friend.”
Silvia also took a step forward. Clenching her fists and keeping her head lowered, her voice was quiet but carried an undeniable weight:
“Please leave immediately!”
The three noble girls looked incredibly displeased.
Greg's words had hit them where it hurt, and Silvia's stance left them with no excuse to linger.
Gnashes of teeth and brief glances were exchanged before they finally chose to turn and leave in frustration.
“Tch, so he's still as awful as ever. And here I thought those rumors about him changing were true.”
“Exactly! He's not even a high noble anymore, yet he's still so arrogant!”
“To think I actually thought he was handsome at first. I must have been blind!”
As the three girls disappeared around the corner, quiet returned to the corridor.
Victoria took a deep breath and turned to Silvia, a genuine smile gracing her face. “Thank you, Silvia.”
Silvia looked up, the gloom on her face melting away to reveal her usual gentle smile:
“We're each other's most important friends, so of course I'll always stand by your side, Victoria.”
Victoria nodded, then somewhat awkwardly turned her head to look at Greg.
She was silent for a moment before speaking up, a bit self-consciously, “Well... thanks for this time, too.”
Greg waved his hand. “Don't be so polite. It makes us sound like strangers.”
He then naturally reached out, slinging an arm around Victoria's shoulder to pull her closer. Lowering his voice to a whisper only the two of them could hear, he asked:
“But now that we're alone, my dear junior, tell me—did the Headmistress force you to fool around with her, or did you initiate it?”
“?”
Victoria froze for a second, and then her face flushed crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Gritting her teeth, she roared, “Greg, you bastard—!!”
Victoria violently shook off Greg's arm, raised her fists, and lunged after him.
Sensing danger, Greg took off running, turning his head back to threaten her as he fled:
“Hey! Gray-haired brat, I don't have some noble rule about not hitting women, so don't push me!”
“Stop right there! I'm definitely beating you up today!”
The two of them, one chasing and the other fleeing, quickly vanished down the end of the corridor, leaving only the chaotic sound of hurried footsteps echoing in the air.
Silvia stood where she was, smiling as she watched them run off.
Her face still wore that gentle, sweet expression, but deep within her pink eyes, an imperceptible darkness quietly surfaced.
She could clearly feel that these two, whom she cared about most, seemed to be growing closer and closer—so close that she was terrified of being left behind.
So, in order to not be left behind, she decided that she, too, had to work harder to catch up to their pace!
Rate on N.U.
