CH 175

The groups of students came to me regardless of time and location.

In some cases, club members came together, and in other cases, some undergraduate students gathered their opinions.

They even entered my class, so I took refuge in Professor Grein’s office for a while.

He looked bitter, but fortunately, he knew about the gravity of the situation and lent me his office.

Only after a long time, could I finally ask about this situation.

“So, what is going on here?”

Abigail, who was half kneeling, stood up with a determined expression.

“Everything was my decision. It has nothing to do with Young Lady Liz.”

“N-no. Actually, deep down I agree with Abi’s thought, so I did it with her.”

I saw a strong bond in the eyes of the two people who were looking at each other and nodded passionately.

The sight of their linked hands as though they were sisters even though they shared no blood was memorable.

“I’m not questioning whose decision is this . . .”

“The incident with Young Lady Rocke clearly occurred with you as the target, Young Lady Miller.”

“. . .”

“Whether it’s from the noble faction or royal faction, no one welcomed it when Duke Miller, who is neutral, took in a wife who was a performer. It doesn’t matter even if Duke Miller is not pro-pureblood.”

Abigail’s words hit the mark.

Although this didn’t happen because I wanted it to, the name of the family I was part so wasn’t something trivial.

“The attempts to bring you down through the connection or talents in the academy will continue. If you don’t have your own power, it’s likely you’ll be shaken every time they do this.”

There was worry in Abigail’s voice.

She was sincerely concerned about me.

Besides, considering the one who got attacked through this matter this time was Rany, it was clearly impossible for me to ‘simply’ aim to graduate now.

The moment I raised my body, swallowing down a sigh, her voice continued.

“Everyone in the academy has already known that I’m Young Lady Miller’s person. Even the birds know. Since they failed in attacking Young Lady Rocke, the next person will surely be me.”

As I heard her gloomy voice, I felt like I knew why she was so desperate like this.

When I met Abigail’s eyes, which were overflowing with desperation, I flinched.

“I don’t want to fail twice.”

“Ah.”

“You own me, Young Lady.”

“That word is a bit misleading . . .”

Didn’t we decide to be friends?

Are you still on that right hand agenda of yours?

Holding my twitching head, I nodded.

Anyway, I understood what she was saying.

“I myself think about making connections inside the academy. I’ve realized the importance of public sentiment after all.”

Although I really didn’t wish for them to come to me like this.

I was more surprised because the ones who came to me weren’t very few.

“How did you persuade the students?”

Abigail’s influence was faint.

In fact, she only had her name. She had no connection, wealth, and power.

Liz was no different from her.

I was curious how they persuaded the students.

At my question, the two looked at each other and tilted their heads.

“We only asked them. ‘Do you have courage to enter under Young Lady Miller and dedicate your body and heart?’”

“Why is body and heart . . .”

Apart from the vague phrase, did that mean that everyone just answered that question?

Rany, who saw my confused expression, patted my back and explained the situation in detail.

“Think about it. First, last time, you blew away the dean and everything in the academy that  mistreated you. Now, there are no professors from that place who are still teaching students.”

“That’s not my fau—”

“Next is Abigail. Abigail here paid dearly for acting up against you, and now she’s here as your lunch shuttle.”

“That’s you who asked her for that.”

“In addition, Orion Miller, who showed his performance which was more brilliant than others in the hunting competition day, has shown his overly kind treatment to you.”

Even that wasn’t what I wanted.

Besides, it was Orion who showed his ability, while I did nothing in particular.

“Now, because of Mago Philip’s venture, several families are awaiting trial besides Viscount Philip. Even the Crown Prince personally stepped forward, so there is no way that their sins cannot be uncovered.”

If it was uncovered like that, even if there were no indications, one or two mistakes were bound to surface.

In addition, the student council both embezzled and sold its members’ seats, so it would be more severe.

Did the Crown Prince set it up while considering all of this?

“In conclusion, all the kids who annoy you are done dor, and if they submit to you, they could save their lives at least.”

“. . .”

“In the first place, whether it’s the royal faction or noble faction, you have to give them something in order to gain their protection, but you know, sometimes, there are ambiguous nobles. Those who are not that great financially, and receive a lot of pressure from their surroundings, so they need a supporter.”

It meant those vague people flocked to me.

“For that, I think the ratio of female students is quite high.”

That was the most surprising.

For the male students, they mostly had less contact with the outside before they entered the academy, so it was frequent for them to not join any faction.

However, female students mostly joined a group before their academy admissions.

Since they could only prepare for their social debut if they went to a salon or tea party with their parents’ support.

It was impossible for them to easily leave their groups.

Rany then smiled brightly.

“I used the power of beauty!”

“The power of beauty . . .?”

Well, Rany was indeed the cute type.

However, it’s not enough to lure the females . . .

“Ah.”

“I realized it when you told Bertin to escort me. This is some kind of secret mission!”

No.

I simply attached him to you because I worried that if I left you alone, you might end up beating Dmitri or Mago, who were already being taken away.

“I shouldn’t betray your trusting gaze, should I?”

“Rany.”

Why are we still not clicked even though we’ve been together for years?

Even Liz and Abigail, who I didn’t expect would become close at first, could understand each other’s mind perfectly.