Eden Lake was still sitting in the chair with a slightly stiff face. Except for Nigel Kaiserion, no one would find this table—where all the eyes in the dining hall were focused—comfortable.
Nigel thought it wasn’t bad that Eden knew the weight of the seat next to the crown prince.
Just then, a server approached swiftly and stood before their table.
“I’ll help you with your order.”
Nigel, without even taking his eyes off the report he was reading, gestured to Eden to order first. After staring at the report for so long, his appetite had disappeared.
Eden didn’t attach unnecessary flowery language or look down on the server like other young noble children. He simply scanned the menu once, then ordered stew and bread—the simplest and most efficient meal—in a low, quiet voice. Without unnecessary words or actions.
As expected, I saw him correctly. Nigel smiled inwardly, secretly feeling satisfaction in his own judgment.
Yes, indeed a talent worth keeping by his side even after academy graduation.
“So.”
Nigel asked, his gaze still fixed on the documents.
“It’s about student council work.”
“Ah, yes.”
“How’s the alchemy department matter going?”
Eden answered immediately. Though it was a sudden question, his voice didn’t waver in the slightest.
“As I reported yesterday. They’re still officially sending letters of protest. Just this morning, three more were received.”
“Again? At this point, it’s workplace harassment.”
Nigel erased one budget item with his pen and added.
“Ignore the letters. I executed the budget under lawful standards. If they broke the rules first, they should have been prepared to accept the consequences. If they cross the line after this, I’ll impose penalties.”
That meant he had absolutely no intention of reaching an agreement. If the person sitting next to him had been his old friend Rowen Ashfield, he would have definitely said something useless like, ‘Nigel, isn’t that too harsh?’
But Eden was different.
“Yes, understood.”
Eden Lake never attached conditions to Nigel’s words. He didn’t ask why, nor did he show unnecessary emotions. He simply accepted orders and executed them.
Mm. Nigel turned the page of the report with a satisfied expression.
A capable and loyal junior.
He remembered when he first brought this guy into the student council. Everyone had opposed it back then too. Naturally, he recalled the first day Eden Lake entered as a freshman in the student council after enrolling at the academy.
* * *
Silence descended over the entire student council room.
‘Nigel, everyone voted against it. For an outsider from another country, not from the empire’s mainland, to enter the student council—there’s no precedent for that yet—’
‘I don’t think there’s any school rule that says we must consider someone’s origins.’
‘…But Sihar is a country that was only subordinated to the empire a few years ago. Even other students and professors are trying to interfere with this, so my position is quite difficult right now.’
Swish, Nigel raised his head to check the face of the student council president who was about to graduate. A face full of anxiety and worry. Definitely not the expression of a leader who should reign above many people.
The president’s face looked deathly pale. His already sickly-looking presence felt even more shrunken.
Of course, he understood the pressure that position brought. Having engaged in nerve-wracking battles with his siblings vying for the crown at the imperial palace, while walking on thin ice to maintain his position, Nigel knew better than anyone.
But that’s precisely why it was even more intolerable.
A crown obtained through shortcuts would be quickly removed. Rejecting an applicant using their origins as an excuse was a petty act with neither justification nor practicality.
Sihar was now clearly Kaiserion territory. Not recognizing imperial citizens as imperial citizens—wasn’t that in itself an act of deceiving imperial law? Nigel let out a short sigh and opened his mouth.
‘I understand your concerns well. However, it doesn’t look good to reject that student’s admission when there are no disqualifying reasons, making an issue out of him being from Sihar.’
‘……’
Though there really were no other disqualifying reasons.
Ahem, someone sitting at the large table in the student council room cleared their throat and then said.
‘…I’m not opposed either. President, please decide.’
‘Me neither.’
When Nigel openly mentioned that Sihar citizens were also Kaiserion citizens, the atmosphere that had been subtly avoiding that student softened considerably.
He could feel the gazes of other students glancing at the president and Nigel from here and there.
‘……’
Even the student council president, who had the final decision-making authority, was reading Nigel’s mood. Nigel didn’t disturb his composed expression.
That student has sufficient qualifications to enter the student council. That thought remained unchanged.
Moreover.
Nigel, who had stopped spinning the pen on his hand, turned his gaze to the side.
There sat a freshman from Sihar who had managed to maintain an upright posture despite hearing such bullshit to his face until now.
A large build, slightly dark skin tone, and jet-black hair. His exotic appearance was enough to predict many storms during his time at the academy.
But what caught Nigel’s attention more than these things was the courage that an ordinary academy entrant could never show.
Of course, it wasn’t perfect. His two fists placed on his knees were trembling slightly, though he was trying hard to pretend otherwise. Was what he was suppressing inside those fists anger, or fear?
But confirmation was necessary. Nigel tapped the desk with the tip of his pen.
‘Eden Lake.’
At Nigel’s call breaking the silence, Eden’s gaze immediately fixed on Nigel.
‘Yes.’
‘As you heard, this place will be much more inhospitable than you think. The hazing will be severe too.’
Nigel tilted his head askew and asked languidly, like a predator before its prey.
‘Do you still want to enter the student council?’
For a moment, he could see Eden’s fists clench tight with force. But he didn’t avert his gaze. His wavering eyes soon hardened firmly.
‘…My heart remains unchanged.’
An answer without hesitation. An attitude that neither appealed to injustice nor begged pathetically.
Quite…
Yes, I knew you’d answer like that. The corners of Nigel’s mouth rose smoothly.
He seems usable.
‘Then I’ll take responsibility.’
At that resolute statement, everyone in the room focused their attention on Nigel. When rumors circulated that the crown prince would enroll at Kaiserion, all the students unanimously thought it would be an opportunity to actually verify Nigel’s abilities that had been circulating throughout the empire.
They had thought that because he was the crown prince, even if he was only slightly better than others, it would be inflated and exaggerated into praise.
But the Nigel they actually observed for a year was completely different from their expectations. It didn’t mean the rumors were false. Surprisingly, Nigel Kaiserion did not flaunt being a member of the imperial family as much as possible and did not ridicule or break school rules.
Sometimes he clashed with other students because of this, but he always chose the right path and acted as if there was only the correct path before him.
When such a Nigel declared this before the other officers, the president nodded.
‘Alright, let’s do that. Eden Lake, welcome to joining the student council.’
As soon as the president finished speaking, the freshman from Sihar named Eden Lake stood up from his seat.
When he properly stood up, having looked large even while seated, his presence was extraordinary. He seemed to overwhelm the student council officers sitting at the table.
‘Thank you.’
Eden Lake looked at the student council officers, especially toward where Nigel sat, and bowed his head. With his elbows resting on the table, Nigel saw his jet-black hair sway slightly before finding its place again.
‘Don’t disappoint me. Eden Lake.’
Nigel’s low voice pierced Eden’s ears.
‘My name comes at quite a high price.’
* * *
While Nigel, sitting in front, recalled their first meeting, Eden Lake had finished ordering his meal by calling a passing server. Then he called to Nigel.
“Senior.”
Because Nigel’s fingers had stopped on the documents at some point.
“…Hm?”
“If you need more coffee, I’ll order it.”
Nigel said, “Ah,” and checked the cup placed in front of him. The coffee he had been drinking was almost at the bottom.
When Nigel, whose cold expression revealed nothing of his thoughts, nodded, Eden Lake immediately ordered his most preferred coffee beans.
Though the crown prince had never told him directly, he had naturally memorized it while staying by his side.
Eden quietly stirred the stew in front of him with a spoon. In truth, he could barely taste anything. He had no interest in the taste to begin with.
All his nerves were directed at only one person sitting next to him—Nigel Kaiserion.
Being able to see him this close up was still a breathtaking experience even now, after enrollment.
“……”
The rays of light passing through the massive stained glass of the student dining hall didn’t dare touch his skin, but seemed to be merely absorbed by his jet-black hair, creating a cold halo.
The crown prince’s profile as he concentrated on the budget report was sharper and nobler than any sculpture. His thin lips, cleanly defined nose bridge, and even his pale, long fingers occasionally raised to turn pages.
Nigel Kaiserion had aspects that drew everyone’s gaze. No, correction. Nigel Kaiserion had an aura that seemed to grab others by the nape of the neck and force them to focus on him.
Eden had grown up seeing countless strong people in Sihar. Rough warriors and mysterious shamans. But none of them had this kind of atmosphere.
This absolute yet effortless presence that easily drew attention. Was it because he was born as the crown prince of the empire? Or was it thanks to the empire’s education surrounding him?
Nigel didn’t need to shout or swing a sword. He could silence this entire massive dining hall with his presence alone.
Then, Nigel raised his coffee cup to his lips.
Eden found himself watching his Adam’s apple move without realizing it.
“What are you looking at?”
