“Hey. Did you see Lionel Mellans in class earlier?”
“Seriously amazing. How does he sleep with his eyes open now? I was genuinely shocked.”
“No matter how strict Professor Mahoff is, how would he know someone’s sleeping with their eyes open? He’d never be able to wake him.”
“Anyway, that nouveau riche commoner bastard. If he’s not going to study, I don’t know why he enrolled in the academy and is muddying the waters.”
“It’s obvious. He came to meet noble ladies. I’m scared my little sister might bring home a guy like that.”
“Shh. Be quiet. Cesare might hear.”
“……”
No, why are you worried Cesare might hear when you’re badmouthing me? Shouldn’t you be worried I might hear?
As expected, Cesare seems scary and I seem like a lackey who’s nothing, so I deliberately muttered loudly.
“Ha, if you had such a passion for learning, why didn’t you go to Roswell Academy where only talented people gather? You came to the Imperial Academy that accepts anyone if they’re nobility and now you’re going on about passion for learning.”
First of all, I didn’t have the guts to do bad things. But if it’s about running my mouth, I have the shamelessness and quick wit to win without cursing once.
I was a special case who transmigrated into Lionel Mellans’s body, but still, Lionel’s past memories and recollections were contained within me as if they were my own, and like his intelligence, my personality had some similarities to his.
Hell’s mouth among the villain trio. Also known as Hell-mouth Rye, that’s me.
‘I’m already annoyed that I couldn’t properly attend Mana Operation studies, so you picked the wrong guy.’
“Wh-what did you say, Lionel?! Are you done talking?!”
The Imperial Academy had a pretty nice rule—within the school, unless they were seniors, you didn’t have to use honorifics due to class differences.
Of course, since it was a rule only applied within the school, if a commoner kept fooling around fearlessly with an authoritative noble, they could get wrecked badly during vacation or outside school, but I was fine.
First of all, I have tons of money and Cesare’s backing.
“What if I’m not done? It’s the truth anyway. And during class, you should be watching the professor, not whether my eyes are open or closed. You really have nothing better to do. Why are you staring at me? Do you have a crush on me? Huh? Are you so upset because I won’t give you a glance?”
“Wh-what?!”
“And. Does it hit home? I was talking to myself, so why are you getting angry and making a fuss on your own? Did you really fail the Roswell entrance exam and come here?”
“…Ugh!”
“Pfft.”
When they couldn’t retort to my words, Cesare let out a small laugh beside me. As if it was enough, he patted my shoulder and stood up from his seat.
“That’s enough. Lionel. Let’s stop here. We have another class. Don’t waste your energy on small fry.”
Cesare even used the word “small fry,” but they didn’t have the guts to challenge even the Young Duke of Yanox, so they just snorted and disappeared without a peep.
“Tsk. Like I wanted to sleep with my eyes open. And isn’t this not my fault but Professor Mahoff’s fault for being a bad teacher?”
I don’t know when I acquired the skill of sleeping with my eyes open, but still, hearing people badmouth you can’t help but make you feel bad.
“Your verbal sparring is always fun to hear. I think you’d survive even if thrown into the young ladies’ tea parties. I’d like to see it once.”
At Cesare’s painting-like appearance laughing as if he couldn’t stop me, my dark expression melted away and I grinned foolishly.
“Cesare, if you want to see it, I could even wear a dress and go to a tea party.”
Huk. Now pathetic words are popping out without being filtered by my brain. I quickly covered my cursed mouth and looked at him.
Cesare stared at me blankly, then burst into hearty laughter.
“Ahaha! Lionel! You really are fun!”
“Mm. I guess…”
“If it’s you, yeah! I think a sky-blue dress would suit you well. Hahaha!”
“Ugh! I didn’t really mean I’d wear one, Cesare…”
At his bright smile, my cheeks flushed for no reason and I could only scratch the back of my head.
No. This isn’t the time. I needed to quickly find a way to break the artifact.
By the time I offered my entire fortune at this bastard’s feet, everything would be too late.
* * *
After all classes ended, I was sitting on a bench in the chapel in the academy’s annex, head bowed for a moment, organizing my thoughts.
Because this was the only place in the academy where Cesare wouldn’t set foot, and students avoided it because it was boring, so it was deserted.
Anyway, I created a full-fledged “Project to Find Ways to Escape Cesare.”
- Increase magic resistance.
- Obtain the real male lead’s divine artifact.
Number 1 depends only on me, but there’s a bit of a problem. I’m bad at studying. Yes. I admit it. It’s a huge problem.
‘I’ll keep trying though…’
Still, if something’s constitutionally impossible, it’s impossible, so it wouldn’t hurt to try method 2 as well.
If we’re talking about the real male lead of this novel, it’s Crown Prince Cedric. He too was a student attending this academy and was currently in the graduating class.
The problem with number 2 was that I didn’t know the detailed original story and only saw bits and pieces of the middle story. I was watching this novel on the phone of the girl I worked part-time with, so even if I knew some things in detail, I often roughly skipped boring parts.
Anyway, looking back at the original work, it goes like this.
The female lead who awakened healing abilities transfers to the academy and gets involved with Cedric, but when Cesare, who wants to bring the female lead who has great influence on the Holy Order to his side, courts her and gets rejected, he puts an addiction spell on her.
Cedric breaks it with an artifact he possesses and stops the Yanox rebellion, and it’s a cliché romance fantasy novel about the two of them being lovey-dovey, but since the addiction is already gone, the original work has been damaged beyond repair.
What was the law of romance fantasy transmigration stories? If you get involved with original characters, it was your mission to become a protagonist yourself and love the main characters intensely.
‘I’m sorry, female lead. I watched with affection for you, but I’m not in a position to love you.’
After apologizing to the female lead whose name I can barely remember now, I thought of the real male lead Cedric, who according to the novel’s setting has an amazing chest.
The two who always growl at each other like dogs and cats whenever they meet. They were actually stepbrothers.
I thought it was some crazy family tree mess, but isn’t that what plausibility in romance fantasy novels is like?
Cesare’s father, that is, the current Duke of Yanox, used the Yanox family’s secret specialty brainwashing magic to erase the memories of those involved including Cesare, but because Cesare’s magic ability was outstanding, only Cesare’s magic got undone.
‘I think this was the beginning of him deciding on rebellion… but I don’t remember the details.’
That was a setting revealed in the latter half, but honestly, I was so interested in watching the romance between the male and female leads being lovey-dovey, especially parts like the male lead exploding with jealousy, that I didn’t properly read the headache-inducing political parts.
‘I’ll go crazy without you by my side.’, ‘You are the light of my life.’, or ‘My heart beats only as you say.’ etc.
The reason I read romance is to see lines like this, not because I want to donate charity to help the underprivileged by listening to their detailed sob stories.
Anyway, going back to number 2, the problem was not knowing when and where Cedric obtains the divine artifact.
‘If I’d known I’d transmigrate, I would have watched it properly!’
As I was tearing at my hair and bowing my head even deeper, someone tapped my shoulder. When I raised my head and checked their face, I thought my breath stopped.
“Huk!”
Crown Prince Cedric von Torusian of the Torusian Empire.
A handsome man with bluish-gray silver hair and amethyst-colored eyes like jewels, with an amazing chest…
My pupils glanced down below his chest… Oh my, even under the black uniform cape, his bursting upper chest was truly amazing.
He was in the graduating class and we had no overlapping regular classes. Plus, since Cesare avoided him pathologically, this was the first time I faced him one-on-one directly.
Perhaps Cedric also noticed my gaze staring intently at his chest, because he stepped back slightly with a somewhat flustered gesture, then carefully asked me.
“By any chance, could you lend me a fountain pen if you have one?”
“…Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
“To think there’s still someone who calls me Your Highness the Crown Prince within the academy. It’s been a while since I’ve heard that title. But I’d appreciate it if you’d call me senior according to school rules.”
Speak of the devil and he appears—at his sudden appearance, I was so flustered that I forgot I should call him senior, and Cedric let out a small laugh in a coughing posture.
“I-I’m sorry. Senior!”
Wearing the black academy uniform that only graduating seniors wear well-arranged, he waved his hand slightly at me with an awkward expression.
“It’s a bit embarrassing, but I forgot to bring my fountain pen. If you have a fountain pen, would you lend it to me for a moment?”
“Ah! Fountain pen! Just a moment!”
I frantically rummaged through my crossbody bag and pulled out a fountain pen from inside, respectfully offering it to him.
Since I’m on Cesare’s side, I should show an attitude of hostility toward him, but as I keep saying, I’m too weak to handsome men.
“Thank you. You don’t need to be so stiff. This is within school, so I’m just one of many seniors.”
Cedric showed the aspect of a sweet male lead with basic kindness installed.
‘The real male lead is definitely different in some way.’
I thought, even if women say they like bad boys or whatever, are they still drawn to classic sweet guys with good bodies, and glanced at his thick chest again.
It’s cool how the outline stands out without any flab. Cesare’s chest is also firm and cool, but if you hug Cesare’s chest it feels like you’d go *thud* and bump into it, while if you bump into Cedric’s chest it feels like you’d go *boing* and bounce off—that was the difference.
“Do you come to pray often? We seem to be meeting for the first time, but you look a bit familiar.”
At the words that I looked familiar, I quickly bowed my head slightly. Cedric brushed it off as nothing and started copying scripture passages into his notebook with the fountain pen.
“Uh… Um. No. I wanted to organize my thoughts, but there’s no suitable quiet place.”
If I stayed in the dormitory room, Cain would annoyingly come looking for me.
“Haha! Right. This is the place with the least people in the academy.”
“Even if someone died here, they’d only be discovered a month later.”
At my joke, Cedric, who was copying, let out a small chuckle, then turned his head slightly toward me. His purple pupils moved briefly, turning toward me.
“But your face really does look familiar—does the junior perhaps do any other club activities?”
No matter how much we’d never met directly, Cedric couldn’t have never seen me following behind Cesare.
“I-I’m talking to Senior Cedric for the first time though.”
“Hmm. It’s not easy for a cute handsome junior like you to disappear from my mind. What’s your name? Judging by the navy uniform, you must be a junior. Chess club? Student council? Hmm, that’s not it…”
Cedric completely stopped his writing hand and turned his head to carefully examine my face barely covered by my bangs.
But if I got caught being Cesare’s lackey here, the atmosphere would get cold, and more than anything, if it was discovered I met him, Cesare might look unfavorably on me, so I jumped up from my seat.
“Ah! Right! I have an assignment to submit but I forgot! Senior Cedric, I’m sorry! I have something urgent so I’ll go first!”
“Oh, wait…!”
I quickly gripped my crossbody bag strap tightly and ran without looking back.
“I’m sorry!”
“Hey, handsome junior! The fountain pen…”
I heard him calling loudly from behind, but I just looked ahead and ran, leaving the chapel.
‘Cesare, I did well, right?’
I proudly asked the mini Cesare already illegally residing in a corner of my heart, but as expected, there was no answer.
* * *
Having run too fast without a chance to catch my breath, as soon as I arrived at the dormitory, my classmate William, with whom I’d been casually building a friendship, grabbed my shoulder with an urgent face.
“Lionel! Where were you?! I’ve been looking for you!”
“Ugh, out of breath. Just a moment. Let me catch my breath. Whew.”
“There’s no time to breathe?! Hurry and go to the infirmary! Cain’s there too!”
“The infirmary? Why?”
“Cesare got really angry because you weren’t there!”
At the name Cesare, I sprang up like a spring and grabbed the guy’s collar.
“What?! Tell me quickly! What happened?! Did Cesare get hurt?!”
William told me with a serious face.
“Didn’t you not fill up the ice water for Cesare’s sword practice today?”
“……!”
“They say he unknowingly downed hot tea in one shot while practicing. I pray for your soul, Lionel.”
