Chapter 105

He turned his head, meeting the gaze of every student who had been staring at Ariel. Faced with his overwhelming presence, they all quickly looked away. Once everyone in the room had their heads bowed, his eyes settled on one place. He stared down at Ariel, still held in his grasp, with those sharp golden eyes.

“Didn’t we agree to meet this afternoon? What, you couldn’t wait and came early?”

Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise at his unexpected words.

His words alone were enough to spark wild rumors and serious misunderstandings. Even if no one said anything out loud, a ripple of excitement and tension spread through the crowd.

Before the misunderstanding could escalate any further, Ariel quickly spoke up so everyone could hear.

“Thank you, as always, for helping me with my studies. Thanks to your guidance, Your Illustrious Highness, I’ve been able to adjust well to life at the academy. I’m just as grateful for your kindness as I am for His Highness the Prince’s.”

Having finished her explanation, she bowed deeply.

“I hope you’ll continue to guide me well in this afternoon’s class as well.”

Just like before, the transfer student stepped in to shut down the wild rumors with a firm explanation before they could start spreading as fact. This time, the students stayed completely silent. No one wanted to risk drawing the Grand Prince’s glare again. They had learned their lesson and weren’t about to repeat the same mistake.

In response, Lexius looked at Ariel with a rather displeased expression.

Only when Ariel met his cold, golden gaze directly did she finally understand his intention. Lexius had been intentionally trying to spark strange rumors about the two of them. That was why he had let people gossip without interfering but bristled when someone brought up the title of ‘princess candidate.’ When the rumors didn’t go the way he hoped, Lexius looked visibly disappointed, as if all the fun had been drained out of him.

“Everyone, leave. I need to talk to her alone.”

He quietly commanded.

The students scrambled out of the lounge as if they were running away. Even though they were being kicked out of a public space, not a single person dared to argue. After all, no matter how young they were, no one at the academy was foolish enough to challenge the Grand Prince’s authority.

The hall, which had been bustling just moments ago, became empty in an instant.

It was only then that Lexius let go of Ariel’s arm, walked away, and slammed the double doors shut with a dull, echoing sound. Now, only the two of them remained in the wide hall.

From the look on his face, it was clear he was not in a good mood.

After shutting the door, Lexius walked back over and dropped onto the couch. Noticing that he seemed ready to settle in for a long talk, Ariel spoke up first.

“Senior Lex, weren’t you supposed to be doing something here? Is it really alright for you to be here with me like this?”

“Oh, so you’re acting close now that there’s no one around to see.”

Lexius answered in a sulky tone. Ariel studied his expression for a moment before cautiously asking,

“…Do you want me to speak formally?”

“I wasn’t being sarcastic about asking you to speak formally.”

“Then what is it… Was it something about the way I talk or my voice that bothered you?”

“I just thought it was interesting. Our junior is way too serious about keeping things professional and personal.”

He muttered coldly, then fell silent for a moment. After that, he shot a quick glance at Ariel, who was still standing awkwardly, as if silently telling her to sit.

Understanding the meaning of his gaze, she sat down on the nearest couch.

“So, what were you doing here, senior? Were you giving some kind of lecture?”

She asked, thinking back to the crowd that had been there earlier. Lexius responded immediately, as if he had been waiting for that question.

“No. I was waiting for you.”

“Me? You expected me to show up at the main lounge?”

“Not exactly. I just overheard people talking about seeing an imperial car nearby.”

Ariel let out a small ‘Ah’ as she realized. The car that had brought her had passed through the academy’s busy faculty wing, so of course, plenty of people had seen it. Lexius must have overheard the conversation among the students who had witnessed the passing car.

“But how did you know the person inside the imperial carriage was me?”

“How could I not know? Devoncia and Skylar aren’t here, so you’re the only one who would be using an imperial car, Ariel.”

It was only after hearing him say that that Ariel realized something she hadn’t thought of. At the academy, she was the only person, besides the imperial family, who could use an imperial car. The moment she arrived in the carriage, her identity was as good as revealed.

“Okay, but still, why were you waiting here? Did you think I’d pass by this way?”

“Not really. I was trying to figure out where you were going. If you called a car around here, I could spot it right from this window.”

In short, it seemed like he was planning to catch her just as she was about to call for a car and leave.

“Then those students from earlier…”

“Just onlookers.”

Lexius brushed it off with a sigh and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the tired look in his half-lidded gaze made it clear this wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with something like this.

“The hero of the empire who won the Southern War. The youngest legion commander, a prince of a grand duchy. With all those grand titles, it’s no wonder people are curious and come to get a look at him.”

He wasn’t bragging, just plainly explaining what had happened earlier.

“They come all this way just to stare at me, and there’s plenty for them to gossip about, right? Compared to those polished royals, I probably look wild, maybe even dangerous. And, well, good-looking enough to make them squeal.”

Again, he wasn’t bragging. If anything, he looked annoyed. But somehow, that only made him sound even more like he was showing off.

“They must think I’m fun to watch.”

Lexius, who had been sighing as if complaining, suddenly let out a quiet laugh.

“I’m not some animal on display, yet they sit there smirking like idiots, making me feel like shit.”

A sharp curse slipped from his mouth, and though he was smiling, there was a clear edge of mockery in it.

Ariel stayed quiet, just listening. She didn’t dare respond lightly to what Lexius was saying. He looked truly angry, and thinking back on what had happened earlier, she could understand why. The way the students had swarmed around them, whispering and gossiping right in front of them, had left a bad taste in her mouth, too.

Still, the fact that he had held back his displeasure and allowed it to happen in order to use those students to spread rumors was equally unsettling.

“Why’d you suddenly get so quiet?”

As though reading her tangled thoughts, Lexius’s lazy voice cut in with a teasing comment.