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He slowly approached me.
As I met with the emotionless eyes looking down at me, chilly air permeated my back.
They didn’t even emanating murderous intent, but I wanted to avoid them badly.
His lips opened.
“It’s the second time.”
“You must mean the third.”
Once in the hunting competition, once in the street, and now was the other one.
We had met thrice so far.
“No.”
He denied me.
“What I mean is that this is your second time retorting me.”
“. . .”
The low voice contained a threatening tone unlike earlier.
This was the first time I knew it.
That people could display murderous intent even without strong feeling like wrath.
My body involuntary responded to the ‘murderous intent’ of a swordsman which I had never received before.
Clenching my hands to hide the tremble, I lifted my head.
My situation was different from before.
I, as of now, entered this academy with Miller surname, so I should not yield in front of Young Duke Bolton.
I also had no reason to yield.
“Back then as well as now, it’s not as though I spoke without reason. I only ask you to tell me what the criteria is for a ‘unqualified person.’”
I heard someone take a deep breath.
I wondered if they were surprised that I dared to talk back to a young duke.
The knights behind him also surprised for a very short second, raising their eyebrows, but soon controlled their expression.
“Marianne Miller.”
The emotionless voice called my name sternly.
“Is it the Duke of Miller that you believe in?”
“. . .”
I blocked Rany from coming closer with my hand.
This was inevitable since I already stood out.
I at least had Miller surname, but Raynia Rocke, who was formerly a merchant, was nothing for him.
For this man, who cut a young master’s hand simply because he went against the etiquette.
“The unqualified person is the one who goes out snooping around the drill hall without even thinking of holding a sword.”
There were only a few, but I felt some movements of people leaving the drill hall.
I prayed for Benji to quickly understand the situation and left with Jeremy.
I tried hard to keep a composed expression in contrast to my complicated head.
“This is a lecture that can be joined as long as we are interested in sword or want to be a knight, and I didn’t hear beforehand that we will promptly use the sword, nor that we need to be qualified.”
“. . .”
“If this is the mistake of the academy, then I have no reason to be evicted from this lecture.”
I stopped talking because I was nervous.
I said what I wanted to say, but he didn’t look like he was listening to me.
He, who was silent, parted his lips.
“Get out.”
I couldn’t check if Jeremy had left the drill hall.
I thought of glancing, but when I saw the eyes staring intently at me, I canceled the idea.
I didn’t want to make him pay attention to where I sent my glance.
“I don’t speak twice. From the second, I won’t talk.”
A sharp blade brushed against my hair.
As soon as a few strands of the cut hair fell on the ground, I heard a high-pitched scream from somewhere.
I guessed that it was from one of the young ladies who came here with a sweet dream.
I knew he’d move like this.
Students with attire that didn’t match the situation, and didn’t pay attention to the lecture.
He was a swordsman, but also a captain who led the knights.
If he was a competent leader, he would definitely try to dominate the students even in a somewhat radical way when everyone was focused.
Because he had to make them become the innocent and obedient sheep.
I still hadn’t avoided his eyes.
I was truly creeped out, but rather than a creep out of horror, it was about how there was nothing in his eyes at all.
If there was at least a burning wrath, he would likely look like a human.
The emotionless eyes were still focused on me.
“Every student of the imperial academy is a talent of this empire. I don’t think you have the authority to dispose of them on the spot.”
His hand was about to move in front of me again.
Suddenly, the sword in his hand fell down along with a small light.
After looking at the sword that fell on the ground with a clanking sound, I turned my head to check on the source of the light.
In a way that was opened with students stepping aside, I saw a familiar face walking calmly.
With glaring eyes because they were in a bad mood, annoyed, and angry.
The knights on stand behind the quiet young duke pulled their swords.
“Who are you!”
On the other hand, Young Duke Bolton looked at me instead at the suspicious person who was approaching him.
Me, who was frozen and couldn’t even make a proper response.
The best I could do was hide my trembling hands.
My mouth turned dry.
It felt like the circuits of my brain, which had been working awkwardly until at least a moment ago, somehow stopped completely.
Zen didn’t even glance at me, and stared at Young Duke Bolton with slanted eyes.
And I only stared at him, stupefied.
The black hair of a night sky without stars, dark green eyes, the pale skin just like beeswax.
The one who stood under numerous gazes was definitely Zen that I knew.
How . . .
I wasn’t the only one who was frozen.
Rany, who was looking at him as if she couldn’t believe her eyes, quickly yanked my hand.
I, who fell into utter confusion because of the situation in front of me, obediently followed her hand.