CHAPTER 17: APOLOGIZE? ME?

The lecture ended, and I began packing up my notes, mind half on lunch.

I was just sliding the drawer shut when I noticed something off.

The air around me had gone still.

Too still.

When I looked up, Kael Ardyn was standing right in front of my desk — tall, broad, all righteousness and tension.

Princess Celestia stood slightly behind him, arms crossed, expression sharp. Bordon Eisenwald, ever the loyal puppy, flanked the other side.

Oh great. A morning intervention.

I leaned back in my chair, face unreadable. "Do you have something to say, or are you just forming a wall?"

Kael’s expression didn’t waver. "Lucien Ashborne. Do you know your mistake?"

"I make many," I replied casually. "You’ll have to be more specific."

His jaw tightened. "Yesterday. What you said to Mariella. If you have even a shred of dignity left, you’ll apologize — properly — in front of everyone."

A few nearby cadets stopped pretending to pack up.

Fantastic. An audience.

I folded my arms, meeting his stare without blinking. "Apologize, huh? In front of everyone, no less. Do you people wake up rehearsing this nonsense, or does it come naturally?"

Celestia stepped forward, her voice clear and cutting. "Has the blood of Ashborne fallen so low that its heir can insult a lady and show no remorse?"

A few gasps came from behind.

She had no idea what she’d just said.

I smirked. "Princess Celestia... are you calling the blood of Ashborne rotten?"

Her composure faltered. "W–what? No, I didn’t mean—"

I stood, letting my chair scrape loudly against the floor. The sound made everyone flinch.

"Because if you are," I continued, tone icy, "you’re not insulting me — you’re insulting an entire noble house that’s sworn loyalty to your Empire for three generations."

The silence that followed was delicious.

Celestia’s lips parted, her cheeks flushed. "T-That’s not what I meant," she said quickly.

"Then think before you speak, Princess."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Kael stepped in again, his voice harder. "Don’t twist her words, Lucien. You know full well that wasn’t her intention."

I met his glare. "And who are you to talk to me like that? Do you think we’re friends?"

He blinked — surprised, just for a second.

"Or maybe you think you’re above me now because you’re the academy’s golden boy," I continued, voice rising slightly. "Let me remind you, Kael Ardyn, that no matter how strong your sword arm is, you’re still a commoner. Know your place before you address me so casually."

A few cadets inhaled sharply.

Even I could feel the tension crackling.

Bordon moved forward, trying to defuse the situation. "Lucien, that’s enough. You can’t talk to him like that — he’s our friend."

I turned to him slowly. "Our friend? You think I’m your friend?"

He hesitated. No answer.

"As I thought," I said coldly. "Then don’t speak to me like one."

I took a slow step forward. "And just because I was exiled doesn’t mean I’ve been disowned. You understand what that means, right?"

Bordon swallowed hard and stepped back.

Kael’s hand twitched toward his sword hilt again — a nervous reflex. I smiled faintly. "Relax. You wouldn’t want to lose again, would you?"

His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t move.

I turned back to Celestia. "You too, Princess. Your words carry weight. It’s best to remember that next time you decide to insult a noble lineage — even indirectly."

Her face was flushed crimson, her posture stiff. The so-called perfect princess looked like a scolded child.

Satisfied, I grabbed my lunch box from the desk.

As I passed Mariella and Elisha’s table, both of them visibly flinched.

I stopped right in front of Mariella, the cafeteria falling silent again.

"I’ll say it once," I said quietly. "I was wrong yesterday. I shouldn’t have cursed at you. That was my fault."

Her eyes widened slightly. For a moment, she looked almost... confused.

Then I added, my tone cooling again, "But don’t pretend you’re a victim. You came to me looking for trouble, and you found it. Next time, keep your self-righteous crusades to yourself."

Her lips trembled, and Elisha looked like she wanted to jump up and argue. I didn’t give her the chance.

I turned toward the exit. "And for the record — stop pretending you’re heroes. If you want to save the world, start by minding your own business."

With that, I walked out.

The air outside was colder, but cleaner.

Behind me, whispers erupted, spreading like wildfire — shock, disbelief, amusement, outrage.

Let them talk.

If they wanted a villain, I could play the part better than anyone.

Inside the classroom was pin drop silence.

Not a whisper. Not a cough.

Just the thick, suffocating silence left in the wake of Lucien’s words.

No one dared to move.

The class had already ended minutes ago, but not a single person had left. Every cadet sat frozen, eyes darting between the protagonist’s group and the door Lucien had just walked out of.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

They’d seen Kael’s group stand at the top of every hierarchy since the first day of enrollment — the princess, the noble heirs, the golden commoner. Together, they were untouchable.

But right now?

They looked cornered.

The air was heavy with something strange — not admiration, not fear exactly... but unease.

Everyone had heard the rumors of "Scum Lucien."

Everyone had mocked him.

But what they saw today didn’t fit that image.

That wasn’t the weak noble brat who’d been beaten by a commoner.

That was someone else entirely.

Kael sat rigid in his seat, hands still clenched into fists. His jaw was tight, his expression unreadable — but the faint tremor in his arm said everything.

He’d been humiliated, and the hero complex that fueled him wasn’t taking it well.

Bordon’s confident grin was gone; he stared blankly at his desk, face pale.

Celestia...

The ever-perfect princess sat frozen, her fingers gripping the hem of her skirt, knuckles white. Her face was pale except for the flush of red spreading from her eyes downward.

No one had ever raised their voice to her before.

No one had ever scolded her — not her tutors, not her subordinates, not even her father the Emperor.

And now, in front of half the first-year class, she’d been struck down by the one man everyone considered beneath dirt.

She didn’t even have the strength to glare back.

Her head lowered, golden hair shadowing her face.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Every cadet could sense it — the perfect image of the "hero’s party" had just cracked.

But none dared to speak.

*****

A sharp noise shattered the stillness.

Scrrreeech—!

The sound of a desk dragging against the floor.

Every head turned instantly.

"H-Hick..."

It was Ariana.

She froze mid-motion, her hands trembling on her desk.

Her eyes darted between the stares closing in on her.

She’d been waiting for everyone to leave so she could slip out quietly — but nobody had moved.

And now, every single person in Class A was staring right at her.

Her heart pounded in her chest.

The silence pressed down like a physical weight, making it hard to breathe.

’I-I just wanted to go to lunch...’

She swallowed hard and took a hesitant step back.

Her chair scraped again, drawing even more attention.

Celestia’s gaze flickered briefly in her direction, dull and unfocused. Kael didn’t even look. The others whispered under their breath, their curiosity now shifting targets. Their gazes bore down on her.

But between her crippling shyness and the gnawing hunger in her stomach... hunger won.

She lowered her head, and all but darted out of the room.

Her footsteps echoed faintly in the hallway.

*****

Outside the classroom, Ariana finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

"Th-that was terrifying..." she muttered under her breath, pressing a hand to her chest.

The image of Lucien standing tall before Kael’s group still lingered vividly in her mind.

His tone, his eyes — cold, calm, unyielding.

It was the kind of presence that couldn’t be faked.

’He’s really... different.’

Still clutching the hem of her uniform, she picked up her pace, heading straight for the cafeteria.

Because whatever chaos was happening in that classroom... she didn’t care.

Right now, all she could think about was the promise Lucien had made yesterday —

and the mysterious food he’d said would be "even better than the last."