LLTEEFM 96

#096. I Would Have Been Fine Never Seeing You Again

The Academy was thrown into turmoil less than a month after Princess Blanche’s admission, when a violent incident broke out.

Blanche ended up with injuries to her knee and the inside of her mouth, while the Medret trio were left with bruises on their clavicles and thighs—places hidden by their uniforms.

Judging purely by the results, it looked like mutual violence. But the surrounding circumstances and material evidence placed the Medret side at a clear disadvantage.

There were witnesses who had seen them spit into Blanche’s food tray in the cafeteria, and even the trio themselves could not deny that they had been the first to raise their hands in this altercation.

Most importantly, while the three only ended up with bruises, Blanche was the one who bled.

The school physician’s evaluation was that, although the injured spots were painful, no bones were broken, so the recovery time would likely be about the same for both sides.

But still—on one side stood a quasi-royal foreign envoy of peace, a junior student and model newcomer; on the other, the troublemaking third-years with a reputation.

The professors’ judgment was swift. They ordered the Medret trio into disciplinary seclusion and convened the disciplinary committee.

They listened to both sides, weighed conflicting statements, informed each guardian of the incident, reviewed precedents, and prepared appropriate punishments.

Meanwhile, Blanche was allowed to freely attend classes and mingle with other students.

It was, to be frank, an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation for the Medret side.

The whole process was laughably easy. Even without my experience in such matters, the other side’s fault was glaringly obvious.

Even if I had done nothing, it would have ended as the Medret group’s wrongdoing. Still, I decided to sprinkle in a little strategy.

For example, I slightly falsified the reason why, though only Heomitch struck me first, I ended up hitting all three of them in return.

I didn’t deny that I struck all three, nor that Heomitch alone had been the first to lay a hand on me.

But unlike me—who admitted the undeniable while carefully mixing in a small fabrication—those children, unused to lying, tried to deny everything at once.

Naturally, the Academy found my testimony more credible when accounts conflicted.

When you’re cornered, you shouldn’t try to erase your faults completely. Admitting a little and twisting the rest is the only way to lie without being caught.

Well, that’s just life experience, isn’t it? They’ll have to accept it humbly—their lack of tact is their own failing.

Whether or not they felt wronged was none of my concern. I didn’t stop at swaying the committee, but followed up to ensure every subsequent measure went my way.

With the Medret group immobilized, I had the freedom to move as I pleased—a tremendous advantage.

“Lady Barandis, I heard you testified to Heomitch summoning me first. I’m truly grateful.”

Expressing thanks to someone whose testimony had been useful was one of those measures.

I deliberately chose break time, with all the students present, to thank Lady Barandis.

She widened her eyes in surprise, clearly not expecting gratitude—after all, she had only been summoned by the professors and simply answered their questions.

“N-no, it’s nothing worth thanking me for. In fact, I feel guilty for reporting that…”

Perhaps she felt she had aided in bullying by implicating her senior. She avoided my gaze, fumbling over her words.

From my perspective, though, I had wanted to settle things with Heomitch anyway, so it hardly seemed like she had aided in bullying at all.

“If you hadn’t testified that Lady Heomitch summoned me first, the case might have been dismissed as nothing but a chance quarrel.”

Of course, even had they claimed so, my testimony would have carried more weight.

But there was no need for these children to know that. I brazenly played it up—whether Heomitch had lied that way or not, it was true she had tried to minimize her guilt.

“Surely not…!”

Perhaps she had believed both sides had only spoken the truth before the committee. Her eyes grew even wider. Naïve indeed.

“I hear there were already several statements that didn’t match the facts. Thanks to honest testimonies like yours, it became clear that what I said was true. So tell me, how could I not be grateful?”

That alone would have utterly destroyed Heomitch’s reputation.

Well, she had only herself to blame—propaganda is just as important as battle.

Ignoring the whispers from students around us, I smiled gently.

“Once more, I sincerely thank you for your candid words.”

This wasn’t just to ease Barandis’s guilt or to win her favor. More importantly, it planted the idea in the minds of the students watching—that even a simple “speaking the truth” could be enough to bring Heomitch down.

The students in my own class were too new to have suffered from Heomitch yet. But like Barandis, they must have upperclassmen acquaintances, and for them this information would prove valuable.

If current students came forward with accounts of Heomitch’s past bullying, the disciplinary committee’s ruling would be all too obvious.

I would receive no punishment or only a very light one, while Heomitch would be penalized more heavily for shoving me hard enough to draw blood.

Thus, the perception that Heomitch, once the ruler of the Academy, now ranked below me would naturally spread throughout the school.

‘Meaning, by striking down three of her lackeys, I’ve already secured a place among the Academy’s upper echelon.’

Yes—rising quickly in an established group meant toppling the existing leader.

When I attended the entrance ceremony, I had no intention of clawing my way up from the bottom. But somehow, within a month, here I was.

Was there some vein of fate running beneath this place? Or perhaps the real problem was me—after all, even back in the Imperial Palace, events had conspired again and again to shatter my vow to live quietly.

‘Well, if I’m in it, I may as well take every gain I can.’

It wasn’t that I had no pangs about going this far against mere children.

But my satisfaction in handling matters flawlessly outweighed any self-reproach.

Besides thanking Barandis publicly, I used several other tricks, and in the end, everything unfolded just as I had planned.

First, I deliberately directed the Academy to notify the Empress Dowager, rather than His Majesty.

Ordinarily, it should have gone to the Emperor, but when I told them I didn’t wish to trouble His Highness the Archduke, still adjusting to his new territory, they readily agreed.

No doubt they were also mindful of the old rumors of discord between me and His Majesty.

As expected, the Dowager Empress responded wisely, choosing not to escalate the matter and instead entrusting the Academy to handle it.

At the same time, she skillfully prevented it from seeming like she was neglecting me, requesting to be kept informed of the final results.

My public thanks to Lady Barandis also worked well—soon, other students came forward with reports of Heomitch’s past bullying.

At first, her family had thought to cover it up as a trivial incident since only I was involved. But once multiple noble families were implicated, they could no longer intervene.

Heomitch had mostly targeted commoners, but not exclusively. And among those commoners were children supported by noble houses.

This information came from Lady Wellington, who also told me that as for the beating I received, the punishment would likely amount to nothing more than a formal public apology from Heomitch’s group.

Given that my injuries weren’t severe and I had also struck back, a one-sided apology was not a bad outcome.

Besides, there would still be punishments for her other offenses.

So I decided there was no need to rush. I would wait, calmly, and accept their apology only once every other sentence was finalized.

“Been a while, hasn’t it?”

Of course—had I known things would turn out this way, I would never have chosen to wait.

I would have taken that apology at once, ended everything right then and there.

Suppressing my emotions, I composed my expression and lifted my head. Clear, brilliant blue eyes bore straight into mine.

Ah. If only I still had a legitimate reason to bow my head and avoid this gaze.

“…Yes. It has been a while.”

I would have been fine never seeing you again.

Swallowing those words, I forced a wry smile as I faced His Majesty.