35 – Bet
“Yerika?”
[Yes!]
When I called her Yerika casually, she replied.
One could say she’s even more composed than me.
“Miss Yerika?”
[·············]
“Yerika.”
[Yes!]
“Yerika-nim?”
[·············]
“Yerica?”
[··· Yes.]
“Princess.”
[Really! Please don’t joke around!]
As I continued to play around, Yerica couldn’t hold back her anger.
“Ahahahaha, I’m sorry. Yerica’s reaction was just too amusing to resist.”
[You can even speak informally if you’d like.]
“It’s a habit for me to use formal speech; I can’t help it.”
[Lets switch to informal gradually. By the way, what made Your Highness contact me first?]
I wonder if the day will come when I speak informally to Yerica.
“We don’t have to wait for something special to happen to get in touch, do we?”
If I say something like this to Clara or Sepia, they would probably be shocked or ignore me.
[Well, our relationship is somewhat special.]
However, Yerica’s reaction was different. She accepted my words without being surprised.
[What happened at the academy today?]
“Nothing particularly noteworthy.”
Actually, there were quite a few noteworthy events.
In an instant, I became the guy who touched the crown prince, and all the academy students found out about it.
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But I didn’t tell Yerica about it.
[Hmm, is that so?]
However, for some reason, Erika spoke with an uneasy tone.
“Yes?”
[Actually, I heard from my brother. What happened today and the reason behind it.]
Her voice was mixed with concern and disdain.
[The prince of the Arshen Kingdom is bothering the clown, why didn’t you tell me yesterday?]
“You didn’t need to worry, Erika. And besides, it’s something that will be resolved soon anyway.”
This statement was not a lie to reassure Erika, but a sincere one.
[He may be a fellow academy student now, but he’s still a prince of the kingdom. I don’t know what he’ll do once the clown graduates.]
This statement felt like I heard it somewhere before.
Where was it?
[Clown, would you be my escort when I graduate from the academy?]
I remembered where I heard it.
It was when I first met Butler in the cafeteria, and he made a similar proposal to Johanna.
But.
Erika’s escort?
“I’m just a clown, though?”
[Then, would you be my escort clown?]
What? Was he joking?
“Well~ Even if it’s a joke, just imagining being Erika’s escort clown is delightful!]
[I’m serious though.]
Is this not a joke but sincerity?
“But the position of Erica’s imperial guard requires the Emperor’s permission…”
[My father has already given his approval.]
The Emperor too?
That can’t be.
The Emperor, who cherishes Erica dearly, wouldn’t grant her the position of an imperial guard so easily.
[Initially, when I expressed the desire to choose a guard, he refused. But when I said I wanted Gwadang-nim as my guard, he immediately approved.]
“What?”
[Do you know what the nobles look for when choosing an imperial guard?]
Erica asked me, looking perplexed.
If it’s what they look for when choosing an imperial guard of the nobles.
“Well, strength, I suppose?”
[Of course, strength is important, but the crucial thing is trust. Can you entrust your life to this person? That’s the most important.]
“I’m not strong enough to entrust Erica’s life to me yet.”
[Of course, you might not be that strong right now, but what about three years later?]
In three years, it will be the time of my graduation from the academy.
“My father said that by the time Gwadang-nim graduates from the academy, he will be considered one of the strongest in the empire.”
If that’s the case, there’s no way to avoid it.
[Gwadang-nim said it himself earlier, didn’t he? Just imagining becoming my guard is good enough? In three years, you can actually become a guard, not just imagine it, so you must be feeling good.]
Huh?
I had finished my morning training and was heading back to the dormitory for some rest.
It was still early, so only a few students were seen on the academy grounds.
Walking through the academy grounds, feeling the cold wind, I couldn’t help but remember the conversation I had with Yerika yesterday.
Even though I had ended the call abruptly, Yerika didn’t seem like she was going to give up easily.
At times like this, avoiding calls and not talking for a while is the best option, but…
“I can’t do that.”
I was able to sleep well again today, without any medication.
Yerika truly inherited that trait from the empress – being able to sleep without medication.
Realizing that, I couldn’t refuse Yerika’s calls or not call her back.
“Could I really become a royal bodyguard?”
If even after graduation, I can’t sleep without medication, becoming a royal bodyguard wouldn’t be so bad.
If I were to be Yerika’s guard, I could sleep comfortably every day.
“I’ll deal with the future when it comes.”
Yerika’s matters are urgent, but what’s more urgent is to get rid of the vulture as soon as possible.
Today, we all attacked and were defeated by Professor Elysia again.
“There’s still an hour until lunchtime, so take a break and have lunch.”
Professor Elysia delivered the same line and left the special class as usual.
‘Where does Professor Elysia eat?’
While other professors are occasionally seen in the cafeteria, I’ve never seen Professor Elysia there.
“Roki, want to have lunch together again today?”
Lucas approached me as I lay down to rest.
“Sure, why not. Shall we all go eat in the cafeteria today?”
I suggested to other special class students to go eat lunch together, and everyone except two accepted my proposal.
The ones who haven’t agreed yet are Clara and Sepia.
“Sepia, don’t you want to have lunch together?”
I approached Sepia first.
She turned her head discreetly when she saw me.
“Are you going to eat with Lady Frey again today?”
It seemed like she was still upset about the previous incident.
I pondered on how to resolve it, but it turned out to be easier than I thought.
“Well, whatever.”
It was because the spirit immediately spoke to Sepia.
“Why do I have to do that?”
Even though Sepia didn’t hear what the spirit said, she decided to have lunch with the spirit.
“Okay. We can eat together, right?”
Now, the only person left was Clara.
“Clara.”
“· · · · · · ·”
Even after hearing my words, Clara didn’t take her eyes off the book she was reading.
It was clearly a refusal, but I had no intention of giving up.
I whispered to Clara so that no one else could hear.
“Clara, unnie.”
“You!”
Clara listened to me and looked at me with a scornful expression.
“If we eat together today, I won’t call you that anymore.”
“Fine, I got it.”
And so, for the first time, all the special class students headed to the cafeteria to have lunch together.
“Look, there’s Clara.”
“Those are the students from the newly formed special class, right?”
As we walked to the cafeteria, the students looked at us and buzzed with excitement. It was natural for them to stare, considering that the special class had just been formed.
“Is Lucas okay?”
“What’s that troublemaker, Lofri, up to?”
Furthermore, since the newspaper reported yesterday that a bully had spilled a drink on Lucas, all the students who looked at us buzzed with excitement.
Even while eating lunch, the murmurs did not disappear.
Amidst the gaze of all the students, the special class students ate their lunch as if nothing was wrong.
Shiver, shiver, shiver.
No, come to think of it, it seemed more than one person was shivering.
“Is it possible for people to shiver like this?”
Frederick Nicholas, the sorcerer, shivered uncomfortably under the gaze of the people.
Honestly, he knew people would stare, but if it weren’t for bringing Frederick along…
Knowing that Frederick would clearly feel left out and cry if he didn’t bring him, he just brought him along.
Just as he was pondering how to take care of Frederick, the lunchroom suddenly became noisy.
“Your Highness.”
The reason was immediately apparent.
It was because Bureugi had approached Lucas.
“I’m truly sorry for yesterday!”
Bureugi kneeled right in front of Lucas.
In a way, it was the best he could do right now.
But it’s just in my palm.
“I mistook someone for you yesterday and acted so rudely towards Your Highness!”
Lucas glanced at me briefly.
Before coming to the lunchroom, I had asked Lucas for one thing. “So, are you saying that mistaking me for someone else and acting that way was originally intended for my friend?”
“That, that’s…”
When Lucas called me his friend, I was visibly shaken.
“If you apologize to my friend, I might forgive what happened yesterday.”
It was a tremendous opportunity to receive forgiveness with just one apology from the imperial prince, but I hesitated.
It seems he’d rather die than apologize to me.
I approached Buerge and said, “You don’t want to apologize to me, do you?”
I don’t want to receive an apology from you either.
Just the thought of receiving an apology from you makes me sick.
“Lucas, if I forgive, will you forgive this person?”
“If you forgive, then I will too.”
In truth, I had already discussed this with Lucas beforehand.
Of course, I didn’t tell Lucas what would happen afterwards.
“Care to make a little wager with me? If I win, I’ll forgive you.”
“What kind of wager are you talking about?”
I looked around. All the students nearby were watching, and the head of the newspaper club even had a camera in hand.
“Let’s fight in three days.”
Upon hearing my challenge, Buerge, as well as the other students nearby, were shocked. Those who were shocked once, were even more shocked after hearing what followed.
“The loser will be expelled from the academy.”
I can’t bear to see this Buerge at the academy any longer.
“If you feel pressured, you don’t have to do it.”
Of course, at this moment when all the students are watching, it’s impossible to refuse, right?
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