Chapter 298: Thanks, But...No Need Next Time

Chapter 298

Thanks, But...No Need Next Time

“You’ve just arrived. What do you know about her past? You don’t know everything.”

“Exactly, we were just talking about the past. She’s from a poor village; those are facts. I didn’t say anything too harsh. I just mentioned how lucky she was to captivate the eldest young lord of the Setter family and catch the interest of the young lord from the Femon family. She’s become important to many professors, and even Prince Jason pays attention to her. What did I say wrong?” The voices of the two students continued to argue. Grace, the new student, didn’t respond thoughtlessly. She maintained her composure, which caused the other students to side with her.

“Is talking behind someone’s back not wrong? And the things you’re saying about her gaining attention from various men—why don’t you mention how hard she’s worked to learn on her own? Don’t you see how much effort she puts in?”

“Moreover...even if what you’re saying about her past is true, how do you think she’d feel hearing it? Will she think you’re just joking? Saying she comes from a poor family isn’t it like rubbing salt in her wounds? If I said you did embarrassing things as a child, like walking and defecating at the same time, wouldn’t you feel ashamed?”

Grace’s rebuke was sharp and direct. Her words made everyone nod in agreement, except for the two students who looked displeased. They couldn’t refute her points.

In truth, these two students didn’t intend any harm to Ellie. They spoke out of jealousy, wishing they could be as fortunate, receive good opportunities to develop themselves, become renowned and be admired like her. However, they never thought that their small remarks would escalate into a problem.

Should they stop talking about Duchess Ellie from now on? Was she untouchable now? With these thoughts...their initial good feelings turned into dislike.

Ellie, who had followed along, heard everything. So did Professor Lucien. The young professor’s expression was unreadable, but Ellie’s face looked as if she had tasted something rotten.

Normally, hearing something like this wouldn’t anger her. If she could go back, listening to their tone would be important too. But why did this familiar situation feel so wrong?...She used to be protected like this, but in the end, she was left with no one. The person who fought with others for her sake ended up with many friends instead.

In the end, Ellie realized that doing this was akin to killing her indirectly. Creating hatred among others seemed to be something some people were really skilled at.

What was even more impressive was that they did it in a way that no one could catch them. Unless they experienced it themselves...they would not understand at all. Look at Professor Medik, for instance. Even he was looking at the new student with gratitude for standing up for Ellie and restoring justice...

In the past, Ellie wouldn’t have dared to do anything more than stand and watch. Stepping forward to say the two students weren’t wrong wouldn’t be much different from humiliating herself, essentially inviting everyone to insult her freely. It would risk being seen as putting on a show of false magnanimity. Who in their right mind would tell others to feel free to insult them?

More importantly...in a situation where someone was genuinely defending her, if Ellie sided with others, it would be like slapping the face of the person defending her, right? How would that make her look? It would be like someone doing something good for her, but instead of thanking them, she told them it wasn’t necessary. Hatred would definitely come her way.

This person was nothing like Nara. Nara was somewhat scatterbrained, speaking without much thought, raised in a remote, impoverished village, often seen as more of a clown. But the woman in front of her was different. This was a troublemaker of a whole different level that couldn’t be underestimated!

“Duchess Ellie is here!” Some students noticed Ellie’s arrival and quickly made way, eager to watch the spectacle unfold. The two students from earlier, who had been confident they hadn’t done anything wrong, now felt a pang of doubt in themselves after hearing Student Grace’s words, making their expressions look rather miserable.

Lucien looked at his student. Before things could escalate further and cause trouble for others, he began to reprimand her.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to read the books in your room? You haven’t remembered even the first one I gave you,” Professor Lucien scolded. Grace, who had just been like the Goddess of War, shrank to an inch tall, adopting an endearing demeanor immediately.

“Professor, I...I was just hungry. I’m sorry. I’ll go back right away,” Grace’s cute, small voice made it hard for many not to feel sympathetic, even though it was not she intended at all. Even when she was scolded by her mentor, she still acted like this was a joke, making Lucien’s eyebrow twitch uncontrollably.

If he hadn’t been observing her actions all along, he might have been like everyone else, pretending to sigh wearily while secretly feeling fond of her. Unfortunately for Grace...it seemed that Professor Lucien wasn’t going to go with the flow.

"Do you think this is a joke? Many students are studying diligently. Do you know how many students want to be my disciple? And you, getting this opportunity so easily, don’t care about it? Remember that I’ve revoked the status of being my disciple once before. And for you, coming from a foreign land and treating the learning at Ares Institute as a joke, I won’t tolerate it either...Maybe another professor can handle you better."

Seeing how serious Lucien was, and hearing him talk about the efforts of others while Grace, who had just arrived from a foreign land, became a direct disciple immediately, some students felt their eyes opened a bit.

Grace herself was slightly taken aback. She hadn’t expected Professor Lucien to be so serious. In high school, whenever she acted cute, she was usually forgiven halfway.

The young woman looked around before stopping at Ellie. She smiled as if she had found her shield, much like before. Even Grace herself was so familiar with this scene. She jumped toward Ellie and clung tightly to her arm.

"Ellie...please help me. Professor Lucien is going to punish me." Normally, clinging to a favored student would make the professors turn a blind eye. This method had always worked. However, Grace didn’t realize that all the variables had changed...

"I won’t help you with this. Professor Lucien is absolutely right. You’ve just arrived and might not understand the culture here. Even I have to train and work hard. When Professor Medik assigns me tasks, I complete them without complaint. The books he gives me—only 2 per week—I read them and then read 10 more to fully understand the content."

"That doesn’t include what Professor Nico teaches me. I work until my hands are numb to maintain stability in creating stratagems. Even with Professor Lucien, I have to train my body every day while also studying the texts. Do you think all this is easy?"

"I am just a scholarship student, receiving financial aid from the institute. Before this, I was just a poor villager, with no parents to rely on. Given such a good opportunity, I naturally do my best to make the most of it, so that I can return to my village with pride. Like other scholarship students, the villagers’ hopes rest on us, something only those from impoverished backgrounds can understand."

"I just want to improve myself and become a strength for the people in my village in the future. My hope is to help my relatives back in the village live happily and ensure that the next generations in my village live safely."

"You probably don’t know, and probably understand that talking about my background is a taboo. I understand that, coming from the Rhea Kingdom, you might see discussing the past as shameful, but for me, it’s not at all...You gave an example that if someone talked about the past, like how I once fell as a child and it was embarrassing, I would say that it’s something I’m very proud of because that fall taught me to walk better in the future."

"When I was a child, crying and defecating as I walked, it showed me how much my mother had to struggle to deal with me. It made me love my mother even more and taught me not to make things difficult for my family. It gave me the determination to repay them all."

"I’m not ashamed of this. Talking about the past sometimes even gives me more strength to learn. But what you said about me not being lucky is true. I came here with power of botany, not knowing what it could do. So, I had to learn potion-concocting, herb cultivation, and stratagem creation diligently. All of this was to prove to myself that I can be strong, not just because of my magic power’s abilities!"

"I appreciate your concern, but you shouldn’t impose your thoughts on others. If I were angry, I would speak up myself... So next time, you don’t need to do this. I’ve been at the institute for a long time, receiving help from my siblings at the institute for over a year now. Wherever I go, I’m happy with everyone. They don’t hate me either. So, if you hear something that upsets you, don’t assume that we, as fellow students, feel the same way."

Ellie smiled after saying this. The two students who had been harshly reprimanded earlier suddenly burst into tears. They hadn’t intended anything harmful, as Ellie said. They were simply speaking about her with good feelings, but then they were harshly criticized because of what the new student said. Hearing Ellie defend them like this made their hearts swell with gratitude.

The other students also felt awakened from their misunderstanding. Initially, they had been swayed by the new student’s words. Talking about the past of someone who had achieved success might anger and hurt that person, but they hadn’t considered Ellie’s true nature.

"Duchess Ellie, thank you for understanding us."

"Sob, sob. Yes, I didn’t mean any harm. I just wanted to be like you." Seeing both of them crying like this, Professor Medik looked as if he was about to swallow air in astonishment. Had his intention to confront them been a misunderstanding?

The elegant professor glanced at Lucien, who shook his head knowingly, as if he had anticipated this outcome. Medic felt like he had been slapped in the face, but...he also sensed that Lucien knew something he didn’t. He resolved to question Lucien thoroughly later!

"Duchess Ellie just returned from her village, didn’t she?"

"That’s right. I was swayed by the new student’s words. But thinking it over, Duchess Ellie wouldn’t get angry just because someone mentioned her village. She’s often returned there happily."

"Exactly. Duchess Ellie has worked so hard. All this time, she’d been thinking this way. I thought she was trying to gain the Setter family’s approval."

"Heh, heh, I always knew Duchess Ellie wouldn’t be like that. Can’t you see how remarkable she is? Even when Nara did terrible things to her, Duchess Ellie didn’t retaliate. So why would she hold grudges against others?"

"My tears flowed when Duchess Ellie said we were all siblings at this institute who have helped each other. Waah, I’m about to cry again!"

"Hmph! Why are you crying now? Last time, when she single-handedly led the charge and won first place for the institute after years of not winning, I cried more than this."

"Yes, this year, we all plan to watch Duchess Ellie’s competition. She’s our pride and joy. If it weren’t for the sake of the institute, she would have teamed up with the Setter family and won first place in combat competition."

"I completely agree. She’s sacrificed so much because she loves us, her institute siblings. Maybe...the new student from Rhea Institute doesn’t understand this."

"Heh, heh, heh, she tried to protect Duchess Ellie, but it seems she has a lot of prejudice against us."

Unexpectedly, the situation turned around completely. Ellie normally didn’t speak much, but when she did...her words must summarize everything and change the situation. From now on, even if the new student wanted to harm her indirectly, it seemed unlikely to work...

Student Grace, standing there stunned, finally regained her senses after hearing the comments about her. The Ellie in front of her was no ordinary person. By using her weakness of being from another institute, she had managed to create division, making it seem like Grace was an outsider.

If it were someone else, they might have rushed to defend themselves or seek attention, but Grace wasn’t that foolish. She knew that her current influence wasn’t enough. She had intended to use this opportunity to make Duchess Ellie pay attention to her and see her as a trusted friend, as the story she had read suggested, but it seemed she had been too hasty.

Grace knew when to advance and when to retreat to achieve better results. Realizing she had made a mistake this time, she put on a sorrowful expression and sincerely apologized.

“I’m sorry for misunderstanding this situation. In the future, I will strive to learn more and become a true student of Ares Institute. This time, I acted with the mindset of a Rhea student. I sincerely apologize to everyone for the trouble I’ve caused.”

Seeing her acknowledge her mistake and apologize, many people softened their resentment, though some still harbored prejudice and ill feelings toward Grace. However, Grace knew she had plenty of time to change their minds. She wasn’t in a hurry, holding the saying "slow and steady wins the race" as her guiding principle...