Volume 4: Chapter 1 - Fate Can't be Changed (Part l)

On the first day of the second semester, I arrived at Class A and sat in my seat.

My classmates greeted each other. But something seemed different. Many of them looked at me strange then looked away.

Although I didn't know what happened, I was already used to strange looks from others. So I didn't care much and didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.

"Good morning, Princess Yumina."

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

Princess Yumina, the most popular person in the class, also arrived in the classroom. She was still as graceful and popular as ever, exactly like the character I knew from the novel.

I wondered if I could restore a normal relationship with her this semester, as my reputation had improved after the duel with Shinika.

If I saw her alone, I would go talk to her, but I always felt such an opportunity would be hard to come by.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Yumina also looked my way, and our eyes met.

And it was this eye contact that instantly made my previous thoughts vanish.

Yumina's gaze was colder than ever before, even showing clear hatred. Even during the first few days of school, she had never shown such obvious emotion towards me.

Logically speaking, no matter what, I was a child from a Marquis Family, and even as royalty, she shouldn't display such impolite hostility.

Given her personality, Yumina should have restrained herself, even if she disliked me, unless I had done something terrible that touched her bottom line.

But I hadn't done anything.

With this confusion, I vaguely spent the morning.

Then, as before, I went to D Class at noon to find Toke.

"Toke, let's go for lunch… Huh?"

Toke's usual seat at the back was empty.

He usually waited for me in the classroom. That's strange, did he go to the restroom?

There were no cell phones in this other world to contact him. I scratched my head, and because I was really hungry, I decided to eat alone today.

I would definitely ask him where he went and what he did next time we met.

At this moment, I also noticed that many people in D Class were whispering because of my arrival.

Although this was business as usual, and I didn't intend to take it to heart, I felt their gazes weren't just about finding me strange.

I had a bad feeling…

Feeling somewhat restless, I left the classroom before formal dismissal in the afternoon, leaving the surprised glances of the teacher and classmates behind me. No one stopped me.

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I came to D Class again and opened the door. The teacher and students inside were in class.

My action instantly silenced the classroom, and they all looked at me. I still chose to ignore them, focusing only on Toke's seat.

No one.

Did he change seats?

I quickly scanned the other students in the classroom.

No, he wasn't there either.

Generally, if Toke saw me come to the classroom at this time, he should immediately respond to me.

Where on earth did he go? Why wasn't he in the classroom when school started? Was he on leave? Or was he still on the way and hadn't arrived at school yet?

It would be quickest to ask the head teacher of D Class directly. So I looked at the middle-aged female teacher at the podium.

"Excuse me, student, is there something you need?"

"Where is Toke?"

"Huh?"

"I asked, where is the student Toke from Class D? Is he on leave today and didn't come?"

To show I wasn't joking, I deliberately emphasized my tone. This made the atmosphere in the classroom even more tense.

"I remember you are Robert from Anglus Family, right? Just calm down for a moment…"

"Answer my question first."

At this moment, I no longer cared about the value of respecting teachers and elders that I had been taught since childhood.

This was also the first time I had acted so out of line, and even if I knew I was wrong, I had to do it, because the uneasy feeling in my heart was growing stronger and stronger.

The female teacher hesitated for a moment. Seeing my firm attitude, she seemed to decide to answer my question for now.

"…The student Toke has already withdrawn from school, so he naturally won't be in this classroom."

"You said… what…?"

I widened my eyes in disbelief, thinking I had misheard.

"I said, the student Toke has already withdrawn from school."

"Don't talk nonsense…"

"It's not nonsense, it's the truth."

"Why would the school make a student withdraw without reason?"

"You're mistaken. It's not that the school made Toke withdraw; it's simply because Toke is no longer qualified to attend Noble School."

"What do you mean?"

"Student Toke's family has been stripped of their noble status and expelled from their territory. The current Toke is just a commoner, his family name has been stripped away."

Noble status… family name… stripped? Impossible, how could such an absurd thing happen?

We had clearly agreed to meet at school after the holiday. What happened in the holiday.

How could I accept such a foolish fact?!

Although I don't know Toke's family, someone who could bring up a child like Toke, couldn't be evil. So, their status could not possibly have been stripped for such reason.

At the same time, the powerful figures who held the power of life and death over nobles had no reason to specifically deal with a poor noble family from the border.

It could only be that someone who conspired to frame them.

And among those who might have a motive to frame Toke's family, in D Class there was…

"Rankdor, come out with me."

"Huh?"

My gaze was firmly fixed on Rankdor, the representative figure who had bullied Toke. He clearly looked scared when he heard me call his name, not daring to meet my gaze. This only deepened my suspicion of him.

"Don't make me say it a third time. Come out."

"…Yes."

It seemed the deterrent effect of the Anglus Family still worked. Rankdor could only choose to obediently follow me out of D Class.

The D Class teacher also didn't stop us, watching us leave.

So Rankdor and I walked to a quiet corridor. At this time, most students were still in class, and no one would disturb us. I also didn't have time to find a more secluded place.

I fiercely grabbed Rankdor's collar and pushed him against the wall.

"What did you do?"

"I… I didn't do anything!"

"Don't play dumb. Who else could it be but you? You don't have the ability to fight against the Anglus family, so you can only pick on weaker nobles. Isn't it your style to bully the weak and fear the strong?"

"No! It's really not me! I clearly knew he had your protection, how could I dare to cause him trouble?"

That made sense. If something really happened to Toke, he would definitely know that I would suspect him first. It would truly be asking for trouble.

Calm down, me. I needed someone else to remind me of such a simple truth.

Then who could it be? Are all those noble children who disliked Toke suspects?

Or did someone dislike me and could only attack my only close friend?

I really couldn't predict why those twisted noble scions would get angry, so I couldn't pinpoint who did this. The only person I could think of who was most suspicious was this boy named Rankdor in front of me.

"Then who do you think would do such a thing?"

"I, how would I know?"

"Ah, there's another possibility. Even if you don't do it yourself, as long as you order others to do it, suspicion won't fall on you. That shouldn't be difficult for you, as a descendant of a Count's family, right?"

"It's a misunderstanding! I really didn't do anything!"

"Stop!"

...