Chapter 81 : Turning Point (8)

Chapter 81: Turning Point (8)

Contrary to expectations, Kyren said nothing as he looked at Allen.

He simply stared at Allen in silence.

He wasn’t glaring.

He was merely looking this way absentmindedly.

From that look alone, it wasn’t hard to tell that he was consumed by emotions far more intense than ever before.

And it seemed Allen was no different.

With Kyren’s gaze on him, Allen closed his mouth and lowered his eyes ever so slightly.

It was a half-enlightened expression, as if he was ready to accept whatever judgment would be passed.

“Tsk.”

“Look at him standing there all stiff.”

While the two people involved remained quiet, Kyren’s group behind him looked like they were itching to cause a scene.

They clicked their tongues or sneered openly at Allen, and a few even glared at me as well.

“……There’s been talk going around.”

Only after some time did Kyren finally speak.

The first time I saw him, he had acted like a madman, beating Allen with a wooden sword.

The next time, he had been oddly friendly, even advising me to keep my distance from Allen.

And now, the Kyren standing before us said nothing—just stared at Allen with eyes so deep they were impossible to describe.

“The Amiel family is an honorable one.”

Kyren Amiel muttered in a low, whispering voice.

A breeze blew by, ruffling his red—but lighter than Allen’s—hair.

“Our ancestors turned down higher titles and power more than once. Even when they earned the title of Count Amiel through their merits serving beside the Great Emperor, they refused to abandon it. That’s the kind of family we are.”

He began to recount the history of the Amiel Count family in a flat tone.

Though my family, the Gwendil Count family, held the same noble title…

In this empire, the Amiel family was among the most prestigious, to the point that comparing our two houses was laughable.

I could say with confidence that few families could rival the Amiels in influence and fame within the empire.

They took pride in their red hair.

They were warriors to their bones—dying on the battlefield for their country, the imperial family, or for honor was considered the highest glory.

“My great-grandfather once volunteered to be bait to save the main army during a crisis. Though he achieved his goal, he died in battle atop his steed—a glorious and honorable end.”

“My grandfather was the same. He subdued a rebellion and even slew the enemy general who took advantage of the chaos to breach our lines, thus saving the Empire. They say the bloodstains of the enemies he cut down as he charged toward the enemy’s headquarters formed a perfectly straight line, unwavering.”

“And the current head of the family, my father…”

Here, Kyren paused and closed his mouth tightly.

Allen remained silent, simply listening.

The tense air created by Kyren’s restrained fury had even made his rowdy group fall quiet, now carefully watching his expression.

“With numerous achievements, he was appointed Sword Saint even before his engagement was finalized. When the current Emperor ascended the throne, he stood at his right side and took on the role of Bladekeeper, the one entrusted with guarding His Majesty’s sword. You know how honorable that is, don’t you?”

“……Yes.”

“Good. That’s how it should be.”

Kyren nodded slightly.

“Our ancestors, great-grandfather, and grandfather were all honorable and worthy of respect. But if I had to choose the person I respect most, I’d name my father without hesitation. It’s not just because he’s my father. His talent and skill are said to rival even those of our ancestor who served beside the Great Emperor… he’s that remarkable.”

“And yet, for the first time in his life, he became the subject of disgraceful gossip.

There was no excuse—it was utterly shameful.”

Kyren glared at Allen.

“It was because of you, Allen.”

“Because of you alone, the proud name of our family and the name of the father I respect so deeply became a laughingstock.”

“And today, once again, because of you, rumors mocking not only our family and father but even me have spread throughout the academy—to the point that even I had to hear them.”

When Allen opened his mouth as if to respond, Kyren extended a hand to stop him.

His resolute stance made it clear that no excuses were necessary.

Then he reached into his coat and threw something at Allen’s feet with a flick of his wrist.

A dagger.

“If you truly understand honor and shame… If the blood of the Amiel family runs through your veins… Then take responsibility befitting that legacy.”

Allen bent down without a word and picked up the dagger.

Watching him, Kyren continued in his quiet tone.

“I’m not saying you should take responsibility right this moment. The words you said when you came to me still hold weight, and my response was not given lightly. When the time comes, you will know what to do.

And you’ll resolve it yourself.”

“……Yes.”

Allen nodded slowly as he answered.

Kyren silently watched him.

‘…This is tough.’

What exactly could I do in this situation?

It wasn’t something I could interfere in, nor did I have the right to in the first place.

And that went for Kyren’s group, as well as the other students watching the scene while pretending not to.

‘More importantly…’

Glancing at Allen’s expression beside me, he looked like someone who had long since accepted this outcome.

In such a situation, anything I said would only insult him further.

Right now, all I could do as an outsider was remain silent and wait for the two brothers to finish their conversation.

“Also, here and now, I swear upon my name and my family's name.”

Kyren Amiel looked slowly around—at Allen, at me, at his group, and finally at the other students nearby—as he spoke in a firm, declarative voice.

“If anyone not affiliated with our families—meaning unrelated to the Amiel family—dares to speak about or mention this matter, we will take it as a direct expression of intent toward the Amiel family, and respond accordingly…”

“Especially those who have been spreading these baseless, slanderous rumors around the academy these past few days—I swear I will hold them accountable, no matter what. So I hope we can avoid unnecessary conflict among fellow students.”

With those final words, Kyren turned around and left without hesitation.

His group followed after him, glancing at Allen and me with a completely different attitude than before.

The other students, surprised by Kyren’s sudden warning and declaration, slowly dispersed

with mixed expressions on their faces.

Before I knew it, only Allen and I were left in the training ground.

Allen silently stared at the dagger still in his hand.

I let out a small sigh.

Because I could clearly see what was coming next.

Things unfolded exactly as expected.

Perhaps because of Kyren’s chilling declaration, the rumors that had been floating around the academy vanished almost immediately.

But along with that, Allen’s reputation plummeted.

No, it didn’t just drop—he became someone to avoid, even ostracized.

Of course, not every student rejected or avoided him.

The students from Crowns and Hilts actively shunned Allen.

The highly individualistic Wands responded indifferently, as if it was none of their business.

Crooks seemed to be observing cautiously, choosing to wait and see.

Dots, being unpredictable, responded based on individual personalities—some were friendly, some hostile, and some indifferent.

But this only applied to second-year students and above, who had begun to be influenced by the character of their dorms.

The first-years, who didn’t know anything yet…

Frankly, those who had only just entered the academy,

Most of them simply followed the mood around them.

At best, nearly half appeared to be avoiding Allen.

‘Tsk.’

Some were genuinely angry or disgusted by the situation.

Some just wanted to avoid trouble and followed the crowd.

Some didn’t care at all and simply enjoyed the thrill of ganging up on someone.

It was a scene full of people acting out in all sorts of ways.

Normally, it might have been manageable.

But Allen was clearly emotionally worn down, and under the current circumstances, it was simply too much for him.

If something were to happen—like in my previous life…

‘If that happens, we’re really doomed.’

I quietly scanned our surroundings from my seat next to Allen.

Just like someone with a contagious disease, there were plenty of empty seats around him.

“Hm, today’s class is Professor Yul Runberg’s. I wonder what kind of human history and customs he’ll be teaching today.”

But for some reason, there was one more person sitting with us.

That person was none other than the Elf—Jeil Envarso.

‘…What in the world is this person after?’

An utterly inscrutable figure.

That was the conclusion I had come to after observing Jeil Envarso over the past few days.

To revisit a previous point—

Not everyone had rejected Allen.

There were even a few who subtly showed signs of support.

Among those few were Cecilia and the Third Prince, Behad.

In Cecilia’s case, there was no way she believed the ridiculous rumors surrounding Allen.

She wasn’t the type of person to reject someone based on social pressure or petty gossip.

As for the Third Prince Behad, while there were currently some whispers about his unseemly behavior…

From the start, he had always been a broad-minded and generous person.

And if he truly cared about public opinion, he wouldn’t have formed genuine friendships with other races to begin with.

But their status—being royalty and a daughter of one of the Three Dukes—held them back.

For some reason, their indifference was twisted into a narrative of “Allen Amiel must have pulled some dirty trick again.”

‘I told them it would be better to keep some distance for a while… and for some reason, the Third Prince Behad agreed.’

As for me, I had nothing to boast about, nothing to lose.

So I just continued hanging around Allen like I always did.

And maybe because of that, the glances being thrown my way were getting colder too.

It was in that situation that someone chose to approach us—

Jeil Envarso.

‘Never mind the way he acts all friendly, I really can’t tell what he wants from us.’

Even when I tried asking indirectly, he only gave vague, nonsensical answers.

He completely ignored my subtle attempts to turn him away, and eventually, he started naturally hanging out with us.

“Good morning, everyone.”

I snapped out of my thoughts at the voice echoing from the front of the hall.

The seats around us were still noticeably empty.

“Today, we’ll be having a lesson on the history of the Empire… but before we begin, why don’t we play a little game?”

Professor Yul Runberg, standing at the podium, gestured to his assistants.

They began walking around, handing out stacks of paper to the students—and among them,

I suddenly spotted a familiar face.

‘That guy was standing behind Kyren.’

Come to think of it, Kyren once said he had a friend working as a teaching assistant.

In other words, it was highly likely that this blond-haired guy had sold information about me to Kyren.

I glanced at him briefly as he handed out papers, then looked away.

“This is…”

“A quiz.”

The handouts were filled with questions—

They were about the Wolpen Knights.

Honestly, calling them questions was a stretch. Like Jeil Envarso said, it was more of a game than an actual quiz.

“We’ll have a quick pop quiz. Don’t worry—it won’t affect your grades. But still, taking a test for no reason wouldn’t be fun, so…”

Yul Runberg said this as he glanced around the room.

The students, who had been chatting while receiving their papers, quieted down to hear what he would say next.

He really was a master at handling people.

“I’ll be giving out small prizes to the top scorers.”

A few murmurs of delight spread through the lecture hall.

“But for those with the lowest scores, hmm… what should we do? Maybe you can help me clean the classroom?”

Even that joke earned enthusiastic reactions from the students.

He was the kind of person who quickly won everyone’s affection—even suggesting group cleaning got a positive response.

‘To think someone like that ended up on the brink of death after an attack in my previous life…’

No wonder the academy’s atmosphere turned so hostile.

I thought to myself as I watched Yul Runberg walking around the stage—still alive and well, unlike in my past life.

“That said, please don’t just hand in blank papers, alright? Think of the effort we put into making these questions. Ah, and if working alone is too difficult, feel free to team up with the classmates around you. Now then… let’s begin.”

With that, the soft scratching of pens began to fill the lecture hall.

When I saw Allen quietly pick up his pen, I followed suit.

That was when—

“Let the three of us form a team.”

Jeil Envarso said, nodding slowly.

I looked at him and asked,

“Is that really necessary?”

“I believe it is—more than enough. Now, take a look here.”

He pointed to the back of the paper, as if urging Allen and me to look.

Indeed, while the front page had easy questions any child could answer, the back page had quite a few tricky ones.

“Even those who are normally interested tend not to pay close attention to details. It’s like the saying—hard to see what’s right under your nose. And especially when it comes to obscure topics like this.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Even I only knew the general story—not the specific years or people involved in the finer achievements.

“Hmm…”

When both Allen and I showed hesitation, Jeil casually tapped his chest with a fist.

“I didn’t want to bring it up, but let’s not forget—I’m an Elf, am I not? And Elves are famously long-lived.”

“You mean…”

“What’s history or myth to you is something I personally witnessed and experienced. It may sound like an exaggeration, but I’ve crossed paths with the Wolpen Knights more than once in the past.”

Jeil Envarso gave us another reassuring nod.

“Trust me. Their faces and voices are still vividly etched in my memory.”

Faced with his confidence, Allen and I had no choice but to nod along.

And a moment later—

“Huh.”

Our three names proudly appeared among the students with the lowest scores.