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And beside him were Freya and Rosia, who were also here against their will.
"This is such a pain, really. If my parents hadn't been nagging me, I wouldn't have had to stand here waiting like this."
"...Still, as the Heir of the Duke's Noble house, you should at least exchange greetings once. Don't you think so, Kadin, sunbae?"
After Ayla's incident, the relationship between him and Rosia was extremely awkward.
This meeting was also forcibly arranged by Freya, who had noticed their strange tension.
"Well, yeah."
Kadin replied listlessly, his face full of boredom.
The news that Duke Argenta's lost son had returned was the hottest topic in society these days.
So much time had passed since he went missing that people naturally assumed he was dead.
But recently.
Duke Argenta came to the capital himself and announced before the Emperor that his Heir had returned alive.
At the same time, he strictly maintained security about what kind of person the Heir was.
Because of that, his own Noble house had been in an uproar for a while.
Marquis Reit had been annoyingly forcing him to become close with Duke Argenta.
"As the only Heir of the Argenta Noble house, everyone, including the members of the Imperial family, will definitely covet him!"
"I heard the Duke cherishes his son so much? We must bring him to our side."
"Kadin, do you understand? According to information we secretly obtained, that Heir is coming to Riod Academy. So be sure to befriend him."
Kadin found this whole situation unpleasant, but also amusing in a way.
'It's annoying to have to pretend to be friendly with a guy who probably hasn't even learned proper etiquette, but this means Felix is no longer in the Duke's eyes.'
The Argenta Duke's only disciple?
It was over for him now, showing off with that ridiculous title.
Now that the Noble house's rightful Heir had returned, the Duke would be too busy educating his son to care about a trivial commoner.
Then Felix's position would naturally be pushed back.
In order to watch that happen up close, he figured it wouldn't be so bad to obey his parents for a while.
It wouldn't be bad to befriend Duke Argenta's son and then drive a wedge between him and Felix.
Just then.
Freya pointed somewhere with her fan.
"Isn't that Ayla over there?"
The three of them turned their gazes to Ayla at the same time.
"I guess she came to see who Duke Argenta's son is too."
Ayla, a dormitory student, must have had an obvious reason for coming all the way out here.
Rosia burst into laughter as if she was dumbfounded.
"She must be delusional to think that he'll associate with a commoner..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Rosia glanced at Kadin, who was standing next to Freya.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to have heard.
Kadin was deliberately trying to distance himself from her, standing far away with Freya between them.
"Well, even though she's a commoner, she became the owner of the Black Dragon. She even received a medal from His Majesty for that not long ago."
While he remained silent, Freya grumbled and took over the conversation.
"So, it wouldn't be a problem for her to regain her noble status once she graduates."
At her words, Rosia clenched her fists with her mouth shut.
What she said wasn't wrong. These days, stories about Ayla were also a hot topic in society.
'Thanks to her, I'm being criticized for having worse Magic skills than her.'
And that wasn't all. The atmosphere at home wasn't good either.
Somehow, the news that Rosia had reported Ayla had reached her family.
'...'
Rosia's expression darkened noticeably as she recalled what had happened during the vacation.
"It's the Argenta Noble house's carriage!"
"Oh my gosh, the Kistar Knights are really escorting it."
"I heard His Excellency the Duke cherishes his son so much, and it seems to be true."
"Of course. He's the Heir he found after more than a decade."
The knights in steel armor drove their horses without a single flaw and stopped in front of the gate.
And behind them, a huge four-wheeled carriage with the Noble house's crest engraved on it rolled in smoothly.
The students were very excited, waiting for the Argenta Noble house's carriage to open.
And after a while, a person got out of the carriage.
The moment he recognized the familiar figure, Kadin's face twisted.
Rosia and Freya were the same. Kadin said in an annoyed voice.
"Felix? Why is that guy getting out of that carriage?"
At his words, Rosia quickly replied.
"Isn't it because he's Duke Argenta's disciple? I guess they came in the same carriage."
But the moment of denying reality was very brief. The Kistar Knights approached Felix.
"Young master, were you uncomfortable on your way here?"
With one word that hit the mark, the academy's front gate, which had been shrouded in silence, instantly became noisy.
"Felix was Duke Argenta's son?"
"What on earth is going on?"
Kadin's eyes turned red. His gaze soon turned to Felix's waist.
As if to prove the Kistar Knights' words, a strange sword was hanging on Felix's waist, who always used a cheap iron sword.
The Argenta Noble house's crest engraved on the scabbard was recognizable even from a distance.
Soon after, Felix crossed the crowd under the escort of the Kistar Knights.
Everyone couldn't easily take their eyes off him.
It was as if they had completely forgotten their memories of looking down on him, and they were filled with awe.
The Knights' insignia fluttered in the sunlight, looking particularly dazzling.
Ayla was flustered as she watched Felix approaching her.
Every time Felix moved, people made way like waves, and the gazes focused on her increased accordingly.
'I didn't mean to get this much attention.'
Beside her, Peony was also gaping in disbelief.
"Felix? That guy was the Heir of the Argenta Noble house?"
Currently, the Argenta Noble house's status was soaring.
Duke Argenta, who was given the title of the best sword in the Empire.
And the Kistar Knights of outstanding skill who followed him.
It was as powerful as the military power held by the Imperial family.
So it was understandable that Peony was so surprised.
Ayla suddenly remembered when she first met Felix.
'He looked like a wet puppy back then.'
The shabby commoner boy who was covered in wounds was gone now.
There was only the rightful Heir of the Duke's Noble house, who was receiving envious gazes from others.
Thinking that, Ayla suddenly felt a tingling sensation in her nose.
Her future was still uncertain, but she was glad that at least Felix was happy.
Peony was also overwhelmed with emotion like Ayla, and she was making a fuss.
"I don't know what's going on... Ayla, that's great!"
While exchanging glances with her, Felix had already strode up to her.
"Ayla."
Felix's face was filled with undisguised joy.
Seeing his eyes staring at her as if asking for praise, Ayla's lips naturally began to curl up.
"Congratulations, Felix."
"Thank you. I have so much to tell Ayla. But right now, more than that..."
He slowly reached out his hand in front of Ayla.
"Huh? Why your hand?"
"Hurry."
"What?"
"Give me your hand too."
For some unknown reason, Ayla reached out her hand without realizing it.
Then, Felix slowly lowered his head, making eye contact with her.
Then, he respectfully kissed Ayla's hand.
"W-what, Felix."
Ayla's face flushed red in an instant.
Seeing that, Felix smiled and stood up.
Then, he came closer to her, put his arm around her, and whispered in a small voice in her ear.
"Did you forget? We were supposed to pretend to be lovers."
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