"There's been a rumor going around lately, apparently, your fiancee lady Espine and her attendant are the perpetrators of the bullying focused on the student Burushiitto.

"

Xeonith declared in a matter-of-fact voice and the atmosphere in the classroom became stiff.

"I'm here to investigate that case as one of the students' supervisors.

"

Xeonith finished his sentence with a friendly smile.

"Then I put an end to that rumor right now, it's not them,

"

Horeo didn't even blink and responded in a cold, domineering voice that left no space for discussion of any sort.

"Do you have any proof to support that cla…

"

"It is so because I said so.

"

The brown-haired second-year student thought he gained an upper hand and started asking but was shot down without even finishing his sentence properly.

"…you highness, you saying such a thing could be considered an abuse of power… It isn't in good taste to dismiss an accusation without properly investigating the matter in question…

"

Surprisingly enough, Xeonith seemed to be enjoying himself a little bit too much – just as if taking jabs at the first prince and seeing his expression grew more and more grim was his real objective all along.

"…pfffft… pfffft…!

"

The one person who didn't seem even the slightest bit bothered by the entire situation was… Miriette of all people.

Even though she was supposedly facing a rather nasty accusation she was doing her best to hold back the laughter after observing what was going on.

Xeonith's – or rather his family's – obsession about competing with the royal family was well known amongst the high nobility, and Miriette certainly wasn't unaware about it.

The thing was, seeing some idiot stirring up her best friend was extremely amusing – honestly, was there better entertainment than watching an annoying creep walk straight into their demise?

"Bold of you to speak about the abuse of power while showing up here with baseless accusation and have the guts to come up to me with them as if they were facts that require an actual proof to be brought down. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind hearing some facts that would support your claim while we're at it.

"

"…!

"

Horeo expression changed into that of a soft, but extremely mocking smirk that honestly shocked the brown-haired boy.

"I'm not accusing anyone, your highness, I'm here just to ask some questions regarding the matter.

"

Xeonith didn't have anything like that after all – first of all, he only showed up in their classroom to anger the prince enough for him to challenge him to a duel – but in a flash, that option seemed to be getting further and further away…

|Not good, he is calming down… in that case…|

"…?

"

Xeonith thought to himself and glanced between the fearful Burushi by the door and Zoemi by his side, getting a suspicious look from the black-haired boy.

"Student Burushiitto, you are involved in this the most, you have to show the proof confirming that accusation.

"

"…wh… I have to do what…?! But I never accused either of them?!

"

The brown-haired boy scoffed and spoke towards the blond girl taken aback by the blatantly outrageous demand spoken so easily by the supposedly strict but just capture target…!

Well, apparently his fairness didn't include commoners that didn't have the plot armor…

"…?

"

Horeo raised his brow wondering what Xeonith was going for with that sudden derail of their conversation but patiently waited to see where the older boy is going with it…

"I see… you really don't know your place, do you?

"

"?!?!?!

"

The brown-haired boy shook his head and turned towards the trembling girl who was just as lost as anyone else who had to witness the peculiar turn of action…

"My lord, an investigation has a certain procedure to it…

"

|YOU FILTHY PERVERT TRIED TO GROPE HER AND NOW YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE HER TAKE THE BLAME FOR YOUR IDIOCY?! YOU SHAMELESS, SPINELESS…!|

Zoemi spoke up and stepped forward trying his best to stay calm, but on the inside, he was completely enraged.

"Hmph~

"

Xeonith only glanced at him and his eyes glistened with satisfaction for a brief moment.

Then…

"I haven't asked you for input, attendant, have I?

"

*WHAM*

This time Zoemi was unprepared and distracted while Xeonith was focused and prepared – the brown-haired boy got lowered his body a bit and punched the black-haired attendant in the stomach, sending him flying, smashing against the chair and desk, and finally slamming against the wall…

"…

"

…where he stayed with his head down…

The next thing happened in a flash.

"ZOEMI?!

"

Miriette screamed horrified and rushed towards the black-haired boy without caring for the surroundings…

"…hmph…

"

The brown-haired culprit smirked in satisfaction and turned around to see whether his little stunt was enough to stir up the prince enough to the point of issuing a duel…

"…huh…?

"

…and ended up letting a surprised voice when someone's palm blocked most of his field of view.

Then the hand shone with golden light…

*BOOOOM*

*CRUSH*

…and Xeonith had basically no time to react as Horeo deployed his magic.

A cone of blinding golden light erupted from the first prince's hand right into the brown-haired sophomore's face and smashed the brown-haired boy through the window as if he was a ragdoll.

"…!

"

"!!!!

"

"!!!

"

That was so abrupt that no one knew how to react – at least not with Zoemi and Miriette out of the loop.

The dark-haired girl wasn't affected by the collective astonishment because of the simple reason of being far too worried about her attendant.

"Zoemi, are you alright? Are you hurt?

"

She gasped, shaking Zoemi's shoulder and touching his face while biting her lips – the black-haired boy didn't look hurt but he wasn't opening his eyes.

"…lady Miriette…

"

"…?!

"

Shockingly enough, someone else came to help Miriette and Zoemi…

And to Miriette's great surprise it was the blond-haired commoner girl.

"Check up…

"

Burushi reached out and grabbed Zoemi's hand and whispered.

"How… how is he…?!

"

Miriette flinched and asked, fighting the urge to slap the girl's hand away from her beloved Zoemi.

"It… seems to be only mana depletion…

"

"Eh…?

"

The blond girl responded furrowing her brows in surprise, making the dark-haired girl lean back in surprise.

"What do you mean, Zoemi doesn't have enough mana to lose consciousness from mana depletion!

"

Miriette shook her head and declared.

"True, he didn't have nearly enough when I healed his back and the burn scars, but he does now – although he also has a slight concussion from hitting his head against the wall, so even though it wasn't the main reason, it didn't help either.

"

The heroine shrugged her shoulders, unintentionally slipping into her doctor's tone, but luckily Miriette didn't seem to either care.

"Can you help him?

"

She asked instead of getting angry.

"With concussion? Sure. But he will be all woozy and basically drunk when he wakes up…

"

"THAT'S PERFECT, THEN!

"

|I CAN NURSE HIM BACK TO HEALTH!|

Burushi explained with a serious expression, and something in her words made Miriette a little bit too excited because she called out and grabbed the heroine's shoulders while her eyes shone happily.

"I'll be right back.

"

Horeo – who was listening in to learn about Zoemi's state – passed the two girls with an irritated expression and jumped through the smashed window.

"Make him pay!

"

Miriette managed to regain enough composure to lean to the side and call out after her fiance – who in response raised his hand to show that he heard her loud and clear.