Chapter 18

◈ Chapter 18: Commoner Girl Rine (1)

Seolun's training grounds are open spaces that anyone can use.

Since they are so vast and there are as many as three such training grounds, students can freely cast magic in spacious areas wherever they go.

Especially at the beginning of the semester, it is the first-year students, who are curious about the prestigious facilities of Seolun, who use the training grounds the most.

As a result, it is inevitable that first-year students would naturally be the ones to cause minor accidents.

These are children who have been called geniuses wherever they go and have entered Seolun.

Freshmen who have not experienced proper competition yet are still full of pride, believing they are the best.

There's no way they would show any consideration for each other.

They might get along awkwardly for now, but as classes progress and they start to interact more, there will inevitably be a point of conflict.

And this first training ground is where such incidents happen most frequently.

Just like right now.

"What? Say that again."

"…This place is where everyone can use freely. I don't really have a reason to leave."

Rine frowned as she looked at the three students who were glaring at her with disdain.

She had visited the first training ground out of curiosity, and just a moment ago, they had started a quarrel with her.

The reason was nothing much.

They just wanted Rine to leave because they were going to use the place.

They didn't even speak nicely, but instead rudely told her to leave, saying they didn't want to share the space with a commoner.

The training grounds weren't that crowded, and there was plenty of room.

Yet, singling her out and telling her to leave was clearly a provocation.

She didn't think they would openly start a quarrel like this.

"Why don't you guys go if it's so inconvenient?"

"Ha! How dare you talk back to me? A lowly and arrogant commoner like you to someone of noble blood?"

"…Seolun doesn't divide people by social class or bloodline. Don't you know that even though you've been admitted here?"

"That's just what you want to believe. You cling to such hollow words. That's why you're lowly."

"You're right, Dunea. That's why lowly commoners are no good."

"That's why you shouldn't be nice to those beneath you."

The two male students on either side of Dunea were flattering her, trying to please her.

Rine bit her lip.

They wouldn't listen to anything she said, simply because she was a commoner.

Continuing this pointless argument would only tire her out.

Rine decided to just avoid them and turned her back.

The problem was that this action had seriously offended Dunea's pride.

"…How dare a lowly commoner ignore me?"

Dunea, the daughter of the Romley Earl, was a typical noble who looked down on commoners and believed in the superiority of her lineage.

Dunea, the only daughter of such an earl, had inherited her father's traits deeply.

Growing up seeing and hearing only such things, she couldn't help but develop such a personality.

Dunea thought she should be the main character in this Seolun Academy.

Even if the second-year students were impressive, she believed she should be the most outstanding among the first-year students.

But when she actually came to Seolun, she found that most of the students were on par with her. It was a reality she, who had been treated with respect all her life, found hard to accept.

‘This can't be happening!’

Using the same classroom and attending the same lectures as mere commoners was already a blow to her pride, and she didn't want to accept that some of these commoners had talents that surpassed hers.

Nobles should always be proud and stand above everyone else.

Because that's how they were born.

She believed she was chosen, and those lowly commoners were merely tools to make her stand out.

To Dunea, Rine, a commoner, was an annoying presence.

The first time she noticed Rine was in the classroom.

Rine's rare ash-gray hair color caught her attention, but what really irritated Dunea was Rine's beauty.

She looked like a doll crafted by the goddess of beauty with great care, almost not of this world.

Even Dunea, a woman herself, felt a moment of envy.

Her pride was hurt.

Dunea couldn't forgive this. Not only herself but also the detestable commoner who had shaken her.

Dunea needed someone to vent her anger on, and that person was naturally Rine, who had provoked such feelings in her.

‘What’s with that arrogant attitude!’

Rine's eyes, which looked at her with disdain.

Dunea gritted her teeth and glared at Rine's back.

‘How dare you ignore me and think you'll get away with it?’

Dunea took out her wand. The two followers who were with her didn't react in time to the sudden incident.

Rine was also taken aback.

She never imagined that Dunea would aim her wand at her and use magic as she turned to leave.

She never thought such a thing would happen in Seolun.

"Such a lowly commoner!"

With her mana, the incantation was cast, and the seeds of hot lightning began to scatter around.

Rine, sensing something was wrong, turned around, her blue eyes widening.

‘Stupid. It's already too late.’

A cruel smile formed on Dunea's lips.

She wasn't going to kill her, but she intended to leave a burn mark on that proud face.

Just as she was about to cast the prepared magic at the detestable commoner.

A white flash pierced through her magic.

Dunea's face contorted like a demon's as she saw the scattered lightning.

"Who's there!"

She turned her head toward the source of the magic.

And she saw him.

A man looking down at her from the stands.

"What are you doing?"

If it were a fight between students, it could have been overlooked with a warning.

But this was a case where one side had launched a surprise attack on the other, who had no intention of fighting.

"Seolun must seem quite amusing to you."

If they had fought each other face-to-face, it could have been a warning.

But launching a surprise attack on an unsuspecting opponent was clearly an act of one-sided assault.

Especially when the teacher had witnessed it with his own eyes.

"What's your point?!"

Dunea, whose anger had already reached its peak, shouted at Ludger as if defying him.

"This is to maintain the authority of a noble…!"

"Authority? For what, exactly?"

"This commoner was insulting me…."

"Here in Seolun, all students are equal. Learning and teaching, magic, are judged solely by talent and passion. I don't care about your noble blood."

Ludger's words, telling her not to act like a noble here.

Dunea bit her lip.

Ludger shook his head at her lack of remorse.

He had been certain that the first-year students would cause problems.

It was something only a first-year, who still didn't understand the world, could do.

New students, who didn't know how Seolun operated, naturally based their judgments on the environment they had grown up in.

Their narrow and biased thinking was what caused problems.

Just like Dunea Romley standing in front of him.

But ignorance was no excuse.

If biased thinking caused problems, Seolun's policy was to impose stricter punishments to make them see reason.

"Since you've caused such a big problem so soon after the start of the semester, you can't avoid punishment."

"You, come with me right now."

Ludger said this and immediately turned his back.

‘This should make her understand.’

He thought that by giving this warning, the incident would be resolved.

Of course, he intended to actually impose a punishment.

She had tried to sneak an attack on a peer.

"Just a fallen noble…."

But with those words from Dunea Romley.

The already quiet training ground became even quieter.

"Miss Dunea?"

The two students who could be considered Dunea's followers were sweating profusely.

Even they thought this was going too far.

Ludger Chellisima, who was about to leave, also stopped in his tracks.

This was serious.

The students watching the scene turned pale.

Dunea realized what she had said, but it was too late to take it back.

"Did you just call me a fallen noble?"

Ludger's voice, now even deeper, was directed at Dunea.

Not stopping there, his body floated in the air.

He slowly descended from the stands, landing on the ground and walking slowly toward Dunea.

Thud. Thud.

With each step Ludger took, Dunea felt as if the world was collapsing.

She hadn't realized how intimidating he was until she was close to him.

He looked like a giant.

A massive, mountain-like figure that could crush her with just a finger.

"A, ah."

She had said something she shouldn't have.

Even if she had, there were words that should never be said, and she had crossed that line.

It was natural for Ludger to be angry.

"Did you call me a fallen noble?"

"A, ah. A…."

Dunea couldn't even move her mouth as she looked up at Ludger, whose face was shadowed.

Ludger's aura was so menacing that it seemed like anyone could die at any moment.

Just as the students were wondering if they should intervene.

"Ludger!"

Selina, the new spirit magic teacher, rushed in from outside and stopped Ludger.

She had just arrived after hearing the news.

But what she saw was Ludger staring at a trembling female student as if he were about to devour her.

What if. Maybe. Perhaps.

Anxiety crept into her mind.

Selina hurriedly tried to stop Ludger.

Ludger spoke.

"You're not entirely wrong."

His words, heard by everyone, were completely unexpected.

"What?"

"What did you just say…."

She thought he would be angry.

Or that he would punish her on the spot.

"I am indeed a fallen noble. But this is Seolun, and I am a teacher here. Dunea, what you said was a clear challenge to a teacher's authority."

But Ludger didn't do that.

He just spoke calmly, as if advising her.

"But before you are a noble or a student, you are still young. I can understand if it was your first time."

"A…."

"So I will let your slip of the tongue pass this time. But there won't be a next time."

His unexpected and mature handling of the situation left the students staring at Ludger in amazement.

"Of course, the action you took against your peer will be punished accordingly. I hope you learn from this."

At the mention of punishment, Dunea felt as if the world was collapsing, but she couldn't defy him.

Ludger's words were too reasonable.

If anything, she felt he was being too lenient.

Seeing Dunea nod silently, Ludger turned his gaze to the gray-haired girl, Rine.

"And you. Rine."

"Y-Yes!"

Rine shuddered when she heard Ludger call her name.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you're hurt."

"A, ah, no! No, I'm fine! T-Thank you, teacher…."

"That's a relief."

Ludger immediately turned to look at Selina.

"Teacher Selina, please take care of the rest."

"A, yes!"

Ludger left the training ground, leaving those words with Selina.

No one dared to move until he disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.

They could only stare.

At Ludger's retreating back.