"Hey, isn't that him."
"No way."
"He's in my class?"
Whispers and chatters were audible from where Leon was seated.
They didn't notice it at first.
It was only now that the rest of the classroom became aware of his identity.
"Rumors had it that he got admitted due to some special privilege."
All the curious stares were directed towards the silver-haired boy seated beside Leon.
Before joining Eclipse, they hadn't seen the guy appear on any written or practical exams. So, special privilege was the only other way he could get in.
That's what they all thought, unaware of the fact that the king himself recommended him to Raizen. And then, Raizen personally tested Ethan's capabilities.
"What about the guy sitting next to him?"
He gestured towards the guy sitting to Ethan's right.
"I haven't seen him on any of the tests… is he a special admit too?"
It was clear that he didn't recognize Leon, so he asked his desk mate.
"Who?"
They turned towards the guy he was pointing at.
Seated right beside the silver-haired boy was a sole male, he had jet black hair, golden eyes that stood out, and a dense look on his face.
"Ah, it's him," his deskmate recognized the familiar feature. "But, how'd he get in Eclipse?"
"You know him?"
"Idiot, keep your voice low. Look at his eye color, don't you recognize which bloodline they belong to?"
He tilted his head, "No, I don't. Is he supposed to be famous? Which family?"
"...umm." He was stunned to speak. "You must be joking, right? Haven't you heard about Lady Veronica?"
To his question, the other boy simply stated, "Of course I've heard about her. Who doesn't? Lady Veronica, the head of one of the Calamity Towers, the strongest person in this kingdom. Even the king himself fears to mess with her, haha… so, what does that have to do with him?"
"..."
The other boy's eyes twitched.
'Does he live under a rock or something?'
Clearing his throat, he simply stated.
"That guy is none other than Lady Veronica's youngest brother. Leon Valentine."
"The hell?" After hearing him, he was stunned. "Then—then, he must be super talented."
"Bahah, no, no, it's the opposite," he grinned. "That guy is actually pathetic. He must've got into Eclipse using his sister's name. Oh, and do you know people call him the 'Princess Proposer'? Because he once tried his shot with Princess Rinna."
"What a low life," the other clicked his tongue in disgust, glancing at him from the corner of his eyes.
Unaware of them, Leon actually heard it all.
'You are the low life here!' Leon thought, shooting a disgusted look at them.
'And, who the heck even gave me this name?'
"Princess… princess proposer—PFTTTT–hahaa," next to him, Ethan tried his best to control his laughter.
Turning his gaze to him, Leon narrowed his eyes.
'Oi Oi, mr. protagonist, your cool facade is slipping.'
"Having fun?" Leon asked in a lousy tone.
"My bad, didn't know you were a big shot."
'Big shot, my ass.'
Ethan was stunned to see Leon getting treated like that by other nobles and didn't feel offended.
It was his first time witnessing something like this. If it were some other noble brats in Leon's shoes, they would've launched a full-on tantrum.
In Ethan's eyes, Leon didn't seem hot-headed.
He was different from other nobles.
"So," Ethan asked teasingly, lowering his voice, "did you really propose to the third princess?"
"Yes."
It was true, so he didn't object.
"You like her?" Ethan was curious.
"I liked her," Leon said, faking a gloomy face, "but she didn't feel the same way…haaah… anyways, that was all in the past."
He acted as honest as ever in front of Ethan.
"Ah, my bad for bringing this up," Ethan said, "but hey, one rejection doesn't mean you give up, right?"
'Look at him consoling me.'
Leon was having fun.
"The thing is," Leon said scratching his cheek, "she rejected me thrice, and that too in front of everyone."
"..."
Ethan blinked, unable to come up with the right words, so he just said,
"This is life."
Leon was on the verge of bursting into laughter, but he held back.
"...that's it from me," the headmaster on the podium clasped his hand, "now, it's time for your classes to begin. Once again, welcome to Eclipse Institute of Magic and Arts."
With that final speech, the headmaster strolled out of the lecture hall.
Moments later, a figure walked in through the door.
The sound of heels tapping on the floor instantly grabbed the attention of every entity in the room.
Wearing a white shirt, paired with a black skirt, and a tight, waist-length black blazer over it, she walked in holding a register and a book in her hand.
She headed straight to the podium without batting an eye at anyone.
Pale olive hair, and emerald eyes, she looked like a super model.
BAAM–
Slamming the register on the desk, she attracted even more gazes.
"My name is Esther Halls, and starting today, I'll be your homeroom professor."
Her tone was hollow.
As if she was completely uninterested in taking any classes.
'Esther Halls'
She was ranked quite high in the online forum for best female character. Most players drooled over her, giving her weird names like 'Mother Esther' or something even more unhinged.
Anyways, leaving that aside.
Esther Halls was the daughter of an unmarried man named Victor Van Halls, the Armor and Defence Minister of the Liora Kingdom and a very close friend of the king.
Yes, Esther was adopted.
In reality, she was a commoner, whom Victor found abandoned in front of his private cathedral.
From then on, Victor took her in and officially announced her as his heir after recognizing her talent in the field of mages.
It's a known tale among the nobles, and Vector was always being praised for adopting a poor commoner.
'Her expression looks phenomenal,' Leon commented over the details.
He ran his gaze, scanning Professor Esther.
Looking at her, he thought.
'The designers did a great job crafting her proportions—'
"?!"
Their eyes met, and he saw Professor Esther staring at him with a look of disgust.
He instantly looked away.
'Did she notice?'
It would be a problem if she did. Esther was well-known for hating it when others, especially men, looked at her that way.
Slowly turning his gaze, Leon once again peeked at her.
Her emerald eyes didn't move an inch.
Narrowing his eyes, and mentally preparing himself, Leon thought.
'I'm not surviving this one.'
— — —
[A/N] : one more chapter in 2-3 hours, stay tuned. Also the following targets are still valid:
300 Power Stones : 2 extra chs on weekend
100 Golden Tickets : 4 extra chs on weekend