Amidst the cheers still pouring down from the spectator stands for Simon, the referee's voice rang through the arena.
"Preparing for the next match."
The attendants immediately began clearing the arena floor, while Simon headed back toward the waiting room. After receiving a quick checkup from the medical team stationed there, he returned his barrier equipment and finally stepped out into the hallway.
He had barely made it a few steps when someone appeared directly in his path.
"Ah."
Recognizing the second-year student in a Kizen uniform, Simon stopped and politely bowed his head.
"Hello, senior."
It was Andre, president of the Noble Club and third prince of the Dresden Kingdom.
Unlike the arrogant expression Simon remembered, Andre's face was now red all the way to his ears. His entire body trembled with barely contained fury as he glared at Simon.
"Do you even realize what you've just done?"
"Yes, I just finished my Duel Evaluation."
Bang!
Andre suddenly smashed his fist into the wall beside him. Cracks spread across the pristine surface with a sharp sound like shattering glass.
"You dared to beat down the Dark Knight, the symbol of the Dresden royal family, in such a lowly fashion?"
Simon stared at him without answering.
"It doesn't matter whether you're stronger than Malcolm or not! Once Malcolm put on the Dark Knight Armor, you should've read the room! Didn't you see?! I, the Dresden royal family, was behind Malcolm!"
Andre's voice continued growing louder until it echoed throughout the corridor.
"You should've lost, or at least forfeited! But you went ahead and won?! You crazy bastard! Was it that hard to swallow your pride just once?! Don't you understand how to survive? Are you even a damn noble?! Are Special Entry No. 1 always this insolent?! You and that damned Knox Aznable!"
His bloodshot eyes glared fiercely at Simon.
"You have insulted the royal family!"
"Um, right. My apologies." Simon scratched the side of his head before giving a small shrug.
"That just doesn't make any sense to me."
"What?"
"That might be the most illogical thing I've ever heard." Said Simon.
Andre stared at him in disbelief, but Simon calmly placed a hand against his Kizen uniform.
"This is Kizen. You should act like you're in Kizen."
For several seconds, Andre could only stare at him with a dazed expression.
What the hell was this kid saying?
Was he really talking to him like this?
"Giving Malcolm the Dark Knight Armor was your choice, senior. But defeating him was my duty as a Kizen student giving his all in a match." Simon's voice remained calm as he continued. "To bring up 'insulting the royal family' on top of that? Isn't that going too far?"
Simon paused briefly before adding the part that struck Andre's weak spot even harder.
"Besides, in Knox's case, aren't you the one who started it first? Then, aren't you the one who insulted the royal family?"
Andre's expression twisted.
It felt like Simon had found the wound he desperately wanted everyone to forget and repeatedly jabbed his finger straight into it.
"You lowly...!!"
Unable to endure it any longer, Andre raised his hand toward Simon.
Simon didn't move.
Grab!
"Stop."
A cold voice suddenly came from beside them.
Before Andre's raised hand could reach Simon, another hand shot forward and firmly caught his wrist. Without giving Andre even a moment to react, the newcomer twisted his arm backward.
"ARGHHHH!"
Andre's scream echoed through the corridor.
Simon blinked before finally seeing the two people who had suddenly appeared in front of them.
The person twisting Andre's arm was Knox.
And standing just behind Knox was a beautiful blonde girl whose bearing alone radiated the unmistakable temperament of someone born and raised among royalty.
"Knox!" Simon called out happily.
While Simon was clearly relieved to see him, Andre had the exact opposite reaction.
His pupils trembled as though an immense pressure had suddenly crashed down upon him.
The person currently twisting his arm was the same first-year who had defeated him, humiliated him, and become the beginning of everything he had lost.
Yet somehow, Knox wasn't even the person Andre least wanted to see right now.
"How much more disgraceful are you going to be, brother?"
Andre's body stiffened.
Because standing beside Knox was Princess Molly of the Dresden Kingdom.
"M-Molly!" Andre recoiled before hurriedly forcing an awkward smile onto his face. "When did you arrive at Kizen? Hahaha! You should've told your brother—!"
His expression suddenly distorted again.
"ARGHHHH! Stop it, you damn imbecile! How dare y—ARGHHHH!"
Before Andre could even finish his insult, Knox twisted his wrist again.
The cold expression on Knox's face didn't change in the slightest.
"I had a feeling." Molly placed both hands on her hips and glared down at Andre.
"You stole the Dark Knight Armor, the symbol of the Royal Knights, and gave it to the son of a criminal syndicate? And then you strutted around as though it was your own power? Looks to me like you're the one insulting the royal family."
Simon blinked in surprise.
For someone who had been screaming about the dignity of royalty only moments ago, the third prince couldn't say a single word against his youngest sister.
"Do you even know what punishment the Dark Knight received for losing the armor because of you? And now you've created this disgusting display in front of nobles from other nations!" Molly's voice grew sharper with every word. "I'll be reporting all of this to Father! Don't you realize that Father and Mother already gave you one last chance by saving you from expulsion from Kizen before?! Don't you know what Father and Mother had to bear after you threatened Senior Knox and lost against him?! Until when will you keep acting willfully like this?!"
Andre's face grew increasingly pale.
Before he could say anything in his defense, Knox, who still had one hand wrapped around his wrist, casually swung his arm.
"Off you go."
Whoosh!
Andre was thrown across the corridor and landed on the floor directly in front of Molly.
"Guh!"
After grimacing in pain, Andre slowly opened his eyes, only to immediately meet Molly's cold gaze from above.
His remaining anger disappeared. Instead, panic took its place.
"M-Molly!"
Andre scrambled forward and desperately clung to the hem of his sister's sleeve.
"Don't you remember who I am? I'm Andre! Your brother Andre!! You know what will happen if you report this to Father! Please...!"
"Then maybe you shouldn't have behaved like this."
Molly pulled her sleeve away before signaling toward someone behind her.
A figure quietly stepped forward.
"Ah...!"
The moment Andre recognized her, his face twitched like he was having a seizure.
"Well done, brother."
It was none other than the second-year Kizen student Andre had forced into a maid outfit and treated like a servant.
Molly gestured toward the girl.
"How dare you do this to a Kizen student? I heard you even threatened her using the fact that her father works in the royal gardens?"
"N-No, that's not—!"
"Stop refuting! Don't you think I have evidence?!" Molly snapped, immediately silencing him again. "Do you know who gave me this evidence?! It was Senior Knox!"
Andre's eyes immediately darted toward Knox.
Knox responded with the same sunny smile he always wore. "Hehe~"
Andre's face turned even paler.
"And if your brain is still working, you must realize that if Senior Knox was the one who gathered the evidence, then with his relationship with Lady Nefthis, I guarantee Lady Nefthis must already know about this!" Molly continued. "I'll personally apologize to Lady Nefthis and tell her the full truth."
Her expression hardened.
"You know how much she cares about her students, don't you? I would never let our kingdom turn into that of the Talhern Empire."
"Yes, yes! Exactly!" As though he had suddenly found something to grasp onto, Andre hurriedly nodded.
"So why stir things up now?! There's nothing good to come from Lady Neftis or Father finding out about this, right?! It's not too late! We can still sweep it under the rug—!"
Slap!
Andre's head snapped violently to the side.
Simon stared.
The girl in the maid uniform stared.
Meanwhile, Knox had somehow already pulled out a recording crystal and was enthusiastically recording this legendary moment.
Who knew? Maybe if he copied this recording crystal and spread it around the Dresden Kingdom, Aha might even glance at him and give him a mask!
"Still yapping nonsense."
Molly lowered the hand she had used to slap him, her beautiful face contorted in disgust.
"It's way too late to cover this up. The stink of the shit you've caused is already spreading through all of Kizen."
Andre remained on the floor with one hand against his reddened cheek, unable to utter another word.
"There's no helping it. I'll just have to clean up after you myself." Molly looked down at him coldly. "I've prepared a carriage. Get out of my sight. Now."
Andre's shoulders slumped.
The supposedly great second-year student of Kizen, someone who had lorded his status over countless others, couldn't say a single word against Molly, who possessed no Core and was nothing more than an ordinary woman.
Eventually, he staggered back onto his feet.
Watching Andre's hunched and defeated figure retreat down the corridor, Simon felt a cool satisfaction settle in his chest.
After everything that man had done, the sight was surprisingly refreshing.
Once Andre had finally disappeared from view, Molly released a breath and adjusted her dress. The cold expression she had shown her brother gradually faded before she turned toward Simon.
"You must be First Year Simon Polentia of Kizen, the other Special Entry No. 1 besides Senior Knox, correct?"
This time, Princess Molly's gaze was directed entirely at Simon.