Sausage Over Noble Honor (2)

Kael's voice was cold and razor-sharp. In his eyes, the rage from the moment Irina Rosengart had humiliated him at last year's banquet, turning him into a laughingstock, still burned bright.

At Kael's words, Irina couldn't immediately find a rebuttal. Separate from whether she believed that incident had been wrong, nothing came to mind that she could say in this current situation.

Kael grabbed Irina by the shoulders and pulled her to her feet. As he did, he smiled at her.

Kael stroked Irina's cheek with his hand. Irina looked like she wanted to scream at him to take his hand away, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but the words wouldn't come out. Deep fear was carving itself into her heart.

At Kael's words, fear flashed through Irina's eyes. The possibility that her followers—including Marina and Yuliana—might have their loyalty shaken by what he'd said had just occurred to her.

Kael whispered into Irina's ear.

Kael had every intention of keeping Irina from dying.

With those words, Kael removed his hand from her cheek.

That was all Irina could manage. But her emerald-green eyes still refused to break.

The insult of being called incompetent struck Irina harder than anything else. If he'd humiliated her sexually, she could have at least cursed him for being vulgar. But Kael's words, attacking her with that sense of powerlessness, left her speechless.

"Professor, you can disable the soundproof magic now."

At Kael's words, Professor Galen nodded.

Irina lowered her head at Professor Galen's words. She didn't want to show her weakened face to anyone.

"Ring, Ming, Serenity. Let's head to the next class a bit early. Professor Galen, we'll take our leave first."

"Very well, Student Kael. I'll look forward to lunch!"

With that, Kael left, taking his women—Ring and Ming—and his slave Serenity with him.

'Kael Aberwin...!'

Irina trembled with humiliation. Her appearance was a complete mess, but it was her inner self that was even more devastated. Her noble pride had been utterly crushed.

'He says he'll make me his lowest-ranked slave? Absolutely not...! I will never submit to you!'

That vow was the only thing keeping her pride intact.

"Your Highness! Are you alright?"

Marina rushed to her side and asked urgently. Yuliana also ran over, catching her breath as she cried out.

They were the ones who had taken the lead in humiliating Kael last year when Irina had broken off their engagement. Yet they acted as if they had cleanly forgotten the insults they and Irina had hurled at him.

Irina caught her breath and looked at Marina and Yuliana. Her emerald-green eyes had regained their strong light.

She spoke with force, making sure her voice didn't tremble.

"Your Highness..."

Marina nodded, tears glistening in her eyes.

Yuliana ground her teeth as she spoke.

"That's enough."

Irina quickly cut off her two followers. Professor Galen was still nearby. He might use this as an excuse to punish them again.

"For now, let's head to the next class."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The two followers glanced at Professor Galen and nodded in understanding. They realized it was dangerous to badmouth Kael in front of a professor he had already bought off.

They left the clearing first and headed toward the classroom for their next class—Potion Studies. The fight over the sausages was temporarily put on hold.

But only for a moment.

Even as they moved to their next class, the arguments over the sausages continued. Irina bit her lip as she looked at the students openly showing hostility toward her. It wasn't just the followers of Princess Elenora—students who didn't belong to either major faction were also treating her as an enemy.

'How dare they...!'

It was humiliating. These were the same people who, outside the academy, wouldn't have dared even look at her face as the princess of the Rosengart Duchy. They claimed she should apologize to Kael Aberwin, but it was only for their own benefit. When she had broken off the engagement and humiliated him, most of them had secretly laughed at or ignored him.

Irina naturally recalled last year's broken engagement. Back then, to shift the blame for the broken engagement onto Kael Aberwin, she had emphasized his incompetence. Aside from his lack of talent in swordsmanship and magic, Kael had no flaws in his conduct. There had been no other grounds for breaking the engagement. So she had relentlessly attacked his incompetence, spread rumors far and wide, and managed to end it. She and her followers had also thoroughly mocked him throughout high society. Thanks to that, the Rosengart Duchy had faced no unfavorable gossip and had instead been seen as the victim, allowing the engagement to be broken cleanly.

Even now, she believed her judgment at the time hadn't been wrong. But that choice had now returned as the worst possible variable. The fact that Kael Aberwin's ability had begun exerting terrifying power within Tartaros Academy was one. The fact that Kael Aberwin was completely immune to her attempts at persuasion was another.

Irina spoke in a low voice.

Marina immediately nodded and chimed in.

Yuliana also excitedly agreed.

Irina smiled at her two followers' words.

The students who had been condemning Irina faltered at her words. The fear of the Rosengart Duchy had resurfaced. So they turned their gazes toward the only person who could stand against the Rosengart Duchy.

Princess Elenora, who received those looks, felt troubled. She personally saw no particular reason to fight with Irina. She knew about the humiliation Kael Aberwin had suffered last year. She hadn't been present, but she had heard the rumors. And she hadn't paid much attention to the matter. High society was a place where all kinds of scandals circulated. Kael Aberwin's story had been nothing more than passing gossip.

Even so, the fact that she had been a bystander remained unchanged. Knowing this, Princess Elenora felt there was no meaning in condemning Irina.

'Anyway, everyone here did something that would earn them Kael's grudge...'

But regardless of that cold, realistic judgment, the followers' gazes had already gone beyond what she could control. It looked like a real riot might break out. All because they couldn't divide two sausages in half, they had excluded students from viscount families and below. And now they were even trying to exclude Irina's faction and anyone connected to her. Their only goal was to eat two sausages each.

Noble honor, pride—none of it could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even be found in the face of the desire to not share two sausages.

Princess Elenora had no choice but to say that. And before long, the location of their next class came into view.

Potion Studies. This was the first time this week they were having this class, taught by a beautiful professor with light purple hair. She wore a deeply cut black mini-dress that blatantly revealed her voluptuous cleavage and slender thighs, and she greeted the students with a smile.

As Michaela spoke, she floated magical letters in the air.

With those words, Professor Michaela floated more text in the air and left. The letters floating in the air contained the basic formula for a stamina recovery potion.

But none of it caught anyone's eye. Once again, the students were glaring at each other, openly displaying blatant hostility.