Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Bizarre Rumor
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The next morning, the academy classroom was in a frenzy, like utter madness.
It was because Burger hadn't come to school.
Honestly, up until now, Burger's presence had been practically nonexistent. He was just seen as that kid who occasionally got beaten up behind the academy teachers, the pitiful one, the weird one... That was the extent of it.
So no one should have cared if Burger skipped school.
It definitely should have been that way...
“Burger's supposed to be some big deal?”
“They say he's a prince from a foreign country!”
“Then he was hiding his identity? I thought he was just some fallen noble!”
Suddenly, one girl came in with a piece of gossip, and the entire academy was thrown into chaos.
“Here, it says ‘Raymond Hesburger.’ His family is one even His Imperial Majesty can't touch!”
“Gasp, the ‘Hesburger’ family is the continent's richest powerhouse. They control massive wealth!”
Kids aren't insensitive to hierarchy just because they're young.
If anything, their purity makes them react even more sharply to status fights.
“No wonder Martin and Sien Mirmod were hanging around Burger. It was weird. A name like Burger? Sounds totally like a fake alias!”
In that moment, all their eyes turned to Liena. She was staring blankly at her book with an expressionless face, but her fingertips were trembling unusually.
It seemed like she noticed every kid watching her.
As Liena flipped the page with her shaking hand, one kid suddenly shouted loudly.
“So what happens to Liena now?”
Liena was the daughter of a fairly prestigious count family.
Plus, incidents in the academy could often be overlooked.
No matter how smart Burger was, since he was a poor fallen noble, Liena using some violence against him could be somewhat excused.
That was noble society.
“Fallen nobles are usually...”
But direct violence always causes problems.
And what if the victim turns out to be at the top of the pyramid?
The kids staring at Liena soon started whispering.
“If Burger's really a foreign prince, wouldn't that be a diplomatic issue?”
Martin, who had been silently listening to all of it, irritably slammed his book shut.
Amid the noisy rumors about Raymond Hesburger, Burger, Sien Mirmod, and whatnot, he alone hadn't said a word.
Just then, someone opened the door and came in.
‘Sien Mirmod, you're finally here.’
He glanced at his watch. It was one minute before the teacher would start roll call.
‘I wanted to talk to you.’
Martin gnawed at his lips in frustration as he glared at Sien. She was grinning from ear to ear.
Even as kids whispered furiously around her, even as the teacher came in with a pale face, she just propped her chin on her hand and wiggled her toes, looking utterly uninterested.
As if she had foreseen this whole mess and wasn't curious about the rumors at all.
Seeing that, his suspicions about Sien welled up from deep inside.
‘She seemed really interested in Burger... If she's the only one not caring about this rumor and acting like she already knows, then there's only one answer.’
That Sien Mirmod had deliberately spread the rumor.
His suspicions grew deeper, and Martin had no intention of holding back his curiosity.
***
“Sien Mirmod.”
“Huh?”
“You started the rumor, didn't you?”
After the boring class ended, during break time.
Martin had dragged Sien to an empty classroom at the end of the hall, locked the door, and asked point-blank. It was phrased as a question, but it was so certain no one would mistake it for one.
When Martin's sharp gaze turned to her, Sien just shrugged.
“What rumor?”
“The one about Burger.”
Sien raised an eyebrow, feigning disinterest as if she'd known it was coming.
“So what?”
“I know Burger. His family isn't that great.”
“Huh?”
“He's probably got little to no connection to the Hesburgers. Even if he does, he'd just be some collateral kid.”
Martin thought Sien would spill the info once she heard his reasoning. At least admit she was the one who spread it or deny it.
But Sien was way off from his expectations.
“You seem really into Burger?”
Martin made a dumbfounded face as he shot back.
“...What?”
“No, I heard yesterday that people saw you and Burger hanging out on the way home? You even brought him bandages.”
Martin looked utterly speechless.
“Martin, you actually like Burger, don't you?”
“What? I like g-girls.”
“...Who said that?”
Sien shook her head at him with a laugh.
“No, not like that.”
“Then what...”
“You're so interested in Burger that he stuck in your mind, and you felt bad ignoring the bullying, so you kept circling around him?”
“...”
Martin covered his flushed face with his hands.
Even then, I could see his eyes rolling sideways, so I let out a short laugh.
“Martin.”
“...What.”
“Thanks to you, Burger got hurt less. He's probably grateful to you.”
I moved to open the classroom door.
“That's not why you came here...!”
I shrugged.
“It is why I came. And Martin.”
“Why.”
He looked exhausted.
“Burger is a prince. That rumor isn't bullshit.”
***
I closed the door behind me and looked at Martin's dazed expression.
He must have thought I spread the bullshit rumor, but no. Burger really is the prince of the Hesburger Kingdom.
Even if he's the 13th son, his king father shows no interest in him, and Burger is free to live as he pleases.
‘Burger ends up leaving the empire in disgust from the nonstop bullying, probably.’
The king of the Hesburger family didn't care how Burger lived.
‘Kids think it'll blow up into a diplomatic issue so they won't bully Burger, but the truth is, the king might not even know if he's alive or dead.’
This was straight from [Melodia's Life], so I knew for sure.
Thinking that, I lightly waved my hand.
Burger was already standing in front of the door.
Not his usual warm face reciting hamburgers and cheeseburgers, but a cold, icy stare. I stared right back at Burger and handed him the burger keychain from my pocket.
“The one you wanted. Here, now let's talk.”
“...You think I'd fall for something like this...”
“Prince Hesburger.”
Burger fiddled frantically with the burger-shaped keychain, then suddenly looked at me. I gave him a warm smile and said.
“You already figured out I spread the rumor?”
Burger was sharp-minded.
And...
“You told me you'd spread the rumor. In that letter, Acid handed it over.”
Of course I'd gotten Burger's consent before spreading rumors behind his back.
If he'd shown even a hint of dislike, I'd have scrapped the ‘rumor operation.’
If Burger had said yesterday in the letter that revealing his identity bothered him, or shown any sign, I might have just let it go.
But...
“You were looking forward to it too.”
I said to Burger. He flinched hard.
As if I was right. I continued softly.
“You couldn't say it yourself. Your father ordered you directly not to reveal your status.”
Even in the original [Melodia's Life], that backstory existed.
Being the 13th prince was an ambiguous position. Noble blood, but hard to get proper treatment in the kingdom. Especially if your mother was gone, like Burger's.
That's why Burger came to the empire's imperial academy.
In short, his enrollment was a kind of escape to avoid getting sacrificed in royal power struggles.
“...Father won't be happy if he finds out about the rumor. That's why I stayed quiet.”
I said firmly to Burger.
“Won't your father be upset if he learns you were getting beaten?”
At that, Burger shot back with an emotional expression.
“What do you know about my family? Father has zero interest in me. He doesn't even know if I'm alive or—”
I looked at Burger quietly and spoke.
“Hmm, then it doesn't matter, right? If he doesn't know anyway...”
Burger threw me a cold glare.
Oops, I thought. I might have hurt his feelings.
I nodded lightly.
“Sorry, Burger. Felt like I was butting in. I'm really sorry for speaking carelessly about your family matters.”
“...You do know?”
I stared at Burger.
Without his burger chants and math obsession, he looked surprisingly astute.
“...Yeah, Sien Mirmod. I thought if I endured, their curiosity would fade. But...”
I stared at him, then opened my mouth again.
“Burger, you're so naive. You think Liena will leave you alone? You think she'll just go ‘oh, boring now’ if you stay quiet?”
Only then did Burger sigh out his true feelings.
“...Yeah, that's why I left you alone. You were doing what I wanted. I didn't want to keep getting beat by the others either. I'm a prince, after all.”
Even in [Melodia's Life], the nobles who bullied and shunned Burger kept succeeding afterward.
So it probably wouldn't escalate into a big diplomatic mess.
“But I had this thought too.”
“...What thought?”
“Everyone's leaving me alone now thinking it'll become an empire-kingdom diplomatic issue. But my father doesn't care about me anyway.”
“...”
“I'm just a figurehead prince. Having that exposed... doesn't feel great. Though it's better than getting beat.”
Burger sighed, running a hand through his hair. Right now, he didn't look like a math-obsessed nerd, but a real prince.
But Burger was wrong.
I shook my head at him.
“No, Burger!”
“...What?”
I blinked and tilted my head.
In a pure, innocent way, like I didn't get why he was down.
“Now you'll be a prince sponsored by the Mirmods. Why would you be a figurehead?”