Student Council
The moment I took another step, the crowd’s stares followed me like a living shadow. The dense gathering of students was part of it, but that wasn’t the whole reason. The whispers kept coming, each one sharper than the last.
“Whoa? That’s him, right? The first-year who took down the Lycanthrope!”
“Yeah? Never seen that face before, but there’s the Top Student boutonniere… and those two swords? One’s definitely for training.”
“Ugh, he’s a commoner, you know? Must be the fancy one he got as reward for slaying the monster this time.”
In the short time since the Lycanthrope fell, word had spread through the academy like wildfire: the first-year commoner took it down. Students who passed by now murmured among themselves, speculating on my every move.
Someone called it outrageous—a commoner reaching the top, then slaying something that wasn’t even on the curriculum. Others wondered if a commoner could ever earn real knighthood. Still others joked that I might even get a public title just from surviving long enough.
Rumors spread exactly the way they always did, twisting and swelling until they reached far beyond facts.
‘Great. Another day of this.’
The gazes that once burned with pure disgust and awe now mixed with open curiosity and jealousy. It was an entirely different feeling, yet the corner of my mouth still lifted in that familiar half-smile. Habit.
Back then the stares had been unrelenting hatred. Now they were something strangely warm, almost envious. And so I kept walking, ignoring the weight that used to make my chest tighten.
A girl swept past me in the hallway. I couldn’t tell who she was, but the way she spoke gave everything away.
“Your face isn’t bad, and your skill is impressive… but don’t you smell a little off? Slaying a monster and still not even buying proper scent? Typical commoner.”
She only mentioned luxury perfume, the kind reserved for nobles and the upper class. That single line told me exactly where her class sat. She wasn’t mocking the poor; she was mocking them to remind everyone that she wasn’t one of them.
I had no idea when the academy would start handing out monster-dissection money, but the Principal’s note had been clear: any materials or rewards were mine to keep.
“Ask a mage to turn the bones into whatever potion you want, or head to the armor shop. Either way, you’ll be fine.”
Two more places on my mental list. The perfume boutique went straight in. If a noble girl like her could feel that way, the proud Liliana—currently forced to live among commoners—would probably react far more violently.
She had never once complained about commoners’ scent or ragged clothes the way others did, but that was the old Liliana. The girl who had survived the original story’s quiet suffering and quiet dependence was gone. The girl who had lived through far darker, far stranger experiences now stood in front of me, unpredictable in the smallest things.
A faint unease settled in my chest. I still didn’t know how she would react to anything small anymore. I kept walking toward the Student Council room anyway. There was no turning back.
---
Seventh floor of Solus Academy’s main building.
The room directly below the Principal’s office was the most luxurious and spacious on the entire floor. An antique door framed in deep teal with thick gold lines stood open. Gold lettering along the top rail seemed to ask whether I truly belonged on the other side of that threshold.
Solus Persona.
“Representative of Solus, huh? Guess so.”
Behind that door, the original characters of the story would be gathered. One more foreign element in an already crowded room. I pushed the thought away and stepped inside.
“Mm? The tiger came when called, I see.”
The moment the door opened, a woman’s sharp voice rang out. At the same moment, every head in the room turned toward me.
Two. Four. Six. Eight. Even Liliana, the only one crammed into the corner, narrowed her eyes at me with pure disdain.
Thankfully, everyone was here.
The moment my shoes touched the carpet, I counted the faces and let out a tiny, relieved breath.
“Huu.”
Why had I gone through that ridiculous trouble of sparring with Ian just to tie for first place? The answer was simple: I needed this room.
In the original story, the Student Council consisted of the top two students from each department. If Ian and I hadn’t both ranked first, the original second-place knight would never have joined. I had to twist the plot in places, but leave the untouched parts as close to their original shape as possible. Only then could I still use everything I needed.
“…So, is everything settled? First-year Swordsmanship Department Top Student.”
I followed the voice to its owner. The familiar black hair told me he was Korean. His crimson eyes, a color that shouldn’t match an East Asian face, studied me with open interest.
That gaze belonged to the Student Council President herself.
She was seated on the high-backed chair, legs crossed, completely at ease. And she had that look of pure interest because…
“You’re really impressive, kid. I honestly didn’t think a first-year could have that kind of skill. How did you even cut it down? With that shabby blade? I saw the wound—clean cut. One strike.”
Her eyes burned brighter, a faint chill crawling up my spine.
‘Damn it.’
I barely stopped the curse from slipping out.
In the original story, a certain knightess had watched Ian’s swordsmanship, grown fascinated, and done things I didn’t want to think about. She would have fallen for his knightly grace even after witnessing his worst acts. But my swordsmanship had no trace of “knight” in it at all. Her fascination would have turned into something far more dangerous.
I answered before she could ask again.
“I’m grateful for the compliment, but I don’t remember what happened that day. More likely the kind of stubborn outburst someone makes right before death, or a miracle.”
Cutting her interest off early was the smartest move.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
That made sense. She was the kind of girl who went crazy over knightly swordsmanship.
“But that level of mastery isn’t something you can just achieve through talent alone, right?”
Her eyes flashed like a hunting dog’s. Irene Yustia—third-year knight, Student Council President, wielder of the blazing greatsword Red Reverse Scale.
Her black hair shimmered like the night sky, contrasting with skin the soft peach of dawn. Two red gems sat in that flawless complexion, hypnotizing every man who dared look too long.
Even though she was born a woman, she had never chosen the elegant, swift style that matched her beauty. Instead she wielded the honest, stubborn sword of true knighthood. That was exactly why the academy had given her the name “Distorted Knightess.”
She had entered the academy and immediately knocked out her own mentor in the joint first-year sparring. When asked why, she had answered:
“Calling a knight with such frivolous swordsmanship is disgusting.”
No, then punching someone near death for that reason was still knightly.
That had been my first thought the moment I heard her story. But outside of swordsmanship, she truly was a knight. She protected the weak without hesitation and set an example for everyone. Yet there was one exception.
The moment she believed a knight’s sword had been dirtied, something twisted inside her.
If she developed that same interest toward me…
No. Not toward me.
Toward the swordsmanship I had shown for even a single moment—the one that had briefly looked like a knight’s.
She would never tolerate a blade like mine. She would try to correct me. Any way she could. Purely, honestly, like a knight.
Because she believed she could see the same ending she had once witnessed.
‘That will never happen. Not while I’m still breathing.’
I couldn’t let her interest stay on me. It had to go to Ian. I had no time to waste on a crazy woman like this.
So I told her the truth for the first time.
“My swordsmanship isn’t the standard knight’s blade. That was why there was a deviation in the finals. My style was evaluated as completely different from Ian Cedric’s rigorous, knightly swordsmanship.”
“Really? Ian Cedric.”
Her gaze shifted to him. Ian gave a reluctant nod.
“Well… that’s why they’re finally acknowledging us as joint top students this time…”
Her eyes lit up again, this time burning with interest toward him.
“A monster like that, and he’s still tied for first…”
Relief washed through me. Her obsession was safely locked onto Ian, just as the original story intended.
According to my plan, she was supposed to discover the feeling of love at some point. Even if she corrected my swordsmanship to look beautiful, that affection would never have flowed toward me. The relief I felt came from knowing exactly where her heart would land.
She worshipped knightly swordsmanship, but she still put knightly honor first in every other way.
I had no intention of keeping even the “ki” of chivalry.
I was too busy protecting my own path to worry about some stranger I didn’t even know. If she ever saw my swordsmanship, she might feel awe, but love was impossible.
And then.
‘Sorry, but I’m kind of a lone wolf. I don’t plan on keeping anyone else in my heart.’
I glanced sideways at the ring on Liliana’s finger and let out a long, bitter sigh.
That was the end of my plan.