"Student Greg, don't you find it strange at all?"
The noble girl taking the lead raised her voice, her shrill tone echoing down the corridor:
"She's just a commoner, yet she was chosen as such an important representative! That's not normal at all! She must have made some shady deal behind the scenes with the academy management!"
These words directly broke the awkward silence between Greg, Victoria, and Silvia.
In his heart, Greg silently thanked this loud-mouthed noble girl.
She was practically a hero, saving him from hot water time after time—such immense grace, he wouldn't forget it as long as he lived!
Greg then cleared his throat and unhesitatingly launched into a verbal assault:
"Well, according to your logic, I'm also a commoner now after being expelled from my family, and yet I'm a representative too, aren't I? What, are you trying to say the academy management made a shady deal with me as well? (Positively certain)"
Hearing this, Victoria froze slightly.
She hadn't expected Greg to bring up his own expulsion just to speak up for her.
Although he usually acted lazy and proper-for-nothing, at a critical moment like this, he didn't hesitate to stand on her side, even at the cost of reopening his own wound.
This caused a complex swell of emotions to rise in her heart—partly touched, and partly feeling a sentiment she couldn't quite put into words.
Not to be outdone, another noble girl added:
"But she even gets a scholarship! Why should a commoner get a scholarship? There's definitely something wrong here!"
"..."
Greg fell silent for a moment, then slowly turned his head to look Victoria up and down with a scrutinizing gaze, stroking his chin as he spoke thoughtfully:
"...So, when did a girl like you secretly go and scissor with the Headmistress?"
Victoria: "???"
Although the three noble girls didn't quite understand what Greg meant by that phrase, judging by his questioning tone, they assumed he was taking their side.
Thus, joy instantly rushed to their faces.
However, Greg's next words shattered their illusions directly.
He turned his head, his gaze sweeping coldly across the three faces that had just lit up with joy:
"Of course, don't misunderstand. I'm definitely not on your side; I'm just purely envious of the scholarship. Unlike you—who got your representative spots by relying on your family's connections and money to grease palms, yet still have the nerve to slander others here."
The three noble girls' expressions instantly froze.
Greg's words were like a sharp needle, precisely piercing the secret they least wanted brought up.
Their lips twitched, but no sound came out, because they had indeed forced their way into the representative team by having their families make huge donations to the academy and calling in numerous favors.
So they truly had no way to refute him.
Greg paused, then continued:
"Besides, I know that everything Victoria has today was earned through her own hard work. Every single mark of her achievement was built with sweat and time. There are no shady dealings like you claim. I suppose because you got chosen as representatives through such means yourselves, you assume everyone else did too."
A brief silence fell over the corridor.
Victoria stood in place, looking at Greg's profile, her feelings like a roller coaster ride.
At first, she had thought Greg actually believed their words, but she hadn't expected that he hadn't taken them seriously at all.
Victoria parted her lips, only to realize she didn't know what to say for a moment.
She had never imagined that Greg would acknowledge her in such a way...
Victoria lowered her head, thinking silently in her heart:
This guy... although he really is a bit of a scumbag sometimes, he's definitely not a bad person. Maybe I should be a little nicer to him from now on.
"Please... do not insult my most precious friend."
Silvia also stepped forward, clenching her fists and keeping her head low, her voice quiet yet carrying an undeniable strength:
"Please leave at once!"
The three noble girls looked terrible.
Greg's words had hit their sore spot, and Silvia's stance left them with no excuse to keep causing trouble.
They bit their teeth, exchanged glances, and ultimately chose to turn and leave in frustration.
"Tch, so he's still as awful as ever. And here I thought the rumors about him changing were true."
"Exactly! He's not even a great noble anymore, yet he's still so arrogant!"
"To think I thought he was handsome at first! I must have been blind!"
As the backs of the three girls disappeared around the corner, quiet returned to the corridor once more.
Victoria took a deep breath, turned to Silvia, and offered a genuine smile: "Thank you, Silvia."
Silvia lifted her head, the gloom on her face already gone, replaced by her usual gentle smile:
"We're each other's most important friends, so of course I'll always be on your side, Victoria."
Victoria nodded, then turned her head somewhat awkwardly toward Greg.
She stayed silent for a moment before speaking up awkwardly: "Well... thanks to you as well this time, I suppose."
Greg waved a hand. "Don't be so distant between the two of us."
Then he naturally reached out, draped an arm around Victoria's shoulder, pulled her closer, and lowered his voice near her ear to ask at a volume only the two of them could hear:
"Now that there are no outsiders around, my good Junior Sister, tell me quickly—did the Headmistress force you to scissor with her, or did you initiate it?"
"?"
Victoria froze for a second, her face flushing red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Gritting her teeth, she roared furiously, "Greg, you bastard—!!"
Victoria violently broke free from Greg's arm, pulled up her fists, and chased right after him.
Seeing things turn sour, Greg bolted, turning his head as he ran to threaten her:
"Hey! Gray-haired brat, I don't have the bad habit of not hitting women, don't push me!"
"Stand right there! I'm definitely giving you a beating today!"
The two figures, one chasing and the other fleeing, quickly vanished down the far end of the corridor, leaving behind a chaotic clatter of footsteps echoing in the air.
Silvia stood where she was, smiling as she watched the direction in which the two had vanished.
Her face still bore that gentle and lovely expression, but deep within her pink eyes, a subtle, hard-to-detect shadow quietly surfaced.
She could clearly feel that the distance between the two people she cared about most was getting closer and closer—so close that it even frightened her that she might be left behind all alone.
So, to avoid being left behind, she decided that she, too, had to work even harder to catch up with their pace!
Rate on N.U.
