"What kind of wild nonsense are you spewing!? Junior Greg is not the terrible person you make him out to be at all!"
A petite yet firm voice sounded from the crowd.
Senior Yelena stepped out with her head held high and chest puffed out, standing in front of Greg with her hands on her hips, glaring intently at the three noble girls.
Though she was not tall, at this moment she radiated a presence that could not be ignored.
As a steadfast member of the Greg-Vivian ship, Yelena had absolute faith in the pairing of Greg and Vivian.
She believed that Greg and her Student Council President, Vivian, were true love, having personally witnessed the changes Greg had brought about in President Vivian.
The Vivian of the past had always been cold and distant, looking as though she cared about nothing in the world.
Yet through her interactions with Greg, her expression had softened considerably, and warmth had begun to filter into those ice-blue eyes.
What convinced Yelena even more was that in the past, aside from official duties, Vivian had done nothing but study and train, her life as monotonous as a precision machine.
Recently, however, Yelena had noticed that Vivian was actually using her spare time to learn cooking.
On several occasions when passing by the kitchen classroom, she had seen Vivian holding a spatula and studying a recipe intently, as if facing a crucial examination.
And all of this had to be preparations to give Junior Greg a surprise during the year-end Full Moon Festival!
The reason Yelena cared so deeply about the two was that she had admired Vivian ever since her second year.
In her eyes, Vivian was the embodiment of perfection—strong, beautiful, self-disciplined, the very person she aspired to become.
And Junior Greg's appearance had given that perfect president a touch of human warmth and earthly charm.
Watching their interactions and seeing President Vivian change step by step, she couldn't help but look forward to it—expecting them to end up together.
To her, the two were practically made for each other, and the ship she rooted for could never sink!
"Wait, who are you supposed to be?"
The three noble girls were momentarily shaken by Yelena's imposing aura, but they quickly recovered their disdainful expressions.
The lead girl sneered, "I remember you're from our academy too, right? Whoever you are, I suggest you mind your own business!"
"Not a chance, because I am a Disciplinary Committee member of Glory Cael Magic Academy!"
Yelena stated her identity without yielding an inch:
"Junior Greg is an outstanding representative of our academy. His character and ability are clear for all to see. Maliciously slandering him without a shred of evidence is not only an insult to him personally, but an insult to the academy as well!"
"My, making a mountain out of a molehill, are we?"
Another girl sneered:
"So what if you're a Disciplinary Committee member? We're not at the academy right now; you have no authority over us."
"That's right. This is the Empire's Magic Tower. Trying to order us around using your position as an academy Disciplinary Committee member here is truly laughable."
Yelena's face flushed bright red, but she still didn't back down, continuing to argue her point with the three girls.
Just as the argument was on the verge of escalating—
"Bang!"
A neighboring table was slammed hard, producing a heavy, muffled thud.
The three girls fell silent for a moment, and everyone's gaze turned toward the source of the noise.
A red-haired figure stood up.
Lilith Kahn, the Second Princess of the kingdom, was standing by the dining table with one hand still resting on its surface, an impatient look written across her face.
She swept a glance over the three noble girls, her tone carrying unvarnished annoyance:
"Shut your mouths, all of you. Originally, whatever you said about that guy was none of my concern—but now, you're disturbing my meal."
The three girls' arrogant demeanor instantly withered by half.
Although they were of noble birth as well, compared to a princess of the kingdom, their status fell far short.
They opened their mouths, trying to offer an explanation: "Princess Lilith, we were just..."
"Just what?" Lilith raised an eyebrow, a dangerous edge in her voice.
Intimidated into silence by her aura, the three girls stammered, attempting to smooth things over.
However, before they could get half their words out, they suddenly froze.
Because they saw Yelena leading someone out from the crowd.
Vivian Kahn.
The First Princess of the kingdom and Student Council President of Glory Cael Magic Academy.
She wore a neat academy uniform, her aqua-blue long hair shimmering with a chilly sheen under the lights.
Her expression was calm, yet her ice-blue eyes held a spine-chilling coldness.
When Vivian's gaze fell upon the three girls, they felt a wave of chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to the crowns of their heads, their bodies beginning to tremble uncontrollably.
"You three."
Vivian spoke. Her voice was not loud, yet it carried an indisputable authority:
"As students of Glory Cael Magic Academy, refusing to heed the guidance of a Disciplinary Committee member, spreading false rumors in public, and defaming a fellow student—your actions severely violate the academy's disciplinary regulations."
She paused, her eyes turning even colder:
"Now, apologize immediately to everyone you just harmed and guarantee that you will never repeat this mistake. Otherwise, I do not mind personally submitting a detailed report of your conduct to the academy after the exchange ends."
Scared out of their wits, the three girls didn't dare utter a single word of protest.
By now, they were utterly bewildered. They had merely said a few bad things about Greg, yet somehow they had provoked both the First and Second Princesses of the kingdom—what kind of nightmare was this!?
Thus, they hurriedly lowered their heads, honestly apologizing to Greg and the others, promising repeatedly that they would never make such a mistake again.
Then, without looking back, they fled the dining hall as though pursued by wild beasts.
Surely, after this experience, they wouldn't dare show their faces before Greg and his group even back at the academy.
"..."
Vivian's gaze swept across the students from other academies who were watching the commotion.
Glared at by that icy look, those spectators shrank their necks, dispersing as if nothing had happened and returning to their respective seats to resume eating.
Order was restored to the dining hall.
Vivian retracted her gaze and turned to Lilith, giving a slight nod.
Her eyes carried a touch of approval and recognition.
Although she knew her younger sister harbored special feelings for Greg as well, Lilith had clearly stood up just now to defend Greg and his friends.
She took note of this gesture.
Because she knew that taking such a step was already far from easy for a tsundere like Lilith.
Expecting her to be any more direct would be somewhat demanding.
Meanwhile, Lilith had entirely failed to grasp her sister's underlying meaning, assuming her sister was acknowledging her for upholding Glory Cael's discipline.
She felt secretly pleased; she had originally just wanted to vent a bit on Greg's behalf, never expecting to unexpectedly gain her sister's approval.
Yet she quickly recalled how the last time she invited her sister to afternoon tea, she had been rebuffed with a pile of coursework.
So Lilith immediately put on a tsundere posture, let out a hmph, turned her head away, and sat back down in her chair to continue eating, as if nothing had happened just now.
Vivian didn't pay too much mind to Lilith's reaction either, having already prepared herself when she rejected Lilith back then.
She turned around, her eyes naturally landing on Greg, and then slightly narrowed.
Because Greg was standing together with Victoria and Silvia, and the distance between the three of them was very close.
Vivian's eyes narrowed slightly.
Though she considered her sister Lilith her primary rival, she also clearly understood that this gray-haired girl was equally not to be underestimated.
Taking a deep breath, just as she was about to step forward to publicly stake her claim over Greg—
"Greg! Greg Sass!"
An urgent voice suddenly called out from the dining hall entrance, cutting her short.
Everyone looked toward the sound once more, only to see a professor standing panting at the doorway, hands resting on his knees, having obviously run a long way.
He raised his head and shouted into the dining hall with all his might:
"Lady Saintess Veronica—wants to see you right now!"
The entire dining hall instantly fell into a dead silence.
Everyone's eyes shot simultaneously toward where Greg was standing.
Rate on N.U.
