"Edward."
"Um… Edward?"
"What?"
I jolted awake, blinking rapidly as the world came back into focus.
My neck was stiff. My back ached. Apparently, the auditorium seats weren't designed for naps.
I rubbed my eyes and looked around.
Wait a goddamn minute...
The ceremony still hadn't ended?!
"How long was I out?" I muttered, voice tinged with sleep.
"Around an hour, I think?" Jayden replied, looking amused.
"You really shouldn't sleep during the headmaster's speech, Edward," Milleia whispered, puffing her cheeks out in a scolding expression. "It's disrespectful."
I stared at her for a second.
Damn, she really does look exactly like her game sprite when she's annoyed.
"It's just so boring—awaaa," I groaned, stretching my arms over my head in a massive yawn that cracked my spine in three places.
The speaker on stage, some vice-principal or other faltered for a split second, smiling awkwardly before powering through.
Crap.
Then I felt it.
A gaze so cold it could freeze magma.
I glanced to the side.
Sitting a few rows away in the VIP section was a brown-haired girl with hazel brown eyes.
Louisa Trueheart. Third-year. Student Council President. Daughter of Duke Trueheart, meaning she was my equal in rank, and my superior in terrifying strictness.
She was giving me a freezing stare like I'd personally insulted her ancestors.
I knew her, of course. We'd run in the same noble circles since we were toddlers, banquets, parties, the usual 'future leaders of the kingdom' playdates.
She was a [Sub-Heroine] in the game, famous for her iron-fisted rule and zero tolerance for slackers.
Sleeping through the entrance ceremony? Yeah, that definitely put me on her hit list.
I ignored her glare and slumped back down.
Finally, the headmaster returned to the podium.
"The ceremony is now concluded," he announced. "You have one hour of free time to explore the campus, visit the facilities, or socialize. Classes will begin tomorrow. Dismissed."
The moment the words left his mouth, I stood up.
Another minute in this chair and I would've slipped into a coma.
I grabbed my blazer and started walking up the aisle, weaving through the crowd of students chatting excitedly.
"..."
"..."
"..."
I stopped and turned around.
"Why are you following me?" I asked, annoyed.
Jayden and Milleia froze mid-step, looking like caught deer.
"We're in the same class," Jayden said with a shrug. "Figured we should stick together."
"How do you know we're in the same class?" I frowned.
Milleia giggled and handed me something.
"You forgot your ID card on the seat."
I took the card.
Stamped in red ink right next to my name was a stylized serpent.
[Basilisk Class].
The academy divided students into four houses: Phoenix, Dragon, Pegasus, and Basilisk.
Yeah. I was in the same class as the Protagonist and the Main Heroine. I already knew that, of course, it was meant but seeing the proof in my hand made it real.
"Um," Milleia started, fidgeting with her fingers and looking up at me through her lashes. "I don't really know anyone else here… so can I come with you?"
Don't look at me with those puppy eyes!
It's a lethal attack!
My resistance is zero!
[
'Yeah, and I'm proud of it. You should be proud of your virginity too, Cleenah.'
[
That stutter gave it away.
'Save it. Even Jarvis doesn't believe you.'
[Affirmative.]
[
"Please, let me tag along too!" Jayden added, starting to fidget as well.
I held up a hand.
Stop, please.
I will never, ever have the same reaction to you as I do to Milleia, Jayden. Don't even try.
"Do what you want," I sighed, turning back around. "Just don't trail behind me like lackeys. Walk beside me or go away."
I needed to befriend them anyway. It was the best way to manage future events and keep them alive. But right now, with half the auditorium staring at me, I needed to maintain my persona. Acting too friendly would look suspicious.
We walked out into the massive hallway, the crowd parting slightly around us.
"H-Hey, isn't he amazingly handsome?!"
"He's as hot as the prince, ah~"
"Can't believe I used to curse his name…"
"He can assault me whenever he wants…"
What the hell are they talking about?
I glanced around. The whispers were loud, and the gazes were heated. But something felt off.
"Hey, Edward, you're a noble, right?" Jayden asked, clasping his hands behind his head as we walked.
"Yeah," I said, stifling another yawn.
"I'm Jayden Rayena. Let's get along well, Edward."
He extended a hand, grinning with that effortless protagonist charm.
I took my hand out of my pocket and shook it.
"Yeah. Let's get along, Jayden."
"My turn now!" Milleia beamed, squeezing my hand next. "I'm Milleia Sophren. Pleased to meet you, Edward!"
Her hand was soft. Surprisingly so for someone who carried a sword.
"I'm Edward Falkrona," I replied.
Both of them froze.
They stared at me, mouths slightly open.
"What?" I asked, defensive.
Don't tell me they believed the rumors.
Fuck.
"You're the son of Duke Falkrona?!" Jayden exclaimed, eyes wide.
"Yeah…"
"My apologies, Lord Edward!" Milleia squeaked, immediately dropping into a deep, panicked bow.
Jayden followed suit a second later, looking terrified.
"W-What? Stop that!"
I waved my hands frantically.
My 'Edward' side—the noble ego—felt this was normal. But my 'Nyrel' side—the guy from Earth hated it. These were people I knew after all.
"Hey, look, Edward is at it again!"
"He got handsome, but his personality is still trash…"
"Is he forcing them to bow?"
"Will he ask for that girl's body next?"
"The black-haired guy too…"
My reputation, which was already rock bottom, just started digging a basement.
"Raise your heads!" I blurted out..
""Yes!!""
They snapped upright like soldiers.
"Okay, listen," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. "In this academy, status matters, but there's a rule against abusing it. I'm not going to eat you. Stop acting like servants."
"Man…" Jayden breathed out, looking genuinely touched. "I really thought nobles were all arrogant jerks. When I first saw you, I acted friendly because I thought you were from a small house… but you're actually cool. Thanks, Edward."
He patted my shoulder.
"I-I thought so too," Milleia admitted, scratching her cheek nervously. "I'm sorry for misunderstanding you…"
Did neither of you hear the headmaster call out my full name earlier? Were you asleep too?
"Forget it," I said, shaking my head. "Come on. I know a good spot to rest. Follow m—"
I turned around and walked straight into someone.
A girl.
She stumbled back, looking up at me with wide eyes.
Black hair and Grey eyes.
She looked exactly like my mother, Oryanna Olphean.
"Elona…"
Elona Falkrona. My younger sister.
An uncomfortable, bitter feeling swelled in my chest, a mix of guilt, anger, and betrayal.
I knew she was one of the people who would kill me if I took the wrong path in this world.
With Milleia and Jayden, I felt nothing but camaraderie. But Elona my younger sister and Simon, my foster brother? They were family. And they had turned their backs on me.
I knew I was in the wrong for how I'd acted in the past. But emotions aren't logical. The betrayal still stung.
"Do you know her, Edward?" Jayden whispered, elbowing me gently.
"..."
I looked at Elona.
She wasn't glaring at me.
Her lips were quivering. Her eyes were red-rimmed and scanning me from head to toe, frantic and… relieved?
[
'You're telling me she was worried about me? She hates me. There's no way.'
[
"..."
I hardened my heart.
"No," I said coldly. "I don't know her. Probably just some lost girl."
"W-What…!"
Elona flinched as if I'd struck her.
Watching her expression twisting into hurt one, guilt immediately struck me.
She had really too much influence on me.
What the hell was that?
I felt two completely opposite emotions warring inside me, the urge to comfort her, and the urge to push her away.
[
'Shut up!'
I stepped around her and started walking.
"Hey, Edward, she seemed to know you, man," Jayden said, hurrying to catch up.
This guy got casual way too fast.
"Ignore her," I said.
"U-Um…" Milleia glanced back, torn.
"Edward!"
A loud, angry voice boomed through the hallway.
I stopped and sighed.
I turned around. A brown-haired, red-eyed boy about my age was storming toward us. Simon Falkrona. My foster brother.
"You are noisy, Simon," I said in abored tone.
A crowd began to form instantly. Nothing attracts an audience like a noble family drama.
"Noisy? Of course I'm noisy!" Simon shouted, stopping a few feet away. "Our sister was worried sick about y—"
"She isn't my sister," I cut him off. "I already told you that. Did you forget that I left the house?"
The memory of the news report flashed in my mind, the one claiming I'd been kicked out for incompetence and disgrace.
"Were you, Elona, and that shitty father blind and deaf when I announced I was leaving?" I asked, mocking him with a smile that didn't reach my eyes. "I was the one who walked out. But you all spun it like I was driven away."
My anger flared—hot and twisted.
They couldn't just let me go. They had to ruin my name on the way out too.
"It's not like that, Edward…" Simon stammered, taken aback by my contempt.
"Oh, Eden curse me for being born into that shitty family," I spat, shaking my head.
I looked him dead in the eye.
"The only one who was ever there for me was my Mother."
I knew it was true. If she were alive, she would have stood by my side. She would have tried to fix me, not discard me.
"...!"
Elona let out a sob.
I ignored her tears. I turned my back on them and walked away, Jayden and Milleia scrambling to follow in the tense silence I left behind.