The classroom buzzed with quiet chatter as the students waited.
Suddenly, the door opened and a senior walked in.
"Professor has asked me to tell you—today's class will be held outside, in the pavilion," he announced.
The students exchanged glances, murmuring among themselves, before rising from their seats.
As everyone began moving, Nyelle felt a sudden pain shoot through her side. She winced but forced herself up.
"Guys… I think I've got a stomachache," she said softly. "I'll head to the restroom first. I'll be quick."
Her friend frowned with concern. "Are you sure? Will you be okay? We can go with you."
Nyelle gave a small smile. "No, no—it's fine. I can manage."
Just then, her other friend spoke up. "Nyelle, the nearest restroom is under repair. You'll need to use the one farther down the hall."
"Oh, thanks for telling me," she replied, nodding.
"Come back quickly, okay?"
"Yep, don't worry," Nyelle said.
As soon as Nyelle stood up and started walking out, just a little higher up from her seat, two girls sat watching her leave with an evil smirk.
One leaned closer to the other, her lips curling slyly.
"You know, Balca… what you have to do."
Balca's eyes glimmered with mischief.
"Yes, Raltia."
Moments later, the classroom slowly emptied as all the students headed toward the pavilion.
Then, while everyone else was gone, Balca quietly sneaked back into the classroom, her steps silent as a shadow.
Half an hour later—
Nyelle came rushing down the corridor, her breath uneven.
"Ah… I'm late! I missed the entire class…" she muttered under her breath, clutching her books.
"My friends must be so worried about me…"
Her footsteps echoed as she hurried toward the class.
Nyelle finally reached the classroom, breathing hard. Her hair clung to her face from rushing.
Her friends came to her, eyes filled with worry.
"Nyelle, are you alright? You even missed the whole class."
Nyelle forced a small smile, trying to steady her breath.
"I'm fine… sorry, guys. Mujhe kuch kaam se rukna pada, isliye late ho gayi."
Before anyone could say more, a sudden shout came from the back of the room.
"My necklace—it's gone!" one girl cried in panic.
"The one your parents gifted you?" her friend asked, eyes wide.
"Yeah… it's too expensive! Who would steal it from me?!"
The room buzzed with whispers, tension thick in the air.
"Look closely, the necklace has to be here somewhere," her friend said.
From the girl's side, Raltia gave an evil smile.
"Why even bother searching? Obviously, when the classroom was empty, someone must have stolen it."
Everyone's eyes turned toward Raltia.
With a sly smile, she said,
"Well… this was bound to happen. If you leave the classroom empty, of course a thief will take the chance."
Balca joined in, her voice mocking.
"Well, we do have a few thieves in our class, don't we?"
The girl who had lost her necklace frowned.
"What do you mean? Are you trying to say you know who the thief is?"
Raltia tilted her head, her tone sharp.
"I just remembered… I didn't see certain students in etiquette class today."
Her gaze slid toward Nyelle, her lips curling into an evil smirk.
"Right, Nyelle?"
Nyelle jolted, a little startled and nervous, her hands clenching.
Everyone's gaze shifted toward Nyelle. Whispers filled the room.
"Right… she didn't show up in class. And then she came after everything was over."
"How shameless. It's like her family doesn't even give her allowance."
Raltia smirked.
"I wonder… was she transferred? Or kicked out from her last academy?"
Nyelle froze, her chest tightening.
Her friends hesitated, then slowly stepped away from her.
Nyelle reached her hand out toward them. "Guys…"
But the two walked past her, their eyes filled with contempt.
Nyelle lowered her hand, forcing a bitter smile.
"I don't need them… What was I even thinking—trusting people who only used me for their own work," she whispered, her voice heavy with sadness. Then, colder now, her frustration slipped out:
"I alone can do it."
Then some students said,
"We should catch her!"
They all started moving toward Nyelle.
"You thief!"
Nyelle shouted, her voice trembling but firm,
"Don't come any closer!"
Everyone froze in shock.
At that exact moment, the classroom door slammed open.
Professor Harvin dragged Aslan inside by the ear. Behind them, Aslan's friends followed, looking a bit troubled.
"Professor, I won't do that again, please! Just let me go!" Aslan pleaded desperately.
"You little—" the professor cut him off, glaring.
But then his gaze shifted toward the unusual commotion in the room. The students were all standing in the middle instead of sitting.
Professor frowned, confused.
"What's going on here? Why are you all out of your seats?"
The girl stepped forward, explaining everything to the professor. Then, with anger, she pointed her finger straight at Nyelle.
"She's the thief!"
A hush fell over the room.
Nyelle lifted her chin, her tone calm and steady.
"And what proof do you have that I'm the thief?"
Professor Harvin let out a long sigh, rubbing his temples.
Raltia immediately interjected, her voice shrill.
"Check her bag!"
Before the professor could respond, a sharp snap echoed through the room.
"Stop! " Aslan's voice rang with anger, his crimson eyes blazing."How can you even think of searching a lady's bag?"
The room froze.
Then, softening, Aslan turned his gaze to Nyelle. His voice gentled, carrying no trace of the sharpness from moments ago.
"Nyelle… can you explain what happened?"
Nyelle lowered her eyes for a moment, then spoke clearly so everyone could hear.
"Before class, I had a terrible stomachache… so I went toward the seniors' restroom. The one nearby was under maintenance."
Aslan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Did anyone see you there?" he asked.
"Yes… a senior—"
Before she could finish, Balca cut her off with a mocking laugh.
"Even so, why were you still late to class?"
Nyelle straightened, her voice calm.
"Because on my way back, I ran into Senior Serena."
Raltia scoffed, folding her arms.
"Or maybe… she stole it first, then went to the restroom to make an excuse."
Aslan's gaze turned razor-sharp. His deathly stare locked onto Raltia, and she immediately flinched, shrinking back without realizing it.
"Do you even hear yourself?" Aslan's voice cut through the silence. "Just reaching the seniors' restroom takes at least ten minutes. She couldn't possibly pull it off in that time."
He then turned back to Nyelle, his tone softer now, steady, almost protective.
"And if you don't believe me, we can prove it."
His eyes met Nyelle's.
"Nyelle… can you tell us the exact time?"
Nyelle spoke carefully.
"I… left for the restroom around eleven. I stayed there for about ten minutes to rest. Then I realized I'd be late for class, so I hurried back. On the way, I ran into Senior Serena."
Aslan's voice cut in,
"What time exactly?"
Nyelle, trying to recall, said,
"Mm… maybe around eleven-twenty… or twenty-five? After talking with her, I ended up missing class completely."
Silence fell for a moment, the tension thick.
"Good." Aslan straightened, turning to the professor.
"Professor, could you send someone to ask that senior?"
Then Aslan smirked.
"But I didn't see someone else in class either."
He asked,
"And was anyone else missing from etiquette class?"
Everyone fell into silence, thinking.
From the back, a girl with black hair spoke up.
"I saw Balca leave during etiquette class."
Another voice whispered, "Yeah… we didn't really notice it, but she also went out."
Balca's face turned pale. "I-I only went out to get something from my bag."
"Relax," Aslan said with a smirk. "No one's saying you stole anything. But if you didn't, then why don't we check your bag?"
Panic flickered across Balca's face.
Raltia leaned close and whispered, "Why panic? The necklace is already in Nyelle's bag."
Balca snapped back quickly. "She took her bag with her!"
The professor checked Balca's bag—nothing.
Then he checked her desk.
There it was. The missing necklace.
Balca trembled, panic flashing across her face.
"N-no! I didn't do it!" she cried out desperately.
But everyone turned their eyes away from her.
She looked to Raltia for help.
But Raltia also turned her back to her.
"Raltia! Please help me! You can't abandon me like this. You said you'd protect me if anything happened. You promised!"
Her voice cracked with tears.
"Professor—it was Raltia! I only did this because she told me to!"
Raltia jolted, her expression freezing. Then she shook her head quickly.
"She's lying! Why would I ever do something like that?" she said, panic in her voice.
Aslan's sharp tone cut through the room. He asked the girl who lost the necklace,
"Who exactly knew about it?"
The girl hesitated, then answered, "Only me… my close friend… and Raltia."
Raltia's eyes widened in shock. She trembled, her lips parting with disbelief.
"Professor, this is ridiculous!" she burst out. "Why would the daughter of a count ever steal something like this?"
"Silence, Raltia," the professor shouted, his voice filled with anger.
Raltia flinched, terrified.
Meanwhile, Balca kept crying, "I-I didn't mean to! It's not my fault!"
The professor's face hardened. "Enough. Both of you—come with me."
As he dragged them out of the classroom, Raltia's furious eyes locked on Aslan.
"You'll pay for this," she hissed.
But Aslan smiled faintly and whispered to himself.
Well… this is exactly what I wanted. Let everyone hate me.
Nyelle watched silently as the two girls were taken away.
And when the door finally closed, the whole class let out a collective sigh of relief.
Cael and Eiren rushed to Aslan, throwing their arms around him.
"Aslan, you were amazing just now!"
"Ha—hey! Let me go, it tickles!" he laughed.
Nyelle, relieved, gave a soft smile.
Then her so-called "friends" approached her.
"Nyelle… we know you're not the thief. We're sorry."
Nyelle shook off their hand.
She looked at them coldly and said,
"I don't need your trust.
And don't you ever call me your friend again.
I despise hearing that word from people as filthy as you."
Her voice cut like ice.
"I knew from the beginning—you only approached me because I am the Marquis's daughter. You wanted to use me. But I never imagined you could sink so low. So thank the heavens I'm leaving you now. Otherwise, you would have learned what it truly means to cross the Marquis's daughter.
So farewell."
Nyelle flipped her hair proudly and walked ahead, not sparing them another glance.
Her so-called friends stood frozen—shock and terror carved across their faces.
Then Nyelle strode to the front of the class, lifted her chin, and declared,
"Remember this moment. You will all pay for accusing me of theft!"
One boy stammered, "B-but we did nothing…"
Nyelle's glare pierced him like a blade.
"Nothing? A moment ago, you all tried to lay your hands on me. Every single one of you stood against me. Not one of you stopped Raltia. Not one of you questioned her. That silence was enough."
She tossed her hair again and marched forward, radiating unshakable dignity.
Watching her leave, Aslan couldn't help but be impressed.
He slipped a finger between his lips and whispered to himself with a smirk—
"That's my girl."