Instantly, the classroom fell silent. All the students immediately shut their mouths tight, focusing their attention to the front. However, their eyes couldn't lie. They looked very impatient for the introduction to be made by the new student before them.
"This morning, you have a new friend who will study with you." Professor Elliana announced in a loud voice. She then turned to Alrain, who was standing tall beside her. "Please introduce yourself to your classmates."
"Understood, Professor Elliana." Alrain replied calmly.
The green-haired teenager took one step forward, scanning all the students sitting before him with a very confident gaze.
"Hello, everyone!" Alrain greeted, breaking the classroom silence. His voice sounded clear and authoritative. "My name is Alrain Vedegra. Nice to meet you. From now on, I hope we can be friends. I ask for your cooperation."
The introduction was very short, concise, and friendly. However, the effect of those words was beyond expectation.
Every student in the class instantly froze in shock. They were stunned not because of his overly relaxed introduction style, but because of the last name that had just slipped from the new student's lips: Vedegra.
A family name most feared and respected throughout the entire Astoria Kingdom, as well as due to the "King of Terror" reputation held by Arvin at the academy.
"V-Vedegra?!" a female student sitting in the front row stammered with a trembling voice, breaking the harrowing silence. "W-Wait a minute... are you Arvin Vedegra's biological brother?"
Hearing the question, the smile on Alrain's lips grew wider. "No!" he answered casually.
"Then... are you his cousin?" a male student chimed in from the corner of the room, trying to find the most logical guess.
"Not that either!" Alrain replied again, his tone sounding slightly amused at his new friends' confusion.
"Then, what is your relationship with him?!" the student asked again, unable to hide his curiosity which had reached its peak. "If you aren't his brother or cousin, then who?"
At the front of the class, under the gaze of dozens of eyes demanding an answer, Alrain very slowly took his right hand out of his pants pocket. He raised his hand slightly, then turned his palm over.
Every student in the class immediately focused on the back of the youth's right hand. There, a White Life-and-Death Contract Symbol was clearly and undeniably engraved. An absolute mark of the most sacred marriage legality in this world.
"I am Arvin Vedegra's second spouse." Alrain answered casually, dropping a fact-bomb that instantly shattered the sanity of the entire Class 1-A that morning. He winked. "Once again, I ask for your cooperation, guys."
The atmosphere inside Class 1-A, which had previously been buzzing with curiosity, instantly fell into a deathly silence. Alrain's casual confession and the white Contract Symbol gleaming on the back of his right hand acted like a mass silencing spell.
A second later, as if on command, every eye in the room moved slowly away from Alrain and fixed upon the single figure sitting calmly at his desk: the 'King of Terror', Arvin Vedegra.
Bryan Jesvon, a noble student and the third son of a marquis, broke the silence with a voice that sounded like he was choking. He stood up from his chair, staring at Arvin with wide, bulging eyes.
"Y-You... you married two men at once?!" Bryan cried out in shock, his finger trembling as he pointed back and forth between Arvin and Allen. "Do you really have no desire whatsoever to marry a woman?!"
Confronted with the judgmental tone of the question, Arvin didn't look the least bit intimidated. He leaned back in his chair, meeting Bryan's gaze with his sharp, piercing red eyes.
"No!" Arvin answered firmly, his voice echoing off the classroom walls. "I have absolutely no interest in women, no matter how beautiful they may be. My orientation has been clear from the beginning."
Hearing such an absolute confirmation, several female students in the class let out sighs of disappointment. However, before the atmosphere could settle, Vinny, a student who had shown a particular interest in Allen and Alrain, suddenly stood up and shouted indignantly.
"You already took Allen!" Vinny cried out, glaring at Arvin accusingly. "Now, you've gone and married this handsome new student too? Are you really that greedy, wanting to marry every man with above-average looks for yourself?!"
Arvin merely let out a soft snort at Vinny's ridiculous accusation. He met her gaze with a flat, indifferent expression.
"I don't just recklessly marry men as if I were buying vegetables at a market!" Arvin replied casually but sharply. "He and I have known each other since long before this. I know his personality perfectly, and he knows mine inside out! If you're looking for a handsome student for yourself, work harder. Don't just complain and bother someone else's spouse!"
Arvin's characteristic bluntness, which always seemed to strike right at the heart of the matter, successfully silenced Vinny. Her face flushed deep red with embarrassment. The entire class fell silent once more.
What they couldn't wrap their heads around was the fact that their classmate, a high-ranking noble from the feared and respected Vedegra family, was completely shattering social norms by having no intention of marrying a woman to continue his lineage.
In the midst of the silence, an odd shift in the atmosphere occurred. Several male students began to glance at one another, their faces turning pale. Unconsciously, they shifted slightly away from Arvin's position.
Their bodies tensed with a very clear sense of antipathy. In their minds, a baseless fear took root: What if the 'King of Terror' suddenly targets one of us to be his next spouse?
Sensing the shift in body language and the antipathetic glares from the male students around him, Arvin, whose instincts were always razor-sharp, didn't let it slide. He spoke up immediately.
"I'm not interested in you!" Arvin said, his deep voice cutting through the air and making the classroom atmosphere grow both silent and incredibly tense. His eyes swept over the row of male students with a look of utter disdain. "Don't be so full of yourselves or harbor such baseless fears. Be realistic about those mediocre looks of yours!"
The biting words, delivered without a single filter, felt like a sharp slap to the face.
"What did you say?!" Bryan shouted, his face turning crimson as he took offense to Arvin's words, which insulted their pride as men. "You think we aren't handsome?!"
"Of course!" Arvin replied firmly and bluntly, without the slightest intention of softening his words. "Besides, your looks don't determine your loyalty, much less your strength! In fact, acting so antipathetic and fearful toward me only makes you pathetic fools. You idiots!"