Chapter 247

Chapter Thirty-Four The Smile Gradually Fades

The air grew slightly still for a moment.

“Cough, Peyello…”

“Are you joking with us? Or have you really forgotten so much…”

“Alex, Alex! Think about it, that red-haired man who harassed you before, whose father is the Minister of Finance… You really don’t remember him?”

“This child has no heart, like a distant relative of the Stolakoar beast.”

The Stolakoar beast is a large, foolish creature. Even if people stab it until it’s bleeding, within ten minutes, it will forget and approach without caution when it sees food. It was once hunted extensively by nobles for its delicious meat, but now it’s almost impossible to find.

So, Sophia is insulting me.

“Don’t insult me.”

I turned my back to the wall, wrapped myself tightly in the blanket, rubbed my head on the pillow, closed my eyes, and mumbled, “If you insult me again, I’ll eat you…”

My mind was hazy, almost drifting off into a dream.

“You see, I told you, this girl is a bit dim-witted.”

“Peyello, please have some sense of crisis! Do you know they fought for you…”

zzz…zzz…

Hmm?

What did she say just now?

“Fought?” I half-opened one eye and asked softly, “Who fought with whom…”

“Alex and Peter.” Sophia’s voice from below sounded weak and exasperated, “At the opening ceremony, two male students from our year bullied us… You remember that, right!”

…Male students?

“Mmm…”

“On our way to the opening ceremony, two boys used lightning and fire, deliberately ran into me, and made Daisy cry. One of them was named Peter.”

“Oh…”

Hearing Sarah’s words, I finally remembered those two.

I remember later…

“Then Alex came looking for trouble again, Peyello, you hit someone and pretended to be pitiful… Unexpectedly, he really fell for it. On a rest day, outside, he got into a conflict with another group of young nobles, reportedly breaking the leg of the one called Peter… After that, they didn’t come back to the academy anymore.”

“Alex must have taken it seriously; I’ve never heard of him doing something like this for any girl before.”

“Oh…”

Rest day?

Back then, I couldn’t care less about these noble hoodlums’ affairs.

But the three girls in the dorm seemed very interested. They ignored me, the person involved, and started chatting excitedly.

“I heard that the guy named Peter isn’t easy to deal with either; his father is the commander of the Royal City Guard.”

“Is that just a rumor?”

“No, I’ve seen him.”

“Really or not…”

“This is already a well-known scandal in the city’s noble circles. Originally, the Royal City Guard and the Iron Guard were two separate forces, but recently, there has been constant strife, even involving Her Majesty the Queen… Those are the two most powerful families in the Royal City! Peyello, you’re really something.”

“Does this count as a hero falling for a beauty?”

“Bullshit.”

Almost asleep, I opened my eyes wide and cursed after hearing this.

“What hero…”

A child who hasn’t even grown fully, playing at being heroes… Hero? More like a bear.

“But you didn’t deny being beautiful.”

“By the way, Peyello, those animals gave you a nickname afterward, guess what it was?”

Before I could guess, Sarah immediately answered, “Nose Bridge Terminator.”

“Yeah, Nose Bridge Terminator.”

“…”

“Hahaha—”

They laughed particularly happily, even Daisy was laughing behind her hand.

“What kind of name is that…”

“It fits perfectly! Who makes her hit noses every time.”

“Stop laughing…”

“I think it’s cute.”

“Where is it cute!”

“Oh! Think about it, Peyello, such a small stature…”

“No, don’t call me small!”

I pulled at my hair in frustration, but my weak protest couldn’t stop Sarah from continuing.

“So small, yet so cute~ Every time she hits someone’s nose, she has to jump… Puhaha! Every time I think about it, I can’t help it… Hahaha… Nose Bridge Terminator…”

“I’m going to sleep!”

I pulled the blanket over my head, sulking.

“Don’t be shy~ These past few nights you haven’t been here, talk to us properly.”

“Speaking of which, we shouldn’t get involved with Alex’s side, right?”

“Involved in what? What does it have to do with us…”

“Let them bite each other.”

“That’s right…”

Trivial chatter continued until moonlight shone through the window and the sound of insects chirping outside the tower gradually faded.

Drowsiness was thick like ink.

Faintly, I heard Sarah’s dreamlike words.

“Peyello, Miss Teresa is gone…”

“She died fighting monsters, you know, right?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Did you attend the funeral ceremony?”

Her voice was low, but also carried a certain uncertainty.

“That day, at the funeral ceremony, I saw someone who looked a lot like you, wearing armor… Did you attend the ceremony?”

“Yes.”

“…Oh.”

“Good night, Sarah.”

“Good night…”

The girls gradually drifted off to sleep.

…………

Early the next morning, I went with Sarah and the others to deliver the慰问 gifts to the room of the administrator downstairs, explaining the situation and asking her to help return these things.

“We’ve all written them and posted them at the tower entrance for them to pick up themselves. Please, Grandma…” Sophia bowed to her grandmother.

Grandma looked at us with half-closed eyes, appearing reluctant.

“Really, giving me more trouble…”

But she finally agreed.

As we left the tower, the four of us headed straight for the academy’s cafeteria. We happened to see venison pies. Feeling regretful about not eating Sarah’s venison pie earlier, I asked the three of them to help me by taking turns to get the freshly baked ones. In total, we ate eighteen.

If Sarah hadn’t become a bit scared later on and tried hard to stop me, thinking I might overeat, I probably could have eaten five more.

But that was good; eating so much would have been too conspicuous… Since morning, there had always been people sneaking glances at me. Most were male students’ gazes; many only stole quick looks when I wasn’t paying attention, but some had intense stares, fixating on me even if I ignored them.

This situation became even more obvious in the crowded cafeteria where many people were discussing me, saying things I didn’t like to hear.

They probably thought I couldn’t hear them… If only I couldn’t hear them… It’s annoying.

With more attention focused on me, my head started to ache, and I felt somewhat irritable.

What are you all staring at…

To avoid unnecessary trouble, I kept such thoughts to myself.

Before leaving, a well-proportioned boy mustered the courage to speak to me.

“Beautiful Miss Peyelo… um, did you receive my gift? It’s the silver agate necklace, which I picked out especially for you…”

The boy was handsome and looked shy when he smiled, quite attractive. He must be from somewhere noble… He must be very confident to dare approach me?

Yet, he was so nervous that his tongue trembled, and he even used respectful language toward me…

“Ah, sorry! I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m—”

“Thank you.” I interrupted him with a smile, “But your gift, I cannot accept it. Sorry, please go to the administrator, Grandma, to retrieve it.”

When the boy left, his obvious disappointment was hard to hide, making me feel quite sorry.

And I actually felt guilty about this…

“Feeling, Peyelo will become a pure-hearted bachelor killer in the academy.”

“What are you talking about…”

“Without Alex around, someone finally has the guts.”

“Oh, the boy just now, wasn’t he pretty good? Better than Alex in many ways… Peyelo, do you really not consider it?”

“I need to study.”

Consider what!

How could the strongman like me possibly be swayed…

“Oh, how envious… I want a shy boy to confess to me too.”

“And then reject him?”

“Yeah, Sarah really understands me.”

“What kind of person are you…”

“At least I won’t break someone’s nose.”

“Pfft, the nose breaker…”

I rolled my eyes at the two unkindly.

“No, let’s not talk about this anymore!”

“Haha~”

The four of us walked side by side along a path. Not far away, Sophia asked again, “Speaking of which, Peyelo, you… Your speech has never been smooth. Is it innate?”

She quickly waved her hands.

“I don’t mean anything else, I’m just curious…”

“It’s fine.”

I shook my head with a smile and tilted my head in thought for a moment: “Three years ago, I was injured. After that, it’s been like this.”

“Oh…” Sarah responded with a puzzled tone, “Did you hurt your head?”

“Cough, can’t you speak properly!”

“Sarah, please don’t ask like that…”

Hearing Sophia and Daisy say this, Sarah suddenly realized her words were inappropriate and scratched her head embarrassedly.

“Sorry, I didn’t think before speaking…”

I only smiled and said nothing.

We arrived at the academy’s training ground.

In the vast field, quite a few peers had already gathered, and the physical training class was about to begin soon.

“I hate physical training…” Stepping onto the smooth stone surface of the training ground, Sophia complained rarely, “Piercing, chopping, and sweeping with swords… The training is exhausting, and the teachers are harsh. Every time after class, I’m drenched in sweat, feeling weak for the whole day… I don’t plan to become a knight, so why should I suffer!”

“To one day break someone’s nose,” Sarah replied expressionlessly.

“Oh!”

I widened my eyes and stomped my foot, a bit annoyed.

How many times does this need to be said!

I silently decided: if anyone at the academy provokes me in the future… I won’t hit noses anymore, I’ll poke eyes instead.

Let them stare at me…

“But don’t worry, today won’t be as tiring as usual, Sophia, didn’t you forget?”

“What?”

Sophia was puzzled for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands.

“Yes, how could I forget!”

Hmm?

I thought today would be the same as before. Holding wooden swords, we would follow the teacher’s instructions, learning eight basic sword techniques. To me, this was quite boring; the academy’s physical training hardly taught me anything… Now, hearing their hints, has the training changed?

Could it be sparring?

This piqued my interest, and I couldn’t help but smile slightly: “What are we training today?”

Sarah turned to look at me, revealing an eager smile.

“Today, it’s riding practice!”

My steps abruptly stopped.

Riding practice… Riding practice…

These words echoed in my mind, freezing the smile on my face.