I'm still hazy from my brief nap, but with a loud *Bam! I was forced to fully awaken at my desk. I slowly lift my head to see the person in front of me, still recovering from my drowsiness.
"..."
"Say something, you peasant! Don't you know who I am?!"
I know exactly who you are, stupid! You're the prince of this country, do you really think there's anyone in Wizteria who hasn't heard of you?!
However, the best course of action in this situation is to remain silent. If I make a mistake here, it could seriously damage the reputation of that old man, Elly.
For the time being, let's play it safe. Guren, go say, "Your highness, what can this humble person do for you?" I know it's a pain, but it'll do for now!
"Oh, mr. Crown Prince guy. Please give me at least one reason why should I care."
"?!" (The reaction of the entire class, including Guren.)
Ah crap! My thoughts and words had been flipped!
"Wha-..! You!!!"
Ah He's pissed!
"Listen and engrave this on your peasant mind! I am the crown prince of this Kingdom! Alexander de Flame-Wizteria! The next line to be the ruler!"
I already knew that, idiot! Hah... Since I've already brushed him, I'll just do the same.
"Hmm, Okay? I am Yuiren. I personally don't really care about that. If you don't have any more business with me, please go away. I want to sleep."
"!?" exclaimed the entire class, including the prince.
I said coldly as I buried my face once more in the table.
At that point, the entire room was staring in our direction, and we had become the center of attention. I'm pretending to be drowsy, but my classmates' whispers and even giggles can be heard from where we were. All of those murmurs are conspiring to embarrass the prince.
Actually, now that I think about it. Isn't this a great opportunity for me to break free? I mean, if I beat the snot out of this idiot Prince here, I'll be relieved of my duties as Ellisbeth's bodyguard. It's not like I'd be executed for kicking the crap out of the prince. It's fine because he's still not the king! Probably...
"Know your place, you nameless pleabian! You have no place in this academy! A commoner like you has no place here!"
"Kukuku! Fu! kukuku!"
So let's provoke him even more! I chuckled deliberately, vibrating as I let out a light laugh in response to what he had just said. And, as expected, this irritated the prince even more!
"W-what are you laughing at?!"
I was successful in making him angry. I raised my face, adding fuel to the fire.
"No, it's nothing serious; it's just that I'm impressed with what I've discovered."
I said coldly to the prince, causing his brows to furrow in confusion and prompting him to ask another question. The entire room was staring at us intently as we operated. They didn't even say anything. It's as if they're sitting in on one of Olivia's classes. Aren't they well-behaved?
"What did you say?!"
"Well, based on what you just said... This academy doesn't really care about the students' abilities; as long as they have a connection, they can be the best in this place, right?"
After what I said, the entire room was filled with chatters, and based on their looks, they appear to agree with my argument. The prince noticed all the glare and whispers on him. Well, this wouldn't happen if he just minded his own business and let me sleep.
Anyone who looks at him will notice that his face has turned sour and that he is angry. With just a little prodding, I'll be able to accomplish my goal.
"Yuiren, aren't you going overboard? You even took the academy's account in this matter."
Ellisbeth said as she casually joined the conversation from the side where Mai sat. This was not something I expected. But, as a noblewoman, I suppose she has a say in the matter.
"Oh. Here comes the fiancee."
"I am not his fiancee!" she exclaims.
Ellisbeth yelled in response to what I said. I'm guessing she was thinking that the argument had escalated to the point where she needed to intervene before it became a major incident.
I'm aware of that, but because she has such a fun reaction, I couldn't help but tease her.
"You're not? But he said you were—..."
"I told you I wasn't! He's my cousin, and my father and the late king are brothers, so he's not my fiancee!"
With a poker face, I shifted my gaze from Ellisbeth to the prince.
"You heard her, Your Highness, lying is wrong, so please learn from this and never do it again!"
I'm not trying to be funny, but my lazily weak sarcastic voice had the entire room laughing. I think I'm getting those mood boosters in class now. It's a good feeling to be able to make everyone laugh.
Everyone is laughing except for the prince. His face turned sour and the veins on his forehead started to show as a sign of his anger from humiliation. The statement from Ellisbeth didn't help him, but even added fuel to the fire.
The royals, in particular, have a great deal of pride. This is not an exception for the crown prince.
Question: What will happen if one of these conceited nobles is humiliated?
The answer is simple...
With a furious expression on his face, he slowly removed one of his gloves and placed it on the desk directly in front of me. The entire room fell silent as I stared back at the prince with nonexistent fear in my eyes. This is something I'm doing on purpose.
"Duel me! I'll show you the difference between you and me, peasant!"
He said this with a smirk on his enraged face.
...a duel!
"D-don't pick it up, Yuiren! D-don't accept it!"
Ellisbeth said, her voice trembling, with a worried expression. Maybe she's feeling bad about involving me in her problem. As for me, I just gave her a smile and stood from my seat after hearing the familiar sound of the bell.
"These are the wagers: if I win, you must stay away from Ellisbeth and leave the de Blaze residence, and you will be expelled from this school; if you win, things can continue as they are, and I will do one thing for you regardless of what it is!"
All of this is purely speculative. And what I'm about to do is all part of the plan.
"I'm not going to accept it, and I don't see why I should; it'll be a waste of time."
Ellisbeth breathed a sigh of relief as she saw me decline, leaving the glove on the desk. I started walking away, my back to the prince. The humiliation was heightened as a result.
Am I afraid? Yes, of course I am. Imagine the entire kingdom pursuing me! Of course, that would frighten me. Think of how easy would it be for Andrea and Benjirou to destroy this kingdom if something were to happen to me.
But that's not why I'm declining. I need more wager. Why would I agree to a duel for such a small reward? If I'm going to risk my life, I'd rather kill two birds with one stone!
"Andrea, let's go home; I'll buy you crepes as promised."
Andrea made a hopping walk pattern when she heard the word crepes. Heading towards her masters call. And with a cheery expression, she tugged on the sleeve of my uniform. As a response, I gave her a gentle pat on the head and began walking.
(However, from the prince's point of view, seeing how attached the little girl was to her master, he gave a grin from his recently fashionable face and said...)
"Refuse and that girl... I'm going to turn her into my slave, working her like a horse until she dies!"
(...and gave a loud laughter after that. The expressions of the people in the room turned disgusted after hearing what he said. The impression of him had worsened to such an extent that even Guren did not expect this to happen. Thus, Guren stopped moving after hearing what he said and slowly turned his glaring eyes on him. His expression changed with his brows crossing, meeting each other. And his eyes gave an aura of extreme intimidation.)
"Eeik!"
(Seeing this caused the prince to take a step back in fear, and after this stare, he spoke in a cold serious tone...)
"I dare you to touch her, and I will make you regret and curse the day you were born!"
(After hearing this, the prince's face became perplexed, and fear began to crawl across his skin, causing his heart to skip a beat; as for Guren, he turned his gaze to Andrea and inquired...)
"What do you say, Andrea?"
"Wipe the floor with his butt, Master!"(Note: This is Andrea making a monotonic response to her while looking back at her master!)
(Guren heard her clearly and returned to his desk, picking up the glove and returning his gaze to the trembling prince, saying...)
"Fine, I accept this duel; you set the time and place, as well as all the rules; I will be waiting."
(Guren left with Andrea after flinging the glove back to Alexander, and by this event... the fire of troubles had been lit, and a death flag had been raised in the shadows...)
Screw the wagers! He used Andrea to provoke me, of all people. He will be sorry! I'll see to it that he does!
...To be Continued...