Little Tyrant Doesn’t Want to Meet with a Bad End

On the streets, Paul Ackermann was left even more flabbergasted after hearing Charlotte’s introduction, though the same applied to all of the women eyeing Roel in the surroundings too.

Charlotte discreetly shot a glance and noted how most of the women had been intimidated by her show of dominance. That brought a satisfied curl on her lips.

It was one thing if Charlotte and Roel were just dating—that wouldn’t be much of an issue to some women—but an engaged couple was a whole different story. An engagement contract was formed on the mutual consent of two noble houses, signifying an exchange of benefits. There was no place for a third party to butt in on it.

The female students from the Cecilia Women’s Institution and Saint Weiss Academy clenched their jaws and left in frustration. Charlotte exhaled softly before finally turning her attention back to Roel and his companion.

It was only then she was able to take a good look at Roel’s companion. In terms of appearance, this young man could be considered to be slightly above average. His fashion sense was fairly decent, his choices of clothes and accessories complementing well with one another. However, for some reason, there was a feeling of incongruence between him and his clothes.

“Ah! I’m Paul Ackermann. It’s a pleasure to meet you too!”

It took Paul a while to recover from Charlotte’s shocking declaration, and he quickly introduced himself to her too. Those words, however, immediately caused the air to tense up. Charlotte’s pupils slowly dilated, and Paul also belatedly recalled the enmity between their countries.

“Ackermann?”

“S-sorry, I, it’s…”

“Charlotte…”

Paul anxiously apologized right away, flailing his arms around in a fluster, not knowing what to do. On the other hand, Charlotte frowned silently for a long while before finally calming down after meeting Roel’s eyes.

The Ackermann House could be said to be the nemesis of the Sorofya House, for the former had nearly driven the Sorofyas into extinction during the civil war back then. The appearance of the illegitimate son of the emperor half a year ago had caused a huge commotion in the Austine Empire, so it went without saying that the well-connected Charlotte was aware of the matter as well.

However, even if Paul’s existence was a smudge on the reputation of the Austine Imperial Family, Charlotte still couldn’t bring herself to like a person who bore the ‘Ackermann’ family name. This was how deep her prejudice toward them was.

That being said, Paul was in Roel’s company at the moment, and the two of them appeared to be discussing something. Given so, no matter how much Charlotte disliked the Ackermanns, she would at least accord some respect to her man and not cause a scene here.

So, she directed a nod of acknowledgment toward Roel first before turning to address Paul.

“Mister Ackermann, there’s no need to apologize to me. You’re Roel’s friend right now, and our countries have signed a peace agreement. Let bygones be bygones, shall we?”

After saying those words, she turned to Roel and carried on.

“Darling, it’s really a delight to stumble upon you here. It’s unfortunate that I’m in a rush for time at the moment, so let’s meet later in the academy, alright?”

Then, she curtsied elegantly to the two of them.

“I’ll be taking my leave first.”

…

Charlotte’s attitude might be polite, but her sudden departure showed what she thought of the Ackermanns. Looking at her departing marriage, Paul sighed in self-reproachment.

“It looks like I’ve made her unhappy. I’m sorry… Would this affect your relationship with her?”

“Don’t worry, she’s not that kind of person. Besides, I’ve already told you that your birth is not your mistake. It isn’t something within your control. What’s more important is the type of person you are.”

The smile on Roel’s face remained as gentle as ever, not displaying the slightest hint of rage from Charlotte’s departure. In fact, Roel was indeed feeling deeply touched and overjoyed at the moment.

It can really be changed! This world is as real as it is, and the plotline doesn’t hold absolute power here!

Roel clenched his fists tightly as he thought about the hard work he had put in over the past five years. The confirmation that everything he had done over the years hadn’t been in vain filled him with a profound feeling of relief.

At the same time, Paul Ackermann was equally moved as well.

O’ great Sia, what a righteous person he is!

In truth, Paul reserved a deep fear for the renowned Saint Freya Academy. It hadn’t been long since he came into contact with the upper society, but everyone he met seemed to bear hostility toward him. He knew that the Saint Freya Academy was filled with the offspring of high nobles and powerful officials, people who were born with golden spoons in their mouths, so he carried no expectations that they would treat an illegitimate son of the emperor like him any better than the others had.

Yet, there was actually a classmate here who was able to look at him without any prejudice about his background. This in itself was a huge encouragement.

Perhaps, the academy wouldn’t be as terrible as I thought it would be?

With such hopes in mind, he began making his way toward the academy under Roel’s lead. The two of them casually chatted with one another along the way, allowing them to swiftly warm up to one another.

The friendship between guys was usually more straightforward. Unlike in drama serials, the process of meeting one another to becoming friends didn’t need to be affirmed verbally. Rather, the intent was made clear through their casual conversations, a mutual agreement that needed no words.

In the process of knowing one another, Paul found out that Roel was an extremely knowledgeable individual. Even on their way to the Saint Freya Academy, he was able to share the stories behind some of the landmarks and point out interesting events relating to renowned historical figures in some of these locations.

To Paul, who had grown up in a remote village in the Austine Empire, this was an incredible feat.

Having found yet another one of Roel’s strengths, Paul’s respect for him deepened yet again. Making use of this opportunity, he posed the questions he had regarding the Saint Freya Academy.

His teachers had been harping on the Saint Freya Academy during their lessons, but the truth was that Paul still knew very little about how things were on the inside. After all, no one really bore expectations for him, and his teachers were only hoping for him not to cause any trouble and embarrass himself. With his current standing and means, he had no way of obtaining the intelligence that he wanted.

Roel knew better than anyone else the position Paul was in, so he chose not to probe too deeply into it. He shared what he knew about the Saint Freya Academy with his companion without asking too much.

In some sense, the Saint Freya Academy could be described as a transcendental existence in Leinster. In terms of history, the establishment of the Saint Freya Academy predates that of Leinster. In terms of influence, the principal of the Saint Freya Academy, Antonio Keel, was the speaker of Brolne’s governing council, making him one of the key leaders of this country.

In fact, the appointment of any key official positions in Leinster needed to go through Antonio’s approval. Such a setting allowed the Saint Freya Academy to have full autonomy and operate under a different set of laws and jurisdiction from the rest of the city. This meant that it was fundamentally constitutionally different from the other academies in Brolne.

Or to put it in other words, the Saint Freya Academy was self-governed by its students.

There were many theories as to why the academy operated in such a fashion, but the most credible one theorized that during the establishment of Brolne, when the country was still weak, it lacked the power to manage the influential young nobles invited into the academy. In order to avoid offending any countries when conflicts arose amongst these young nobles, it decided to give up control altogether.

Probably no one back then could have imagined that this innovative twist in its method of management would give birth to a unique environment in the academy, becoming a key reason why rulers and nobles were keen to send their children to the academy.

If it was just the impartation of knowledge, the other famed academies in the Leinster were likely able to do as well too. The teachers that they hired were all famed scholars in Brolne anyway, so syllabus-wise, it was unlikely for any academy to achieve anything particularly outstanding compared to its counterparts.

However, in the Saint Freya Academy, a student would be constantly tested on his social, management, and cooperation skills.

Of course, since the academy was governed by its own students, there would inevitably be a hierarchy within the student populace. Those who were at the management level were known as ‘Ringbearers’.

The Ringbearers were identified by the Rose Ring they wore, which served as a symbol of power within the Saint Freya Academy. All in all, there were nine Rose Rings, each bearing a different color.

There was only one way to obtain the Rose Ring. Every year, at the start of the semester, the new students would be guided into a dungeon by a fairy. Those who lasted to the end of it would have a chance to challenge the Ring Guardian.

It sounded simple in theory, but it was actually far more difficult than it seemed. For one, the Ring Guardian was at Origin Level 3, far beyond the means of freshmen, who averaged out at Origin Level 5, to deal with.

But of course, the greater the risks, the greater the gains. Those who managed to obtain the Rose Ring would be entitled to many benefits.

The most direct one was the privileges it accord. From the moment one became a Ringbearer, one would be granted a special building and an individual training facility. Ringbearers had the power could issue missions to the students, and they were accorded receive preferential treatment in the recruitment of followers. However, the most important privilege of all was their qualification to participate in the Rose Council.

The Rose Council was made up entirely of Ringbearers, and it wielded the greatest legislative power in the Saint Freya Academy. Any motions that were passed in this council represented the highest will of the academy, such that even the principal wouldn’t be able to veto it easily.

As for how far the powers of the Rose Council stretched… one of the more significant authorities it possessed was the right to propose and vote on the dismissal of a staff or even an entire Scholar Guild from the academy.

“There are currently three Ringbearers in the academy, one in each grade. Of them, the one who currently wields the greatest influence is the Third Grade’s Purplerose Ringbearer, Lilian Ackermann. I believe that she’s your older sister?”

“Yes, but we have never met one another before,” replied Paul with an unnatural look on his face.

Roel noted his expression and nodded in response. The two of them continued advancing forth, and it didn’t take long for the majestic gates of the Saint Freya Academy to appear before their sights.

As they came closer and closer to the academy, the crowd in the area grew denser. Grand carriages could be seen traveling to and fro, and there were larger congregations of young men and women in the area.

Roel looked at the academy gates before him as he thought about the following event that would happen at the gates according to the plotline.

On the first day at the academy, after being berated by Charlotte, Paul finally found his way to the academy. However, due to him forgetting to don his ‘Book of Truth’ insignia, he was stopped when he tried to enter the academy, and the one who stopped him was a student of the Purplerose Faction. This naturally led to the appearance of Paul’s older sister in name, Lilian Ackermann.

As they gradually approached the academy gates, Roel wondered if he should make a move or not. He could lend his insignia to Paul for the time being so as to circumvent this plotline, but when he looked at Paul’s brilliantly green head—the latter had just contributed over several hundred Affection Points—his heart softened a little and he gave up on the notion.

Forget it, I don’t know Lilian anyway. I shan’t interfere in this.

The kind Mister Roel sighed deeply as he passed through the academy gates together with Paul. Unexpectedly, the Crown Origin Attribute suddenly began trembling intensely, as if drawn to something within the academy.

At the same time, in one of the buildings in the academy, a pair of mysterious but beautiful purple eyes abruptly opened.