Chapter 375: ’Friend’ [1]

Noah, still flustered from the sudden question, couldn’t put forth a coherent answer, prompting Victoria to raise her brow.

Having felt Noah’s courage to go against her in their recent fight, Victoria had the impression that he would be someone who was decisive in his decisions, but that didn’t seem to be the case anymore.

Little did she know that Noah’s reaction was a natural one, and it was her own ineptness in the department of relationships that made her evaluate Noah as an indecisive one.

"You don’t seem sure of your own feelings, and yet you are hoping to compete against Kael as his rival?"

The question was asked in a calm voice, but Noah could feel the subtle mockery in it.

His expression twisted into a light frown, though he didn’t refute Victoria’s claim, at least not immediately.

"What my relation with Alicia is... that is something for me and her to decide... nothing for you to pass your judgement upon. As for Kael, there is no need for me to compete against him."

Noah spoke with a slight smirk on his face.

Since his fight with Victoria, Noah had thought about his entire existence, and how he should interact with the world from now on.

The decision that he had arrived at was pretty simple.

He would begin to act like his real self.

Not immediately but with a gradual change in his methods.

Being polite to everyone... making them depend on him was a part of Noah’s original personality, but it wasn’t everything about him.

Victoria just stared at Noah, while her mind processed his words.

She wasn’t offended... far from it.

But her understanding of the student named Noah had changed, if only by a bit.

Still, it wasn’t enough, and she had to analyse him on a deeper level, but for the time being... it would suffice.

"What punishment had the headmaster given you?"

Victoria decided to change the topic altogether, as she was curious about what judgement the headmaster had given out.

Normally, the punishment would be revealed to the entire academy, but this time... the headmaster had done none of it.

Victoria didn’t think that he was favouring Noah.

The thought wasn’t out of blind trust in the headmaster, but because she knew that he was fair in his treatment towards the people... students in particular.

Even Kael, who was supposed to be someone close to the headmaster, had been suspended for about a month, so there was no way that the headmaster would let Noah easily off the hook.

"He said that I won’t be scored for the current assignment."

Noah decided to be honest with his answer.

Even if the headmaster hadn’t revealed his punishment before the academy, Noah wasn’t ashamed in the least to mention it before others.

He had broken the rules and regulations of the academy, so it was only natural for him to be punished for it.

"So why are you even here?"

Victoria slightly narrowed her eyes, thinking whether Noah had slipped in with a group of students unnoticed by the instructors, but... that seemed to be a far-fetched theory even she couldn’t believe in.

"I won’t be scored for it, but I was allowed to participate in the assignment."

"..."

Victoria’s eyes narrowed further, prompting Noah to sigh in return.

"You can just ask the instructors."

Shrugging his shoulders, Noah turned around, moving towards where Kevin and Alicia should have been.

Thinking about Alicia, Noah let out a deep sigh... willing himself to endure another session of cold treatment from the Frost princess.

***

"The terms are a lot more favourable than I had expected them to be."

Damian couldn’t help but be surprised at the result of his meeting with Kael.

From the way Kael had acted since the start of their meeting, Damian had thought that the deal would be a borderline one, where their duchy would benefit but at the cost of offering something more than mere wealth and trade.

But all his assumptions had been proven wrong, and Damian... he couldn’t have been happier to get such a good deal, still... that in no way reduced his caution towards Kael, as everything so far felt too easy for him to believe in.

"We at Syma believe in mutual development over one-sided exploitation, and we hope that you would try to incorporate our principles in your daily operations as well."

Kael offered no more than a polite smile, his true thoughts hidden perfectly under the disguise of his expressionless face.

Damian had to commend Kael’s abilities during the negotiations, as there weren’t many people out there who could hide their true intentions while being genuine in their words at the same time, making people feel at ease around them.

"My daughter seemed to have taken the right decision in allying with you."

Kael didn’t respond, though he managed a polite nod of his head.

"Forgive me if I am being rude, but... do answer a question of mine."

Clearing his throat slightly, Damian had already put on the best of his polite facade, something that he had maintained for the entirety of the meeting.

It wasn’t even a difficult thing for him to do, as Damian had always been a warm person for the people around him... at least for most of them.

Arnold, being the younger brother, was one of the exceptions who didn’t enjoy the privilege of being treated with... warmth.

Kael slightly shifted in his place, as he observed the duke with curious eyes, waiting for his eventual question.

"Why did you decide to support my daughter... instead of standing for the elections yourself?"

Silence.

The question was something that had been bugging Damian’s mind for quite some time.

When his daughter had told him about the conditions put forth by Kael... Damian’s attention had never been on those conditions.

What he found more interesting was for Kael to go out of his way to stand with Ashlyn and the Levaith duchy as a whole.

Now though their duchy was a well-established regional power, with the highest strength in the Veltran Empire, only after the Royal family and the Frosts... still—