CHAPTER 52……..
I pretended to be surprised by his sudden appearance, as though I hadn’t been expecting him.
“Oh my…!”
But in truth, I was the one who had him brought here with the help of Principal Albrecht. I’d simply hinted that there was an incident concerning his fiancée’s honor.
I didn’t think he’d come running immediately.
Feigning interest elsewhere, I stole a glance at his face and nearly swallowed my breath.
Damn.
He was handsome too.
As expected, every character with a significant role in the original novel seemed to be blessed with striking looks.
Of course, Lennox still stood out above them all.
If I remember right, it was written that even though he had a fiancée, he showed interest in Melin.
Not exactly the picture of mental stability.
The difference from Lennox, however, was that this one was a complete fanatic and psychopath—beyond redemption.
Viscount Penelope addressed the Marquis of Luspina.
“Haa… Unfortunately, I’ll have to consider this engagement null and void.”
“Viscount Penelope…!”
“You will receive the official annulment papers shortly.”
He frowned as though deeply grieved, like a man genuinely devastated by his fiancée’s misdeeds.
Wow, he really does look convincing on the outside.
But I was certain it was all an act. In reality, he was probably overjoyed for the chance to break off the engagement. His rush to get here in person likely stemmed from the same reason.
I recalled the original story.
This psycho’s dream was to become a clergyman, wasn’t it?
Married men could not become clergy.
However, the Duke of Penelope’s ambitions would never allow it—nothing secured power as easily as marriage.
Students began to gather around, eager to watch the drama unfold.
Before long, there was only one action left for the marquis to take.
“Emily Luspina, you are hereby disowned from our family!”
“F-Father!”
Emily’s face turned pale as if struck by lightning.
The marchioness gasped in shock.
“Dear!”
I wasn’t surprised at all by this turn of events, recalling the information I’d gotten beforehand through Duke Dinero’s connections.
This year, the Marquis of Luspina held the position of vice-chairman in the scholarly society.
Most senior central nobles were alumni of the society, which wielded considerable influence within the empire.
The marquis worked so hard to solidify his standing in that elite circle.
He had built key connections and even secured an engagement with the prestigious Penelope family—only for it all to crumble in an instant because of his youngest daughter’s misconduct.
Having accomplished my part, I quietly slipped away to find Melin.
Melin.
How much must she have suffered all this time?
I wanted to tell her right away that everything had been resolved.
What do I do…?
Melin paced the hallway, her face tense with anxiety.
If they searched the dorm, it would be revealed that Ren had been doing her assignments for her.
Big sister will be so disappointed in me…
Her eyes began to glisten again. If her sister also found out she’d gone so far as to act like a dog just to appease those girls, how pathetic would she seem?
For a fleeting moment, Melin wished she could just disappear.
“Melin.”
At that familiar voice, Melin froze.
She tried to bolt, but Clemence was faster—grabbing her arm before she could run.
“I already know everything.”
“B-big sister…”
Melin knew she should apologize immediately, but her voice wouldn’t come out, as though her throat were blocked.
Looking at her, Clemence sighed, her face grave.
The sight of that expression felt like someone had gripped Melin’s heart and squeezed.
Suddenly, old memories surfaced.
Back when her sister attended the academy and she remained at the count’s estate—
“W-when is big sister coming home…?”
She would sometimes ask this while playing alone with her dolls whenever her uncle Arthur was around.
Arthur’s response was always the same:
“Why would she come all the way here for a fool like you? She’s probably just flirting with boys at the academy, hahahaha!”
What’s a fool?
Puzzled, she would look up at Lisette, who explained:
“A fool means a stupid child—like you.”
Even Teacher Istasha Lowen had said:
“You don’t know this? Are you an idiot?”
So Melin had come to believe:
I’m a fool.
There was no point in studying—fools stayed fools no matter what.
Though she somehow managed to pass the entrance exam, the academy’s classes were far harder.
As Clemence had feared, she quickly fell behind.
But my sister even graduated early…
Melin grew anxious. If she failed the year, her sister would surely be disappointed.
“Melin, you know you made a mistake too, don’t you?”
Her heart dropped heavily at her sister’s words.
“…I-I’m sorry… big sister.”
Her voice trembled miserably, as did her pale fingertips.
Am I… going to be abandoned now?
Tears welled in her eyes.
It was only natural—she had been stupid and caused trouble. Surely her sister was deeply disappointed.
In that moment, she hurt even more than when she’d been bullied by the others.
But what happened next was nothing like what she’d expected.
“But that doesn’t give anyone the right to bully you.”
Instead of the cold reprimand she had braced for, Clemence’s lips curved into a faint smile—warm and brilliant, like sunlight after a long winter’s night.
“The stolen exam paper—you didn’t use it.”
Before coming here, Clemence had checked Melin’s answer sheet.
It was completely blank—untouched.
“In the future, if something like this happens, don’t hide it. Tell me first.”
“O-okay…”
“It must have been hard, hasn’t it?”
At those words, tears welled up in Melin’s large eyes.
“N-no, it’s fine.”
Clemence silently gazed at her before pulling her into an embrace.
Melin’s eyes went wide, like a startled squirrel.
Is this… a dream?
It was the first time her sister had ever hugged her first.
She closed her eyes, savoring her sister’s warmth, wishing that if it was a dream, she would never wake up.
The next day, word of what Emily, Glenna, and Nea had done spread through the academy like wildfire.
At first, most students reacted with little surprise, thinking, It was bound to happen eventually.
But once the official notice went up on the bulletin board, the entire school was abuzz.
Emily Luspina, Glenna Schuren, Nea Siedel
In accordance with regulations, the above students are hereby disciplined as follows:
Permanent Expulsion
Disciplinary Code: Article 8, Section 1
Imperial Year 862,
Headmaster Albrecht La Elpheus
“Permanent expulsion… that means they can’t ever re-enroll, right?”
“I didn’t know this was actually possible.”
It seemed unreal that the once high-and-mighty youngest daughter of the Luspina family had been expelled.
Hearing this chatter, I recalled what had happened a few days earlier.
On the day I found the notebooks, I had called in their original owners.
Like Melin, they had all been bullied and threatened—every one of them model students who had caught the professors’ attention.
Using their connections with the professors, they had been coerced into stealing test papers or handing over their completed assignments to the trio.
Most came from far less influential families than the Luspinas, and fear of retaliation had kept them silent.
I had told them:
“If you choose not to speak the truth, you won’t be punished—but don’t expect them to be grateful. The same thing will probably keep happening, even after you debut in society. This is your last chance to break free from that cycle. The choice is yours.”
No one there wanted to live through that nightmare again.
After that, everything proceeded swiftly.
I glanced at the bottom of the bulletin board. There was one more name listed for punishment, besides Emily’s group.
Melin Jacqueline
In accordance with regulations, the above student is hereby disciplined as follows:
First-year retention (repeat year)
Disciplinary Code: Article 7, Section 9
Borrowing someone else’s work still violates the rules, after all.
It left a bad taste in my mouth, but Melin took the news much better than I did.
“If you want, you can quit attending.”
“No! I want to keep going!”
She shook her head firmly.
“If I quit now, it’ll feel like running away! I want to graduate on my own terms!”
Her small fists clenched with determination.
“I’ll get the diploma those girls couldn’t—fair and square, by my own efforts.”
By “those girls,” she meant Emily’s group, of course.
Ah… why does it feel like I’m about to cry?
Seeing her bright, determined face seemed to blow away all the clouds of worry in my heart.
“Then, big sister, I’m off to class!”
I watched her leave the lab, and my thoughts turned to another problem I needed to solve.
Of all people… why did the notebook’s owner have to be Lennox?!
The way events were unfolding left me feeling thoroughly unsettled.
