Chapter 38
Pierre, barely understanding Evan’s words, asked with a bewildered expression,
“So… Riet’s father is the leader of the Herman guild… the guildmaster?”
“More precisely, he is the Duke of Meren.”
Henry and Pierre were speechless for a moment, then, as if denying reality, they opened their mouths in a daze.
“That’s a lie…! How do you know the true identity of the mysterious guildmaster?”
“As you know, our family has had frequent dealings with the Meren family since long ago.”
Evan savored the frozen expressions of Henry and Pierre before delivering a blow.
“If you really don’t believe me, you can check it yourself. It’s simple — just casually mention the Duke of Meren to the guildmaster’s representative and watch their reaction. Their expression will stiffen instantly.”
Although the Duke of Meren has no actual connection with the guild, and Henry and Pierre didn’t really have the guts to verify it, Evan planned to give the representative a heads-up in advance. As the next guildmaster, he could easily make such a request.
Henry and Pierre whispered to each other again.
“It doesn’t seem like a lie… Their expressions seem too calm, don’t they?”
“And honestly, Evan isn’t the type to tell lies like this.”
“What now? If the Duke of Meren gets angry and my father suffers a disadvantage, our family…”
Even without hearing their conversation, their pale faces spoke volumes about their frustration.
Evan sneered. Why did they mess with something they couldn’t handle?
“Evan… Honestly, we feel wronged. We never really held any grudge against Riet…”
Predictably, their words and actions were exactly what Evan expected. After having done whatever they wanted, they regretted it and scrambled to come up with excuses.
Hiding his disgust, Evan responded in kind.
“Then why did you suddenly start speaking ill of Riet?”
“It’s because of them.”
Henry gave a terse reply and bit his lip nervously. Pierre chimed in with an “Ah!”
“Yeah, they were the cause! The ones spreading bad rumors about Riet.”
“Them?”
Evan raised one eyebrow sharply. He hadn’t expected this. There was another group besides Henry and Pierre that was slandering Riet?
Henry hesitated before continuing.
“Evan… You know how the same people keep taking the top three spots, right? There was constant dissatisfaction because of that.”
It was strange if there was no noise. There had been three exams so far, and the same people always ranked, in fixed positions, causing resentment.
Grades come from how much you study, but since some had overwhelming talent, it was natural for most kids to reject the results.
Like the recent rumors about Riet, there were obviously people waiting for any chance to find fault with the top students and take advantage.
“One day, I met a group talking behind the school. They said Riet was interfering with other students.”
“So?”
“Honestly, at first I didn’t believe it. Riet’s reputation was pretty good after the dance party… But when three people said the same thing at once, I started to listen.”
Henry’s eyes darted anxiously as he answered vaguely. Evan’s eyes narrowed for a moment.
‘Is this a lie to dodge responsibility?’
It was quite possible that it was a fabricated story to avoid trouble.
But he couldn’t entirely rule out the possibility it was true, so he decided to hear more.
“The day before, I bumped into Riet passing by the library, and my assignment fell and got ruined. That’s when their words came to mind. Also…”
Henry swallowed nervously. Evan couldn’t wait and asked.
“Did you meet that group from behind the school again?”
“Yeah. They were grumbling while passing by, and they started talking to me first. When I told them what happened, they said it was a common trick Riet uses.”
So Henry had no choice but to believe them… He trailed off.
Evan then looked at Pierre.
“Pierre, you too?”
Pierre also explained what happened to him. While the details differed, the context was almost the same as Henry’s.
“… Actually, I was more influenced by Henry than by that group.”
When Pierre glanced at Henry and added quietly, Henry gave Pierre a betrayal glare. Evan was lost in thought despite their foolishness.
“It doesn’t sound like a lie…”
If it was just Henry’s claim, Evan might have thought it was a lie made up on the spot.
But Henry and Pierre told a consistent story, and neither seemed flustered or eager to respond awkwardly.
Nor did they seem close enough to spontaneously fabricate a story so smoothly. They weren’t that clever, even if they studied well.
After thinking it over, Evan spoke slowly.
“Do you remember any names or appearances from that group you met?”
“Hmm… Not really.”
“Think hard. If you end up wronged by this incident, you’ll need to mention that group in your defense. But if you don’t know who they are at all, saying such a group existed is pointless.”
Evan’s gentle encouragement made Henry and Pierre think hard. Suddenly, Henry’s eyes widened.
“I remember! One of the three was named Polhen… I think from some viscount family. The surname wasn’t well known, so I forgot it since I heard it for the first time that day.”
Polhen…?
Evan mentally scanned the student registry one by one but frowned.
“There’s no one with that name at our school.”
“Are you sure it’s Polhen?”
“Y-yeah! And he wasn’t as much as you, but he had black hair and a pretty scary look. He was pretty tall and bulky… Right, Pierre?”
Evan’s sharp question made Henry stammer and poke Pierre.
“It’s true! I remember too. He was scary-looking and left an impression.”
Pierre nodded with a frightened face. Evan lowered his eyes for a moment.
This made the situation more complicated. Someone not a student had infiltrated the school pretending to be one, slandering Riet and recruiting two people to stir up the students for them.
Probably Henry was their first target too.
‘The inferior 4th place, bitter because he couldn’t make the top three.’
Evan judged Henry Leris to be that kind of person. And whoever was behind this must have thought the same. People only see and hear what they want, so pretending to be coincidental, they approached Henry and told him what he wanted to hear.
‘Riet is interfering with other students to keep her rank.’
Henry, hesitant but convinced, believed it. He looked at Riet like a coward.
Then the accidental collision in the library happened. It was no coincidence it was Riet.
Someone’s malice fanned the flames on purpose, and Henry’s weak heart blaming a competitor and his jealousy of Riet created the current situation.
‘Even if the assignment accident hadn’t happened, the masterminds would have planned behind the scenes so things would turn out similarly.’
Since many students disliked Riet, anyone who realized that would take the opportunity to slander her.
Evan calmly analyzed the cause and effect of the situation again. He had roughly figured out the real source of the rumor, their intentions, and how things escalated.
One last question remained.
‘Who did it? Someone really from outside the school?’
Even so, they must have an insider at the school. Someone with sharp eyes who understood Henry Leris’s personality perfectly.
“Um… Evan.”
Just as Evan was lost in thought, Henry cautiously called him.
Evan turned to meet Henry’s gaze and saw him nervously rubbing his hands. Evan guessed what he wanted to say but pretended not to know.
“Why?”
“If this problem blows up later, could you please speak well to the Duke of Meren?”
Evan barely suppressed a snicker. He realized once again they only told him the whole story to make this request.
Since these two were clearly offenders too, Evan wasn’t about to forgive them easily, but he smiled calmly and decided to say what they wanted to hear. It wasn’t yet time for punishment.
“Of course. You were manipulated too.”
Henry and Pierre brightened.
“See! You really inherited Duke Kroyt’s character.”
At Pierre’s praise, Evan smiled bitterly inside. He knew that behind his back, they still gossiped about how he wasn’t the real son of his father and himself.
“Thanks. I still have a long way to go to follow my father.”
Now, responding casually to such fake praise was easy. The only stress was having to keep seeing such disgusting people.
“Class is about to start. I’m leaving now.”
Having achieved his purpose, Evan was about to leave without hesitation. He didn’t want to see them grovel anymore.
“Wait, Evan…!”
Turning to walk away, Evan heard Henry’s voice from behind and turned his head.
“Thanks for helping, but can I ask one more thing?”
Henry asked cautiously. Seeing this, Evan’s irritation, held back the whole conversation, flared up. He considered ignoring him, but hoping for a hint about the mastermind, he summoned his last bit of patience.
“What is it?”
“Just… I was curious. Why are you helping us?”
Finally, they had the nerve to ask this. Evan thought they asked too quickly but considered his answer briefly.
“Well…”
The fundamental reason was obviously to uncover the truth behind the incident…
‘Ah, there’s one more reason.’
Remembering the most important reason, Evan smirked.
“I want all the anger to be directed only at me.”
Henry and Pierre didn’t understand at all, but Evan was already leaving.
