Chapter 239: Stand Up
Roel looked at the students who were slowly approaching Paul before glancing at the familiar golden-haired figure standing amidst a huge crowd. Then, he examined his surroundings, and finally, he breathed a sigh of relief as his heart was finally put at ease.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this should be the final event of Paul Ackermann’s starting sequence in the game.
Who in this world hoped the most for Paul’s disappearance?
InEyes of the Chronicler, that person could have very well been Roel, but things had started heading down a different path from the moment he regained the memories of his past life. There was no longer a reason for him to hate on Paul, and so, the position of the main villain would have to be passed on to two other people—Paul’s older brothers.
Ever since ancient times, the most vicious fights tended to arise from internal strife, and this was best exemplified in the current circumstances surrounding the Austine Empire. Paul Ackermann was only an illegitimate son with average talents so far, but even so, his existence still left the two older princes deeply worried. They didn’t want Paul to attend the academy as it signified an opportunity for growth.
Any hope that Paul could grow into a high-level transcendent translated into despair for them.
In fact, his two good brothers even prepared a gift for Paul’s first day at the academy so as to thoroughly crush his confidence. The other princes had been working hard to build up their own noble faction over the past decade, so they had no lack of lackeys to use in the academy.
Roel grasped his staff quietly as he watched the two men walking in their direction, but he had no intention of making a move in advance. On one hand, he couldn’t simply just ‘predict the future’ here, and on the other, it hadn’t even been an hour since he first met Paul.
I’ll just wait for an opportunity to make my move.
With such thoughts in mind, Roel bade Paul farewell before walking away.
...
Looking at the scenery around him, Paul Ackermann found his initially nervous heart slowly calming down as a tinge of excitement started to grow within him.
There had to be at least a thousand youths of the similar ages around him, and he had never been in such an environment before. It was inevitable that he would feel a little unnerved, but at the same time, it also made him realize that he was finally standing on a different stage.
The students here came from all parts of the world, and there weren’t that many people who recognized him here. He wouldn’t be scorned here as he had been back at the Austine Empire. In this academy, they were all fellow students, people of equal standing.
As long as he worked hard on this new stage, things might just turn out for the better for him..
With great hopes for the future, Paul continued walking forward, only to have someone suddenly halt his path,
“Hey, you’re Paul, right?”
“Ah? You are...?”
“We’re your seniors. He’s Lyte, the third son of Earl Laker, and I am Cron, the second son of Earl Quesal. We have a favor to ask of you.”
“A favor?”
The hostile looks on the faces of the tall and short men standing in his path, as well as the fact that they were nobles of the Austine Empire, made Paul’s face turn pale. He had an ominous feeling about this.
His premonition was proven right as the tall and scrawny Cron continued on.
“It’s nothing much. I just hope that you can drop out of the academy.”
“Drop out of the academy?”
“Indeed. You should know better than anyone that the throne belongs to the two princes, and an illegitimate son like you have no rights to succession at all. Trash should just remain as trash. I suggest you not to bring trouble upon yourself.”
Cron spat out insulting words toward Paul with a cold look on his face, not showing the slightest respect despite standing in the presence of a prince of the Austine Empire. In their view, an illegitimate son who had no rights to succession was nothing to be feared, even if the blood of the Ackermanns flowed through his veins. Paul would be suppressed no matter which of the two princes became the new emperor, so there was no chance of him rising through the ranks.
However, if they could chase Paul out of the academy, Cron might just be able to win the favor of Prince Aubrey, which would give him an advantage in the succession of the Quesal House’s earl position despite being the second son. The shorter Lyte, as the third son of Earl Laker, harbored the same thoughts in mind too.
They were willing take on this risk for the sake of rising through the ranks, though it was unfortunate that their target was unwilling to cooperate with them.
“Are you kidding me? I refuse.”
Paul was infuriated by the insult he was receiving, and he clenched his fists tightly together. He had only started bearing some expectations about academy life when his brothers’ lackeys suddenly obstructed his way. Aside from his disappointment in his siblings, it also sparked his desire to fight back too.
His response made Cron’s face darken.
“You brat, it looks like you still don’t know your place yet! You’re really asking for a...”
“Hold it for a moment, Lyte. It looks like our Prince Paul still doesn’t understand what’s going on yet. Allow me to explain it to him.”
Cron raised his hand to stop his bulky companion before eyeing the young man before him with a sneer on his lips.
“Junior Paul, it looks like you still harbor some expectations for your life at the academy?”
“What?”
“Did you think that you would have good days ahead of you just by staying in the academy? Allow me to shatter your unrealistic dreams. Are you aware that the academy is under the rule of the Her Highness Lilian’s Purplerose Faction? We aren’t the only ones hostile to you here; everyone in her faction sees you as a thorn in the eye too. There are also the students from the Theocracy and Rosa who have always been at loggerheads with us. Just by that in itself, over 30% of the students in this academy are already hostile to you.
“Do you finally get it now? You can’t do a thing here at all. You’ll just be scorned and sidelined. We have plenty of ways to ensure that you’ll never be able to keep your head up in the academy. The wisest thing you can do here is to back off and drop out of the academy.”
Cron patted the dumbfounded Paul’s shoulder with an amicable smile on his lips.
No matter which academy one was from, a freshman would usually be completely helpless to the oppression of a senior student, so it would be perfectly normal for Paul to back down when he knew that all there was ahead of him was endless misery in the hands of his tormentors.
Cron almost wanted to applaud himself for his sharp wits. As much as the Austine nobles hated Paul, he was still a member of the Ackermann Imperial Family. If they tried to chase him out with force, it would likely backfire on them in the future since the latter had come to the academy under the emperor’s orders. Attempts to defy imperial orders would be viewed as an offense against the imperial family. However, if Paul were to back down here on his own volition, that would make a different story.
Cron stared intently at the dazed Paul, awaiting for the moment the black-haired young man fall into despair.
In truth, Paul felt like his heart was falling endlessly into the abyss after hearing those words. The beautiful and resplendent surroundings around formed a stark contrast to his heart that was swiftly turning dull and grey, and he began hesitating over whether he should continue walking down this difficult path.
Should I just turn back here...
As such thoughts echoed endlessly in Paul’s mind, all of a sudden, the young man who had been accompanying him till a moment ago surfaced in his head, causing his body to jolt a
“No, that’s not right...”
“What did you say?”
“I don’t deny that many in the academy would view me in enmity, but true friends don’t judge one another on their identities. I believe that there are people in the world who befriend others by the virtue of their character, not their standing and background.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Senior Cron, you may leave now. I won’t leave the academy.”
“!”
Seeing that Paul’s gaze had inexplicably become more determined than before, Cron’s complexion turned awful. A deep frown also formed on Lyte’s face too.
“Do you know what you’re saying? I advise you not to force our hand, or else things could get ugly here.”
“I won’t drop out from the academy.”
“... Is that so? Don’t blame us for this then.”
Cron glared viciously at the young man standing before him as he released a powerful outburst of his mana. Amidst a faint emanation of light, Paul felt a powerful pressure crushing down on his body. This sudden act of aggression swiftly alarmed the surrounding crowd.
“What’s going on?”
“Such heavy pressure... Are there actually Origin Level 4 transcendents amongst the freshmen?”
“It’s coming from over there. They seem to be seniors from the Second Grade...”
“Who is that person they are surrounding?”
Suddenly being placed in the limelight, Cron directed a smile at the surrounding crowd before pointing to the young man before him, who was being put under so much pressure that he couldn’t even raise his head.
“Paul Ackermann! As an illegitimate son, you should know what kind of position you are in! The Saint Freya Academy is a noble place where many great figures have risen from. Someone like you isn’t worthy of coming here!”
Cron’s action of oppressing the weak stirred the aversion of the other students, but when they heard that Paul was an illegitimate son, those students began to hesitate. They weren’t sure whether they wanted to intervene in this situation.
It was normal for those of illegitimate birth to be viewed with hostility in the circle of nobility, no matter how upstanding the illegitimate child could be. In fact, when they heard that Paul was a prince of the Austine Empire, some revealed looks of glee as they indulged themselves in the drama. Some even went as far as join Cron’s side to mock Paul.
“Do you see that? This is the kind of treatment you’ll receive from this day onward. Those who are born in the mud should obediently stay put at where they belong, especially trash with impure bloodlines with you!
“You’re at Origin Level 5 despite possessing the Ackermann Bloodline? What a disgrace! Just remain kneeling over there and scram out of the academy gates afterward!”
Cron’s speech of bloodline purity won the roars of agreement from some of the students from the Austine Empire, and they began shouting out a slogan under Cron’s lead.
“Kneel down and scram! Kneel down and scram...”
This insulting slogan resounded loudly in the surroundings, swiftly drawing the attention of even more people. A far distance away, a crowd that was surrounding a golden-haired young woman frowned. At the same time, a black-haired, purple-eyed young woman watching the scene from a building by the side was also greatly displeased by what she saw.
This is too ugly. I can’t turn a blind eye to this.
Lilian thought about the letter she had received from Lukas and sighed softly. She was just about to turn to her knights and relay her orders when she suddenly spotted a black silhouette darting across her peripheral vision.
Hm? That is...
Lilian’s eyes narrowed as she quickly turned her eyes back to the commotion. At the same time, on the grass field, Nora also widened her eyes in astonishment.
At the center of the crowd, Paul felt his body growing so heavy that his knees were going to fall onto the ground at any moment, but all of a sudden, a black-haired young man suddenly appeared beside him. The other party slipped his staff under Paul’s kneecaps to support him.
“Why are you kneeling? Stand up.”
Amidst the commotion, Roel Ascart looked at Paul Ackermann as he spoke with a cold look on his face.
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