Chapter 95: Falling apart gracefully is still a kind of art
Leon never liked classrooms.
Back in his old life, he preferred sitting alone in the last row, surrounded by silence.
Group projects? He was all he needed. Lunch breaks? Just eat and return.
His school years were made up of quiet corners and noise-cancelling earphones. He never made a single friend in his high school or university days. And maybe, this was what gave him enough time to create the world’s best-selling ARPG Game.
So when he stepped into the S-rank classroom of Eclipse Academy, the irony wasn’t lost on him.
He was standing in a room filled with people who could throw mountains and burn cities; almost all of them in the class had bright futures ahead.
He scanned the hall quietly.
Unlike other class buildings where hundreds of students were divided into sections, Class S had only one.
Out of thousands of first years, only one hundred got in. And from the way everyone sat upright and silent, it was clear they were taking themselves way too seriously.
Princes and princesses from different kingdoms, high-ranking aristocrats, and a few commoners, too.
’...yeah, definitely not the kind of place for small talk.’
Leon sighed and walked toward the last row, picking the farthest corner seat like it was his personal territory.
A few students turned to glance at him.
He ignored them.
Some were reading advanced spellcasting, others were sitting quietly.
It reminded him a little too much of his university days. Only this time, the nerds had enough power to blow a building apart.
Passing them, Leon met the eyes of a few of the game’s characters.
They all look alive and too real.
’...how much time has it been since I got here?’
Leon did some quick math in his head, and the answer turned out to be only 3 weeks.
’...not even a month, huh.’
He felt like he had spent months here.
"See, I told you he’s in this class," someone whispered.
"Guess you were right... But did you know he got in here because of her sister’s influence?"
"Wait." The guy raised his brows. "Are you telling me Lady Veronica bribed the Eclipse—"
The whispers weren’t loud, but they weren’t subtle either. Leon could hear everything.
’What is this deja vu?’
He just sighed and ignored them altogether. But then, his eyes landed few seats in front.
Rinna, the third princess, had rather a quiet group for herself.
Her entire row was filled, and she was literally surrounded.
Leon identified their status.
’Damn, already.’ He couldn’t help but praise her.
Almost all the princes and the princesses were in her group; they stood out so much that the rest of the class was aware of their aura.
And it looks to Leon that they were discussing some matter.
Now, Leon didn’t like poking his nose, but he couldn’t help but get curious.
Reason?
From the look on Rinna’s face, she seemed interested in whatever this topic was, and she was eyeing him the whole time he was walking to the back bench.
’I wonder...’
Of course, people would talk. Leon’s reputation was down bad before; he wasn’t as talented as his siblings. To them, he was an anomaly—a trash who somehow landed in the most prestigious class.
And in places like this, anomalies got stared at like zoo animals.
— — —
[Rinna’s PoV]
"Yeah, I heard the faculty had a meeting about it," someone said near her.
Of course they did. She already knew who they were talking about.
Leon Valentine.
Her lips twitched slightly. He was... unforgettable. Not because he was impressive, but because he was him.
The guy who once proposed to her more times than she could count.
Rinna touched her neck without thinking. A pendant brushed against her fingertips. The same pendant he had given her on her last birthday.
It wasn’t gold. It wasn’t rare. It was a simple stress-relief charm that absorbed tension and kept her mana flow stable. It actually worked better than half the expensive things people had gifted her that night.
’Of all things... that idiot really gave me something useful.’
She didn’t reject him because he was "trash," though everyone whispered it behind his back.
Leon Valentine, the third son of House Valentine. Known for his lack of talent and mocked for living off his family name, he was pitied more than hated.
No, she rejected him because he was annoying.
Every time he saw her at a banquet, a ceremony, or a public gathering, he’d march straight up with the confidence of a peacock and say the most ridiculous things with a perfectly straight face.
She clenched the pendant. Just thinking about it made her ears burn.
’My Lady Rinna,’
he’d say, dropping his voice dramatically, ’your eyes shine brighter than the Blessed Moon, and your smile could end wars and bend all five gods to their knees.’She could feel the cringe echo through the hall even now.
’How could someone say that with a straight face?’ she thought, pressing her fingers against her temple.
And the worst part? He never flinched. No matter how much people laughed, mocked, or ridiculed him for being shameless, Leon Valentine stood there like an idiot knight out of a cheap romance play.
She glanced at him now, seated at the far back of the classroom. He wasn’t even looking in her direction.
’Come to think of it... he didn’t approach me after my birthday.’
The thought came out of nowhere, catching her off guard. She shook her head immediately.
’No. Why do I care? It’s not like I wanted him to talk to me.’
Her cheeks puffed slightly, and she clicked her tongue.
"Princess Rinna."
Her thoughts were interrupted. She turned to look at the handsome boy with violet hair and matching eyes calling out to her.
"Yes, Prince Kian?"
Rinna offered a polite smile to him, the kind that carried a hint of curiosity.
"I heard he made quite the proposal to you?"
She didn’t hide it.
"I am used to it." But she added a little breath later, "and not just him; many other nobles proposed to me that night."
Kian went silent.
’Heh, hit the nail,’ she laughed inside. ’Well, if I am not making fun of him, then who the hell does he think he is to make fun of him? And well, unlike other cowards, Leon could at least speak his mind aloud.’
She sighed, glancing around as the topic continued.
Around her, several other royal heirs and nobles watched her with polite interest.
The S-Class was full of them, after all.
Eclipse Institute wasn’t just any regular institute. It was prestige itself. It was the academic heart of Liora, where heirs of kingdoms, scions of old families, and talented commoners studied side by side. Princes and princesses from neighboring nations were practically lined up here.
Rinna had always taken pride in that. Her kingdom was the center of the continent’s most prestigious Magic and Arts institute.
Still, as Kian leaned forward and started speaking, a stray thought lingered in her head.
’Huhu... did Big Sis scare him away that night?’
That night, she hadn’t gone to the private meeting Leon arranged. Eula had taken her place, as she often did with bothersome engagements.
Her older sister is as blunt as a blade.
’Did he propose again?’ Rinna stifled a laugh. ’I want to know what face Big Sis made.’
She imagined Eula sitting across from him while Leon delivered another one of his hopeless lines.
’Fair maiden, my heart has already knelt before your soul.’
Her sister would have stared at him like he was a bug. Maybe hissed something like
’Don’t you dare come near me again, you cringe, idiotic baboon.’
’No... she would never say something that dramatic,’ Rinna thought, shaking her head.
But she really did want to know what happened that night.
’I rarely see big sis now...’
It’s rare to see Eula; for some reason, she was always found busy.
’What is she up to?’
She didn’t know, and neither did she want to know.
Eula was someone extraordinary. She was the pride of the family.
Though her big brother was extraordinary too, he wasn’t Eula-level extreme.
"Hey, listen," Kian said suddenly, leaning forward. "I think I know how it is."
Rinna tilted her head, curious despite herself. A few others around her turned their attention to him, too.
"You know, after the class allotment test," Kian continued, lowering his voice like he was about to drop the greatest secret in the world, "I did a little research on this Leon guy."
Rinna’s eye twitched. ’Dude... just leave the poor guy alone.’
Seriously, why did people care this much? They were already in the same class as him. Just do your work and let him do his. But no. Some people just needed drama.
"Oh? What is it?" one of the nobles in her group asked, already leaning forward.
Kian’s face lit up even more. That look alone made Rinna curious against her judgmental brain.
’Alright, fine. Let’s hear what nonsense you’ve got this time.’
"Yes, please do share, Prince Kian," she said, resting her chin on her hand.
"Yes, yes," he nodded eagerly. "So, after digging a little about him, my theory is that it was because of his partner, Alice, that he secured the score."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Exactly what it sounds," he said without a hint of hesitation. "Him getting into Class S was because Alice carried the whole exam. He must’ve benefited from it."
It was laughable. His reasoning was beyond stupid.
Each student was inspected separately, and the overall year rank was decided based on individual performance.
"How are you so certain?" Rinna couldn’t help but ask.
Kian smirked, full of misplaced confidence. "Wait for the class rank announcement. I bet my soul he’s the one who got Rank 100."
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[A/N]: Support me with PowerStones and Golden tickets. To keep me motivated to write 2 ch/day!! Thanks.
One more Chapter in a few hours!!