“Um… do you know me?”
Wendy, feeling confused, sized up the uninvited guest.
The girl appeared to be about 20 years old with a slender figure and skin as white as a freshly peeled egg.
Her face was quite pretty, but the most striking thing was the Guardian Paladin following behind her.
The woman was dressed in the white robes of the Church and carried a Cruciform Longsword at her waist.
This display was even more pompous than Wendy’s own status as a Prince.
The blonde girl ignored the two other noble ladies at the table.
In a magnificent, almost operatic tone, she chanted loudly, “O beautiful and charming blue-haired prince! From the first moment I saw you, my heart was deeply moved. It is as if Cupid has pierced my chest with her sharp, long arrow…”
Laxana immediately twisted her expression and slammed her fork onto her plate, interrupting the girl.
“Daphne Macary, what are you doing here?! Don’t act like a lunatic here, or watch out, I’ll make things very difficult for you later!”
“Macary…?”
Wendy frowned.
The surname sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
Astreia elegantly wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin and took a calm sip of black tea before speaking in a low voice.
“She is the heir to the throne of the Macary Kingdom, a neighbor of the Kingdom of Valoran.”
“Oh! I remember now,” Wendy said, slapping his forehead.
“That is the country the remnants of the Veid Family, that guy Grant, wanted to defect to, right?”
Astreia nodded.
Her gaze fell upon the girl named Daphne, her eyes filled with unmasked contempt.
“I used to ‘clash’ with their army often at the border. They were nothing but weaklings, unable to withstand a single blow. Later, I heard she somehow managed to sneak into the Central Academy, and I never saw her again.”
In just a few words, the Princess Royal revealed her illustrious military exploits and her immense self-confidence.
Despite Laxana’s scolding, Daphne remained in her trance-like state, refusing to stop her poetry recital.
“If I were to lose you from my life, it would be as if a delicate flower could no longer see the warm sunlight and could not wait for the dawn. My world would be engulfed in darkness, and I would wither and die…”
As she spoke, she actually reached out with her hand, encased in a white silk glove, and moved to grab Wendy’s hand resting on the table.
Everyone present felt a chill run down their spines and developed goosebumps at such a revolting display.
At the same time, however, they all became secretly vigilant.
This Daphne Macary was a notorious figure within the Academy.
Relying on her family’s wealth, she acted in an eccentric and willful manner.
She was incredibly thick-skinned and would use any means necessary to achieve her goals.
Seeing Daphne’s current posture of fawning and pestering, they feared the incredibly handsome youth might not be able to withstand such shameless pursuit.
For a moment, all eyes in the dining hall were focused on this single table.
Everyone was watching to see how Miss Laxana and the powerful Eldest Princess of Valoran would respond to this sudden intruder.
As for Wendy, the display of fawning behavior made his scalp tingle with discomfort.
He was not afraid of her; he simply felt disgusted.
In particular, her eyes, which were staring straight at him with a glimmer of greed, reminded him of the hyenas he had seen in a zoo in his past life — the ones that drooled while staring at a piece of fat meat.
Seeing that she was about to touch him, Wendy instinctively tried to pull away.
But before he could move, a hand reached out from beside him and lightly pressed down on the back of his hand.
It was Astreia.
She did not even turn her head.
She simply used her other free hand to gently push the empty juice glass in front of Wendy forward by half an inch.
The movement was very subtle.
Laxana understood the signal perfectly.
The annoyance on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a cunning smile.
She picked up her own glass of juice, stood up, and walked around the table with light steps until she reached Daphne’s side.
“Oh, Daphne, it has been a long time. You’ve grown even more beautiful.”
Laxana smiled like a fox that had successfully stolen a chicken.
“Look at you, your face has thinned quite a bit. Have you been worrying about the Academy exams again lately?”
Daphne’s outstretched hand froze in mid-air.
She looked at Laxana, who had suddenly approached her, with a look of bewilderment, failing to react for a moment.
In that brief moment of distraction, Laxana’s wrist tilted.
“Oops!”
A surprised cry rang out.
A full glass of chilled, orange juice was poured squarely and firmly over Daphne’s magnificent golden Magic Armor.
The liquid flowed down the delicate engravings of the armor, soaking the front of her clothes.
A few pieces of orange pulp hung pathetically from her chest.
“Ah! My clothes!”
Daphne finally snapped out of it and screamed, frantically trying to wipe the stains off her body.
The Magic Armor, which was clearly very expensive, was now sticky from the orange juice and emitted a cloying, sweet scent.
She looked both ridiculous and wretched.
“I am so sorry, my hand slipped!”
Laxana apologized, but there was no sincerity on her face.
Instead, her eyes sparkled with the light of a successful prank.
“Are you okay? Do you want me to help you wipe it off?”
As she spoke, she actually pulled out her handkerchief and made a move to help Daphne clean up.
Daphne trembled with rage, her pretty face turning red.
She no longer had the luxury of harrassing Wendy.
She shoved Laxana away and glared at her.
“You… You did that on purpose!”
“How could I have done it on purpose?”
Laxana blinked innocently.
“I saw you standing there for so long and thought you might be thirsty, so I wanted to treat you to some juice. Who knew you wouldn’t appreciate it? You dodged, and that’s why it spilled.”
This blatant reversal of the truth left the surrounding students stunned, but they soon felt a sense of satisfaction.
They had long been dissatisfied with the arrogant and overbearing Daphne.
Seeing her humiliated now, they all cheered for Laxana in their hearts.
“You… you just wait!”
Daphne pointed at Laxana, so angry she couldn’t form a complete sentence.
The Guardian Paladin behind her saw this and immediately took a step forward, her hand already resting on the hilt of her sword as she glared at Laxana with ill intent.
However, before she could draw her blade, a cold, indifferent voice rang out.
“You intend to make a move here?”
Astreia had stood up at some point, looking calmly at the Guardian Paladin.
The Guardian Paladin’s movements stiffened abruptly, and fine beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
She certainly recognized who was standing before her.
The Lioness of the North from Valoran was a ruthless figure who had designed a trap to bury 10,000 Wolf Rider Vanguards outside Sunset Fortress and personally repulsed over 100,000 Orcs.
Such exaggerated achievements were fully recognized by the Church.
At this moment, let alone making a move, just being looked at by her made the Paladin feel as though her soul were trembling.
“Miss Daphne,” Astreia’s gaze turned toward the still-fuming blonde girl.
“This is the Central Academy, not your Macary Royal Palace. On someone else’s territory, it is best to follow their Regulation.”
“My patience has its limits.”