Chapter 332: About Prince Justinian

"So, you mean..." Noah paused, recounting everything Damien had told him. "Let me get this straight. You were simply walking when he bumped into your shoulder. Then you told him, ’Watch where you’re going, bro, or you might get hurt.’"

"Yes," Damien replied, sitting across from Noah. "But I said it in a friendly tone. I was even smiling."

"Huh..." Noah nodded slowly. "And the prince didn’t like your friendly tone, so he told you that wasn’t how you should speak to him and warned you to watch your tone."

"Exactly."

"And then you said, ’What’s wrong with my tone, brother? I only told you to be more careful next time. If you were offended, then I’m sorry. But there’s no need to get angry over something so small.’"

"Yup."

"And that made him even angrier." Noah sighed and shook his head.

"What a shitty way to get on the bad side of a prince. Well, if you were a beautiful girl, you might have been forgiven more easily."

Damien’s lips twitched. "Tch. I didn’t even know he was a prince at first. It took me a while to recognize him. If I’d known from the beginning, I would’ve apologized right away."

"No, you wouldn’t have."

Noah gave him a knowing look. "I know you. You would’ve tried to escalate the situation even further because you thought you weren’t in the wrong."

Damien immediately fell silent.

Because Noah was right.

"Well, thanks to Noah, we were able to calm the situation down," Emma said from Damien’s left.

Noah looked at her in mild surprise.

She had actually said something good about him.

"True. Thanks, Noah," Damien added.

"It’s fine."

"Shit! I missed the drama!" Leonard’s stunned voice suddenly came from beside them.

The group had chosen a table in one of the quieter corners of the cafeteria, away from the main crowd. With all of them sitting close together, the surrounding noise made it difficult for anyone nearby to hear their conversation.

Leonard had taken the seat beside Arisha, while Arisha sat to Noah’s right.

"It was a pretty serious situation, to be honest," Leonard continued. "If Damien had ended up on the bad side of Prince Justinian..."

"Why?" Arisha asked.

"Well, since you’re not from a noble family, you might not know this."

Leonard lowered his voice. "Prince Justinian is a two-faced man. He acts kind and polite toward everyone, but he’s extremely petty, arrogant, prideful, and... well, let’s just say he’s not someone you want as an enemy."

He glanced around before continuing. "Most nobles around our age, as well as those in his generation, know what he’s really like. We just pretend we don’t."

"Are you sure?" Arisha asked again, her expression skeptical.

"Yes."

Before Leonard could elaborate, Lyria spoke.

"He’s right. I remember something from a few years ago."

Everyone turned toward her.

"During a banquet held by the imperial family for the First Prince’s birthday, a young man from a count’s family made a joke while speaking with Justinian."

Lyria’s expression became thoughtful.

"He said something about hoping Justinian would become more like his older brother, the First Prince. I was there that night, so I remember it clearly."

She glanced around the table. "Kaelan, Noah, and even Leonard were there as well."

"And what happened afterward?" Damien asked curiously.

"Justinian simply laughed it off at the time," Kaelan answered.

"But a few weeks later, we heard that the same young man had been accused of stealing a brooch belonging to Prince Justinian—a brooch that had been given to him by his mother."

Leonard snorted. "It was obviously fabricated. We all knew it."

"Damn..." Damien’s expression changed. "Isn’t that going too far?"

"What happened to the guy?" Arisha asked.

"Nothing serious, apparently," Noah answered.

He leaned back slightly.

"According to what I heard, he eventually begged Justinian for forgiveness and even knelt before him. Justinian supposedly forgave him afterward, and that young man eventually became one of his followers."

Noah’s eyes narrowed slightly. "And he was standing behind Justinian earlier."

Damien swallowed. "That’s dangerous."

He paused. "I really am lucky."

"True," Arisha muttered.

Leonard shrugged. "Though you probably would’ve only had to deal with some bullying from his followers."

He paused. "Or something worse. I honestly have no idea."

Damien’s expression stiffened. "Please don’t say things like that so casually."

Everyone ignored him.

Arisha turned her attention toward Noah. "Now tell us why you did that to Lyria."

Noah shrugged. "I just had a feeling..." He glanced around the table before lowering his voice. "I thought Justinian might be interested in Lyria."

Everyone became slightly more attentive.

"So I wanted to confirm it." Noah continued.

"I acted as though Lyria and I were extremely close. And when I did that, his expression immediately changed. He was clearly annoyed and angry."

He tapped his fingers lightly against the table. "That pretty much confirmed my suspicion that he might actually have feelings for her."

Silence fell around the table.

Even Lyria blinked in surprise.

"Then... it might really be true."

Noah looked at her. "You had doubts too? Has he approached you before?"

"Yes..."

Lyria nodded. "He spoke to me a few times during the first semester, but it was mostly just polite greetings."

She sighed softly. "I never thought much of it."

Emma frowned. "Noah... doesn’t that put you on the bad side of the prince?"

Noah pressed his lips into a thin line. "Yeah..."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, the way I was holding Lyria and the way she was blushing probably made us look like a couple."

He glanced at Lyria. "It looked like I was openly accepting the relationship while she was just too shy to admit it."

Lyria’s cheeks immediately turned bright red.

Noah noticed her reaction and awkwardly looked away.

Arisha also waited for his answer.

After a moment, Noah simply shrugged.

"Whatever. I can clear up the misunderstanding whenever I want. It’s not a big problem."

"Hmm..." Kaelan folded his arms. "But a lot of students saw you. There are bound to be rumors about the two of you."

"Re-really?" Lyria’s pink eyes widened. "Rumors?"

Noah casually waved his hand. "Who cares? They’re just rumors."

"Then when are you going to clear things up with the prince?" Arisha asked, resting her chin against her hand.

"Not for now."

A small smirk appeared on Noah’s face.

"W-what? Why not?" Lyria asked, visibly flustered.

"Well, let him believe it for now."

Noah leaned back in his chair. "Maybe he’ll lose interest in you and give up."

Leonard shook his head. "He doesn’t look like the type of person who gives up easily."

"If that happens, I’ll clear things up." Noah paused. "Or maybe I won’t."

He smiled mischievously. "Either way, we should protect my—" He stopped himself. "I mean... our cute Lyria."

Lyria’s entire face flushed with warmth.

"U-Ugh..."

She lowered her head, unable to look at anyone.

Arisha simply shook her head. "Sure. We should."

Everyone nodded in agreement before returning to their lunch.

Their conversation gradually shifted to other topics as they continued eating.

None of them noticed that, from another corner of the cafeteria, someone had been quietly watching their table the entire time.