Chapter 42
"Hey, hey, is it true that the Saint was almost assaulted?"
"Seems like it. You know, yesterday after school, there was that weird pillar of light from the academy, right?"
"I didn't see it myself... but I heard the Saint summoned an angel and took down the thug who tried to attack her."
"Huh? I heard it wasn't an angel she summoned, but a bear?"
"Wait, why a bear!?"
"Who cares about that? I heard the guys who tried to attack the Saint were expelled."
"Thank goodness... I'm so glad Reina's okay..."
"Seriously... Trying to assault someone like her, the Saint? Unforgivable."
"Oh yeah... didn't the crown prince change his look? Why is his hair an afro now?"
All the students at the academy were buzzing with rumors about Reina.
Praise for Reina, who had summoned an angel and repelled the thugs, filled the air—though a small portion of the talk was about the mysterious makeover of the crown prince.
"Tch... What an annoying girl."
The one who clicked his tongue irritably upon hearing the rumors was a short-haired redheaded boy.
His name was Vincent Flame.
One of the romanceable characters in the game, the wild and arrogant son of the Knight Commander.
He was a year above Reina... and just the other day, he had tried to forcefully invite her out with a line like, "So you're the Saint, huh? Come hang out with me," only to be flatly rejected.
"Saint, my ass. She's just a stuck-up brat who looks good."
"Hmph!" Vincent snorted, but in truth, he was one of the boys who had taken an interest in the Saint, Reina.
When Vincent approached her, Reina had bluntly rejected him, saying, "There's no way I'd go along with someone I just met" and "Try thinking logically."
Her firm tone of rejection... was actually the correct choice to trigger a flag for Vincent's route.
By rejecting him, Vincent started badmouthing the heroine as 'an annoying girl'—but at the same time, he began to keep an eye on her and find excuses to interact.
"Still... she was almost attacked, huh..."
Vincent furrowed his brows as he walked down the hallway, eavesdropping on the rumors.
Reina had been in danger while he wasn't around... and that made him irrationally angry.
He didn't care about Reina. She was just a 'stuck-up girl' acting all high and mighty because she was the Saint.
And yet... he couldn't stop thinking about her.
He even felt like running straight to the first-year classrooms to check on Reina with his own eyes.
(I shouldn't care about a girl like her... there's no reason to get involved with an annoying girl...)
He felt restless. Frustrated.
If he had been there when Reina was attacked, he would've beaten every last one of those thugs to a pulp.
(Damn it! Why the hell am I so pissed off!? It's all that arrogant girl's fault!)
"Damn it!"
"Eek..."
As he cursed under his breath, a nearby male student flinched in fear.
Vincent glared at him out of irritation, and the intimidated student quickly ran off.
"Tch..."
He still couldn't calm down.
Shoving both hands into his pants pockets, he kept walking down the hallway...
"Huh?"
Coming from the opposite direction was a familiar female student.
Silver hair. Jade-green eyes. Skin as white as pearls.
The Saint with peerless beauty... Reina Laurel.
"............!"
Seeing the very girl he had just been thinking about sent a shock through Vincent, like he'd been pierced in the chest.
Reina, who had supposedly been attacked, didn't appear to have any visible injuries.
She was walking with her textbooks in both hands, flanked by what looked like classmates, chatting cheerfully as they walked down the hallway.
"So you see, Lady Reina. My younger brother..."
"Is that so? Having siblings must be tough."
Reina, engaged in idle chatter with a girl who seemed to be a friend, hadn't yet noticed Vincent.
Vincent twisted his expression and clutched his chest with his right hand.
(Wh-what do I even say if she suddenly shows up like this... I'm not mentally prepared...!)
Vincent panicked, then shook his head, wondering why he was so flustered.
(Why the hell am I freaking out!? It's not like it matters!)
It doesn't matter.
Yeah... it doesn't matter.
Vincent and Reina had only spoken once since enrollment.
And even that conversation had lasted less than a minute.
So there was no reason to be nervous just because Reina was approaching.
(B-but still, I mean... we're kind of acquaintances, right? Ignoring her in the hallway would be childish. Saying a quick hello as an upperclassman to a lowerclassman isn't weird, right?)
Reina was now just three meters away from passing by him in the hallway.
Vincent's heart pounded like a drum as he mustered his courage and raised his right hand toward Reina.
"H-hey! You look like you're doing okay!"
"But I'm jealous. I've always wanted a younger brother or sister..."
"........................Huh?"
Vincent had summoned all his courage to speak... but Reina walked right past him without even glancing his way.