For Stella Academy’s high school students, it was mandatory to complete several hours of voluntary service.

There were some typical ways to fill this volunteer time, such as helping daily at the Magic Post Office or street cleaning, but many students did not like that kind of work.

That was probably because it was much more comfortable and helpful to their career to join a ‘club’ as a volunteer activity.

For the aristocrats, the main purpose of the clubs was ‘social gatherings’, and for the commoners, it became their golden chance to grasp a leg they could cling to.

The ‘Skalben Club’, where the nobles of the Skalben Empire gathered, could be considered to be focused on social gatherings.

That club, one of Stella’s most elite, was customarily headed by the highest-ranking student regardless of age, so it was no suspense that the club leadership was handed over to Prince Jeremy Skalben despite the fact that he was a freshman.

Verazane Maria, a second-year girl who once served as the club’s head, stood politely while bowing down to Crown Prince Jeremy.

Behind her were fifty students in the same stance.

In the middle of the 3500 square feet hall, a boy was sitting on an expensive sofa, worth tens of millions of credits, which made one wonder if it was really just a club room used by students.

Jeremy Skalben.

He stared blankly at the five-coloured chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Just looking at Jeremy’s smiling side profile had the effect of making Verazane feel warm and peaceful.

“It’s cheap.”

But, the words that came out of his mouth poured a cold water on her head.

“Sorry. We will change it soon.”

“Yes, thank you. Please.”

Jeremy’s smile turned the girls’ cheeks bright red, but Verazane was sweating profusely.

‘… Not good.’

Verazane knelt in front of Jeremy, and tremblingly stared at the boy who was also kneeling beside her.

That boy, Morso Dorden, was the heir to the well-known Dorden family, but in this place he was a nobody. If she had to compare herself with him, she was just trash.

“Raise your head. I don’t understand. Why are you so terrified?”

Morso slowly raised his head in response to the Crown Prince’s words, while Jeremy maintained his cheerful demeanour.

“Yes, yes…”

“Yes. I’d like to hear your justifications, so could you explain it to me?”

In response, Verazane hurriedly said, “That’s, actually……”

“Verazane?”

“… Yes?”

“I don’t think I ever asked you to explain. Why are you speaking?”

“S-sorry!”

Verazane gritted her teeth and stepped back. Then, she started to pray for herself.

‘Please don’t let that stupid Morso talk nonsense!’

Whether or not he was aware of Verazane’s inner feelings, what came out of Morso’s mouth was gibberish.

The story was short. It was not much of a story. However, it was enough to chill the hall.

In fact, according to Morso, he was not in a good shape. If he fought Baek Yu-Seol again, he would win. He was just distracted.

Excuses. One after another excuses flew out of his mouth.

Jeremy, who had been smiling while holding his chin, opened his mouth.

“So, in conclusion, you were defeated in a match by a half-mage who can’t even use defensive skills? And to make it worse, he’s a student who uses a frivolous weapon called sword as armour.”

“It was not a match. It was a mock battle…”

Oops. The moment another excuse came out of Morso’s mouth, Verazane closed her eyes tightly.

Crack!!

Immediately after, a sound similar to something breaking rang out in the middle of the club room.

‘Uh…?’

For a brief moment, Morso had the impression that the world had become a pure white canvas. He could not understand the situation for a long time. Then, somehow, he confirmed that all of the other students, except for him, appeared upside down.

‘I fell, right? But when?’

As Morso rolled his eye, Jeremy, who was close to him, pushed his head against the floor.

“Why?” Jeremy asked, but Morso could not understand the meaning of those words.

Drrrrrrrrrrr!! The sound of something breaking echoed in his ears. Ultimately, his ears were crushed. The pain came crashing down in the next second, and it was terrible.

Ahhhhhhhh!”

Belatedly, Morso realised that his cheek was being ripped.

“Why?”

Boom!!

Jeremy grabbed Morso by the hair and smashed his head into an iron locker.

“Why?”

Once, twice… The disturbing sounds echoed consecutively for the next moments. Fresh blood trickled down his head, but Morso did not faint.

“Why did you lose?”

He wanted to answer that he was wrong; he was sorry, but he was not granted the opportunity.

Jeremy opened the locker door, stuffed his head inside, and slammed the door shut.

“Why did you do that? Why do you embarrass me by using the name Skalben? Do you hate me?”

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Blood splattered everywhere. Even his eyes were swollen, but he did not die since he was a mage.

“I’ve been so nice to you. You’re my loyal subject. Right?”

“Mercy… Ugh…”

“Yes? What?”

As Morso struggled to open his mouth, Jeremy brought his ear closer.

“Sor… Sorr…”

“Yes. Keep talking.”

“M… Mom, save my life… Save…”

“No. That’s not it.”

Jeremy gave him a look of incomprehension.

“You are my loyal subject. If you are a true loyalist, shouldn’t you be willing to put your life on the line before risking the sin of humiliating your master? That’s how I learned it. So why don’t you?”

Then, he stopped.

Jeremy stopped the horrifying punishment. Then, he suddenly knelt down and hugged Morso.

“Sorry. I was too harsh. It’s my fault.”

“Ah… Uh…”

“I’m sorry I hurt you. That wasn’t supposed to happen. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Morso’s tears, runny nose, and blood soaked Jeremy's clothes but he did not even care and patted Morso on the back.

“You are not a loyal subject. You are my ‘friend’. I shouldn’t have done that…”

At those words, Morso shook his head even in the midst of terrible pain.

Friend. It was a word that should never come out of Prince Jeremy’s mouth. That fact was known to everyone present, so he had no choice but to lower his gaze with a complex expression.

Not a loyal subject, but a friend.

That meant that the Dorden family was expelled from the politics of Skalben for good.

‘Just like this?’ The question might arise. But such a question was meaningless.

The royal family of Skalben often enslaved the chef’s family and then expelled them because the breakfast menu was not good enough.

“Ah, ah, ah...!”

“It must hurt a lot. What about… Verazane? You are sweet, take good care of my friend. If anything goes wrong, my heart will ache.”

” … Yes. All right.”

“Please.”

Jeremy carefully laid Morso down on the floor. Some were creeped out to see how the Prince delicately touched him as if he were handling a jewel, but they did not show it.

Verazane supported Morso and helped him stand upright. If a healing mage’s skill was used, he would recover quickly, but…

‘… The Dorden family is done for.’ That fact made her confused. Verazane glanced at Prince Jeremy. 'What is he thinking now?'

'Furious against Morso? No, he must have already forgotten that.'

'Rather, he must be thinking of a particularly prominent commoner called Baek Yu-Seol.'

Verazane felt sorry for that guy. Despite hearing rumours about this commoner’s talent, it was safe to say that the life of the mage who piqued Jeremy’s interest was over.