The next morning, the atmosphere inside the academy classroom was as if everyone had gone crazy.
It was because Burger didn’t come to school.
Honestly, until now, Burger’s presence was almost nonexistent. He was simply a kid who occasionally suffered violence behind the academy teachers, a pitiable kid, a kid with a peculiar personality… That was the extent of his recognition.
So, when Burger didn’t show up at school, no one cared enough to pay attention.
It should have been clear…
“Burger was supposed to be an amazing kid, right?”
“Is he a prince from a foreign country?”
“Then is he hiding his identity? I thought he was a fallen noble!”
One day, all this gossip spread into the academy, ruining its entire atmosphere.
“Here, he’s ‘Raymond Hessburger.’ It’s a family that even His Majesty the Emperor can’t treat lightly!”
“Wow, it says the ‘Hessburger’ family is the richest on the continent. They have an incredible fortune!”
Just because they were kids didn’t mean they were insensitive to social hierarchy.
On the contrary, because they were pure children, they could react sensitively to the hierarchy struggle.
“No wonder Martin and Si-en Mirmode approached Burger. It was strange. What kind of name is Burger anyway? It sounds like a pseudonym!”
Suddenly, their eyes focused on Leana. Leana was looking at the book expressionlessly, but her fingertips were trembling strangely.
It seemed like she noticed everyone looking at her.
When Leana turned the pages with her trembling hand, a kid spoke loudly.
“So, what about Leana now?”
Leana was also the daughter of a quite reputable viscount.
Moreover, what happened within the academy could be ignored.
Although Burger was undoubtedly intelligent, because he was a poor fallen noble, using some violence might be tolerated from Leana’s perspective.
That was the aristocratic society.
“Originally, among the fallen nobles…”
But direct violence was always a problem.
Moreover, what if the child who suffered turned out to be at the top of the pyramid?
The children who were staring at Leana began to whisper among themselves.
“If Burger is really a foreign prince, isn’t it diplomatically problematic?”
Despite all the chatter, Martin, who had been listening silently, closed his book nervously.
Raymond Hessburger, Burger, Si-en Mirmode – amid the chaotic rumors, he alone said nothing.
At that moment, someone opened the door and entered.
‘Si-en Mirmode, she finally came.’
He glanced at the clock. It was a minute before the teacher’s inspection.
‘I wanted to have a conversation.’
Martin, with his lips tightly pressed, glared at Si-en. She was smiling.
Ignoring the kids gossiping around me, even when the teacher came in with a pale face, she just tapped her toes, paying no attention.
As if she expected all this, she didn’t seem interested in the rumors.
Watching her, my suspicions about Si-en deepened from the start.
‘She seemed quite interested in Burger… If she is not interested in these rumors and acts as if she already knows everything, there’s only one answer.’
Si-en Mirmode intentionally spread these rumors.
Growing more suspicious, Martin couldn’t contain his curiosity.
⭐⭐⭐
“Si-en Mirmode.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you spread the rumors?”
After the boring class ended during break time, Martin asked Si-en directly in an empty classroom at the end of the corridor, then locked the door. Although it was phrased as a question, it was a statement filled with conviction that no one could perceive it as a question.
When Martin’s sharp gaze turned toward Si-en, she just shrugged her shoulders.
“What rumor?”
“The rumor about Burger.”
Si-en pretended to be uninterested, as if she knew it was going to be that kind of story, and raised her eyebrows with a disinterested expression.
“Why is that?”
“I know about Burger. His family isn’t that remarkable.”
“Huh?”
“He probably has almost no connection with the Hessburger family. Even if there is any connection, he would be just a kid from a collateral branch.”
Martin thought Si-en would provide information as soon as she heard his deduction. It meant that at least the person who spread the rumors would confess or try to justify it.
However, Si-en was a child far from his expectations.
“You seem quite interested in Burger?”
Martin asked with a puzzled expression.
“……What?”
“No, I heard yesterday that people saw Martin and Burger hanging out on the way home. They said you even gave a dagger to Burger.”
Martin’s expression froze.
“Martin, do you actually like Burger?”
“What? I, I like gir…girls.”
“Who said that?”
Si-en laughed as she tilted her head towards him.
“No, not that.”
“Then what…”
“Because you’re interested in Burger, because Burger keeps catching your eye, you felt like you were allowing school violence, so you hung around him all the time?”
“……”
Martin covered his reddened face with his hands.
Even in the midst of that, I chuckled softly, seeing his eyes rolling to the side.
“Martin.”
“…What.”
“Thanks to you, Burger got hurt less. Shouldn’t you be thankful?”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
