I tried to open the classroom door.

“Rather than that, I came to talk about that…no, wait!”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“You came to talk about that, right? And Martin.”

“Why.”

He made a tired expression.

“Burger is a prince. Isn’t that true? That’s not just a baseless rumor.”

⭐⭐⭐

As I closed the door and looked at Martin’s dumbfounded expression, he must have thought I spread baseless rumors, but that wasn’t the case. Burger was indeed a prince of the Hessburger Kingdom.

Although he was the 13th son, and his royal father wasn’t interested in Burger, and Burger had the freedom to live as he pleased.

‘Burger probably left this empire because of the constant harassment, maybe feeling disillusioned. ‘

The king of the Hessburger family didn’t care how Burger lived.

‘Children probably won’t harass Burger for fear of diplomatic problems, but in reality, the king might not even know if Burger is alive or dead.’

This was information I directly read from “The Life of Melodia.”

With that thought, I lightly waved my hand.

Unintentionally, Burger was already standing in front of the door.

It wasn’t his usual warm expression talking about hamburgers and cheeseburgers but a cold, indifferent gaze. I stared at Burger and handed him a Burger-shaped keychain from my pocket.

“You wanted this. Now, let’s talk.”

“…If you were going to pass it off like this…”

“Hessburger Prince.”

Burger, who was absentmindedly fiddling with the Burger-shaped keychain, suddenly looked at me. I smiled warmly and said.

“Do you already know that I spread the rumors?”

Burger turned his head well.

Moreover…

“You told me you were going to spread the rumors. That letter, Acid gave it to me.”

Although I was spreading the rumors behind Burger’s back, I naturally expected Burger’s consent.

If Burger showed even a little dislike, I would have dropped the ‘rumor-spreading operation.’

If the Burger who received the letter yesterday had said that revealing his identity was uncomfortable, or if he had shown any signs of that, I might have just let it go.

However…

“You were looking forward to it too.”

I said to Burger. Burger jerked his body as if my words were correct. Holding back a smile, I continued.

“Your face is already blushing. You expected me to know that I spread the rumors, didn’t you?”

Burger looked at me with eyes that seemed to say, ‘How did you know?’
In the original work, “The Life of Melodia,” there was a backstory like that.

The position of the 13th prince was quite ambiguous. Although born into a noble bloodline, it was difficult for him to receive proper treatment in the kingdom. This was especially true in situations like Burger’s, where the mother had passed away.

That’s why Burger ended up at the Imperial Academy of the Empire.

In other words, Burger’s enrollment was a kind of escape to avoid being sacrificed in the power struggle among the nobility.

“…Your father won’t be pleased if he finds out about the rumors. So, we kept it quiet.”

I said sharply to Burger.

“Wouldn’t your father be saddened if he knew you were subjected to violence?”

In response to my words, Burger questioned with a choked expression.

“What do you know about my family? My father has no interest in me. He probably doesn’t even know if I’m alive or dead.”

Watching Burger silently, I spoke up.

“Well, does it not matter then? If he doesn’t know anyway…”

Burger shot me a cold gaze at those words.

I realized it in an instant. I might have hurt Burger’s feelings. I lightly conceded.

“Sorry, Burger. It might have felt like I was giving you a lecture. I’m truly sorry for speaking carelessly about your family situation.”

“…You know about it?”

I stared at Burger intently.

Putting aside his Burger obsession and math fixation, he seemed more perceptive than I thought.

“…Yeah, Si-en Mirmode. I thought that if I endured like this, their curiosity about me would fade away. But…”

Staring at him, I opened my mouth again.

“Burger, you’re naive. Do you think Si-en Mirmode would leave you alone? Do you think she’d just say, ‘Oh, it’s not fun anymore,’ if you stay quiet?”

Only then did Burger express his inner thoughts with a sigh.

“…Yeah, that’s why I left you alone. You did what I wanted, so I didn’t want to go around getting beaten up by others. After all, I’m a prince in name.”

In “The Life of Melodia,” the nobles who tormented and harassed Burger continued to thrive even after that.

So, there probably wouldn’t be a big diplomatic issue.

“But I had that thought.”

“…What thought?”

“Right now, they seem to be leaving me alone, possibly due to concerns about diplomatic issues between the Empire and the Kingdom. Anyway, my father has no interest in me.”

“…”

“I’m just a prince with a hollow title. It doesn’t feel good when that fact is revealed… Of course, it’s better than getting beaten up.”

Burger sighed and swept his hair back. The current Burger didn’t seem like the obsessed nerd with math but genuinely looked like a prince.

But Burger’s words were wrong.

Watching Burger like that, I nodded with a grin.

“No, Burger!”

“…What?”

I blinked my eyes and shook my head.

With an innocent attitude as if he didn’t understand why Burger was feeling down.

“From now on, you’re the prince sponsored by Mirmode. Why be just a prince with a hollow title?”