Meanwhile.

From afar, Cedric, who was conversing with his academy colleagues, looked at Lamein.

‘What on earth are they talking about?’

Watching her expression fluctuating, he became curious about the topic of their conversation.

“Cedric. What are you doing? Who are you looking for?”

At the call of one of his friends, Cedric quickly diverted his gaze from Lamein.

“No, not looking for anyone.”

His friends’ eyes deeply fell onto Cedric as he gave a casual answer.

“But I thought you weren’t going to come today, and here you are.”

“Exactly. I didn’t expect to see Cedric at the Duke of Haribo’s party.”

“What?”

Their subtle laughterfilled gazes met Cedric’s offput feelings.

“Have your old feelings about Bens started to fade?”

“It’s been years since we graduated from the academy, so surely such a thing can’t still linger.”

“Weren’t there some known issues between you two? It was even known at other kingdom academies.”

Listening to the excited chatter, Cedric slowly narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t bring up unnecessary old stories.”

At Cedric’s stern gaze, his friends closed their mouths, but couldn’t hide their amused expressions.

Duke Bens Haribo.

Cedric first met him at the academy entrance ceremony.

His first impression was:

‘Why is he standing there all by himself?’

In a word, it wasn’t great.

A boy with honeyblond hair and deep red eyes that appeared dark.

He stared into the void with cold, emotionless eyes, barely acknowledging those who greeted him with a slight nod.

A gathering of privileged children from wealthy families.

There were more than a few individuals with skyhigh selfesteem.

He had planned to ignore him, considering him one of them, but.

‘Bens beat Cedric in this history exam.’

‘In the previous horse riding practical test, Bens was first, and this time Cedric is first. It’s exciting to think about who will be first next time.’

Unintentionally, he had many encounters with Bens, and before he knew it, the two found themselves in a competitive dynamic within the academy.

This garnered increasing attention from their classmates and professors.

Then one day.

‘Bens and Cedric chose the exact same topic for their thesis. One of them should change.’

The two of them had chosen the same topic by coincidence.

One of them had to give in.

‘Are we so intertwined that even such trivial matters get mixed up?’

He didn’t like getting involved with Bens, as if it had been someone’s intention.

It wasn’t a crucial paper that could affect his advancement, and he didn’t like having an argument with someone either.

So, Cedric was thinking of giving in modestly when:

“Cedric. You change. I won’t argue.”

The arrogance in Bens’ words started to twist his judgement.

“Bens. Why should I have to change?”

With no apparent reason to back off, he asked with a similar attitude.

Bens, who had been looking at him coldly with his red eyes, held a smirk at the corner of his mouth.

An unpleasant smile that seemed like a scoff.

‘You can’t beat me no matter what you do.’

An arrogant gaze that seemed to imply that the world doesn’t exist beyond him.

“Cedric. Don’t be arrogant just because you’ve won once. There’s no one in the world who can beat me.”

He was usually cold to others, but he seemed especially sharp towards him.

Realizing that Bens clearly held hostility towards him, Cedric’s eyes cooled down.

Bens, watching him, held a nasty smile on his lips again.

‘Well. Thinking about it, it’s not the topic that’s important, it’s who writes it.’

‘…What?’

“Cedric. I’ll change. But remember one thing. You can never beat me.”

Such a brash kid.

Just as he was holding back the urge to shout,

‘Give it your best shot.’

Bens mumbled with a face he wanted to punch and left the place.

His mother, Lady Roger, had told him in the midst of his anger.

‘Duke Haribo’s wife passed away when Bens was young.’

He was a pitiful child.

‘And Bens’ younger sister is said to have contracted the same disease as the Duchess. So understand, Cedric.’

Don’t be like this, be a friend to him.

“Cedric. What are you thinking about?”

“Are you getting mad again thinking about the past? That’s exactly what your face looks like.”

At the sound of their voices, Cedric, who erased all his old memories, put on a composed expression.

He took a sip from the whiskey glass in front of him, as if he didn’t want to respond.

“What friend.”

The smooth lips that the whiskey flowed into slowly twisted.

As his mother said, he did not try to become a friend, but it was obvious that he would refuse even if he wanted to be a friend.

The relationship between Cedric and Bens did not change until they graduated from the academy. Rather, it just became more bleak.

The reason he hadn’t come to this party for several years was because he didn’t want to see Bens’ arrogant face after receiving the duke’s title.

“I don’t particularly want to see that arrogant guy’s face, I need to leave quickly.”

Thinking about when he would leave this place while sipping the whiskey, then it happened.