Gibnen clearly wasn’t planning on letting this go lightly.

Riley stared at him intently before finally sighing.

“It’s not really a big deal…”

“If it’s not a big deal, why can’t you tell me?”

“Something happened yesterday. Harassment, I suppose. I found myself in an uncomfortable situation.”

Riley talked about what had happened the previous day. She had followed someone to a storage area for magical tools and almost got tied to a treetop.

Gibnen, who had been listening attentively, set down his fork and knife as she told him about the events, including her request for student council testimony to Benjamin.

“You should have told me right away.”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal until yesterday. But today, the looks people were giving me were so harsh, I thought it could happen again. I wanted to handle it myself. I only asked him to serve as a witness a while ago.”

“And did he agree?”

“No, he said it would be useless.”

“Why?”

“The woman who was angry at me is the youngest daughter of the Narvic Bank owner. Even if I reported it, the student council would cover it up, so I decided to give up.”

Listening to Riley’s story, Gibnen was at a loss for words.

“They would cover it up?”

“Yes. They won’t even take the report, what can I do?”

Gibnen was taken aback by Riley’s calm reaction. Her silence after enduring such an event, her lack of visible anger or sadness, and even her casual way of talking about it were incomprehensible to him.

“Why are you so calm? Aren’t you angry?”

“I am.”

“You don’t look like it.”

“Getting angry won’t help. The deed is done, and if I vent my anger, it will only escalate and come back to haunt me.”

“…”

“If I resist or argue back while being bullied, I will be bullied even more. It’s best to stay put; it’s a midway solution.”

Ah, Gibnen sighed inwardly.

He understood why Riley was so calm.

‘She’s used to it.’

Having grown up in the Eardalin family, looked down upon, she had become accustomed to harassment. She had also learned from her past experiences that any resistance or argument would only make the bullying worse.
Gibnen put down his fork, feeling his appetite plummet. It wasn’t just the loss of appetite; he felt a burning sensation in his temples.

He was angry. He wanted to lash out, yet he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly he was angry about, and that confused him.

Was it at Riley, who had not resisted but had hidden this enormous situation from him?

Or was it at the family of the Earl of Eadalin, who had made harassment routine?

Or perhaps the lowly mob who had tried to hang Riley on a tree?

Or was he furious with himself, who had only just heard about all of this and even needed another person’s help?

“Are you okay?”

Gibnen didn’t respond. Riley took the hint and looked away, her expression softening a bit.

There was no helping it. He needed time to clear his confused thoughts. Otherwise, he might wrongly lash out at Riley.

Despite her not being at fault in any way.

‘What am I doing?’

Unable to control his emotions, Gibnen glanced at his empty plate and stood up.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you.”

What?

Salk sensed a grim energy and involuntarily bowed his head.

‘Why has the person who was humming while leaving…’

Salk hesitated to ask why his mood had darkened. Tactlessness could easily set off sparks when someone was this sensitive.

“Salk.”

“Yes, Master.”

“My wife was almost hung from a tree.”

Gibnen’s words made Salk barely hold back a scream. However, Salk couldn’t help but widen his eyes. What should he say? What was happening?

‘Did the enemies already…?’

Seeing Salk pale, Gibnen added hastily.

“It’s school bullying. Apparently, classmates have been harassing my wife.”

“Ah, I thought some group who opposes you had tried to kidnap or assassinate the Miss.”

“I was only worried about that kind of thing; I never worried about this… that’s why I wasn’t paying attention.”

Despite his boiling head still being chaotic,

The emotions that became clearer over time were his own anger and guilt. Gibnen was irritated because he couldn’t understand why he was feeling this way.

Furthermore, he had never been subjected to such petty harassment in his life.

People always tried to curry favor with him, always mindful of his actions. The only harassment he had faced were threats to his life, not these childish pranks.

“I should have been more attentive.”

“It’s fine, now that you know Miss is being harassed, you can take proper actions.”

Rubbing his forehead, Gibnen quietly commanded.

“Van Clap and Hila Durley, go to them and find out what happened to Riley.”

“Your brother came looking for you a while ago?”

Hila’s words made Riley look at her in surprise.

“Yeah, he was so handsome. What was his name? Salk? Yes, that was it. Such a foreign name. My God, even the name is cool.”

Salk is a woman. Of course, she appears male, but she is indeed a woman. Probably her handsome appearance made them think she’s a man.

What on Earth is Salk doing?

“What did he say?”