Roel had no idea how many creation transcendents there were in the academy. He had been far too busy both in the day and at night that he couldn’t afford to spare any attention to care about such stuff.

  But while he hadn’t been paying any focus to it, someone else was—Lilian.

  As a Third Grade student, she was far too familiar with the circumstances surrounding the creation transcendent in the academy. The first class was still alright, but she wouldn’t be able to avoid facing Roel for future combat practices. For this reason, she felt averse to this class.

  After entering the summoning classroom, she headed straight for the seat that was reserved for her by the members of the Purplerose Faction. Over ten Austine nobles took their seats around her, leaving no room for anyone else to approach her.

  Given so, there was no way for Roel to sit close to her, though it was not as if he would do so even if he could.

  However, what surprised Roel was that he was also swiftly surrounded by people.

  It was no secret to the student populace that he was a creation transcendent—after all, privacy was nonexistent to public figures—so it was inevitable that many of his classmates would make use of this opportunity to get close to him. It was just moments after he settled down at the back row that people started swarming around him like bees drawn to a flower.

  “Pleased to meet you, Roel. I am……”


  “Roel, do you have time later on? What do you think about having lunch together?”


  “You’re intending to recruit members for your Bluerose Faction, right? I can help you with that.”


  “Thanks for your offers, but I have no such intention at the moment.”


  Amidst the swarm of female students, Roel put on a graceful noble smile and politely rejected their goodwill. His impeccable etiquette made it seem like he was dealing with them with ease, but the truth was that he was already starting to tire out.

  It had been years since Roel had to deal with any women approaching him at social settings. In the Theocracy, Nora and Alicia were terrifying alpha wolves in banquets whom no one dared to get in between, and in Rosa, the Sorofya House was an overwhelmingly dominant power that few dared to go against.

  As a result, it had been a long time since he had been swarmed by women like this.

  The overwhelming influx of questions and invitations was far too much for Roel to handle, and for the first time, he started to understand the importance of having faction members.

  There were occasions where a Ringbearer needed supporters, such as in Lilian’s case at the moment. Under the protection of her faction members, she was able to listen to her class in peace and do her own stuff. On the other hand, the loner Roel had no choice but to deal with these pursuers alone.

  What made it more troublesome was that not everyone around him bore goodwill toward him. There were enemies who wanted to fling mud on his reputation, women who wanted to take advantage of him, ambitious individuals who wanted to use him as a stepping stone, and so on. It was hard to discern each and every one of their true natures and deal with them accordingly.

  In such a torturous environment, Roel ended up completely exhausting himself throughout the course of the lesson. It was only upon Nora’s arrival that long-awaited salvation finally came to him.

  Nora’s eyes narrowed as soon as she saw the crowd of women around Roel. The sharp-witted Theocracy nobles caught her drift right away and immediately stepped forward to shield Roel from the crowd.

  “Say, isn’t it about time for your Bluerose Faction to start recruiting? At this rate, you won’t even be able to attend your classes properly.”


  “You’re right. Sorry about that, Nora. You really helped me out this time.”


  Nora shot a dissatisfied glance at those vixens before turning her attention back to Roel. In truth, she wasn’t too bothered about these miscellaneous characters, and the real reason why she came over was to see how Roel was getting along with the other Ringbearer.

  As the students left the summoning classroom, it was soon Lilian and her entourage’s turn to head out. Naturally, the conspicuous presence of Nora and her faction caught Lilian’s notice.

  Under Lilian’s watchful amethyst eyes, Nora grabbed Roel’s hands domineeringly to claim ownership of him, sending out a clear message that he was under her protection. However, all it did was to sustain Lilian’s gaze for a brief moment before she turned away.

  As Nora and Lilian were from different grades and weren’t acquainted with one another, there was no particular need for them to greet one another. As the members of the two factions brushed each other by, Lilian kept her eyes straight ahead, showing no interest in the duo at all. On the other hand, Nora’s gaze trailed her until she finally disappeared by the corner of the corridor.

  “Roel, did that woman attempt to make things hard for you?”


  “No no, of course not,” answered Roel weakly.

  On the contrary, she offered me quite a bit of help, he added in his mind.

  Nora heaved a sigh of relief as a smile emerged on her lips.

  “Good. As promised, you’ll be accompanying me for lunch today.”


  As Nora spoke, her sapphire eyes seemed to glimmer in excitement, causing the male students nearby to direct envious gazes over. However, the one who was faced with the familiar predatory gaze felt his heart lurch instead as warning bells started ringing in his mind.

  Danger, danger!……

  Walking down a fairly crowded street under the noon sun, Lilian Ackermann returned back to her estate under the accompaniment of the Austine nobles.

  The students in the lower grade had to deal with their lunch quickly so that they could rush for their next lesson, but those of the upper grades didn’t have afternoon classes, making afternoon a good time for them to visit popular restaurants without having to deal with the usual crowd.

  As for Lilian, there was no need for her to patronize any of the academy’s high-class restaurants as she had imperial chefs employed in her very estate.

  Of the three Ackermann offspring viewed to be in the line of succession, Lilian was the one of the highest birth. Putting her emperor father aside, her mother had descended from the Sisyphus Ducal House, a noble house whose lineage could be traced back to the Second Epoch. It was part of the ruling class during the mass migration a thousand years ago, and it remained as one of the few prominent noble houses in the newly-established Austine Empire.

  Her birth put her at the peak of the bloodline purists, so it was only normal for her to be granted special privileges. Having the imperial chefs at her beck and call was no more than the tip of the iceberg.

  She would usually have her meal by herself, but there was a rare guest in her exclusively built Nymph Palace today.

  Lilian looked at the uptight Paul across the dining table, unsurprised by his arrival.

  She had been waiting for Paul to knock on her door by himself ever since Emperor Lukas sent word to her to take care of him. There were reasons why she couldn’t take the initiative to approach Paul, one of them being the opposition of her oversensitive elder brothers, and the other being the disdain of the Austine nobles. Under such circumstances, she shouldn’t appear to favor Paul too much.

  Illegitimate offspring were scorned in the circle of nobility, and not even a child of the emperor was above this tradition. The only difference was that no one with any wits dared to do it too openly. It was similar to how Lilian was sent out a strict warning to the student populace during the entrance ceremony, but the disdain that Paul had been receiving had never stopped.

  Lilian thought that Paul would contact her shortly after the semester started, but it turned out that her half-brother had much more guts than she expected. He lasted for ten days before knocking on her door.

  Not bad.

  Lilian had a high evaluation of him for that.

  On the other hand, Paul was dining into the refined cuisine of the imperial chefs so mechanically that he might have very well been munching on candles instead. In comparison, the ordinary meal he had with Roel had been far more pleasant.

  He had been feeling sharp gazes on him ever since he entered the Nymph Palace. These gazes came not just from the Austine nobles but the servants by Lilian’s side too. The estate’s master didn’t appear to harbor any goodwill for him either.

  The lunch proceeded under this dreary atmosphere.

  Lilian was accustomed to silence being the reticent person she was, but Paul couldn’t help but fidget uncomfortably. It was only till they finished the main meal and was waiting for desserts to be served that he finally bucked up his courage to reveal the intent behind his visit.

  “Imperial sister Lilian, to be honest, I’ve come to inform you that I don’t intend to join the Purplerose Faction.”


  “.…… I see.”


  Paul’s confidence seemed to rapidly dwindle as he voiced out his thoughts. He looked at Lilian with a mixture of fear and nervousness, unsure of how she would respond. To his surprise, the latter merely acknowledged his words impassively.

  It affirmed his thoughts that his half-sister couldn’t be bothered with him, but this surprisingly calmed him down instead. Little did he know that Lilian had already guessed his decision.

  The Purplerose Faction was ultimately still a faction of the Austine Empire, so it was inevitable that its members would be hostile to Paul. Of course, no one would dare to do anything to him under Lilian’s watch if he insisted on joining the faction, but that would also mean that his activities would be greatly restricted too. Everyone whom he came into contact with would likely be associated with the Austine Empire, leaving him unable to escape from the cage of prejudice.

  Rather than that, it was much better for him to be a free factionless student. Even though he would receive fewer resources as a result, he would at least be able to live in a far more dignified manner.

  “Our father has sent me a letter to take care of you prior to your enrollment, but that’s only if you wish to accept my help. You have the choice not to join the Purplerose Faction, and I have no intention of forcing you either.

  “The resources that factions receive from the academy is just a small portion of what the Saint Freya Academy has. You’ll be able to receive substantial resources through climbing the rankings or joining a student organization. There is a way out for the factionless too.”


  It was a rare show of concern from Lilian as she pointed a way out for her illegitimate but at least likable younger brother, unlike the two older ones. What surprised her though was that Paul didn’t reveal a look of joy, instead seeming to fall into a dilemma.

  Hm? This reaction……

  Lilian frowned a little at the unexpected response from Paul.

  “Is there anything that you wish to say?” she asked.

  Paul struggled internally for a moment before finally gathering the courage to speak up.

  “Imperial sister Lilian, the truth is…… I’ve already told big brother Roel that I’ll be joining his side.”