Chapter 88
“Now I believe my words and actions make sense to everyone here. As you can see, I am a royal guest currently residing in the capital by Her Majesty’s special invitation. Therefore, insulting me is the same as insulting the one who summoned me to the royal capital—Her Majesty herself.”
“……”
Lloyd’s clear voice echoed throughout the dining hall.
No one dared respond to him.
No one even attempted to challenge his words.
In that heavy silence, Lloyd continued.
“I’ve also heard the beautiful story of how this academy operates under the grace and sponsorship of Her Majesty. In other words, every student here is under Her Majesty’s patronage. Yet I never imagined that one of Her Majesty’s sponsored students would dare insult a royal guest and treat the authority of the royal family as something trivial.”
The corner of Lloyd’s mouth curled upward.
He looked directly at the supervisor, as if daring him to try and respond.
The supervisor shrank his neck as he cautiously countered.
“But, hmm… is that not merely your one-sided claim?”
“One-sided claim?”
“Is there any objective proof that our student, Diego Lacona, insulted you?”
“Proof, huh. Ha.”
Lloyd let out a short laugh.
With a shrug, he asked back,
“Of course there’s more than enough. In fact, I believe you, Supervisor, know the proof better than anyone here.”
“Me? What do you mean…”
“This boy right here—Julian Frontera.”
Thunk.
Lloyd reached out his hand.
And placed it on Julian’s small shoulder.
Julian flinched slightly at the touch.
But Lloyd didn’t care.
He calmly slung his arm over Julian’s shoulder and looked back at the supervisor.
“In case you weren’t aware, let me clarify—this boy is my younger brother.”
Julian flinched again.
The supervisor’s eyes wavered.
Lloyd continued speaking.
“Insulting and oppressing my brother right before my eyes is the same as insulting me. And insulting me means tarnishing the honor of a royal guest, which in turn is equivalent to disregarding the authority of the royal family, wouldn’t you agree?”
“How can you say that…”
“Are you trying to deny my words?”
“……”
The supervisor clamped his mouth shut again.
Lloyd’s sharp words didn’t let up.
“And you, Supervisor. As well as the other students behind you—you’re not going to claim ignorance about the relationship between this Diego boy and my brother, are you?”
“……”
Once again, silence.
No one could respond.
Naturally so.
Everyone knew Julian was bullied by Diego on a daily basis.
Not just Diego.
Other high-ranking nobles were the same.
They all ignored, discriminated against, and mocked Julian.
Among the people standing behind the supervisor right now, there were plenty who had bullied Julian too. Some even made bets on who could torment him more creatively and laughed about it.
There was only one reason.
Because Julian came from a rural baron family. And yet he had the audacity to stand out with good academic performance and received occasional praise from the professors.
In short, the main reason for the bullying was that he didn’t “know his place.”
Julian had become a public punching bag for discrimination and contempt here at the academy.
‘And that’s exactly why I’m doing this, kid.’
Lloyd clenched his arm tighter.
He pressed down with strength to stop Julian from brushing his arm away.
He could feel Julian glaring at him.
As if to say, “Why are you making such a big deal?”
“What’s the point of all this?”
“Are you just dumping the aftermath on me?”
Julian’s protesting gaze stabbed at the side of Lloyd’s face.
But Lloyd ignored it.
He was certain that simply enduring unjust discrimination and violence wasn’t the right way to deal with school bullying.
‘Just enduring it solves nothing.’
It was real.
This wasn’t just idealistic talk.
It was something he had lived through and learned firsthand.
It was the lesson he got from the “fluorescent light incident.”
‘Back then, I was scared right after it happened. But as time passed, I realized—things took a totally unexpected turn.’
Right after beating the bully to a pulp with the lightbulb and chair, naturally, all hell broke loose at school.
His parents were called in. The school convened a disciplinary committee.
At first, things were going badly for him.
And understandably so.
The bully’s only offenses were making him run errands and slapping him a few times.
But Lloyd?
He’d sent the guy to the hospital.
So he was suspended.
It seemed like that was how it would end.
But it wasn’t.
‘Turned out that bully had done way worse.’
About three days after the incident, a classmate’s parent called Lloyd’s dad.
They said their son had also been bullied by that student. But after seeing what Lloyd had done, the boy had finally opened up about it to his parents.
That was the beginning.
More reports started coming in.
The bully’s entire history of abuse was exposed.
From stealing backpacks, clothes, hats, shoes—
To more serious stuff: game consoles, cash, bicycles, phones, laptops.
Some took 200,000 won, some took 2 to 3 million.
After gathering all the reports, the total amount of extortion and exploitation turned out to be shockingly massive.
That bully got hit with a full-on counterattack.
The parents banded together and filed charges. The case was taken to juvenile court.
The victims banded together and showed the meaning of “life is real, you bastard.”
‘That’s why. When dealing with this kind of thing, you can’t stay quiet. If you’re going to strike back, then go all in.’
Don’t just rely on the school.
You have to bring the law, the police, and the media to your side.
That meant the first step was to blow the situation out of proportion.
The bigger the scene, the more the victim gained the upper hand.
That’s why Lloyd had moved after careful calculation.
He crushed Diego.
Now it was time to pressure the academy.
“So then, Supervisor, would you care to make a statement? Are you still thinking of holding me accountable for my actions?”
“……”
Lloyd tilted his head slightly.
The supervisor felt his mind begin to whirl.
‘This is a problem.’
His brow furrowed.
Of course, the supervisor had known that Julian was being pushed around by other students.
But he had turned a blind eye. Chosen not to care.
And he didn’t feel particularly sorry about it either.
He considered it a natural tradition.
‘He’s just some baron’s son from the countryside.’
Naturally, he would be ignored by the sons of high-ranking capital nobles. Sometimes scorned, even beaten.
But he didn’t think that was wrong. This kind of thing had happened for decades at the academy. It was the norm. (T/N: FUCK YOU! Sorry, i just really hate bullies.)
He had never once thought to correct it.
He didn’t want to meddle in those affairs.
Making enemies out of high-ranking noble families was a loss. Especially when those noble sons were backed by powerful houses.
So he had simply looked the other way.
And nothing ever came of it.
But now, things were different.
If the bullied student’s brother was a royal guest, the story changed entirely.
“Hold you accountable? Certainly not.”
The supervisor smiled with only his mouth.
He quickly changed his stance according to his revised mental calculations.
“As you know, I’m the one in charge of managing this dormitory. When unpleasant disturbances arise within it, confirming the truth of the matter falls under my duties.”
“And what exactly are you trying to say?”
“I’m merely suggesting that if you find yourself involved in such disputes again, perhaps you could leave the matter to me rather than handling it personally.”
“Aha. Offering mediation services as a conflict resolution option, are you?”
“I’m glad you understand my intent.”
He was a supervisor who had spent years surviving in a dormitory full of noble brats.
As Lloyd watched him smile, he thought,
‘Snake-like bastard.’
The man had subtly abandoned Diego.
Now he was trying to jump on Lloyd’s side.
Lloyd could even sense that the supervisor was hoping to use this opportunity to forge a connection with him.
He let out a quiet scoff.
In the meantime, the supervisor offered a polite bow and backed away.
The gathered crowd of students also dispersed.
Even then, Lloyd made sure to memorize every single face that had watched.
‘I’ll bury every last one of you. No exceptions.’
He swore silently.
He had come this far—there was no turning back.
If he stopped halfway, he and his family’s dignity would be damaged. Worse, if he ended up looking like a pushover, it would bring more trouble down the line.
‘Might as well wrap things up cleanly while I’m at it.’
With that dark thought, Lloyd quietly tucked away his plan to crush them all as a set.
Then he turned to Julian.
“I lost my appetite. Let’s go.”
“What?”
Julian was still glaring at him.
Still struggling to shrug off the arm Lloyd had slung over his shoulder.
One of his eyebrows rose.
“Go where?”
“You’ll see.”
Still with his arm over Julian’s shoulders, he started walking.
Practically dragging him along, they left the dining hall.
The corridor buzzed with whispers and murmurs.
He ignored all of it.
He ignored Julian squirming in protest.
Without hesitation, he marched down the hallway toward the opposite end of the lobby.
There was the dormitory’s administrative office he had seen earlier.
It looked like a student affairs or campus administration office.
Thinking that, he yanked the door open.
“I’m here on business.”
He had already committed. No use stopping now.
The staff inside looked at him with wide eyes. None of them could form a proper question in time.
To them, Lloyd said,
“I want to file for a leave of absence. Name: Julian Frontera. Duration: one year.”
At that bombshell, Julian’s eyes went wide.
♣
“What the hell are you doing? Are you out of your mind?”
Outside the academy’s main gate in the dead of winter.
Julian’s voice rose in frustration.
It was only natural.
This was unbelievable.
He was so stunned, he thought he might pass out.
“Who do you think you are, storming into the dorm and making a mess? Huh? Who gave you the right to just cancel my studies and put me on a leave of absence like that?”
He recalled what had just happened.
Lloyd barging into the administrative office.
Filing his leave of absence without warning.
There hadn’t even been time to stop him.
And just like that, he was forced to take a full year off from the academy.
‘This is insane!’
He was furious.
He couldn’t understand Lloyd’s actions.
It felt reckless. Irresponsible to the extreme.
‘And completely thoughtless!’
He still hadn’t recovered from the shock of Lloyd suddenly beating up Diego.
Of course, a part of him had felt satisfaction.
Diego had been tormenting him relentlessly for a long time.
Seeing that guy get wrecked by someone had been incredibly cathartic.
When Lloyd pulled out that royal guest pendant, it had been exhilarating.
‘But so what? What’s the point of a moment of satisfaction?’
It didn’t mean anything.
It had no value.
That fleeting rush was gone in an instant.
And after?
Once Lloyd left?
Once Julian was left behind?
He would have to deal with the aftermath of everything Lloyd had done—on his own. He would be punished. Bullied even more brutally than before.
Even if Lloyd showed the royal guest token?
Nothing would really change.
‘All they have to do is bully me without getting caught.’
For those other noble kids, there were a hundred ways to torment someone without leaving a trace.
Just thinking about it made Julian dizzy.
He had no confidence that he could endure it.
And now, Lloyd had made things worse by withdrawing him from the academy on his own whim!
“Say it. What—are you telling me to run away? Huh? You caused all this, and now what? You don’t want to take responsibility so you’re just yanking me out of the academy? Is that it?”
That, he couldn’t accept.
Even if it was painful, he wanted to stay in the academy.
No matter how hard it was, no matter how angry he felt, he wanted to keep studying.
Because he believed that was the only way he could be of any help to his family.
‘If I stop studying, our family will definitely fall apart. That brainless bastard will ruin everything.’
He would spend his life cleaning up after him.
So he had to gain knowledge, build connections.
Julian had already steeled himself for that path.
But then—an unexpected forced leave?
He was furious.
It felt like Lloyd was trampling all over the resolve he’d worked so hard to build.
Maybe that was why—
A bitter smile crept across Lloyd’s lips.
“Hah. You really think I’m doing all this without a plan?”
“…What?”
Of course he did.
Julian wanted to say exactly that.
But Lloyd’s next words hit his ears first.
“First, you need to clear up some misunderstandings. Then we’re gonna train you hard.”
“What the… misunderstanding? Train?”
“Yeah.”
“What exactly am I misunderstanding?”
“First, that I act without thinking. Second, that once you’ve trained properly, you’ll be more than capable of handling guys like that Diego or whoever.”
“……”
Julian held back the retort that was about to leave his lips.
Lloyd had turned toward him as he spoke.
His eyes were serious.
There was no hint of teasing, no deception, no smirk.
It caught Julian off guard.
He had never seen that look from his brother before.
Maybe that’s why, against his better judgment, he started to feel convinced.
Or maybe… it was the idea that he could stand up to Diego that drew him in.
“Train…? What kind of training? Where? Swordsmanship or something?”
Julian asked, stammering a little without realizing.
Lloyd’s lips curled into a faint, unreadable smile.
Then, he revealed the secret plan to harden his weak little brother’s body and soul.
“What kind of training? A construction site. With a shovel.”
And just like that, the delicate, wide-eyed pretty boy Julian Frontera suddenly found himself enlisted as a laborer in a suspension bridge construction project he never asked for.
