Meanwhile.
In the vast tiered classroom, at the center of the back row, a beautiful girl with gradient-colored hair was gazing at the young man on the podium. Even though he wore a mask, the wind would not deceive her.
Iyefut Cape actually suffered a bit from face blindness; aside from those extremely close to her, she basically couldn’t recognize people. But thanks to her special superpower, she didn’t need to.
The wind would guide her.
Stars sparkled in Iyefut Cape’s eyes, twinkling away, though her face maintained its elegant poise. Inside, however, waves were already crashing.
Her inner theater had begun.
A chibi figure representing emotion bounced excitedly. “Oh my god! That familiar scent—it’s him! The Mad Rogue, that weird human, the one whose blood tastes so good! Earl Inset An, we’ve met again. Does he remember me? Should I say hi?”
Just then.
Another chibi figure, representing reason, popped up. It waved its tiny pink fists, relentlessly pounding Iyefut’s head while whining, “Iyefut, you big dummy! You’re the Duke’s Daughter—you embody the glory of the Red Lycoris! How can you approach a human boy like that? And in front of everyone? Pretend you don’t know him, got it?”
“555~ Sorry, I’m not a dummy…” That was Iyefut Cape herself speaking.
Truth be told.
Sang had already noticed Iyefut Cape. There was no helping it; the woman shone like a firefly in the darkness, impossible to ignore.
The instructor said, “Alright, Shuade Buyaobuyaude, find a seat you like and sit down.”
“Keep it low-key—Shuade is fine,” Sang replied deadpan.
“Uh…”
His words left everyone speechless. No one had ever seen such brazen shamelessness.
Then Sang stepped down from the podium and headed straight in one direction. As his path became clear, the expressions on everyone’s faces grew even more colorful.
The young man was inching closer to Iyefut Cape.
“What an insolent fool—where does he think he’s going!?”
“Oh my god! Don’t tell me he wants to…”
Though Iyefut Cape had her eyes closed in meditation, feigning calm composure, the approaching scent made her heart inexplicably race.
The emotional chibi jumped out again. “Here he comes, here he comes… He’s walking right toward me…”
Sang’s thinking was straightforward. Surrounded by a classroom full of hostile blood race members, he needed a safe harbor. Iyefut Cape was an obvious choice. Even if she didn’t recognize him, Sang knew one thing—she was a sweet, naive type who liked humans.
That said.
If one delved deeper into his psyche, the boy perhaps wasn’t as tough as everyone imagined. In this unfamiliar environment filled with aliens, he instinctively sought relative safety.
Seeing Sang sit beside Iyefut, everyone ground their teeth in fury. The seat next to the Princess? As if you deserved it.
In fact, because no one felt worthy of it themselves, the spot had stayed empty—giving this transfer student an opening.
Once Sang settled into his seat, he greeted Iyefut Cape. “Hey, hi there…”
Her heart burst into bloom at his words. “Yay yay yay—he said hi to me!”
But before Iyefut Cape could respond, the rational chibi reappeared, flailing its pink fists and smacking her head. “Iyefut, you dummy, don’t talk to him~!”
“555~ Okay then…”
Iyefut kept her eyes closed in meditation, offering only a cool nod.
Seeing her aloof reaction, Sang got the picture. See? She really doesn’t recognize me as Earl Inset An.
The rest of the day.
Iyefut spent it regretting her failure to respond to the young man’s greeting.
Seriously… Hadn’t she decided to live as “Iyefut,” not as a “Cape”? Why had she chickened out again?
Yeah.
Right.
She’d held back in public due to the honor of the Red Lycoris… In the end, the deep-rooted Cape Family mindset had won out.
…
Knight Academy City was, in essence, a university town. The Knight Academy was naturally a university too, running on a credit system much like those back in his original world. Regular students had a fair bit of freedom; for someone like Sang, who had no intention of graduating, it was total liberation.
Though assigned to Class A, he only attended select theory and etiquette classes.
He skipped practical swordsmanship lessons—not out of arrogance, but because he already knew the Snow Style swordsmanship and had no need for orthodox schools. Without a Channel, he couldn’t learn Supernatural Abilities either.
This only added to the mystique surrounding the transfer student named “Shuade Buyaobuyaude.” Humans, let alone nobles, weren’t supposed to join Class A willy-nilly. The only explanation? He was a once-in-a-century genius.
Some speculated he was so strong he disdained swordsmanship and Supernatural Ability classes altogether!
Yet he’d never shown any power.
On the contrary, he seemed frail and utterly reclusive—a total slacker who napped through class with his head on the desk.
He was a complete disruptor in Class A.
Over time, tales of the young man’s antics spread. In an academy that prized discipline, such behavior was contemptible—not just to the blood race, but even to humans.
Of course, curiosity lingered…
In short—whether to the blood race or humans, Shuade Buyaobuyaude was a mysterious slacker.
Sang didn’t want to be this way. Back at the orphanage, he was the only one who studied on his own. After bombing the college entrance exams, he’d buckled down in this world. But the classroom atmosphere triggered his muscle memory all too easily.
In every class.
Iyefut Cape listened attentively, while Sang snoozed face-down on his desk beside her—a stark contrast.
Don’t let Iyefut’s focus fool you; her peripheral vision kept stealing glances at the young man.
Hmm… It’s been a week since he enrolled. Why hasn’t he come chat me up yet? 555~ Is he shy? Should I make the first move? No no, I’m supposed to be aloof—normal guys can’t approach me.
So… wait a bit longer.
But… She studied him closer. Mask or no, his sleeping face looked oddly harmonious: eyes gently shut, lashes fluttering, a sharp prominent nose, and even a bit of shine at the corner of his mouth… Oh, drool. Never mind. Especially that tempting neck—she just wanted to sink her teeth in.
After class.
With Shika at his side, Sang headed toward the dormitory building. Halfway there, Shika said worriedly, “Hey… I’ve noticed something terrifying. After thinking it over, I feel like I should warn you.”
“Huh? What is it?” Sang, fresh from his nap, replied lazily.
“You should switch seats. I watched from the affiliated classroom—the blood race girl next to you keeps staring at you with this creepy look.”
The affiliated classroom adjoined each class’s main room via a transparent glass wall, reserved for servants and attendants. They could listen in but weren’t official students.
“A creepy look?” Sang echoed, puzzled by Shika’s words.
“Yeah. There’s a saying up north: ‘The eyes that want to kill can’t be hidden.’ My beast instincts say it’s the gaze of a hunter eyeing prey…”
Sang slapped a hand to his forehead. “Come on, no way. Why would Her Highness the Princess want to eat me?”
