After Duke Cassius suddenly appeared in the director's office, everyone fell silent at once. Even I froze, unable to take my eyes off him.

A man of attractive appearance, with pale skin and black hair, was very similar to his daughter. His blood-red eyes also looked disdainfully, as if the whole world around him was just garbage. In general, I immediately understood where Rachel inherited her incredible appearance from.

But more than a beautiful face, I was struck by something completely different. Considering that Duke Cassius already had an almost adult daughter, he must be at least forty years old. However… He didn't look that age at all! Wearing a school uniform, this man would pass for an academy student.

It wasn't the first time I wondered if the members of the Cassius family were ordinary people. After all, they really had just monstrous genetics.

Duke Cassius was the last person I expected to meet at today's meeting. However, since he was already here, it was too late to think about anything.

The terrifying aura around him was so powerful that everyone present involuntarily shrank into their chairs.

— I repeat, on what basis was this decision made? Duke Cassius asked coldly.

Under his steely gaze, the director turned paler than chalk. Now he looked more like a guilty schoolboy than the head of the most prestigious academy in the country.

Apparently, the Duke's appearance was a complete shock to him. After all, before that, he had never appeared at the academy in person, and solved all issues through his secretary.

—Y-Your Grace...! — the director said in a frightened voice, — I didn't expect that you would be present today…

I looked at Rachel out of the corner of my eye, but to my great surprise, I didn't notice any visible reaction from her. When her father arrived, she didn't even turn around to him, continuing to stand with the same expression on her face. Only the girl's fists clenched, which indicated an increase in tension on her part.

Philip was furious, but did not utter a sound when the duke began to interrogate the director.

— How could I stay away when my daughter was treated so unfairly? — The Duke said, flashing his scarlet irises, — In your opinion, you can throw accusations at the Cassius family so easily?

— N-no, what are you...! — the director immediately tried to justify himself, but he did not listen to him.

He hit the floor with his cane, causing everyone around to shudder.

— Mr. Parkins, have you probably forgotten who made you the director of this academy? — the duke continued to advance, — Are you just ready to forget about my help?

The man turned even more white.

"Your Grace, that's not what I meant! — He muttered in fright, - B-but the fact is that one of our students was injured, and His Highness personally saw how your daughter…

— That's enough! The Duke snapped, "I don't want to listen to this nonsense. Are you going to expel Rachel because of the words of a brat who didn't even provide evidence?

After Duke Cassius called the Crown Prince of the empire a "brat", the already low degree in the office dropped even more. The teachers present looked around in fright, as the situation was increasingly gaining critical momentum.

Philip didn't even move when the man called him that. There was mute indignation in his gaze.

The director shut up, not knowing what to say next.

Suddenly, he was faced with a choice of two sides of the barricades. On the one hand, the imperial family, and on the other, the most powerful noble family of the empire. Anyway, in any case, the director was waiting for bad consequences.

But in any case, he really couldn't forget about Duke Cassius' favor. It was he who voted for his candidacy when the next director of the academy was being elected. Without his support, the emperor would never have appointed him to this position. In return, Mr. Parkins was supposed to become the Duke's man, and let Rachel study at the academy.

If he broke the agreement now, the punishment for it was even scary to imagine. It will not be difficult for Duke Cassius to destroy not only his career, but also his life at one moment. Realizing this, he could not take such a risk.

Therefore, despite the risk of losing the favor of the imperial family, the director still said:

"I think you're right, Your Grace…

Duke Cassius chuckled.

— So you admit that all these are false accusations?

—I-I think that His Highness, in fact, could have misunderstood everything..." the director uttered these words, despite the Crown Prince, who was withering him with a look.

— It's good that you have finally come to a sober conclusion, — the Duke calmly concluded, — Can I consider this senseless argument over?

The director had to nod.

I was finally able to exhale with relief. The thought that Rachel's exclusion was left behind could not but rejoice.

Meanwhile, the girl herself did not show much enthusiasm. Immediately after the meeting ended, she left first, without even waiting for her father. He followed her, after making sure that the director really understood everything.

I decided not to catch up with them right away. After all, it was a family conversation, and I shouldn't have interfered. I'll talk to Rachel later, when everything is settled.

I also left the principal's office, intending to take a little walk before I went to look for Rachel. Philip rushed after me, and wanted to take my hand.

— Leriana, this girl really almost killed a man! — He blurted out, - Do you believe me?!

I looked at him with a furious look. Without saying anything, I gave him a ringing slap in the face.

At that moment, I even forgot that manhandling the prince was considered a crime, and I shouldn't have done it. Now, Philip has become for me just an ordinary jerk who so meanly framed an innocent person.

Okay, it was hard to call Rachel "innocent", but in this particular case, she really didn't do anything. That day I managed to get her to listen to reason, but because of the Crown Prince's words, everything could go in one place.

— Leriana, what are you...! — Philip was taken aback after my palm left a red mark on his cheek, but I wasn't sorry at all.

Until this moment, I never imagined that I could actually hit him. Despite the fact that Philip was the person I should have been wary of the most, I treated him well.

From the very first meeting, Philippe Blanche seemed to me a very pleasant person whose life could have gone well if he had not contacted me. Contrary to the original plot, Philip could rule for the rest of his life, find himself a more successful wife, and maintain excellent relations with his brother. So at what point did everything go wrong...?

Despite the fact that I was very angry, I decided not to go on insults.

"Your Highness," I breathed, "I really hope that you can become a worthy king. Deep down, I know you're not a bad person.

- what?

— I want this to be the first and last time I was disappointed in you.

Having said these words, I did not wait for an answer. After bowing to the Crown Prince, I turned around and left.

Despite this, I could feel his surprised gaze on the back of my head.

Philippe Blanche… I really didn't want him to become my enemy.

***

After my failed conversation with the Crown Prince, I wandered around the corridor for some time until I accidentally bumped into Rachel.

She and Duke Cassius were arguing about something, and it wasn't hard to guess from the girl's face that she was clearly annoyed. Since they weren't paying attention to anyone around, I awkwardly approached to hear their conversation.

"...Why didn't you send me an email?" The duke asked, "If the symptoms reappeared, you should have come home. How were you going to continue your treatment here?

Rachel waved him off irritably.

— Don't pretend that you care about my health. I can handle everything myself.

Duke Cassius frowned, examining her complexion.

— This time you really look better, — he concluded, — It's even amazing that without medication, you can feel like this. Did you really find another antidote?

Rachel said nothing, not going to answer this question.

Watching the scene of their conversation, I was involuntarily amazed. Duke Cassius was Rachel's father, but she didn't think to treat him with respect. In noble families, respect for elders was always welcomed, but the girl wanted to spit on it. There was no joy in her expression that her father had come to visit her.

The Duke sighed, but he knew better than anyone that calling Rachel to account in such a situation was completely pointless.

"In any case, you should go home for a while," he continued, "you need to take medications so that the symptoms completely go away. No one in the empire should know that you are ill.

The girl's usual excuse of "I'm fine" in the case of the duke obviously wouldn't have worked, so she had to put up with it.

Instead , Rachel stated:

— This girl is coming with us.

Rachel's words no longer sounded like a request, but like an indisputable fact. Duke Cassius raised his eyebrows in surprise.

— Who are you talking about...?

Rachel looked at me like she knew I was here from the start. I awkwardly approached them, intending to introduce myself first.

Duke Cassius, meanwhile, noticed me for the first time, and stared extremely puzzled.

— H-hello, my name is…

But Rachel decided to introduce me herself. Without any shadow of hesitation, she directly told her father:

— This is my girlfriend.