NOVEL NEXT 9
The moment the shocking entrance ceremony ended, the upperclassmen and faculty members rushed out of the banquet hall first.
The remaining freshmen stayed behind, gradually gathering in small groups and exchanging introductions. Although the Rustavaran Kingdom was the largest on the continent, its strict hierarchy of status and wealth meant that the higher echelons had their own exclusive social circles.
Naturally, no one recognized the Gold Dragon.
Adrian Heather picked up a chilled drink from one of the tables prepared by the academy for the freshmen’s socializing. The Gold Dragon brought it to his lips the moment he grabbed it, drinking quickly. Having just received the shocking news that he might not even make it through his first year, he was in desperate need of a proper drink.
Damn it. This isn’t alcohol.
He frowned and forced the liquid down his throat.
Even though Basamiel Academy was a prestigious institution catering to the wealthy commoners, nobility, and royal heirs, it was still an academic institution at its core. The drinks prepared for the freshmen, despite looking like champagne, were merely different varieties of fruit spritzers. Still, Adrian figured it was better than nothing. Leaning against the wall at the edge of the room, he silently observed the lively freshmen chattering away.
The 200 or so new students were busy darting around the banquet hall, eagerly searching for familiar faces. Adrian took another sip of his drink. Just then, he noticed someone staring at him.
His gaze lifted—and locked directly onto Mikhail’s crimson eyes.
The prince stood a short distance away, near the wall Adrian was leaning against. Ignoring the crowd of people hovering nearby, hoping to strike up a conversation, Mikhail wore an expression of utter boredom.
Why the hell is he just standing there?
The Gold Dragon shrugged slightly and refocused on finishing his drink.
“Hey. What kind of spritzer is that?”
A light tap on his shoulder drew his attention.
Because Adrian was significantly taller than most of the other freshmen, the student had to stand on tiptoe slightly just to get his attention.
“Hey,” Adrian greeted in return.
He had no intention of initiating conversations, but he never ignored someone who made the effort to greet him first. His warm brown eyes curved slightly as he flashed a charming smile. Then, he glanced at the glass in his hand—he hadn’t been paying attention to the taste, so he had to check the drink visually.
“This is… Hilton Berry Spritzer. Want me to grab you one?”
Since the student who approached him was a girl, the Gold Dragon responded politely.
At his offer, the girl, who had been staring at his handsome face, blushed and gave a small nod.
Adrian chuckled and led her to the table, pouring a generous amount of the spritzer into a clean glass. When she accepted it, she murmured, “…Thanks.”
He simply nodded in acknowledgment.
“Can I ask your name?”
“Of course. I’m Adrian Heather. And—”
The Gold Dragon smiled, tapping his fingers lightly against the glass of spritzer before continuing.
“Consider this a bribe for a good relationship moving forward.”
“What? Haha. Well then, I’ll be in your care too. ‘Heather’… does that mean your family runs that ‘Hedera’ trading company?”
“Oh, you know Hedera? That’s right. But my family isn’t directly in the main branch of the business.”
It would’ve been a headache if they were. Adrian quickly steered the conversation away from his family, shifting the focus elsewhere.
“So, how’s it been so far? I’ve only heard rumors about Basamiel.”
“Oh, really? I have a relative who graduated from here, so I’ve heard plenty. They made such a big deal about that piercing gaze earlier—like it was some terrifying ordeal! But honestly, it was nothing.”
“…Yeah.”
Adrian nodded, maintaining his polite smile. For him, it had been a significant hurdle. But for most—no, for every other freshman—it was just another formality.
“…And…”
The girl hesitated, lowering her voice. Adrian, picking up on it, responded with a simple, “Hm?” as he wiped his hand on a napkin after handling the drink.
“I heard you’re sharing a room with that prince.”
She lifted a hand to her mouth as if revealing a secret.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Isn’t that tough? I mean, sure, status isn’t supposed to matter inside the academy… but real royalty must be hard to deal with.”
Adrian glanced over at Mikhail, who was still surrounded by freshmen trying to make conversation with him. The prince looked thoroughly disinterested, barely offering a nod now and then as if indulging them out of sheer obligation. From here, Adrian could hear bits of their chatter—mentions of His Highness, connections between the royal family and the nobles, all of them eagerly flaunting their ties.
“Well… not yet?”
Adrian cast a sidelong glance in Mikhail’s direction, only to realize that the prince was already looking at him. Their eyes met.
Around him, a group of noble students greeted him with warm smiles, but Mikhail himself looked far from pleased.
“But why?”
“…Last night, everyone heard you two fighting in your room. Someone passing through the garden barely dodged a flowerpot that fell from your window.”
“…”
Adrian’s head snapped up at that. So that’s who screamed back then. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Dragging innocent bystanders into a battle of wills with a brat wasn’t exactly ideal.
“…It wasn’t a big deal. I’ll apologize to them.”
“No, really, no one got hurt!”
The student frantically waved her hands in front of her, startled by Adrian’s words.
“It’s totally fine! I didn’t mean you have to apologize. And besides, it wasn’t even you who threw it!”
Adrian’s expression turned oddly amused at her insistence. Well, she had a point. No matter how bold someone was, they wouldn’t dare demand an apology from a prince over a mere flowerpot.
The real problem was that her voice had been a little too loud—drawing the attention of nearly everyone nearby. And among those gazes, one, in particular, stood out: the prince’s.
Mikhail tilted his head slightly, letting his gleaming silver hair fall over one shoulder. A faint smirk tugged at his lips, as if inviting the conversation to continue. Yet, rather than looking at the student who had actually spoken, his sharp crimson eyes were locked onto Adrian with an almost murderous intensity.
For a brief moment, the Gold Dragon found himself speechless under that gaze.
The once-loud banquet hall fell into an abrupt silence.
Then, the prince’s lips parted.
“Oh? Go on. Who threw what?”
If he had been a typical noble’s son, he would have taken charge of the situation and smoothed things over. But Mikhail wasn’t just a noble—he was a prince. And it was clear he had no intention of diffusing this awkward moment.
He simply stared at Adrian, silently urging him to speak.
Adrian’s expression twisted slightly. Are you seriously making me say it out loud?
He drained the rest of his spritzer in one go, then casually lifted a finger and pointed directly at Mikhail.
“You. My flowerpot.”
Why even ask when you already know? He didn’t understand why the prince insisted on making him state the obvious in front of everyone. But since that’s what he wanted, Adrian answered without hesitation.
A few students in the crowd audibly gasped.
Pointing at royalty? In front of everyone? That was insanity.
Mikhail’s red eyes swept over Adrian from head to toe.
Then—completely defying everyone’s expectations—he let out a sharp, amused scoff.
“Heard that? Just call me like that from now on—same as that guy did.”
Prince this, Your Highness that—I don’t want to hear it in the academy.
With that, Mikhail spun on his heel. He was exhausted from being forced to stand around, shaking hands and making pleasantries. Annoyed by the whole event, he strode to the banquet hall’s massive doors and pushed them open with deliberate force. The rhythmic click of his fine leather shoes against the marble floor faded as he disappeared down the hallway.
“…Sorry… I think I was too loud,” the girl mumbled hesitantly.
Adrian, watching Mikhail vanish beyond the doors, reassured her, “Don’t worry about it.”
That guy just talks like that.
He set his empty glass down on the table without much thought. He hadn’t planned to stay at this gathering for long anyway, so this worked out perfectly. Now, he had the perfect excuse to slip out—pretending to go after the prince.
***
Thanks to Mikhail’s convenient exit, Adrian left the banquet and returned to the dormitory.
The moment he stepped inside, he spotted Mikhail sitting on his bed, already absorbed in a book. The prince didn’t acknowledge him, so Adrian merely shrugged and moved to hang his outer coat on the rack.
Without lifting his eyes from his book, the prince spoke.
“You threw my cup.”
“…Huh?”
“It was probably worth several times more than that damn flowerpot.”
Mikhail gestured lazily toward one of the pots by the window, as if he somehow knew Adrian had painstakingly put the broken one back together.
Adrian listened as he neatly smoothed out his coat and hung it up.
“Yeah, I guess I did.”
“So, let’s call it even.”
Adrian glanced at Mikhail, who was still reading as if the conversation was already settled.
“Fine. But—”
Something was bothering him. And since he hated unnecessary hassle, it was best to clear things up now.
“…Just to set the record straight, I didn’t throw a cup. It was a vase. And you immediately threw my book in return.”
Flip.
Mikhail simply turned a page, giving no sign that he intended to acknowledge Adrian’s correction.
Ah, so that’s how it is? Just drop it and move on?
Adrian stared at the prince for a moment, like one might at a petulant child.