It could be said that after the whole bullying fiasco in class B, the life of Amos Black had returned to 'normalcy', more or less.
But that doesn't mean he forgot about the humiliation he had suffered.
In his entire life, no one had ever dared to talk back to him, let alone look down on him. But from the day he had entered the Imperial Academy, it was one humiliation after another.
Whether it was the careless reprimand from the asshole maths teacher, or the callous attitude of that bimbo Danielle and her sidekick, or even the alienation from his moronic classmates. It all struck at his ego one after another like hammers, filling his head with impotent fury.
He could barely endure this much, just barely, given he would not want to lower himself to their level… but then they even dared to slander him!
And to make matters worse, his idiotic father believed their slander, and even dared to hit him! HIM!
But it's never too late for a gentleman's revenge.
Amos knew when the odds were against him, and when he had to lay low, even putting the matter of his first love in the back burner.
He knew there will come a time when he could strike back and make up for all these losses tenfold.
And as expected, those morons forgot all about him with just a few days of silence.
Of course, he didn't just sit idle in the meantime. He had to know who was behind all these atrocities, because if he remained unaware, they will just continue to strike from the dark.
And much to his surprise, it turned out to be none other than Danielle White, his most obsessive stalker.
In his eyes, this girl was a complete and utter disgrace to the high society. Someone with zero dignity, zero grace, and zero intelligence.
People around him often praised her for being 'gorgeous', but Amos knew it was only because she was the youngest daughter of the family that owned 'White Deer' corporation.
To him, her appearance wasn't any different from those bar girls. He could gather dozens of them with a single word. And she probably couldn't even dance, nor would she have any idea on how to service a man.
The only thing good about her was that she at least picked a decent target to obsess over, but even that didn't make him happy.
He couldn't believe how they had been close to each other in their childhood. Because whenever he thought of her, all he could feel now was disgust.
It was as if a greater power had taken pity on him, and allowed him to open his eyes to see for himself how disgusting her existence was.
"Well, I suppose she calls herself 'Emilia' now. Wonder what that bitch is planning."
Of course, the person who supposedly spread the rumors wasn't 'Emilia', but another girl called Koko. But he would have to be as dumb as that stalker bitch to believe that.
Anyone could see how that little tail wagged around the spoiled 'princess'. It was utterly disgusting how money made these people completely lose their dignity.
This is why upstarts like that shouldn't be allowed in their circle just because they made some cash.
After figuring out it was 'Emilia' making things hard for him, the hero decided that even that bitch had to be taught a lesson, a real one that she could never 'forget'.
Although he was sure she would bend over backwards as long as he graced her with a few words, he wouldn't demean himself so. No, instead, he came up with a plan that would kill two birds with one stone.
If things worked out as he thought, not only would that bitch no longer have the courage to come after him, but would also probably stop showing up in front of him altogether.
As for if the plan failed, well, that had nothing to do with him. Just a bunch of thugs being unruly and a retarded rich girl being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"I heard you were snooping around with some unsavory types?"
Amos almost stumbled over his own feet as his father's words suddenly echoed in the supposed to be empty hall.
It was only now that he realized his father was reclining on the sofa without even turning the lights on! Granted it was day time, but the hall was still a bit dark with all the windows closed.
And he's really making it a habit to harass him right as he came back home!
Fortunately, he was much better prepared this time. Despite being slightly unsettled, his tone remained completely calm as he nodded towards his father.
"Hello, Dad… I'm tired from school, so can we put off the whole 'clarifying baseless rumors you have heard from who knows where' thing till dinner?"
The black haired man grinned, although there was no warmth on his face.
"Hoh, my son has really grown up. He thinks I don't know that he leaves school every day right after the first two classes… Or what he's doing for those three hours before he comes back pretending he's back straight from school?"
The silver haired boy could feel cold sweat cover his back, but he somehow managed to not show any panic.
Since his father believed the baseless and false rumors on the first day, it meant that whatever information source he had wasn't quite 'thorough'.
And as long as that was the case… would his father blindly trust something he couldn't be sure of?
"What are you talking about, dad? I may not be in class, but that doesn't mean I left the school. I can't bear being surrounded by those morons for any longer than necessary, so I find someplace quiet to study by myself."
"Is that so…?"
His father leaned back with his eyes closed, and just as the hero breathed a sigh of relief thinking that the matter was dealt with, the black haired man started 'talking to himself'.
"It would be such a shame if my son were to disappoint me again… What a scandal it would be if I had to adopt a child at this age, and train him from scratch as my new heir? How tiring."
Amos could feel the blood in his veins turning cold.
'This bastard… he dares to say he'll let some adopted rat take over the company? It's not even his to begin with! This bastard! Mom left it to me! ME!'
But he could only pretend not to hear anything and continue climbing up the stairs.
'If he thinks he's invincible just because I'm related to him by blood… he's got another thing coming!'
----------
Emilia felt embarrassed when faced with the startled stares from the heroine and her strange companion, especially after their exaggerated reactions to her presence.
'Only Dixy and Koko know how long I've been standing here, right? Okay, it's not too shameful yet!'
"Hohoho… My villainess is embarrassed! Look at this blushing face, oh, are her eyes slightly wet?! How humiliating!"
Emilia was already determined to ignore Cynthia at this point, since the entire situation was her fault to begin with, so her lips didn't even twitch as she greeted the heroine with a gentle smile.
"Hello, Crystal."
The heroine's face completely red, and the young girl next to her kept staring at her in fixation with eyes shining as if looking at a deity.
And to make matters worse, there were a few more students behind the two of them, all of them giving her a strange look.
It looks like they were just about to leave, all together for some absurd reason? She certainly hoped that the reason wasn't to embarrass her further!
Even Emilia found it hard to maintain her expression. Thankfully, the heroine didn't ignore her greeting, and gave her a slightly shy nod.
"H-Hi…"
The 'middle schooler' next to the heroine couldn't contain herself anymore either.
"Princess! Can I touch your hand?!"
Dixy found it hard to contain her laughter at the confused swirls in Emilia's eyes, but her friend was also quite pitiful. It looked like this was her first time encountering a genuine 'fangirl'.
The black haired girl's smile stiffened when she heard Emilia's words, however.
"Uh, okay?"
The pint sized girl with absurdly long golden hair seemingly teleported in front of Emilia, and knelt down in front of her piously as she held her hand with both of her own.
It was as if a devout priest had finally been granted a favor by the deity they had spent their entire life worshipping.
There were bursts of laughter from the students behind the heroine, who was also shaking her head with a smile.
"Penny is really too much."
"I guess it makes sense, given that she is the leader of the 'Royal Knights', haha."
"True, true. Maybe I would join if I didn't already have my schedule packed."
"Haha."
Emilia tilted her head in confusion, wondering when she had established a 'Royal Knight' division in the school, and appointed such a mascot looking thing as the leader?
Even Koko looked confused.
Meanwhile, Dixy's brain circuit was running in a completely different direction.
"'Royal Knights'? Wouldn't that be better than normal 'Knights'? And she's their leader? Doesn't that place her way above me?!"