"Who dares cause trouble in the city of Brindel?"

Hearing this, everyone was shocked and looked up at the sky.

A burly, tall man dressed in a black and red robe appeared, his arms folded across his chest.

He had a cold, fierce, and stern face that made anyone who looked at him tremble with fear.

The man slowly descended and stood between Merlin and one of Lucius's subordinates, the one who had tried to attack him earlier.

"What's going on here? Why are you all gathered like you're watching a circus?" he asked coldly, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd.

Everyone swallowed hard and quickly lowered their heads.

His presence was so intimidating that none of them dared to meet his eyes.

"Professor, you came just in time!" Lucius's delighted voice rang out as he slowly stood up and pointed angrily at Merlin. "That guy hit me so hard that I'm injured! Please punish him!"

He clutched his stomach, wearing a fake expression of pain as if he were suffering terribly.

Seeing this, Luna felt displeased. She wanted to step forward to defend Merlin, but a calm voice echoed in her mind.

"It's okay. Leave everything to me."

Luna stopped and looked at Merlin in the distance, worry clear in her eyes.

Merlin gave her a slight nod, and Luna immediately gave up her intention.

The burly man did not immediately believe Lucius's words. He turned to Merlin and asked coldly, "Is what he said true, kid?"

Merlin met his gaze calmly and couldn't help but smile.

"What he said is true, Professor," he replied.

The man frowned, but before he could speak, Merlin continued.

"However, I must clarify something. What I did was a preventive measure. He attacked me with magic first. If that attack had hit me, I could have died. You should understand how dangerous that is, right?"

His eyes flashed with a hint of playfulness as he looked the man up and down.

The burly man before him was one of the professors at Saint Freya Academy, so Merlin naturally recognized him.

His name was Kuruv Tridan. He was no ordinary professor but the head of the physical strength major.

His status was high, and he was known to be strict, agile, and fair.

In the novel, Kuruv had defended Abel many times when Abel was slandered by Lucius.

Because of that, Merlin was not afraid when Kuruv appeared. He knew this matter would ultimately end in his favor.

Kuruv turned to Lucius and asked in a deep voice, "Is what he said true?"

Lucius was about to respond when the elf girl behind Merlin suddenly stepped forward.

"What he said is true, Professor!" she exclaimed. "It all started because he pushed me and humiliated me in front of everyone. Please don't blame my savior!"

She clung tightly to Merlin's arm, her face flushed red.

Merlin: "..."

Whoosh!

A cold wind brushed against the right side of his face.

Merlin glanced to his right and saw Luna staring at him sharply, as if she wanted to kill someone.

"Ahem!" Merlin choked lightly and hurriedly tried to pull his hand away from the elf girl's embrace.

Strangely, her grip was so strong that he couldn't free himself.

In the end, Merlin could only sigh softly, silently praying that Luna wouldn't get angry later.

"Y-You…" Lucius was stunned. He hadn't expected the elf girl to reveal everything in front of the professor.

Before he could say anything, a boy suddenly stepped forward and accused Lucius of being the one behind everything.

One by one, others followed, stepping forward to defend Merlin before Kuruv.

Lucius's face turned pale, his breathing quick and uneven with anger.

"Silence!" Kuruv shouted. At once, everyone stopped speaking.

Kuruv turned to Lucius, his eyes narrowed.

"Lucius Heraxis, are you aware of your mistake?"

Lucius bit his lower lip, wanting to retort, but the overwhelming pressure radiating from Kuruv pinned him in place.

"Ugh!" Lucius collapsed to the ground, fear written all over his face.

"Your Highness!"

His two subordinates rushed to help, but an even stronger pressure froze them where they stood.

"I know you are the prince of the Magic Kingdom of Arcadia. I also know you are your father's favored son. But who gave you the right to act as you please on academy grounds?" Kuruv's voice rose, forcing Lucius to gasp for breath.

"I don't care about your status. Even if your father were to come here, he would have to show proper respect. This is academy territory, and we have our own rules. More importantly, your habit of looking down on members of other races is a fatal mistake. Don't you know that humans are trying to build friendships with them? That is why the quota for other races has been expanded—to establish good relations. However…"

His tone grew heavy as he continued, "You publicly insulted one of them. Do you understand how serious that is?"

Lucius's face grew increasingly pale.

Of course, he understood the consequences if relations with other races were ruined—chaos.

His father had once told him about the mysterious crack known as the Sky Wing, which had brought instability and fear to the three kingdoms.

Powerful monsters had emerged from the crack and repeatedly attacked the territories of each kingdom.

Although the crack had been neutralized, they were still far from safe.

That was why humans needed the support of other races, in case powerful monsters emerged from the crack again.

Seeing Lucius fall silent, Kuruv let out a long sigh and withdrew the pressure bearing down on him.

Lucius let out a breath of relief and slowly stood up, his legs trembling.

"Because of your father, I will forgive you this once. But if you ever do it again…"

His eyes carried a clear warning. Lucius nodded repeatedly and replied weakly, "I understand, Professor. I won't do it again."

Kuruv stopped pressing the matter and said, "In that case, you may—"

Before he could finish, Merlin interrupted him.

"Wait a moment, Professor!"

Kuruv paused in surprise and turned to Merlin. "What is it?"

Merlin stepped beside him and said calmly, "Lucius insulted the elf girl and hasn't apologized to her at all. How can you let him go like this?"

He shot Lucius a mocking glance before turning back to Kuruv, his expression serious.

"Damn it…" Lucius muttered under his breath, silently praying that Kuruv wouldn't agree.

Kuruv fell silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on Merlin's purple eyes.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he slowly nodded.

"You're right. Lucius, apologize to the girl. That will settle this matter completely."

Lucius: "..."

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