I stared at Edmund with wide, disbelieving eyes.

Of all people—him?

I could still barely process the fact that a riot had broken out inside the Academy. That alone was ridiculous enough. But Edmund being right in the middle of it? That crossed the line from absurd to unreal.

Edmund was standing near the front of the crowd, gripping an Academy flag and waving it high above his head.

His posture was straight. His expression was solemn.

He looked less like a student and more like a soldier about to march into battle.

No matter how far the story had already gone off the rails, seeing Edmund like this left me completely speechless.

"…What exactly are you doing?" I muttered, disbelief seeping into my voice. "This is clearly illegal behavior."

The Academy wasn't some private playground for nobles. It was a national institution, directly operated by the Empire. Causing a disturbance here wasn't something that could be brushed off as youthful recklessness.

At best, it would earn harsh disciplinary action.

At worst, it could ruin someone's future.

And these were Academy students—people who were supposed to be intelligent, rational, and aware of consequences.

So why?

Why would they willingly do something this stupid?

Before Edmund could answer, a student stepped forward from the opposite side of the gathering.

"…Anna."

The voice was calm, but firm.

A male student stood at the front of the group opposing Edmund. He wore a neatly tied necktie—its color identical to Anna's.

A second-year.

Judging by how naturally he spoke her name, the two were already acquainted.

"If you had complaints, you should have formally brought them to me. Why did you choose such an extreme method, Edin?"

"Because this was the only way."

Anna's voice sharpened. "That's not true. There were plenty of other options."

"No," Edin replied firmly, shaking his head. "For us, there weren't."

His eyes didn't waver—not even for a second. They burned with a stubborn resolve that made it clear persuasion would be pointless. Anna studied his face for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh, as if finally accepting that reality.

"…Then tell me," she said. "What exactly do you want? You didn't cause all this chaos without a reason."

"Our demand is simple," Edin said. "End the discrimination."

For a moment, I thought I'd misheard him.

"Discrimination…?"

The word echoed in my head as I frowned unconsciously.

This was the Academy—an institution praised throughout the Empire as a symbol of fairness.

Outside these walls, nobles and commoners lived in completely different worlds, but here? At least on the surface, equality was enforced with ironclad rules.

Status, lineage, wealth—none of it was supposed to matter.

So why was he talking about discrimination?

I wasn't the only one confused.

Anna's brows knitted together as she questioned him again. "What are you talking about? Discrimination where?"

She gestured lightly around them. "The Academy strictly prohibits it. Even the student council is elected regardless of background."

"That's how it looks," Edin replied calmly. "From above."

His tone wasn't accusatory. If anything, it was bitterly composed.

"But not everyone lives 'above,'" he continued. "Some of us are at the bottom, where things don't reach your eyes."

Anna, the student council president.

The Imperial Princess herself.

She was someone who cared deeply about public opinion—about how she was perceived, about what her actions symbolized.

Because of that, she went out of her way to maintain balance, almost obsessively so. No favoritism. No visible bias.

That was precisely why the current student council was structured the way it was.

Even now, most of its members weren't nobles. Commoners, low-ranking families, people chosen for competence rather than lineage.

Among the nobility, that had sparked rumors.

The princess discriminates against nobles.

I'd heard that whisper more than once.

But… why?

Was there something I didn't know? Something that never made it into the comic?

"You must know," Edin said quietly, his tone unusually firm, "that hatred and discrimination are rampant among the students. More than half of those who dropped out couldn't endure the bullying."

"I have neither heard nor seen any such incidents," Anna replied calmly, folding her hands atop the desk. Her voice was even, measured—the voice of someone used to being doubted.

"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Edin shot back. "You know there are students being targeted solely because of their background."

I frowned slightly.

I did know such cases existed. I wasn't naïve. Even in the webtoon, Ed himself had been bullied—mostly by nobles who thought commoners had no place here.

But those were isolated incidents. Individual antagonists.

Whenever the Academy discovered such behavior, punishment followed swiftly. Expulsion. Disciplinary action. No exceptions—even for prestigious families.

That was the whole point of the Academy's authority.

Besides…

The very fact that Edin—a commoner—was speaking so casually, even sharply, to Anna, an Imperial Princess, already proved something important.

The gap between them wasn't insurmountable.

Wasn't that evidence enough?

Yet Edin's expression didn't waver. If anything, it hardened.

"You see it as isolated because you're standing at the top," he continued. "For students at the bottom, those 'small incidents' pile up until they can't breathe anymore."

Anna's fingers tightened, just slightly.

"So what you're saying," she replied, "is that the Academy itself is failing?"

"Yes."

The word landed heavily between them.

Silence followed.

I watched Anna closely. In the comic, this scene had been brief—almost glossed over. Edin had been portrayed as idealistic, Anna as distant but reasonable.

But seeing it like this… it felt different.

Real.

Anna, the student council president.

The Imperial Princess herself.

She was someone who cared deeply about public opinion—about how she was perceived, about what her actions symbolized. Because of that, she went out of her way to maintain balance, almost obsessively so. No favoritism. No visible bias.

That was precisely why the current student council was structured the way it was.

Even now, most of its members weren't nobles. Commoners, low-ranking families, people chosen for competence rather than lineage.

Among the nobility, that had sparked rumors.

*The princess discriminates against nobles.*

I'd heard that whisper more than once.

But… why?

Was there something I didn't know? Something that never made it into the comic?

"You must know," Edin said quietly, his tone unusually firm, "that hatred and discrimination are rampant among the students. More than half of those who dropped out couldn't endure the bullying."

"I have neither heard nor seen any such incidents," Anna replied calmly, folding her hands atop the desk. Her voice was even, measured—the voice of someone used to being doubted.

"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Edin shot back. "You know there are students being targeted solely because of their background."

I frowned slightly.

I *did* know such cases existed. I wasn't naïve. Even in the webtoon, Ed himself had been bullied—mostly by nobles who thought commoners had no place here.

But those were isolated incidents. Individual antagonists.

Whenever the Academy discovered such behavior, punishment followed swiftly. Expulsion. Disciplinary action. No exceptions—even for prestigious families.

That was the whole point of the Academy's authority.

Besides…

The very fact that Edin—a commoner—was speaking so casually, even sharply, to Anna, an Imperial Princess, already proved something important.

The gap between them wasn't insurmountable.

Wasn't that evidence enough?

Yet Edin's expression didn't waver. If anything, it hardened.

"You see it as isolated because you're standing at the top," he continued. "For students at the bottom, those 'small incidents' pile up until they can't breathe anymore."

Anna's fingers tightened, just slightly.

"So what you're saying," she replied, "is that the Academy itself is failing?"

"Yes."

The word landed heavily between them.

Silence followed.

I watched Anna closely. In the comic, this scene had been brief—almost glossed over. Edin had been portrayed as idealistic, Anna as distant but reasonable.

But seeing it like this… it felt different.

Real.

"You think I don't know this?" Anna finally said, her voice quieter now. "You think I don't hear the reports? The petitions? The complaints that never make it past the faculty?"

Edin hesitated.

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