"That damn bastard ruined my clothes. Some random nobody thinks he can bully me? Does he have any idea who I am?" Isolde seethed, the words a low hiss under her breath. Her reflection glared back at her, eyes burning with fury. The more she replayed the scene from the cafeteria, the blacker her mood became. Damn it… class is about to start, and I didn’t even get to eat. After changing her clothes and fixing her hair, Isolde checked the time and grimaced. I was just about to have my favorite steak. For a moment, she genuinely felt like crying. Her luck had never been this bad. After finally slipping free from her mother’s suffocating control, she thought she could finally enjoy life on her own terms. And this had to happen on the very first day. I’ve memorized his face. If he ever shows up in front of me again, I'll kill him. Grinding her teeth, Isolde washed her hands and turned to leave the empty restroom. Then she froze. The same face was standing right outside the door, well within her reach. In an instant, her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. Found you. Let’s see you run now. Just as a fresh wave of anger surged and she prepared to lunge at him, a girl’s voice rang out, stopping her cold. "Adrian… I saw you. You tripped that girl on purpose. Why did you do that?" It was the same girl who had been with him earlier. But it wasn’t her presence that stopped Isolde. It was the meaning of her question. So she knew I was set up? A spike of annoyance shot through Isolde, but she held herself back. She wanted to hear his excuse. Then, a new thought sparked, and a mischievous smile tugged at her lips. She quietly slipped out her smartphone and began recording their conversation. Heh... you dare to bully me? Let's see if you can get yourself expelled from the Academy on your first day. "What? What are you talking about?" Adrian’s heart lurched. He never expected anyone to have seen him trip Isolde. She didn’t see me looking at her underwear, did she? The thought made him uneasy, but he dismissed it. If she had, his quest wouldn't have been completed. Still, that didn't mean he was out of trouble. "Adrian… I saw it with my own two eyes. Are you going to lie to me?" Elara asked again, her blue eyes clouded with disappointment. Even she couldn’t understand it. They were friends from the same town; she knew what kind of person he was. He wasn't a bully, but he wasn't a pushover, either. Adrian would never go out of his way to humiliate someone, especially a girl. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, to give him a chance to explain himself. But maybe I was wrong about him. Seeing him flustered and at a loss for words only deepened her disappointment. For a moment, she wondered if the person she thought she knew had been a lie all along. "Forget it. Let’s just go to class." Her voice was cold as she turned to leave, but Adrian’s hand shot out and stopped her. "Hmm?" "Elara, it’s not what you think." Adrian could feel her disappointment as if it were a physical weight. In fact, he could see it manifest before his very eyes. [Warning!] [You are about to lose the trust of the Main Heroine: Elara Montclair!] [Losing her trust may weaken your bond with the protagonist group, reducing your influence and presence as a side character.] [Be careful: if your Side Character status drops to zero, you may lose your system entirely and be returned to an ordinary life.] With a warning like that blaring in his vision, how could Adrian possibly let her walk away disappointed? "Elara, you know me. Do you really think I’d just randomly trip someone for no reason?" Adrian’s mind raced, searching for an escape. "But… I saw you do it." If someone had merely told her, she never would have believed it. But she had seen it happen. Adrian saw the unshakable distrust in her eyes, gritted his teeth, and nodded. "Sigh… okay, I admit it. I tripped her." Jackpot. You finally confessed. You're finished, you bastard. Behind the restroom door, Adrian had no idea someone had just recorded his confession. Isolde was grinning from ear to ear. But she kept listening, wanting to gather more evidence before taking it to the administration. Unaware of the disaster brewing behind him, Adrian looked at Elara with his most earnest expression and continued. "But you’re wrong that I did it on purpose. The truth is, I was just really flustered, and my leg shot out on its own when she got close." "Flustered?" Elara raised an eyebrow, clearly not following. What could have possibly flustered him at that moment? "Yeah… flustered. Elara, do you know what a crush is?" Adrian, finding no other plausible excuse, fell back on the classic, cheesy trope so popular in dating sims. In a world like this, he figured it just might work. "A crush? Wait… you mean?" Sure enough, understanding dawned on Elara’s face. She clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with surprise. "Adrian… do you have a crush on that girl?" she asked. Adrian gave an awkward nod and a shy smile, doing his best impression of a teenager caught staring at his first love. Seeing that look, Elara had no choice but to believe him. Instantly, her expression shifted from distrust to conspiratorial excitement. A faint smile appeared on her lips, catching even Adrian by surprise. "Well, well… no wonder you did something like that to the poor girl. Honestly, Adrian, I never took you for such a romantic." Elara’s smirk was teasing, and it left Adrian dumbfounded. "Romantic?" He paused, utterly confused. His plan was to explain that he got nervous around his crush and accidentally tripped her. But Elara didn't seem to need the rest of the explanation. Somehow, she had decided it was romantic. He had no idea why. "Hehehe… no need to act so shy and naive, Adrian. I never knew you had it in you."

Chapter 3: A Fateful First Day