Episode 128

Rose paused for a moment with a stern expression, but she could feel Adela’s concerned gaze and made an effort to maintain her composure. 

Adela had a worried look in her eyes.

“Senior, is something wrong?”

“I was just lost in thought for a moment. What did you want to ask?”

With a faint smile, Rose attempted to hide her confusion. 

She and Adela were sitting face to face in the research room, and Rose focused on teaching Adela about magic engineering.

During this time, the words she had heard earlier came to her mind. 

In reality, Rose had already anticipated that such rumors would spread sooner or later, especially since she had become known as the Emperor’s acquaintance.

Since meeting the Emperor, Rose had refrained from secretly meeting Jasper as before. The revelation of her relationship with Jasper was just a matter of time. 

After the graduation ball ceremony, they would officially be recognized as a couple, and she didn’t want to preemptively reveal their relationship. She openly meets Jasper and visits the restaurant he had reserved last weekend.

Rumors were bound to spread. She didn’t expect them to add such malicious speculation, though.

Even though the engagement between Bluewood and Conway had essentially fallen apart, someone seemed to think otherwise.

‘Could it be that I’m the one who ended the engagement?’

In any case, she had already accepted that many people would view her negatively. She only worried about Jasper hearing these rumors and getting upset. 

She hoped that Jasper would remain as indifferent to the gossip as he usually was, not paying much attention to what others said about him.

* * *

But Rose’s desire didn’t reach Jasper.

Jasper hadn’t always been able to pick up on gossip about him, but when it came to Rose, he was surprisingly quick. As soon as she heard the name Rose, her entire attention was drawn to it.

“Where did these baseless rumors even start?” 

And so, this incident happened. The swordfighting students who were peacefully continuing their training in the training field suddenly became restless.

It was because Jasper suddenly grabbed a fellow student by the collar and lifted him off the ground. The man’s feet dangled slightly above the floor as he let out a pained groan.

“Ugh, ugh….”

Despite the boy’s pained groan, Jasper didn’t loosen his grip.

“Do you think you’re my friend?”

Jasper’s voice reverberated harshly.

Jasper was known for not being one to keep people around, but recently, the atmosphere had become more toxic, and more people were approaching him. 

In the past, he would have been irritated by anyone who tried to strike up a conversation.

The reason for Jasper’s changed demeanor was entirely because of Rose. As soon as he began his first love, the whole world seemed more beautiful.

Since hearing the Emperor’s declaration of support, it seemed like Rose had also relaxed, and their relationship had grown closer. Except when he thought about Edwin and Dom Industries, Jasper was incredibly happy.

Although he still appeared indifferent, his eyes had softened compared to before, and his voice had become slightly gentler.

He shouldn’t have let it happen. Jasper regretfully looked at the man squirming in front of him. 

Was he looking more approachable these days? Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine why he would say such absurd things in his presence.

“Does Adela think it’s okay to have a girlfriend until marriage? She doesn’t look like it, but she’s kind of inclusive.”

It was one of those times when a bunch of boys get together and talk about unseemly girls. 

Jasper rolled his eyes, not listening to them but thinking about something else, Rose to be exact.

Then, recently, Jasper found out the identity of the rumors that had been sticking to Rose, and he immediately grabbed the collar of the guy who had first brought up this topic.

In a low, threatening voice, Jasper spoke.

“I’m asking you who’s been spreading these rumors.”

The people around him tried to intervene one by one, but they couldn’t easily stop Jasper.

“I, I just heard… Jasper, sorry…”

Jasper’s anger flared up to his forehead. The absurd stories were circulating in various versions.

‘Did Rose manipulate me? Did she interfere with my engagement?’

If there was even a tiny bit of truth to that, he would understand.

 He had been burning the candle at both ends for days to win Rose’s heart. But everyone believed that Rose had seduced him first. 

Seduced him? He thought the word was completely out of place for Rose Bell. She seemed so distant and far above that it felt insulting. Moreover, everyone just treated Rose as a casual fling or a passing girl for Jasper.

Surely Rose would be worried if she found out he was causing trouble. He knew it in his head, but Jasper couldn’t contain his anger. 

If Ethan had been there, he might have advised against such ungentlemanly behavior.

But enduring insults about his girl was also ungentlemanly. With that thought, Jasper finally threw a punch, and soon the training field was filled with chaotic shouts.

* * *

[Is the C Family Fine as It Is: The New Troublemaker, J

Not long ago, news broke about a fight at the B Academy. The figure involved in this recent brawl should be quite familiar to existing subscribers. The second son of the C family, J, who had been involved in a shooting incident in the Republic, has once again appeared on our stage.

According to information obtained by our magazine, J is said to be infatuated with a commoner girl these days and can’t seem to get his act together. For noble young men, such incidents are often nothing more than passing whims. However, the issue with J lies in the seriousness of his involvement. He went as far as throwing a punch at a fellow student, accusing him of harming his lover.

By now, you may be curious about who this girl is that has captured J’s heart. Is she a beauty capable of stealing every man’s soul? Or perhaps a young opera singer with an enchanting voice? However, our troublemaker goes beyond common expectations and is involved with a commoner scholarship student from the B Academy…]

Inside the Emperor’s office, Jasper’s grip tightened as he silently watched the gossip paper.

The Emperor, who had been sitting at her desk processing urgent documents, looked up when she heard the sound of crumpling paper. 

She raised an eyebrow and spoke softly.

“That’s a draft. Consider it fortunate that it didn’t get published as is. I must say, you have quite the temper. I didn’t realize it was so pronounced.”

“I apologize.”

“I understand the frustration, but I hope you’ll learn some of your lover’s composure.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”

The first edition of the gossip paper, printed shortly after the fight at the training field, never saw the light of day. 

Thanks to the Emperor’s swift intervention upon hearing the news, the articles were toned down significantly before publication. They couldn’t prevent the release of related stories, but compared to the initial draft, they were far less sensational.

The Emperor let out a sigh as she put down her magnifying reading glasses, which she used only when examining documents.

“Are you going a bit too far, trusting me this much? Yes, I know at that age, one’s eyes can be blinded by love, but… seeing you two together like this, I can’t help but notice the resemblance between you and your brother. When does Ethan intend to return to the capital?”

Jasper remained silent, biting his tongue. 

He didn’t know he was such an emotional person. It was just in matters involving Rose that his emotions seemed beyond control. While he had expected that his relationship with Rose would eventually become known, he couldn’t bear the baseless rumors that had started to circulate. 

Still, thinking about Rose’s concern, he had only thrown a few punches…

‘I didn’t expect him to faint so easily.’

It was hard to fathom why someone as frail as that had chosen to major in sword fighting. 

Jasper felt somewhat unjustly accused as well. Even though he had tried his best to remain rational amidst the surging emotions, this was the result.

The reputations of Jasper and Conway were inevitably tarnished. Ethan, probably far away in Atwood, would be furious if he learned of this news.

‘I wonder if he has any sanity left to get angry.’

While the outcome was not what Jasper had intended, he secretly found satisfaction in the current situation. 

Ethan, upon hearing this, would likely react explosively.

Thanks to the commotion they caused in the training field, there were no longer people at the academy speaking ill of Rose. Additionally, everyone had come to know that Jasper was infatuated with Rose Bell. 

Claims that he treated her as just a casual fling or a passing girl had been firmly put to rest.

The Emperor, after a gentle reprimand, tapped her desk with her fingertip as she looked into Jasper’s dazed eyes. 

Jasper lifted his head abruptly and gazed at the Emperor.

“Are you genuinely reflecting on your actions right now, or just doing that to placate me?”

“I’m deeply reflecting on it. There won’t be a repeat of this.”

The Emperor had an expression of disbelief.

“You’re still a minor, and you don’t have an official position yet, so it’s not a big issue. But when you join the Imperial Guard, you better work on your patience.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to keep it in mind… Anyway, I’ve heard you have some information related to Dom Industries. Let’s hear it.”

Jasper lowered his head and began speaking with an incredibly calm and composed expression, a far cry from the person who had thrown a punch at a fellow student in a fit of anger just a few days ago.