Ch#77
The front of the professor's office was a mess.
Izriella was huffing and puffing, her hair disheveled and the buttons of her clothes torn off.
Opposite her stood Airin, in a similar state, glaring at Izriella.
But compared to Ibi, the two were relatively unscathed.
Ibi was trembling behind Airin, clutching a paper box that was dented in several places from being pressed.
Her hair was a mess as expected, and all the buttons had been ripped off, leaving her Yeongjae Academy uniform vest in tatters.
But what was even more wretched was Ibi's face.
Several red handprints were vividly marked on her small cheeks, and blood was smeared thickly around her nose and lips.
"She's the thief! I'm telling you she stole it!"
Izriella, having now discarded all pretense of manners, pointed at Ibi and yelled.
Airin stepped in front of Ibi to shield her and shouted back.
"What are you doing without any proof? And ganging up to beat someone like this! Are you all crazy?"
Her voice rose even higher than Izriella's, as if refusing to back down, causing the students who had hit Ibi alongside Izriella to flinch and step back.
"You know what happens if you hit another student according to Yeongjae Academy rules, and you still do this? And five of you against one 7-year-old child!"
Airin trembled as she shouted, her eyes turning red.
It wasn't from sadness. It was from being unable to contain her rage.
Izriella had suddenly come to Ibi demanding she hand over the stolen item.
Spotting the box Ibi was holding, she accused her of hiding it there and tried to snatch it away, but Ibi hugged it tightly to her chest.
Unable to wrest the box from Ibi's arms, Izriella lost her temper and slapped her cheek.
The large hand striking the small face had caused a nosebleed.
Right after that, Airin had rushed in, grabbed Izriella by the hair, and pulled her away from Ibi.
In response to Airin's words, Izriella grew even more aggressive.
"That's only if it's against another student. She stole something. That means expulsion! So who cares if we hit her? Once she's no longer a Yeongjae Academy student, she's just Orphanage trash!"
"Watch your mouth!"
"You should watch yours and think before you act! If you keep protecting a thief, you'll get punished too!"
Izriella yelled furiously and turned to the surrounding students as well.
"You all saw it, right? She's definitely got everything stashed in that box she's holding!"
At that moment, Ibi shook her head from behind Airin.
"No! I didn't take it."
"Liar. Then show us the box!"
At Izriella's demand, Ibi clutched the box even tighter to her chest.
Izriella smirked as if she had expected that, while Airin looked like she was about to explode with frustration.
'How did it come to this?'
Airin had been studying in the cafeteria when a group of students suddenly rushed in shouting.
Izriella had gone to catch a thief.
"A thief?"
"Remember how Selena lost her bracelet last time and was searching all day? Turns out Izriella knows who took it."
"Who is it?"
"Ibi Alden. The little kid. Things are a mess where they are right now."
At those words, Airin had jumped to her feet.
Izriella had been keeping quiet ever since their big clash before.
Or rather than quiet, she had been subdued like a loser.
Airin hadn't paid her any attention, and thanks to Arcel and Ruska, her own reputation had even improved.
The kids who had ignored her were now bowing their heads and greeting her first.
Whenever Izriella saw that, she would glare silently for a while before leaving.
But that was the extent of what she could do.
So Airin had thought things would stay peaceful from now on, but suddenly accusing Ibi of theft?
'Has she gone completely mad? I won't let this slide.'
Airin asked the student who brought the news where they were and ran there.
By the time she arrived at the building, students who had heard the commotion were already swarming.
"Move! Get out of the way!"
Pushing through them, what Airin saw was Ibi huddled with the box in her arms and students kicking her.
Her vision went red. Airin charged in and body-slammed the kid kicking Ibi.
She then grabbed others by the hair and kicked them away.
She didn't care about her own appearance.
These kids? Ganging up to beat someone? And Ibi at that?
They were noble girls who had raised their hands against Ibi but were otherwise delicately raised.
Suddenly being kicked, shoved, and rolling on the floor, they couldn't endure it and retreated crying.
And that's how it had come to this.
"Ibi."
Suppressing the urge to shout, Airin called Ibi softly.
"Can't you just show them the box?"
It was so simple. Just open the paper lid and show them there was nothing inside they were looking for.
But Ibi refused to show the box even if it killed her.
Because of that, the gazes of the surrounding students grew even sharper.
"If you didn't steal it, what's there to hide?"
"Yeah. Just show it confidently."
Her secretive behavior made people think she was hiding stolen goods.
Buoyed by the support from the others, Izriella tried to snatch the box from Ibi again.
But Airin blocked her once more.
'I have to deal with Airin first after all.'
Otherwise, there would be no progress.
Izriella straightened her hair and clothes.
Looking around, she saw that the commotion had spread widely, with students crowding the area.
'This is enough.'
She needed as many witnesses as possible. People to see, hear, and spread the rumors.
At that moment, the students buzzed and parted to the side.
Looking to see who it was, it was Arcel and Ruska.
"What is all this commotion... What happened to you, Ibi?"
Ruska, who entered first, froze upon seeing the scene.
"Who did this."
At Ruska's low voice, the nearby students flinched and took a step back.
Ruska was always bright and playful.
He had never yelled at or intimidated other students.
So this was the first time they heard Ruska's angry voice.
"Ibi? Airin?"
Arcel, following behind, was the same.
He didn't ask further.
He went straight to Ibi, helped her stand, and wiped the blood from her face with his sleeve.
As soon as the two arrived and shielded Ibi, Izriella shouted for all to hear.
"Don't be fooled! She's not just a thief—she lied about her guardian too!"
"Guardian?"
"Yes! She said Professor Sian Rosen is her guardian."
"What's the problem with that, Miss Izriella?"
Arcel asked coldly.
As both Arcel and Ruska turned hostile toward her, Izriella hurriedly explained.
"The professor coming and going from the academy claiming to be Ibi Alden's guardian is fake!"
Everyone looked at her like she was spouting nonsense.
A fake professor?
"I've been following her for days and saw it. The young male professor using this office behind you is supposedly Professor Sian Rosen."
With that, Izriella glared sharply at Ibi.
The sight of her trembling behind Airin, Arcel, and Ruska was utterly repulsive.
'After telling such a huge lie.'
Pretending like she knew nothing, acting like the victim.
She was the victim. She had thrown away her dignity and gone through all this to expose the orphan's lies.
At this rate, Arcel and Ruska would only grow more resentful toward her.
So she had to quickly tell everyone about the fake professor.
Izriella snapped at Ibi again.
"Don't even think about denying it. I've been following you for days and saw the fake professor myself!"
Then Ruska interjected.
"I'm a bit confused right now. You're saying the professor using this office is a fake professor?"
"Yes! I looked into it. Professor Sian Rosen isn't even in the capital. He's been back in his hometown for a long time because of poor health! And he's over 70 years old. My brother confirmed not just his ID but his entire family. I swear on my family name!"
Izriella spoke so decisively that Ibi was the one who panicked.
"No. Dean Seraphina delivered the letters herself..."
"Another lie! Do you think the dean has time for such errands?"
"It's not a lie!"
This time, even Ibi couldn't hold back and shouted.
At that moment, heavy footsteps sounded from behind the students.
Thinking it was Yeongjae Academy staff, the students turned to see a tall man with a rigidly hardened expression.
Even though he said nothing and simply walked forward slowly, his overwhelming presence made everyone step back and clear a path.
The students whispered among themselves about who the strikingly handsome man they had never seen at Yeongjae Academy was.
At that moment, Ibi spotted him and cried out.
"Professor Sian!"
