Crimson Eagle

“I’m a boy.”

“I know.”

“Don’t you… find this repulsive?” Xie Shenhong asked, surprised.

“Not at all. It’s your personal preference, isn’t it? I wouldn’t idly comment on someone else’s interests.” Lyte offered a faint smile, giving a thumbs-up. “Besides, this outfit suits you quite well. It’s very cute, very beautiful.”

Xie Shenhong immediately covered his mouth and took several steps back.

‘Damn it, I nearly vomited.’

In truth, receiving compliments on his appearance was not unfamiliar to him, but being praised by his enemy… it made him so nauseous he felt a wave of revulsion.

“Are you alright?”

Seeing Xie Shenhong’s distressed expression, Lyte stepped forward with concern.

“I’m fine, don’t come too…”

Xie Shenhong observed that Lyte did not approach him too closely, stopping about a meter away.

“I know you dislike me a little, but it’s alright. I won’t force you to accept me immediately…”

“I don’t dislike you.”

Xie Shenhong lowered his hand, struggling to suppress the urge in his throat, and lied without blinking. “I was just a little concerned you might have some… particular preferences.”

But the moment he finished speaking, he regretted it.

‘Because I’m the one who looks like I have peculiar preferences, yet I’m the one accusing others first. How can I build a good relationship if I’m such a hypocrite…’

“Ah, my apologies.”

Lyte seemed to realize, waving his hand as he stepped back. “I absolutely didn’t say that because I had any improper thoughts about you. I simply believe you deserve adjectives like ‘pretty’ and ‘cute.’ My orientation is perfectly normal; I have no particular inclinations towards boys, nor would I let appearance break that…”

“Enough, shut up!”

Xie Shenhong snapped irritably. Lyte’s vehement denial was good, but his desperate attempts to explain were utterly infuriating… And to call him ‘pretty’ and ‘cute’ without being attracted to him, wasn’t that just empty flattery?

‘No, I don’t want to be called pretty or cute! I’m a boy!’

‘Argh, this guy is making my head spin!’

Fortunately, Lyte said nothing further this time. He quietly retreated to a sufficient distance, turning his back until Xie Shenhong’s anger subsided before looking back.

“Let’s head back to class.”

“Just like that?”

“We can discuss the rest this afternoon.”

“Alright.”

Xie Shenhong was curious to see what method Lyte intended to use to help him.

A few minutes later, amidst the curious stares and whispers of their classmates, the two returned to the classroom together.

The bell for the end of class rang, and everyone else swarmed around Lyte.

Xie Shenhong did not follow; no one gathered around him either. Instead, he pricked up his ears, intently eavesdropping.

It wasn’t really eavesdropping, as the group surrounding Lyte, though seemingly lowering their voices, were actually audible to everyone, including him, the person directly involved… The sheer hypocrisy of it made him cringe.

“There’s nothing special between us,” Lyte declared loudly.

‘So that’s it.’

‘He plans to publicly declare that there’s nothing between them, then be friends in private… That’s certainly a good strategy.’

Xie Shenhong nodded in agreement, then snapped the pencil in his hand into two pieces.

“I’m not lying, we’re just ordinary good friends. We simply had a small disagreement earlier, and now we’ve made up…”

Xie Shenhong nearly fell off his desk.

He immediately pulled out his phone and sent a message to Lyte—they had exchanged contact information on the way back to the classroom.

[Who said we’re good friends?!]

But the moment he hit send, Xie Shenhong regretted it.

‘My goal is to build a good relationship with Lyte, and he thinks I’m his good friend—isn’t that a fantastic development?’

‘What is there to be angry about?’

‘Argh, what have I done!’

‘Why is this guy so utterly annoying!’

While Xie Shenhong was vexed, Lyte suddenly stood up.

“Excuse me, I need to take a call.”

With that, he left the classroom.

Soon after, Xie Shenhong received a reply from Lyte.

[We will become good friends.]

‘No, we won’t!’

‘Who would ever be friends with an imperial prince like you!’

This time, Xie Shenhong finally managed to only scream inwardly.

Still, his rage was overwhelming, with nowhere to vent.

[Why did you reveal our relationship?]

[I believe there’s no need to hide the fact that we’re good friends.]

‘I keep saying we’re not good friends!’

[But this will make things difficult for me. You know, I’m not very popular at school…]

Xie Shenhong decided to employ a tactic of feigned vulnerability, planning to later adopt a pitiful expression to deepen Lyte’s impression of him.

[But I’m very popular.]

‘Ha, why is this guy suddenly boasting about himself?’

‘Wait… Xie Shenhong realized.’

[Moreover, many people respect me. If others know you’re my friend, no one will dare to do anything to you.]

[I already said, I don’t want to rely on others.]

[I know, but relying on me should be more acceptable to you than relying on the Duanmu family’s protection, shouldn’t it? Of course, in the most ideal scenario, you’d have many people you could rely on… From an academic perspective, this is called ‘networking,’ a part of one’s own capabilities. Just consider me one of your connections.]

“…”

Logically, Xie Shenhong should have expressed gratitude to Lyte here, but he typed and deleted, eventually changing it to something else.

[What if my presence harms your reputation?]

[Thank you for your concern.]

‘Who’s concerned about you!’

‘This is merely a logical deduction!’

‘Even if there’s an element of worry, it’s only concern that *you* might regret it later, or even break off our friendship, thus ruining *my* plans!’

As Xie Shenhong fumed, Lyte sent the latter half of his message:

[Of course, I can’t say there’s absolutely no such possibility, but I trust you’re someone who wouldn’t bring shame upon a friend.]

‘How long have we known each other for you to understand me so well?’

‘Even if you did, I, and a demon like you, will never become true friends!’

Xie Shenhong closed the communication app.

Before long, Lyte returned, and his classmates continued to flock around him.

“Lyte, honestly, are you planning to join the ‘Crimson Knights’?”

Upon hearing this, Xie Shenhong nearly lunged forward to slap the boy who had asked the question.

This was because the “Crimson Knights” the boy spoke of was a fan club spontaneously organized by students, established *after* his male identity was revealed.

In other words, it was full of perverts who enthusiastically proclaimed, “Princess Crimson being a boy makes it even better!” The thought alone sent shivers down his spine.

Here, Xie Shenhong had to clarify: even though he wore women’s clothing and had agreed to become Saintess Hai Zhu, he never intended to truly live as a woman, nor did he plan to like any men!

Normally, he was a boy with a perfectly normal orientation!

A man among men!

Anyone who dared to fantasize about him with other boys would never see a pleasant expression from him!

“There’s no such thing. My friendship with Shenhong is perfectly pure.”

Generally, when anyone uttered such words, it would suggest they were trying to conceal something.

Yet, upon seeing the light of integrity and purity shining in those emerald eyes, most people dismissed their doubts, while the remaining few decided not to joke about the matter further.

“…”

Even Xie Shenhong was awestruck by this excessively upright and earnest demeanor.

If he hadn’t known what a shameless villain Lyte would become in the future, he might have almost believed him.

However, even though he wasn’t deceived by Lyte’s pretense, the situation remained far from optimistic.

Because when someone trusts another, they subconsciously overlook any suspicious aspects of that person.

In other words, it would be extremely difficult for Xie Shenhong to gather negative information about Lyte from others.

‘It seems I can only wait until *that* incident occurs before gathering evidence.’

In his previous life, one week after the start of school.

A rebellion broke out within the kingdom.

In this incident, Lyte became a hero of the kingdom, lauded as the greatest contributor to quelling the rebellion.

However, later generations, upon careful analysis, discovered it was actually a massive conspiracy orchestrated by the Empire.

This was because the criminal framed as the leader of the traitors in the incident was an old general of the kingdom, who had rendered outstanding service during the defense of the royal capital ten years prior.

With this rebirth, Xie Shenhong naturally wouldn’t allow a loyal minister of the kingdom to be wrongly accused. Therefore—

‘Only one week left?’

Xie Shenhong gazed at the blond boy who claimed he would help him, a cold yet somewhat desolate look in his eyes.