Apology

When Vivian arrived at the academy, the situation had already been brought under control.

Head maid Aria stood in the central square, exuding a sharp aura, her keen eyes sweeping over everyone present—

Behind her, Lucia stood expressionless, the chill from the Frost Banshee lowering the surrounding temperature by several degrees.

On the square, two groups of students stood distinctly divided.

One side consisted of five or six individuals led by a demon youth in luxurious attire; judging by their simple yet refined clothing and fair skin, they were clearly former noble offspring of the Evernight Territory.

The other side comprised over a dozen plainly dressed students, many bearing scars from long-term labor—marks indicating they were commoners or former slaves.

“What happened?”

Vivian’s voice was not loud, but everyone heard it clearly.

Her mood was evidently poor.

Aria stepped forward, reporting respectfully to Vivian.

“Lord Demon, it went like this—after class ended, that noble youth named Lex over there insulted several former s*ave students, saying they were tarnishing the academy’s purity. Words were exchanged, and then it turned physical.”

Vivian’s gaze fell on the youth named Lex.

The boy was about sixteen or seventeen, with fair skin and regular features. Though his clothes were relatively simple to comply with academy rules, the fabric and craftsmanship were clearly expensive.

At that moment, he held his head high, his eyes toward the other group filled with disdain and arrogance.

“Lex, is it?”

Vivian walked slowly toward him.

“You said they were tarnishing the academy’s purity?”

Lex swallowed hard but forced himself to stay composed.

“Lord Demon, I was only stating the truth…”

Lord Demon, I… I was only stating the truth! The academy is a sacred place for imparting knowledge—how can those lowly…

“Enough.”

Vivian cut him off coldly.

“First, in my academy, there is no word for ‘lowly.’ Only achievements and abilities define a person—second, on the first day of school, I said there is only the distinction between students and teachers here, no nobles or commoners. Did you not understand, or do you think my words carry no weight?”

Vivian’s words were exceptionally cold, so cold that her gaze seemed murderous.

Lex’s face instantly paled, and his speech became stammering.

“L-Lord Demon, I-I didn’t mean that, just…”

“Just that the ideas instilled in you since childhood tell you birth determines everything, right?”

Vivian’s tone grew sharper.

“You think you’re born noble, and they’re born lowly? So even sitting in the same room, you still consider yourself superior.”

Faced with the Demon Lord’s words, Lex fell silent, though the defiance in his eyes was still clear.

Vivian let out an almost inaudible sigh.

She knew changing mindsets couldn’t happen overnight—these children raised in noble families had superiority ingrained in their bones.

Even the new nobles of the Evernight Territory were like this, let alone those with ancient bloodlines.

But she could not tolerate such views spreading in the academy.

“Lex, I give you two choices.”

Vivian said calmly.

“First, leave the academy now and return to your noble manor to continue being your noble young master—I won’t blame you; everyone has the right to choose their lifestyle.”

“Second, stay, but from now on, you must follow the academy’s rules. Any form of discrimination or insult will be severely punished, and for you few, any repeat offense means immediate expulsion—and as the instigator of this conflict, you must publicly apologize to those students.”

“Choose.”

Faced with Vivian’s words, Lex’s face flushed red.

For a noble to apologize to slaves? This was utter humiliation!

But… if he left the academy, he would lose the chance to gain “certification” and join the emerging leadership of Evernight—after all, these nobles knew the Demon Lord had established the academy to cultivate future talent for the territory. The earlier one joined, the better the chance to secure a position and gain an advantage.

His father had sent him here hoping he could carve out a place in Evernight’s new system. Returning in disgrace would disappoint his father utterly and miss the chance to turn things around amid the nobles’ increasingly difficult situation.

After struggling for a long time, Lex finally lowered his head and gritted his teeth.

“I… I’ll choose to stay. Lord Demon, I was wrong.”

“Very good.”

Vivian nodded.

“Then, apologize.”

Lex walked stiffly to the former s*ave students and said rigidly.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things.”

Though his attitude was still reluctant, he had at least taken this step.

The students exchanged glances, clearly not expecting a noble to actually apologize to them.

Finally, one older student said.

“I-It’s fine. We were wrong too for resorting to violence.”

“Very good.”

Vivian surveyed the crowd.

“Let today’s events serve as a warning to all. In Evernight Academy, I don’t care about or consider your origins or pasts. Here, the only things that prove your worth are your abilities and efforts.”

“If anyone still clings to old-era views, claiming innate nobility or baseness, you will never truly understand the meaning of this academy I founded—in one month after opening, I will hold regular assessments to test your learned knowledge, and scores will decide everything.”

“Now—everyone dismissed. Return to class.”

With that, the students gradually dispersed, but Vivian called out to Grue.

“Grue, stay a moment.”

Grue approached nervously.

“Were you involved in the earlier conflict?”

Vivian eyed the boy and asked.

“I-I didn’t fight,”

Grue said, head lowered.

“But when Lex called me a mongrel, I really wanted to beat him… even kill him! But classmates held me back.”

“Mongrel…”

Vivian frowned.

“Because you’re mixed-blood?”

“Yes.”

Grue’s voice was very soft, almost inaudible.

“Neither demons nor beastmen accept mixed-blood like me. Demons say my blood is impure, beastmen say I’m the descendant of traitors—from childhood, I’ve been used to being called that.”

“But this time, I felt especially angry because Lord Demon’s teachings made me think Evernight Territory should no longer be a place that judges by origin.”

Vivian was silent for a moment, then said.

“Grue, let me ask you a question.”

“Please ask, Lord Demon.”

“Do you think a person’s value should be determined by bloodline or by ability?”