Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 18: The Commoner Girl, Rinne (1)

The training grounds at Seorn were open spaces accessible to everyone.

With such vast areas available—and three separate facilities at that—students could freely practice magic {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} wherever they wished.

At the start of the semester, it was always the first-years, brimming with curiosity over Seorn’s prestigious facilities, who used them the most.

Naturally, it was also the first-years who were most prone to causing small incidents.

These were students who, no matter where they went, had been hailed as geniuses before coming to Seorn.

Having never truly faced competition, these newcomers still clung to the belief that they were the best, fiercely protective of their pride.

There was no room for compromise between them.

For now, they might behave indifferently around each other, but as classes progressed and their paths overlapped, clashes would inevitably occur.

And the place where those incidents happened most often—was right here in Training Ground 1.

Just like now.

“What? Say that again.”

“...This place is for everyone to use freely. I don’t see any reason why I should leave.”

Rinne frowned as she stared back at the three students glaring at her with contempt.

A rare sight even within the Empire, her ashen-gray hair had drawn some attention when she visited Training Ground 1 out of curiosity, only to be picked on shortly after.

The reason? Nothing significant.

They told her to leave because they were going to use the space.

Not even politely. They outright ordered her to get lost, claiming they didn’t want to share space with a “commoner.”

The training grounds weren’t even crowded, and there was plenty of room for everyone.

But they singled her out—clearly looking for trouble.

Her aggressors were three: one girl and two boys.

All of them bore the refined air of noble families.

The one leading the charge and spitting the most venomous words was a first-year named Dunema Romli, daughter of Count Romli.

Her golden hair cascaded down to her waist, the ends curled into neat rolls.

One glance at her haughty expression was enough to know her personality was... far from pleasant.

Still, Rinne hadn’t expected her to pick a fight this openly.

“If it bothers you so much, you can leave.”

“Ha! Did you just talk back to me? You filthy, arrogant commoner daring to answer me, of all people?!”

“...Seorn doesn’t rank students by social class or bloodline. Didn’t you learn that when you enrolled here?”

“That’s just what you lot want to believe. Pathetic. Believing those flattering words as if they were law. That’s exactly why you people are beneath us.”

“She’s right, Lady Dunema. This is why lowly commoners can never be trusted.”

“It’s no wonder people say you should never be kind to those beneath you.”

The two boys flanked Dunema, eagerly stroking her ego.

Rinne bit her lip.

From the start, they had no intention of actually listening to what she had to say. Because to them, she was just a commoner.

If she kept arguing, it would only exhaust her.

So Rinne decided not to engage at all—and turned away.

That act, unfortunately, struck a nerve with the prideful Dunema.

“...A filthy commoner, ignoring me after I spoke?”

Count Romli was a textbook noble, steeped in supremacist ideals and disdain for the lower classes.

And his only daughter, Dunema, had inherited every inch of that mindset.

Having grown up hearing and seeing nothing but that, it was inevitable she’d turn out this way.

Dunema believed she was destined to be the star of Seorn Academy.

Sure, the second-years had their share of powerful seniors—but among the first-years, she had to shine the brightest.

That’s what she’d believed.

But upon arrival, she quickly discovered that most students here were her equals—or worse, her betters. And for someone who had been pampered her entire life, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

Unacceptable.

It was already unbearable sharing a classroom with commoners. But to accept that some of those commoners might be more talented than her?

That was something she could never allow.

Nobles were meant to be above all others.

Because they were born that way.

She was chosen. Those lowly commoners existed solely to make her stand out—to be used and discarded.

And among those commoners, Rinne was particularly intolerable.

Dunema had first noticed her in class.

Her rare ash-gray hair had drawn some attention—but more than that, it was Rinne’s beauty that truly got under Dunema’s skin.

She looked like something not of this world—like a doll carefully sculpted by a goddess of beauty.

Even Dunema, a fellow girl, found herself envying her for a moment.

That made her furious.

Dunema couldn’t forgive herself—or the wretched commoner who made her feel that way.

She needed someone to take her anger out on, and of course, that target became Rinne.

So she picked a fight, hoping to crush that proud attitude.

What is with that smug expression?!

That look in Rinne’s eyes—as if she found Dunema pathetic—infuriated her.

Grinding her teeth, Dunema glared at Rinne’s back.

You think you can ignore me and walk away unharmed?!

She drew her wand.

It was so sudden that even her two sycophants couldn’t react in time.

And neither could Rinne.

She never imagined the girl would actually use magic on someone walking away.

Not at Seorn, of all places.

“You dare, you filthy commoner!”

Mana swelled, forming a spell, as the sparks of searing lightning scattered around her.

Sensing something off, Rinne turned around—her blue eyes widening in shock.

Too late, you fool.

Dunema curled her lips into a cruel grin.

She wouldn’t kill her. But she would leave a nice little burn on that oh-so-perfect face.

Just as she was about to unleash the spell—

—a blinding flash pierced through her magic.

Dunema’s face twisted in disbelief as she stared at the dissipating sparks of her failed spell.

“Who did that?!”

She whipped her head toward the direction the interference came from—

—and saw him.

A man staring down at her from the spectator’s platform.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

His voice, laced with icy calm, cut through the air like the chill winds of the northern continent.

Just hearing it made her skin bristle instinctively.

The kind of presence that made your teeth clench involuntarily.

He was no ordinary student. Not a staff member either. And with that unforgettable presence, there was no way Dunema didn’t recognize him.

“P-Professor Ludger...?”

“While making my rounds, I sensed a sudden magical fluctuation and came to investigate.”

His gaze swept over Rinne, Dunema and her companions, and the students nearby who had stood by without intervening.

“To think you were about to cause such a scene.”

This wasn’t just a fight between students.

It was a clear case of one side attempting to ambush the other.

“You must think very little of Seorn.”

If they had faced each other in a proper duel, he could’ve let them off with just a warning.

But launching an unprovoked magical attack on someone unprepared? That was unmistakably an act of one-sided assault.

And a teacher had witnessed it with his own eyes.

“What’s so wrong about that?!”

Already red with fury, Dunema shouted back in defiance.

“As a noble, I was merely protecting my authority—!”

“Authority? Authority for what, exactly?”

“She... this commoner dared to—”

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“At Seorn, all students are equal. Lessons, knowledge, and magic are judged only by talent and passion—not your so-called noble blood.”

Ludger’s words left no room for interpretation.

Dunema bit her lip.

Even after everything, she showed no signs of remorse. Ludger shook his head in disappointment.

He had been certain the first-years would be the ones to cause problems.

Precisely because they were still ignorant of how the world worked.

They judged everything based on the environment they’d been raised in—assuming their world was the entire world.

That narrow, arrogant mindset was exactly what led to trouble.

Just like what he saw in Dunema Romli.

But ignorance was not an excuse.

If narrow-minded thinking led to problems, then Seorn’s policy was not to forgive—but to correct it with discipline.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“You’ve caused a serious problem when the semester’s barely even started. At the very least, understand that this means you will not avoid disciplinary action.”

“You. Follow me. Now.”

With that, Ludger turned his back.

That should be enough to drive the point home.

He assumed that a clear warning like this would be enough to settle the incident.

Of course, it wasn’t just an empty threat—he fully intended to follow through with punishment.

This wasn’t just any misbehavior. It was a cowardly attempt to ambush a fellow student.

“A lowly fallen noble like you dares to lecture me...”

But then Dunema Romli muttered that line.

And the already quiet training ground fell into utter silence.

“L-Lady Dunema...?”

Even the two boys who had flanked her and echoed her every word now broke out in cold sweat.

Even they knew this had gone too far.

Even Ludger Cherish, who had been about to leave, paused mid-step.

This was bad.

The color drained from the faces of the surrounding students.

Dunema, realizing far too late what she had just said, froze.

But what had been spoken could not be taken back.

“...What did you just say?”

Ludger’s voice dropped even lower, now aimed solely at Dunema.

And then—his body lifted into the air.

He descended slowly from the spectator’s platform, as if walking on air, before landing on the ground and approaching Dunema step by step.

Thud. Thud.

With every footstep Ludger took, Dunema felt as if the world itself were collapsing around her.

She hadn’t noticed from afar, but now that he was close, the sheer pressure he emanated was overwhelming.

He seemed like a giant.

A towering presence that could crush her with the mere twitch of a finger.

“A-Ah...”

She had said something truly vile without even realizing it.

There were some lines that should never be crossed, and she had crossed them.

Of course Ludger was furious.

“Did you just call me... a fallen noble?”

“I-I... ah...”

Dunema couldn’t even move her lips properly under Ludger’s gaze, his face darkened in shadow as he stared down at her.

The intensity he exuded was so murderous, it felt like someone could actually die.

The other students, sensing the tension, began wondering whether they should intervene—

“Professor Ludger!”

A voice rang out—Selina, the new Spirit Arts instructor, rushed into the training ground, calling Ludger’s name.

She’d just arrived after hearing what had happened.

And the sight that greeted her was Ludger, glaring down at a trembling girl like he was about to devour her.

No way... Surely not...

A tinge of fear flickered through her mind.

Just as she was about to step in—

Ludger spoke.

“...She’s not entirely wrong.”

It was not what anyone expected.

“...What?”

“What did the professor just say...?”

Everyone had expected him to explode in rage.

To deliver punishment on the spot.

“I am a fallen noble. That part’s true. But this is Seorn—and I am a teacher at Seorn. Dunema, what you said was a direct challenge to a teacher’s authority.”

But Ludger did neither.

He simply spoke, his voice infinitely calm, like he was offering guidance rather than scolding.

“But before being a noble, or a student, you’re still a child. I can understand if you didn’t know better the first time.”

“Ah...”

“So I’ll overlook your choice of words this once. But know this—there won’t be a second time.”

It was an unexpected, yet undeniably mature response.

The students could only stare in stunned silence.

“Of course, what you attempted against your classmate will result in an appropriate disciplinary action. I hope you’ll reflect on it.”

At the word “disciplinary,” Dunema felt like the world was collapsing around her—but she couldn’t protest.

Every word Ludger had said was so precise, so irrefutable, that it left no room for argument.

In fact, some might even say he had gone too easy on her.

As Dunema silently lowered her head, Ludger turned his gaze toward the ashen-haired girl—Rinne.

“And you. Rinne.”

“Y-Yes?!”

Rinne flinched at the sound of her name being called by Ludger.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“...Pardon?”

“I asked if you’re hurt.”

“Ah—ah! No, I’m okay! I’m perfectly fine! You helped me, so...!”

“Good.”

Ludger gave a slight nod, then turned his head to Selina.

“Instructor Selina. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Y-Yes!”

Leaving those final words to Selina, Ludger walked out of the training grounds.

Until his figure disappeared into the shadows of the corridor—

No one dared move.

They could only stand still, motionless—

And watch Ludger’s back as he left.