I'm Trapped Inside a Prince as the Most Powerful Entity-Chapter 167: The Bitter Truth

A few days later Cian and Samba finally regained consciousness.

As they opened their eyes they were greeted by the sight of their fellow Red Team members gathered around their beds in the Academy’s infirmary.

Their faces were downcast. Their expressions were a mixture of somber disappointment and a profound shared sense of humiliation.

Samba while a prominent and influential member was not yet a senior student. Cian however was. He was a fourth-year a powerhouse within the Academy a figure who commanded immense respect from his peers.

More than that he hailed from one of the most powerful noble families in the entire Empire.

It was a family whose wealth and influence stemmed from supplying high-quality weapons to other kingdoms.

To be from such a family to possess such immense personal power and prestige and to have been so utterly defeated by a first-year... it was an unprecedented blow to his pride. It was a stain on his honor.

As Cian sat up in his bed the last thing he remembered was the blur of "Eric’s" fist wreathed in that strange white energy. He remembered the explosive impact and then... nothing.

The memory of that moment of the searing pain and the instant oblivion that followed caused a fresh wave of rage to surge through him. He wanted revenge.

He wanted to make Eric pay. He wanted to crush him to erase the stain of this terrible humiliation from his memory.

He had been so certain of their plan. The entire Red Team leadership had discussed it beforehand. If Eric reacted to their provocations if he started a fight they would retaliate with overwhelming force.

They would destroy him publicly and decisively in front of the entire school.

And because the Red Team would be acting in "self-defense" against the one who started the fight they would receive a minimal punishment if they received any at all.

Eric on the other hand having thrown the first punch would be severely punished by the Academy. That was how it was supposed to work. That was how it had always worked at the Academy.

The upperclassmen always won.

Cian still confident that despite his own personal defeat the overall plan had succeeded looked to his comrades.

He was eager to hear the good news. He wanted to hear that the school administration had come down hard on Eric.

He wanted to hear that they had given Eric a punishment so severe it would wash away the bitter taste of his own frustration and defeat. A smile of grim anticipation began to form on his face.

He looked at his friends the other leaders of the Red Team Simon Somya and Shreya. "So," he said his voice a low eager growl "tell me. What punishment did that insect Eric receive? Did they expel him?"

The moment he asked the question the already somber expressions on his teammates’ faces darkened even further. The air in the room became heavy with an unspoken dreadful truth.

Cian seeing their reaction was completely taken aback. His smile vanished. Before he could even ask what was wrong Simon let out a long heavy sigh.

"I am sorry to have to tell you this my friend," Simon said his voice filled with a profound bitter regret "but... the Academy administration did not give Eric any punishment at all. None."

Cian stared at him his mind refusing to process the words.

"What?" he whispered his voice a strangled disbelieving croak. He had never in his worst nightmares imagined such an outcome.

That the school administration would so blatantly favor Eric simply because he was some "future candidate" who might one day surpass the Emperor... it was unthinkable. It was unjust.

"Seriously?" Cian demanded his voice rising with a mixture of disbelief and a dawning furious rage.

"What are you talking about Simon? Is the Principal so completely under Eric’s influence that he would just ignore what Eric did in the cafeteria? I won’t let this happen! I’ll talk to my father about this! I’ll take this complaint all the way to the Emperor himself if I have to!"

Simon seeing Cian’s rising fury steeled himself. He knew he had to tell him the rest of the story. And he knew it would not be easy.

If Cian was this upset just hearing that Eric had not been punished at all how would he react when he learned the full extent of the Principal’s judgment?

Simon took a deep breath. He looked at Cian his own expression now one of grim seriousness.

"The Principal was furious," he began his voice low and steady. "And he has decided that he will be reporting this entire incident to the Emperor."

Cian was stunned into silence. If the Principal was reporting the incident to the Emperor then how could he possibly be favoring Eric? "But... but then how can he still be favoring that... that Eric?" Cian stammered his mind a whirlwind of confusion.

"Will the Emperor allow this to happen? Will he allow his own laws to be broken?" He was about to continue to voice his disbelief but Simon held up a hand stopping him.

"The Principal did not punish Eric," Simon continued his voice now a low almost painful whisper. "But he did punish the Red Team."

Cian stared at him his confusion now morphing into a dawning sickening dread.

"Especially," Simon added his gaze now shifting to include both Cian and the equally bewildered Samba who was in the bed next to him "the two of you."

The words hit them with the force of a physical blow.

The color drained from both Cian’s and Samba’s faces. Their hearts began to pound in their chests a frantic terrified drumbeat.

They had never imagined not even for a single second that the Principal would punish the Red Team instead of Eric. And to single out the two of them... it was inconceivable. It was impossible.

"Wh-what do you mean the two of us?" Cian stammered his voice now laced with a clear undeniable fear. "There were other members of the Red Team involved in the fight! Why just us? What about you Simon?"

Simon did not get angry at Cian’s desperate almost accusatory question. He did not react aggressively. He knew that any other member in Cian’s position would have reacted in the same way.

The judgment was so far beyond anything they could have anticipated that it defied all logic all precedent.

Shreya the Red Team’s sharp-minded strategist saw Cian’s rising panic. She let out a long slow sigh. "We understand your feelings Cian," she said.

Her voice was calm and measured a stark contrast to the swirling emotions of anger fear and disbelief that filled the infirmary room. "But this was not our decision. It was not my decision or Simon’s or Somya’s. It was the Principal’s final judgment."

Her words were meant to soothe him to make him understand that their hands were tied. But they did nothing of the sort. Cian scrambled out of his bed. His movements were frantic and clumsy.

His earlier arrogance his noble pride was completely gone. It was replaced by a raw primal fear. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He stumbled over to Simon grabbing him by the shoulders. His grip was desperate.

"Simon you’re my friend aren’t you?" he pleaded his voice cracking with a fear he had never shown before.

"You are my closest friend in this entire Academy. Then why didn’t you stop the Principal? Tell me! Why didn’t you do something?! Why did you just let him do this to me and Samba?!" He was yelling now his control completely gone.

Simon looked at Cian his own face a mask of bitter regret and a profound sense of helplessness.

"The Principal involved my family Cian," he said his voice a low defeated whisper.

"He threatened me by mentioning my father. There was nothing I could do. You know how my father is." The mention of his powerful father had been a direct unassailable threat.

It was one that had stripped Simon of all his power all his agency in that moment. He had been powerless to help his friends.

Samba who had been listening to this exchange with a growing sense of dread also stood up from his bed. His movements were unsteady. He was not from a great noble family like Cian and Simon.

He came from the family of a wealthy and influential merchant within the Empire.

It was this immense wealth that had allowed him to form a close friendship with high-ranking nobles like Simon and Cian. He too was now terrified of what the Principal had decided.

"Did... did the Principal expel us?" Samba asked. His voice was trembling so much he could barely get the words out. "Did he expel us from the Academy? Is that our punishment?"

Hearing his question Simon and Shreya exchanged a heavy meaningful glance. Shreya took a deep breath. She steeled herself to deliver the final devastating blow the last piece of terrible news.

"Actually," she began her voice soft almost gentle as if speaking to a frightened child "the Principal did not expel you from the Academy."

The moment Cian heard these words a massive wave of pure relief washed over him.

He let out a long shuddering breath a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. A wide almost manic smile spread across his face.

"Simon you scared me!" he exclaimed a hysterical laugh bubbling up in his throat.

"For a moment there I thought it was all over! If the Principal didn’t expel me then why do all of you look so miserable? Anything is better than expulsion!"

For Cian being expelled from the United Academy was the worst possible outcome. It was the one thing he feared most.

His family his proud powerful father would have subjected him to a punishment far worse than anything the Academy could ever devise.

His father would see it as a stain on their family’s honor. As long as he wasn’t expelled any other punishment any other humiliation was bearable.

His relief however was very short-lived.

Simon suddenly grabbed Cian’s shoulders. His grip was tight almost painful. He looked directly into Cian’s eyes. His own expression was one of grim profound pity.

"The Principal," Simon said his voice a low flat devastating whisper

"has sentenced you... to serve Eric and his new group. For the rest of your time here. Until the day you graduate from this Academy. And if you refuse to obey them if you show any sign of defiance or disrespect... you will be expelled immediately."

The words each one a hammer blow fell into the stunned silence of the room. They shattered Cian’s world into a million irreparable pieces. His smile froze on his face then crumbled away.

His eyes went wide with horror. His mind reeled refusing to accept what he had just heard. It couldn’t be true.

It was a nightmare.

A punishment worse than any he could have ever imagined.

To serve a first-year a boy from a weak kingdom an upstart who had humiliated him... it was a fate worse than death.

It was the end of his pride his honor everything he stood for. He felt a darkness descend over him a feeling of complete and utter despair.

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