Lanchi's Trap Question

Seeing Hughberlian's attitude, Modan's lips curved slightly, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Hughberlian... no one would be willing to entrust their back to something as dirty as you, but I don't mind, because you have no ability to resist me."

The contempt in his eyes was as if he had long since regarded Hughberlian as a plaything in his palm.

"One day you will come begging me, it's just a matter of sooner or later. After all, you know that it's impossible for you to find your father on your own... But by then, you will have no dignity left, I promise you."

He lowered his voice and spoke beside Hughberlian.

His original intention was to humiliate Hughberlian, and now he wasn't even pretending anymore.

"..."

Hughberlian clenched her fists tightly, but bit her lip, unable to say anything.

Even though her heart was filled with anger, a deep, uncontrollable rage, she didn't want to bother with this scoundrel.

Moreover, she knew very well that without any strength to threaten the enemy, all her rebuttals and threats would just be bluster.

Not only would it not make the other party afraid, but it would only make them more pleased and escalate their actions.

Even if Hughberlian wanted to defeat Modan severely through a duel and teach him a lesson, she couldn't.

Modan, a Gold Tier registered challenger in the third year of the Sage Institute, had already far surpassed Hughberlian in terms of strength. Furthermore, she had to waste this precious first year by not being able to challenge the Shadow World.

The gap between her and Modan would only grow wider.

"It seems I was right, you don't even have the courage to resist me."

Seeing Hughberlian's appearance, Modan seemed satisfied, even letting out a light laugh without any concealment, as if he was enjoying it.

Modan's occasional laughter was not only an insult to her, but also a trampling on her always noble status and dignity.

"The Duke Miss who was once called the once-in-a-century genius of Hutton, now needs to rely on a clumsy lawyer to pass the Iketerite Academy Entrance Examination, how pathetic."

However, after this sentence, Hughberlian seemed to finally be unable to bear it and glared fiercely at Modan.

"Oh? Someone's angry?"

Modan narrowed his eyes, knowing that Hughberlian had taken the bait. This Duke Miss could always tolerate others' harsh and sarcastic words, but she absolutely could not tolerate others slandering her friends. He understood her too well.

Just as he was about to continue playing with Hughberlian's emotions with words.

"Wait..."

A slightly sleepy voice attracted their attention.

Modan and Hughberlian's conversation just now seemed to have woken Lanchi up.

He was originally very sleepy, almost falling asleep again in a semi-conscious state, but then he heard this guy named Modan seemed to have provoked him, and the nature of the matter changed.

Lanchi turned his head with sleepy eyes, resting his arm on his pillow and staring at the two people who had been talking.

"Modan... student? You should probably look through the Iketerite Academy Student Handbook. You shouldn't have called student Hughberlian a 'dirty thing' just now. It's written on page 35, line 13, that personal attacks on other students are against school rules."

The indifferent words echoed in the classroom, and the air fell silent under this sudden change.

Hughberlian subconsciously turned her head to look. Lanchi was still lying down, his expression lazy, but completely different from usual.

Modan frowned, looking at the young man who was lowering his gaze and speaking softly. His emerald green pupils flickered like faintly glowing gems.

He hadn't even noticed the guy who was quietly sleeping there just now. He didn't expect the rumored rule-breaking anomaly with black hair and green eyes to be here.

However, hearing Lanchi's words, it seemed he was determined to stir things up, which made Modan chuckle.

"So what if I personally attacked her?"

Modan's voice was as cold as a biting wind, speaking as if warning Lanchi about his life.

Everyone knew that school rules like these, which were all bark and no bite, never had any actual punishment.

Lanchi's reminder was as childish and ridiculous as a child threatening to tell on someone.

Upon hearing this, Lanchi finally raised his head and sat up a bit straighter.

He was probably certain now that this guy named Modan really liked to mock others with words. He only said a couple of sentences, and Modan immediately started retorting.

Unfortunately, he was an amateur when it came to mental games.

"Do you know? The Hutton Kingdom has Insult Crime, Defamation Crime, and Insulting Nobility Crime. Although strictly speaking, before you two formally inherit your titles, you cannot be held criminally responsible for the third crime, at most it would be considered a civil dispute. However, Miss Hughberlian's application to inherit the Duke Title has likely been submitted since her father's disappearance. It's just currently stuck in the complicated processing stage. Once it's approved, according to the Hutton Kingdom's regulations, the time she becomes a Duke will be calculated from the submission date. At that time, she can prosecute you for insulting her, a Duchess, with malicious personal attacks and frivolous words. And with so many witnesses present, you won't be able to escape. As for whether it's a fine or imprisonment, that will depend on your attitude towards admitting your mistake."

Lanchi's voice was steady, yet there was a sense of inescapable authority within its calmness.

After these words fell.

The classroom, which had been filled with some idle chatter, suddenly fell into a state of solidification.

All the students in the classroom, whether eavesdropping, curious, or staring, mostly looked towards the back row of the classroom.

It was a common occurrence after the start of the school year for senior students to come to the new students' classrooms for a brief chat with interested newcomers.

Even though Modan's words and actions did make quite a few students in the classroom feel a bit uncomfortable—the relationship between Marquis Young Master Modan and Duke Miss Hughberlian was clearly not a normal friendly recruitment.

But precisely because Modan was bullying Hughberlian, this kind of complex private feud between nobles was something that people generally wouldn't dare to get involved in.

No one wanted to be associated with this ominous Duke Miss, and even less did they want to offend Modan, such a powerful and influential leader of a senior team.

And now, the top-ranked freshman of the Sage Institute couldn't stand it anymore and was going to confront the Marquis Young Master head-on!

In fact, many people present understood that the crimes Lanchi mentioned were not very threatening; at most, they could be resolved by admitting fault and paying a fine.

The annoying thing about Lanchi was this—

If he really wanted to be serious and sue Modan, winning the case and leaving a criminal record for Modan, a dignified Marquis Young Master, for committing a crime while at school, this shame would be like a brand, becoming a laughingstock in noble circles and accompanying him for the rest of his life.

However.

Modan Gasigas was not someone to be easily provoked...

Up until this moment, Modan's expression remained unchanged, not at all moved by Lanchi's words.

After listening to Lanchi, Modan just smiled.

"Lucky Lanchi Wilford, I know you understand a bit of law and like to 'uphold justice'. But this kind of petty cleverness is useless against me. I'll even sue you back for defamation and provoking trouble."

He squinted slightly with a smile in his eyes, condescendingly mocking Lanchi's immaturity and foolishness.

As a noble, he clearly understood "Insulting Nobility Crime" better than Lanchi.

Even if there were witnesses present, "insult" was merely Lanchi's subjective judgment. If it were to go to court, Lanchi would have no way to objectively prove that Modan harbored a strong intent to insult.

Although the Hutton Nation had strict laws and efficient judicial procedures, it was not as extremely harsh as the Holy Kingdom in the Shadow World of the Hidden Flame of Winter.

Some crimes were always difficult to convict, unless you had the assistance of an absolutely overwhelming legal expert.

"I insulted her? How can you prove that to the judge? Can you read my thoughts and intentions?"

Modan asked Lanchi with a mocking tone.

"You admitted it yourself."

Lanchi replied calmly.

"…?"

Lanchi's words clearly stunned everyone in the classroom.

But they quickly realized.

At the very beginning, Modan had indeed asked Lanchi a question – "So what if I did personally attack her?"

It was over.

Modan had been trapped by Lanchi's logic.