Seeing Huberrian's attitude, a slight smile appeared at the corners of Modan's mouth, but there was no trace of mirth in his pupils.

"Huberrian... No one would be willing to entrust their back to a filthy thing like you, but I don't mind, because you have no ability to resist me."

The contempt in his eyes was as if he already regarded Huberrian as a plaything in his palm.

"Sooner or later you'll come begging me, it's just a matter of time. After all, you know that you can't find your father on your own... But by then, you'll have no dignity left, I guarantee you that."

He lowered his voice and said beside Huberrian.

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

"..."

Huberrian clenched her fists tightly, but gritted her teeth without saying anything.

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

Moreover, she knew well that without any power to threaten the enemy, all retorts and intimidation would be just empty posturing.

Not only would it not make the other party feel afraid, it would only make them more pleased and go even further.

Even if Huberrian wanted to defeat Modan in a duel and teach him a lesson, she couldn't do it.

Modan, a gold-level registered challenger in the third year of the Sage Academy, had already far surpassed Huberrian in terms of strength. Plus, she would waste this precious first year unable to challenge the Shadow World.

The gap between her and Modan would only grow larger and larger.

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

Seeing Huberrian like this, Modan seemed satisfied and even laughed lightly without hiding it, as if enjoying it.

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

"The once-in-a-century talented young lady of Hutton, now needing to rely on a clumsy lawyer just to pass the entrance exam of Icerite Academy. How pathetic."

However, after this sentence, Huberrian seemed to finally snap, glaring fiercely at Modan.

"Oh? Someone's angry?"

Modan narrowed his eyes, knowing Huberrian had taken the bait. This duchess had always been able to endure others' sarcastic and harsh words, but she couldn't tolerate others slandering her friends. He knew her too well.

Just as he was about to continue toying with Huberrian's state of mind with his words.

"Wait..."

A slightly drowsy voice caught their attention.

It seemed that Modan and Huberrian's conversation had already woken up Lanqi.

He was originally very sleepy, almost falling asleep again in a half-awake state, but then he heard this guy called Modan seemingly taking a jab at him, which changed the nature of the situation.

Lanqi turned his head with sleepy eyes, resting on his arm and staring at the two who had been talking just now.

"Modan... classmate? You should check the Icerite Academy Student Code of Conduct. You shouldn't have called Huberrian a 'filthy thing' just now. On page 35, line 13, it states that personal attacks on other students are violations of school rules."

The casual words echoed in the classroom, and the air fell into silence under this sudden change.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Huberrian instinctively turned to look. Lanqi was still lying down, his expression lazy, yet completely different from usual.

Modan frowned as he looked at this guy who was muttering with lowered eyes. Those emerald pupils were flickering like glowing gems.

He hadn't noticed earlier that there was someone lying here sleeping quietly, not expecting that the rumored black-haired, green-eyed rule freak was right here.

However, hearing Lanqi's words, it was clear he intended to interfere, which made Modan laugh.

"So what if I did personally attack her?"

Modan's voice was as cold as a winter wind, as if warning Lanqi about his life.

Everyone knew that these school rules that were all thunder and no rain never had any actual punishments.

Lanqi's reminder was as childish and laughable as a kid threatening to tell on someone to their parents.

Hearing this, Lanqi finally raised his head and sat up a bit straighter.

He was pretty sure now that this guy called Modan really liked to mock others with his words. Just a couple of sentences, and he had already started retorting.

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

"Do you know that in the Hutton Kingdom, there are crimes of insult, defamation, and insulting nobility? Although you two can't technically constitute the third criminal offense before officially inheriting your titles, at most it would be considered a civil dispute.

But, Miss Huberrian's application to inherit the duke title has presumably been submitted since her father's disappearance, and is now just stuck in the tedious processing stage. If it passes, then according to Hutton Kingdom regulations, the time she becomes a duchess will be calculated from the submission date.

At that time, she will be able to prosecute you for insulting her, a female duchess, with malicious personal attacks and frivolous words. 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 when apologizing."

Although Lanqi's tone was steady, there was a sense of authority in his calmness, like an all-encompassing net that lets nothing slip through.

After these words fell,

The classroom, which had some idle chatter before, suddenly seemed to fall into a frozen state.

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

Senior students coming to new grade classrooms to briefly talk with interested newcomers was a common occurrence after school started.

Even though Modan's words and actions did make quite a few students in the classroom feel a bit uncomfortable - the interaction between Marquis Modan's son and Duchess Huberrian was clearly not normal friendly recruitment.

But precisely because Modan was oppressing Huberrian, this complex private grudge between nobles was something most people wouldn't dare to interfere with.

No one wanted to be associated with this ill-fated duchess, and even fewer wanted to offend a powerful senior team leader like Modan who had both power and influence.

And now, the top freshman of the Sage Academy couldn't stand it anymore and was going to confront the marquis's son face to face!

Actually, many people present understood that the crimes Lanqi mentioned weren't very threatening, at most they could be resolved with an apology and a fine.

The annoying part about Lanqi was -

If he really wanted to be serious and won the case against Modan, leaving a criminal record for the noble Marquis's son during his school years, this humiliation would be like a brand, becoming a joke in noble circles that would follow him for life.

However.

Modan Gasigus was not someone easy to mess with...

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

After listening to Lanqi, Modan just smiled.

"Lucky Lanqi Wilford, I know you understand some law and like to 'uphold justice'. But this kind of cleverness is useless against me. I can turn around and sue you for defamation and provocation."

He narrowed his eyes with a smile at the corners, looking down on Lanqi's naivety and foolishness.

As a nobleman, he obviously understood the "crime of insulting nobility" better than Lanqi.

Even if there were witnesses present, "insult" was just Lanqi's subjective judgment. If it really went to court, Lanqi would have no way to objectively prove that Modan harbored strong insulting intentions.

Although the Hutton Kingdom had strict laws and efficient judicial enforcement processes, it was not as extremely harsh as the Holy Kingdom in the [Winter Concealment Flame] Shadow World.

Some charges had always been difficult to convict, unless you had the assistance of an absolutely overwhelming lawyer expert.

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

Modan asked Lanqi in a rather mocking tone.

"You admitted it yourself," Lanqi replied calmly.

"...?"

Lanqi's words obviously stunned everyone in the classroom.

But they soon realized.

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

It's over.

Modan had been caught in Lanqi's logic!