Tyril couldn’t understand—didn’t Anya care about her parents’ lives?
Overcome with frustration, he screamed at her, his voice cracking with rage:
“You crazy woman! Why?! Why would you betray me?!”
“Do you think betraying me will cure your mother’s illness? It’s all fake! You’ll face the consequences for this!”
Anya, terrified, collapsed to the ground.
“Enough!” At that moment, Orson rushed onto the stage and restrained Tyril.
“Executive Director Manuel, please come up here.” Luca called out.
“Understood.” Manuel nodded calmly and walked onto the stage.
“According to academy regulations and disciplinary rules, how should we deal with Tyril?” Luca asked.
“Tyril violated the academy’s rules by attacking a fellow student and framing another. Additionally, he coerced another student into becoming his accomplice, which severely disrupted the harmony of the student body. He should be expelled.”
“Furthermore, his accomplices should face at least probationary punishment.”
“Understood.” Luca nodded, then turned to Tyril, who was being held on the ground by Orson.
“Tyril, I’ll ask you one final question. Answer truthfully. Your response may reduce your punishment.”
“Alright.” Tyril nodded.
“Did anyone instruct you to do this, or were you coerced by someone else?”
Donny’s heart skipped a beat when he heard Luca’s question.
He was terrified that Tyril would expose him. If Tyril implicated him as the mastermind, at the very least, Donny would face probation.
More importantly, it would ruin his reputation. In the future, no one would trust him to scheme against Orson and Litte again.
Tyril listened to the question, deep in thought for a long moment, before slowly speaking:
“No, I acted entirely on my own.”
“I provoked Litte initially because I looked down on him as a noble from the countryside.”
“After Orson punched me, I held a grudge against both of them. Everything I did was my own plan to get revenge on them.”
“Very well.” Luca nodded. “In that case, Tyril, you will no longer be a student of the Imperial Academy. Furthermore, the doors of this academy will remain closed to you forever. You may pack your belongings. Tomorrow, we will forcibly escort you out of the academy.”
“Understood.” Tyril accepted the outcome.
In truth, he knew he couldn’t beat Orson and Litte—it was simply a matter of his own incompetence and inferiority. He had no one to blame but himself.
With this realization, he actually felt a sense of relief.
However, it was a pity that he had failed to complete the task assigned to him by Young Master Donny and had fallen short of Donny’s expectations.
Tyril left in disgrace. At that moment, Orson stepped up to the podium.
“I’d like to say a few words.”
Orson addressed the students below.
“When this incident first came to light, aside from a few individuals, no one believed in Litte. Many even assumed I would abuse my authority to protect him.”
“But as you’ve all seen, this was a textbook case of false accusation.”
“When I initially said this, no one understood. Instead, I was ridiculed, and my words were dismissed as excuses to clear Litte’s name.”
“I understand that many of you were influenced by certain individuals with ulterior motives, following their logic and way of thinking. But I also believe that deep down, you all have good hearts and a genuine desire for justice.”
“However, in the future, when you encounter such incidents again, I hope you can be a bit less emotional and a bit more rational. Take the time to carefully consider the reasons and motives behind the events, rather than blindly following others, believing their words, or being misled by them. After all, if you end up falsely accusing an innocent person, I’m sure none of you would feel good about it.”
“That’s all.”
With Orson’s concluding remarks, the trial officially came to an end.
For most of the audience, they had witnessed a dramatic reversal, learned a valuable lesson, and gained insight from the experience.
—
In the dormitory, Orson, Olivia, and Litte sat together.
Only now did Olivia reveal to Orson everything she had done.
“Well, what do you think? Wasn’t it a nice surprise?” She looked at Orson with a playful smile.
“Yes, it was indeed a surprise.” Orson nodded.
Litte looked at Olivia, listening to how she had gone out of her way for her, even mobilizing her family’s resources. For the first time, she didn’t find her as annoying as before.
Other than competing with her for Orson, she wasn’t so bad after all.
“Thank you, Sister Olivia.” Litte finally spoke up to express her gratitude.
“There’s no need to thank me. It was the least I could do.” Olivia smiled.
“Oh, by the way.” Olivia suddenly remembered something and turned to Orson.
“Orson, who is Celineina?” Her eyes narrowed, a hint of danger in her tone.
“Uh…” Orson hesitated for a moment, then said, “She’s… sort of a friend, I guess. She’s with the Antica branch of the Silver Moon Trading Company. I’ve had some dealings with her.”
“Oh~” Olivia nodded, a hint of amusement in her tone. “And those dealings included holding her waist and getting up close to her face, didn’t they?”
“What?!” Litte was visibly shocked, turning to Orson with a questioning look in her eyes. “Orson, what’s going on?! Didn’t you tell me the other day that you only chatted with Sister Celineina?!”
“That’s exactly what happened—we just chatted.”
“Then why did I hear a version where you invited her to dance, held her by the waist, and got your face very close to hers?”
“Those are all rumors, absolute nonsense!” Orson quickly said. “Who told you that? I need to find out why they’re spreading lies about me.”
“I’m not telling you who.” Olivia covered her mouth and chuckled.
—
Meanwhile, Tyril, thoroughly defeated, arrived at Donny’s dormitory.
He had come to say goodbye to Donny.
And to ask for something.
After all, he had sacrificed his entire academic career at the Imperial Academy for Donny and had refrained from exposing him.
Young Master Donny had always treated him well, so surely he would offer some form of compensation, right?
With that hope in mind, Tyril entered the study.
“Young Master Donny, I’ll be leaving tomorrow.” He kept his head low as he spoke.
“I know.” Donny nodded.
“Um, Young Master Donny, considering everything I’ve sacrificed for you, could you perhaps...”
Donny forced a smile, suppressing his anger.
“I understand. Come closer. I have something good for you.”
“Really?” Tyril said, his face lighting up as he eagerly stepped forward.
The next moment, Donny slapped Tyril across the face, sending him sprawling to the ground.
“Useless trash! I gave you so much money, so many resources, and this is the pathetic outcome you produce? And now you dare ask me for something?!”
With those words, Donny began raining punches and kicks on Tyril, venting his fury without restraint.
Tyril could only curl up in pain, clutching his head as he endured the beating.
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have come in the first place.