Chapter 1
The third time Professor Pierce ignored my question, a live feed materialized in front of me, text scrolling through the air.
[Go, hero, go! A true gentleman, ignores everyone but Sera. 10/10.J
Get lost, you snake. Stop getting in the way of Julian and Sera’s epic romance!]
One comment, glowing a furious red, stood out.
Seriously? He’s a professor. It’s his job to answer questions. If he only wants to teach the heroine, he should just offer private tutoring.J
And that’s when it hit me. I was the villainess of this story, denied even the right to ask the male lead a simple question.
The moment I understood, I dropped his class and found a new mentor.
Later, after I won the Grand Championship in the Mech Artificer competition and became the nation’s newest Grandmaster, Julian Pierce appear- ed on stage, his arms full of flowers, his eyes soft. “Luna,” he said, “if you ever have any technical questions, you know you can always come to
me.”
I offered him a smile as distant as a dying star. “I have my own master to answer my questions, but thank you. Perhaps you should use this time
to comfort your dear Sera. She looks like she’s about to cry.”
It seems that without the villainess to drive the plot, the hero and heroine’s halos don’t shine quite so brightly.
“Professor, I have a question. Why does this set of components keep slipping after assembly?”
It was the Q&A session in Mech Engineering, Section 7. I was the first to raise my hand, eager to ask Professor Julian Pierce for help.
His eyes flickered over me for a fraction of a second before moving on, settling on Seraphina, the girl in the front row who was dozing off. The moment his gaze landed on her, his expression softened. He tapped her desk, his voice a stern but gentle caress.
“Miss Seraphina, do you have any questions?”
I blinked, stunned, and raised my hand a little higher. “Professor, I have a
ww
A soft groan from Seraphina cut me off. She stretched luxuriously, yawned, and then looked up at him with a bewildered expression. “A question? About what? This assembly is so simple. Don’t you know how to do it, Professor?”
The class erupted in laughter.
Professor Pierce sighed, a look of helpless fondness on his face. “Go back to sleep.”
Sve
He addressed the class again. “If there are no other questions, that’s all for today. Go to the materials lab, pick up one set of Part Five and one set
of Part Six. Assemble them at home. I’ll check them tomorrow.”
I shot to my feet, my voice rising. “Professor, I have a question!”
It was as if he couldn’t hear me. He cast one last look at Seraphina, who was already slumped back over her desk, and then turned and walked out
of the classroom.
I sank back into my seat, a hot wave of humiliation and anger washing over me. Why did he always ignore me? Every single time I tried to ask him
something, he acted as if I didn’t exist.
If he treated everyone this way, it might not have stung so much. But his favoritism toward Seraphina was blatant.
If Sera had a question, he would answer with infinite patience. If she didn’t, he would personally ask if she understood the lesson. We were all his students. Why the hell was he treating us so differently?
It made me burn with jealousy, and I couldn’t help but resent her for it. As my glare threatened to bore a hole through her back, the feed appeared again, words drifting in the air before me.
Yes King! Protect your queen! He only has eyes for Sera.J
