Becoming Number One with Confession Attacks - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#1

The new semester at Rosefield.

Students were crowding together in front of a large wooden bulletin board.

Sonnet swung her arms as she quickly pushed through between them.

“What the?”

Those pushed by Sonnet glared at her with rolling eyes.

But Sonnet ignored their gazes and walked only toward the bulletin board.

Today, marking the new semester and a fresh start, was the day report cards came out.

For 500 years, Rosefield had stimulated students’ academic improvement in this way to cultivate intellectuals in each field.

Through the somewhat cruel and primitive method of publicly revealing everyone’s grades.

Countless names were lined up in rows.

Sonnet gulped. Even as she tried to calm herself, her heart began pounding and sweat started forming in her palms.

Sonnet barely suppressed her nervous feelings and looked up high toward the very front.

Please! Just this once, let my name be in that spot.

The moment she checked while hoping so desperately.

[Aiden Rosefield]

Sonnet’s eyes, swollen with anticipation, instantly deflated with disappointment.

Soon, bubbling anger filled Sonnet’s eyes.

‘I thought I’d be first place this time!’

She had increased her study time compared to before, reviewed wrong problems and confusing parts over a hundred times, and read her major textbooks to the point of being sick of them.

Yet Sonnet’s grade was the same as before. Second place.

Blood vessels appeared in Sonnet’s piercing gaze as if tears might come at any moment, and her small fists trembled.

Aiden Rosefield. A transfer student who suddenly appeared three months ago, he not only boldly claimed first place as soon as he came to Rosefield but continued to monopolize the top spot thereafter.

Sonnet, who had never missed first place before he came, was utterly bewildered.

Of course, being in the top 5 met the conditions for entering the Rosefield Archives Research Institute, but the scholarship was the problem.

Second place meant half of what first place received, and even half of prestigious Rosefield’s tuition was enormous.

Even the first registration fee was beyond imagination, so Sonnet had to receive her grandmother’s help.

Her grandmother supported Sonnet’s first tuition and living expenses with money saved over a lifetime, and Sonnet thereafter fought desperately to maintain first place, which provided full scholarship, to reduce her grandmother’s burden.

That grandmother passed away four months ago, unable to see Sonnet graduate.

Just before her grandmother closed her eyes, Sonnet made a promise.

She would definitely graduate from Rosefield as valedictorian, surpass the nobles who had looked down on her grandmother, and become the first commoner to graduate as valedictorian.

Her grandmother had also enrolled in Rosefield Academy before, but was pushed behind by nobles in rankings and couldn’t graduate due to lack of money.

To keep that promise, she thought she just needed to study hard, but there were many expenses required by the school: ancient temple visits, research material costs, reference fees, exam fees, and especially lately, textbook prices and meal costs had risen quite a bit, making it burdensome.

The majority attending this school weren’t concerned about money.

Rosefield Academy was a prestigious school, and accordingly, many nobles overflowing with money and power attended.

In reality, her classmates didn’t even consider Sonnet a friend and openly ignored her, calling her a low-level kid while hanging out among themselves.

Though it was remarkable for a mere commoner like Sonnet to come to Rosefield Academy, first place there was both her rebellion against them and her pride.

Even after enrollment, first place had always been hers, and surrounding students, though displeased, had no choice but to think so.

But since becoming second place, talk began circulating around her. As if for her to hear.

“She studied so hard but only got second place. As expected, she can’t beat Aiden.”

“That’s why she’s inevitably a commoner.”

Aiden was among the group saying such things. He was laughing as if agreeing among those making such remarks.

Each time, Sonnet didn’t hold back and went to confront them.

Asking if they, who mocked her like that, couldn’t even come close to following her ranking.

When occasionally one of the group got angry at Sonnet’s words and rushed at her, Aiden would annoyingly pretend to stop them.

“She has a point.”

To Sonnet, such words felt even worse. Because it seemed like sneering, as if asking what else could be expected.

Just thinking about those times made Sonnet’s fists tremble.

‘How exactly can I get first place back?’

Sonnet had observed Aiden earnestly for a while, but normally Aiden didn’t study hard.

Instead, he was very interested in polo matches and war.

Polo was a game where you rode horses and put balls into goals with long spears.

Especially in polo, he—or rather, borrowing the words of the girls who admired him—only he was visible on the field, and his appearance leading the game fearlessly was like a war god.

Sonnet nearly vomited at those words, but anyway, Aiden always performed well in polo and was naturally popular.

In the lecture hall, Aiden showed no aggressive behavior and read books with a calm and very upright posture.

That didn’t mean he read lecture books well either.

He only read books completely unrelated to studying—collections of weapons, military strategy books, and other somewhat cruel and provocative books related to war.

Usually such kids pretend not to study in front of friends but study like crazy at night.

‘I can’t enter the Male Dormitory to interfere.’

For the promise with her grandmother, money, and honor, she had to somehow reclaim first place.

Sonnet frowned and glared at Aiden Rosefield’s name written in first place.

Just then, a clear voice suddenly rang out from nearby.

“Hailey’s grades dropped a lot.”

“She’s been dating lately.”

Dating. Sonnet’s ears perked up. Usually Sonnet thought of dating as foolish behavior by those who had it easy.

Paying expensive money to attend a prestigious school yet wasting time on useless things.

The excited chatter of female students continued endlessly.

“Caseed has been meeting a girl lately too and dropped 10 places.”

Sonnet quickly found Hailey and Caseed’s names. 207th place. 381st place. Rankings not far from the bottom.

‘Does dating lower grades?’

Well, they’d be flirting around using time for self-study and review, so that made sense.

While Sonnet was thinking and turning this over in her head, cheers erupted.

“Wow!”

At the sudden loud noise, people nearby looked around searching for the source of the sound.

The cause of the commotion wasn’t far away.

A banner with large letters was hanging above the school’s main building.

[Selene! I’ll love you until I die, until my bones crumble and disappear!]

Just then, a very nervous male voice echoed afterward.

“Selene! You passed by me three times! I think that’s interest and love! Go out with me!”

The sound of giggling mixed with growing murmurs from around.

“What about Selene? Won’t she be unable to properly attend school from now on?”

“She’s apparently transferring schools entirely. How could she endure with that weirdo making such burdensome confessions?”

“Right. That’s not a confession, it’s an attack.”

The name of the man actually confessing was Petro. He was known as a weirdo you didn’t want to approach at Rosefield Academy.

His voice would get loud when overwhelmed for a moment, then become inaudible during class time, he didn’t properly greet other people, and showed strange obsessions with things he liked.

As Sonnet looked around, everyone had disgusted faces. They worried about Selene while cursing Petro.

The words Sonnet had heard earlier kept circling in her head.

“…That’s not a confession, it’s an attack.”

Confession attack.

In that moment, Sonnet’s eyes lit up vividly.

At this school, Sonnet was known as an oddball. Her reputation was just as poor as Petro’s, if not worse.

She cared about nothing except studying.

What if—what if she were to confess her feelings to Aiden in a burdensome way?

First, Aiden would be displeased. Having Sonnet, who didn’t have a good reputation, suddenly confess her love would be burdensome and bothersome for him.

Without realizing it, a smile bloomed on Sonnet’s lips.

Everyone at this school already disliked her anyway. If someone like her confessed, any normal person would be so disgusted they’d transfer to another school.

If Aiden transferred schools as she expected, Sonnet would reclaim her position as first place.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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