The 21st Century Grand Grand Duchess in the Royal Academy - Chapter 2

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

A Twenty-First Century Grand Duchess in the Royal Academy
Student Council President Min Jung-woo
A sense of belonging wasn’t something you could feel simply by being part of a group. As I progressed from seventh grade through eighth and into ninth, I remained adrift—both in the classroom and in the Dormitory.
Compared to the lower grades when bullying was blatant and relentless, things had certainly improved. Whatever they muttered behind my back didn’t concern me if they wouldn’t dare say it to my face, and whether they cursed or hurled insults when I wasn’t listening mattered even less.
Yet sometimes I wondered: was my lack of noble blood truly reason enough for this rejection? Was being born of a concubine such an unforgivable sin? Neither was my fault.
Of course, perhaps rejection stemmed from something else entirely. Had I shown weakness like other outsiders, had I smiled with servility and admitted defeat, things might have been different. If I’d only signaled my surrender, they might have relented.
But—
“Hey, you’re not going to open this?”
Sung Hee-joo was not that kind of person. The more they bullied me, the sharper I became; the more they rejected me, the fiercer my competitive spirit burned.
Perhaps that’s why.
On the day of the final exam, I found myself trapped in an Elevator. Strangely, the corridor had been empty. I wondered who the culprit was—those Cheongryong Palace students who’d picked a fight with me in the Library yesterday? Or perhaps the Black Tortoise Palace senior whose shoulder I’d bumped this morning? There were too many suspects to pinpoint.
“Is anyone out there? There’s someone in here!!!”
After pounding on the sealed Elevator doors for what felt like an eternity, I finally sank to the floor. The exam would begin soon. I had to place first again. That was the only way to show them I wouldn’t lose to them, that I had no reason to surrender.
When a fight didn’t have predetermined answers like a test, it was nearly impossible to defeat the nobles. Those aristocrats, connected through family networks since childhood, possessed an unbreakable bond of trust—one that transcended seniority and even the teacher-student relationship.
So I had to win every battle I could. It was the only way to endure the moments I was destined to lose.
Then I heard movement outside the Elevator. Grasping at this glimmer of hope, I rose to my feet and listened intently.
“Teacher?”
I called out cautiously and waited for a response. When none came, I furrowed my brow and shouted again.
“Hey, you’re Ryu Min-seok, aren’t you? Open the door! Open it!”
Still nothing. I took a shaky breath, frustrated that on a day when I absolutely had to win, I was being forced into yet another losing situation. Just as my clenched fists began to tremble, the doors slid open.
The hand extended from outside the half-descended Elevator belonged neither to a teacher nor—
“Senior….”
—to any of those who’d fought with me.
Clad in a crimson robe—
“Take my hand.”
It was Min Jung-woo, the Royal Academy’s Student Council President.
Unlike me, who oscillated between being the Vermillion Phoenix Palace’s shame and its pride, he was perpetually the Palace’s glory—someone who commanded reverence even in a school where only the exceptional gathered.
As the eldest son of the Min Family, a political dynasty, he drew attention wherever he went. Yet like all who command such attention, he paid it little mind. Some called him cold for this indifference, but it was never perceived as a flaw.
With a handsome face that showed not the slightest curiosity toward the opposite sex, and a Student Council President’s title that he wore without pretense or affectation, drawing eyes was simply inevitable.
Every time I saw Min Jung-woo, I thought the same thing: if there were ranks among the nobility, his would be the highest. His father had served as Prime Minister, as had his grandfather before him, and Min Jung-woo’s ties to the royal family ran deep.
Appointed as a companion to a Grand Duke since childhood, he’d frequented the palace regularly. Short of the nation’s ruin, his influence would never fade.
So he was someone I could never be entangled with. He was nobility among nobility, while I was a commoner born of a concubine.
“Why aren’t you taking it?”
That’s why I hesitated. But spurred on by Min Jung-woo’s insistence, I grasped his hand firmly and let him pull me out of the Elevator. Twenty minutes had already elapsed since the exam began.
“Let’s go together.”
Without time to think, I took Min Jung-woo’s hand and began to run.
“Hey, where are you going!”
Min Jung-woo’s bewildered voice called from behind, but I paid it no mind. My thoughts were consumed by the exam alone. Even if I’d been trapped in an Elevator, even if I claimed to be a victim, the teachers wouldn’t listen to excuses.
“Senior, tell them.”
“Tell them what?”
“I was trapped in there. That’s why I was late.”
I didn’t need to hear what she had to say—
“I’ll listen to what my senior says!”
I would listen to Min Jung-woo instead.
Understanding the situation, Min Jung-woo bolted ahead of Sung Hee-joo. He tried to recall who was proctoring today’s exam. The details escaped him, but it hardly mattered. My role was simple: ensure the girl whose hand I held could take her test safely and clear her grievance. And that wasn’t particularly difficult.
Back in the Dormitory lounge, Min Jung-woo settled onto the sofa. Even opening the book he’d been reading for an assignment, concentration eluded him.
I wonder if she did well on the exam.
The image of that girl—who’d run so desperately only to bite her lower lip nervously outside the exam room—surfaced in my mind. When I knocked on the door in her stead, the irritated Ethics Teacher emerged. Her gaze toward the girl was sharp, yet she was someone capable of rational judgment.
Throughout my explanation, the girl never released her grip on my hand. As if it were a lifeline.
“Do you know Sung Hee-joo?”
Closing his book, Min Jung-woo asked casually. Sang Hyun, who’d been wrestling alone with the chessboard, gave him a strange look.
“Sung Hee-joo? That crazy girl—who doesn’t know her?”
Shaking his head as if discussing a troublesome matter, he rattled off several facts about Sung Hee-joo: from being Castle Group’s illegitimate child to never once missing top marks since enrollment.
“I know that much already.”
Min Jung-woo replied curtly. Even someone as indifferent to his surroundings as he was couldn’t possibly be unaware of Sung Hee-joo’s existence. How could anyone ignore a girl who’d enrolled with an astronomical donation and spent every day fighting with someone?
“Then what are you curious about?”
Sang Hyun, moving his queen across the chessboard, narrowed his eyes and asked.
“Don’t tell me….”
“What.”
“You’ve got a crush on her?”
“What are you talking about.”
“She’s pretty, though. I bet tons of guys have confessed to her and gotten rejected.”
A pretty crazy girl, huh. Min Jung-woo smiled as if amused, recalling the girl’s retreating figure. The way her long hair streamed as she ran… yes, she was pretty. He conceded the point.
“How do you know so much? Are you interested in her too?”
“In Sung Hee-joo? No way. Pretty or not, she’s not my type.”
“Why?”
At his seemingly careless question, Sang Hyun shrugged.
“I’m scared of her.”
“Why?”
“I saw her push some guy once. On the stairs.”
“On the stairs?”
“Not with her hands—she kicked him.”
“And she didn’t get expelled?”
“Her dad’s the chairman of Castle Group. Probably bought her way out.”
The more he heard, the more curious Min Jung-woo became about that girl. Rich but lowborn, small and slight yet never losing, that girl intrigued him.
It was also amusing that so many guys had confessed to her only to be rejected. On the surface they acted indifferent, but behind closed doors they were desperate to get involved with her.
“Want me to set you up with someone? I know plenty of girls in ninth grade.”
“Never mind.”
Plugging in his earbuds, Min Jung-woo shook his head.
‘I’ll repay your kindness.’
Before entering the examination hall, I recalled the words that girl had spoken.
From the Oath of Office for the 64th Student Council President of the Royal Academy
“I, Min Jung-woo, solemnly swear as the 64th Student Council President of the Royal Academy to uphold the honor and traditions of this institution.
I pledge to look forward with the vision of the Azure Dragon, to act with the resolve of the Vermillion Phoenix, to judge with the reason of the White Tiger, and to deliberate with the patience of the Black Tortoise.
I shall not take honor lightly, and I will place responsibility before authority.
By this oath, I, Min Jung-woo, pledge my name and my word.”

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