This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 185

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 185

The Academy Main Gate thronged with students emerging from the dormitory and parents arriving to collect their children on this weekend afternoon.
While Raven and I searched for the children in that crowd, I spotted Kyle standing off at a distance.
“Kyle!”
“Sister!”
Kyle came dashing over and wrapped his arms around both Raven and me in a warm embrace. I examined his face carefully.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes!”
“How was Academy life?”
I asked Kyle while casting a sidelong glance at Raven.
Raven, as always, was sharp. The moment I sent word, she’d dispatched guild members to collect any wanted notices about Kyle from the plaza bulletin board and the makeshift postings scattered throughout the Snoril Domain.
Thanks to her swift action, no one in Snoril had managed to see Kyle’s wanted notice clearly, and his face bore no shadow of worry.
Raven smiled warmly at Kyle.
“Nothing troublesome happened?”
“Well, nothing troublesome exactly… though there was something.”
Kyle’s eyes wandered before his shoulders straightened, and he answered with spirited confidence.
“That’s about Baron, though—I studied hard myself!”
What? What was he talking about?
I lifted my head to check the direction where the children were emerging.
Baron was nowhere to be seen.
“Kyle, what happened to Baron?”
“Well, something did happen, but…”
Kyle’s words trailed off, and he began to squirm. His expression troubled me.
“Tell me honestly, Kyle. Something happened to Baron, didn’t it?”
As I pressed him, Kyle sighed with a look of resignation.
“The truth is, Baron roughed up a senior this morning. A student named Anbi.”
“What? He roughed up a senior? Why would Baron do that?”
Even as I pressed for details, my mind went blank.
‘Violence on his first week? My gentle Baron?’
“Yes. He was an eleventh-year student…”
At Kyle’s words, Raven closed her mouth and gazed out toward the distant mountains.
“Wait, hold on.”
I cut Kyle off. Something about this didn’t sit right.
“Eleventh year? That would make him eighteen, wouldn’t it?”
I’d known Baron was strong, but did my child really have that level of skill?
Yet Kyle nodded and answered my question.
“Yes. I’m not entirely sure what started it, but in any case, he and the senior both got called to the Principal’s office. He told me not to tell you because you’d worry, you know? I was planning to keep quiet myself.”
Kyle scratched his head, looking deeply uncomfortable.
“But how could I not tell when you asked me directly?”
It was then that someone who appeared to be an Academy staff member emerged and looked around, calling out.
“Is there anyone here named Romtrun or Hailey?”
My stomach dropped. This was clearly related to what I’d just heard.
“Raven, I’ll take Baron and head back. Please don’t wait—go on ahead.”
I excused myself from Raven and walked forward, stopping before the staff member to introduce myself.
“I’m Hailey.”
A woman who came hurrying over then asked the staff member.
“I’m Romtrun’s wife. I was actually about to ask—I can’t find our Anbi. When will our child come out?”
“Well, the children are in the Principal’s office at the moment. If you would both follow me, please.”
The staff member led us toward the Principal’s office while briefly explaining the situation.
Apparently there had been some kind of altercation, and Baron had knocked Anbi down.
“This boy Baron beat our Anbi? Good heavens!”
The shocked woman’s sharp gaze immediately turned toward me.
“You must be Baron’s mother, then?”
She looked me up and down, her brow furrowing.
“Though you seem far too young to be a mother?”
“I’m his sister.”
Uncomfortable, I forced up the corners of my mouth and asked the staff member.
“Do you happen to know why Baron did this?”
“I only heard that Baron manipulated Anbi. I don’t know the details myself.”
There was nothing to be done about that. As I quietly followed behind them, the woman reproached me.
“Listen here. Apologize at once! How on earth did you raise your child to strike someone else’s precious son? To strike him, no less.”
“I understand your concern, ma’am. But I think it would be better to discuss this after we’ve understood what actually happened.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Our Baron wouldn’t do such a thing without good reason.”
Of course, if Baron were in the state he’d been in when he hit Camen on the back of the head, perhaps he should apologize first. But I was Baron’s guardian.
‘If Baron made a mistake, I’ll deal with it accordingly. But first, I need to trust him.’
The woman’s glare was sharp, but I kept silent and followed the staff member.
.
.
.
“We’ve arrived. That’s the Principal’s Office.”
In front of the Principal’s Office door, eight heavily-built men were crowded together, peering inside.
The moment they saw us, they rushed over and asked.
“Which of you is Baron’s guardian?”
“That would be me.”
“Oh my! I’m the swordplay instructor. Baron’s talent in swordplay is……!”
“More than that, his unarmed combat…….”
“No, you really should see his performance in the magical sports course…….”
“Instructors, we can’t have this here. Please step aside.”
The staff member’s intervention put an end to their impromptu introductions, but I understood why the teachers had gathered. They’d all recognized Baron’s genius and wanted to teach him in their respective disciplines.
‘And this is only his first week after enrollment.’
“Principal, the guardians have arrived.”
The staff member knocked on the Principal’s Office door and opened it. The Principal, who had been sitting at a large wooden desk, rose to his feet and spoke.
“I’ve been expecting you. Please come in.”
After a bow, I entered to find four chairs arranged in a row. Baron and Anbi sat in the two middle seats, waiting for us.
Baron’s uniform was impeccable without a single wrinkle, but his attitude was defiant.
‘Is his adolescent hormones acting up again?’
I’d need to feed him first thing when we got home.
Anbi, meanwhile, appeared to have rolled through a dirt field—his uniform and hair were in pitiful disarray, and his complexion was deathly pale.
“Eek.”
“Mom! Wahhh.”
Baron started when he saw me, while the boy called Anbi whimpered the moment he saw the woman.
“Kyaah! What’s happened to my son! What’s this state he’s in!”
The woman, her eyes narrowed sharply, glanced at Baron once, then turned away and asked the Principal.
“Principal, where is this Baron who did this to my child?”
“Ahem.”
The Principal cleared his throat once and pointed to Baron.
“This boy? This is Baron?”
The woman’s face showed evident bewilderment.
“But not a single fold in his clothing? This small child did this to my son? My Anbi received an A+ in swordplay class.”
“Well, ma’am. Please have a seat for now.”
At the Principal’s suggestion, I sat beside Baron, and the woman sat beside Anbi.
When our eyes met, Baron averted his gaze, his cheeks reddening as he pouted his lips.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, even if it’s hard to believe. I was being nice and letting it go, but he kept pestering me relentlessly.”
I stroked Baron’s head.
“I believe you, Baron.”
“Really? You believe me even seeing how he looks?”
“Of course I do. You’re not a child who can’t tell right from wrong.”
Then the Principal, seated at his desk once more, spoke calmly.
“I regret having to bring guardians in for such an unfortunate matter. Based on what we’ve gathered from witness accounts of the students nearby.”
According to the Principal, Baron had first approached Anbi in a corner of the sports ground. For some reason, an enraged Anbi had tried to strike Baron first.
Anbi was a graduating student preparing for the Knight Examination, but Baron easily evaded his attack and tripped him with a single leg sweep.
Shocked and angered, Anbi lunged at Baron repeatedly.
But the result was always the same. Baron toppled Anbi to the ground and rolled him in the dirt using only his leg.
“According to testimony, Baron never initiated a single attack. He only defended himself.”
Neither boy explained why they had quarreled when questioned by the Principal, but he was now about to render his judgment.
“Since no one was injured and it wasn’t a formal fight, there are ambiguities in applying Academy regulations. We’ve decided that Anbi will apologize to Baron and promise to prevent this from happening again. I hope to see our students in good health come Monday.”
After leaving the Principal’s Office, Baron looked at me and grinned widely.
“Nuna. I didn’t hit him once. To be honest, I wanted to pummel him pretty good, but I held back for your sake.”
“Yes, yes. That was the right call. Baron. But what on earth happened to make things go that far?”
Baron lifted his shoulders with a shrug.
“Nothing much. I steered a student away from going down the wrong path.”
“Hm?”
Baron glanced over at Anbi.
“You’re not going to do it again, right? Or I’m telling her everything.”
Anbi flinched in surprise, and his wife’s brow furrowed.
“What, this little thing is trying to blackmail someone? That’s rich.”
She seemed determined to get to the bottom of it and began pressing Anbi for answers.
“Son, what exactly happened? Tell me everything. Your mother will take care of it.”
At that, Anbi’s face flushed crimson, and he hastily cut his wife off.
“No, no. Mom. I already apologized, and it’s all settled. Let’s go.”
His wife was pushed back by his insistence and fell away; we too made our way home.
Only then could I finally hear what had actually happened.

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