The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

27 – Spreading Rumors

“You don’t know Ha Ru-e? Of course, you do. Honestly, we can’t say we’re close, but we’re in the same knight squad, so we interact occasionally. I also hear about her achievements frequently. She’s doing great in the Knights Order, and although we can’t say the influence of her family’s power isn’t there, her talent is at an unbelievable level. She might be the best strategist in the empire.”

“Where is Gumsung?”

“Humanly speaking, we should exclude that person. He’s almost inhuman.”

In a bustling restaurant at its busiest hour, three men and women were gathered, chatting away.

If it weren’t for Logan, who has been gaining the highest popularity lately, the other students wouldn’t have had a reason to pay attention to their stories.

But Logan was there.

Who is Logan? Isn’t he the man who, despite being cursed with the despicable curse of being detested by Stella, the worst witch, has maintained a straight and pure heart?

Moreover, with the consecutive success of the business he has been running near the academy, his abilities have also been recognized.

The automatic mana condition discriminator had now become a landmark of the academy, and other knights in the vicinity were starting to use it, while the newly launched badges were also increasing in sales by the day.

The badges, all of the same design as if made by a great expert, were quite popular among the upper class of the academy.

It was spreading like wildfire due to its ability to be customized in large quantities while still being reasonably priced.

Indeed, being the son of the Asrian Viscount, it was a prevailing evaluation to acknowledge his talent in commerce.

There were even whispers about his success being much more outstanding in making money than the former Asrian Viscount, considering that it all started from scratch with no penny.

So, it was impossible not to be interested.

“I hope we don’t talk about that person.”

As Logan had lived a rough life, he rarely spoke politely, but his tone was particularly sharp at the moment.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Logan and Anna had agreed on the topic of conversation, but since they hadn’t informed Shoheil in advance, genuine curiosity burst out.

“You don’t know much… Logan and Haru-senpai don’t get along well. They couldn’t possibly get along in the first place. When Logan was suffering from the curse for a long time, Haru-senpai really… grabbed him, like, really tightly. Maybe it’s because of the curse, but even I think it’s quite severe, and many fans seem to think so too.”

“Oh… really?”

Shoheil looked at Anna with a slightly displeased expression.

The fact that the nobles knew about it was a question of why they brought up the story every day.

“It’s not just that.”

Logan let out a weak sigh.

He rarely showed weakness, at least as far as Schael knew, so she couldn’t help but show her surprise on her face.

“No… It was that bad?”

“That woman is completely insane. She just treated me like trash because of some curse. It’s not just a minor issue that ends with a line.”

Logan’s pupils began to tremble.

The human senses have a subtle accuracy, allowing one to instinctively sense when someone is feeling fearful just by the slightest tremor in their gestures or eyes.

Schael could instinctively sense that Logan was feeling fear, and the other students in the restaurant seemed to sense it too.

“What happened? Can I ask, by any chance?” Anna asked cautiously.

Of course, it was a prearranged conversation between Logan and her.

Anna wasn’t a thoughtless woman, and she wasn’t stupid enough to ask such an important question in front of others.

“It wasn’t just once or twice that she hit me for no reason… If she hit me for feeling bad, I could understand, but she had more fun if my face was decent. And when I insisted on my innocence, she seemed to enjoy it even more…”

All sorts of evil deeds that Harue had done so far came out of Logan’s mouth.

If she followed his words well, she would even buy him a meal and make her chair comfortable, then forcefully make him sit and trample the bread and give it to him, or if she was bored, she would make Logan sit next to her and slap him for nearly an hour, or she used the money she forcibly took from him to buy a cane to punish him. It was all so heinous that it was hard to swallow.

“She’s completely insane.”

Schael’s face turned red with anger.

As Logan confided in him about what Harue had done to him that day, Schael could feel tears welling up without even realizing it.

She had empathized with the pain Logan had suffered until now.

And when Logan finally finished the story, she was engulfed in intense anger.

Even if she heard that someone she didn’t know, neither the face nor the name, had suffered such a horrific ordeal, she would have expressed her rage, calling the person insane. But the fact that the man she knew well had been tormented by a psycho for a whole year made her unable to contain her anger.

Of course, the students around had similar reactions.

Since not everyone was close to Logan, there wasn’t anyone causing a Shakespearean rage, but generally, there was an anger brewing against humanity for what one could do in a single day.

And this anger became the driving force behind the spreading rumors.

******

“Wait, was all that just an act?”

Just before the end of lunchtime, at the back of the restaurant, Shohel stared at Logan with a voice full of astonishment.

“Seems more insensitive than I thought.”

“Logan, you were really good at acting. I was surprised.”

“It was acting, but there wasn’t a single lie in what I said.”

The horrifying events Logan recounted about what happened in a day were true, and there was no falsehood in the weak moments Logan showed.

The vulnerability he displayed was not intentionally acted; it was just revealing the fear he had deliberately suppressed.

“So, everything that bastard did to you in a day is true?”

When Shohel heard the story that Logan and Anna acted to feed the lie to Harue, he could at least have a slight sense of relief.

At least all those horrifying things Logan went through in the hands of Harue for a day might not all be true.

“Of course. In fact, I’ve been through even more terrible things. I just kept my mouth shut about it because it’s better to reveal it later.”

“If you want, our family can help with revenge. It won’t be a loss for our family either. If the prime minister’s top magician collapses, it will be a big fortune for our family.”

“Do we really need your help? It’s not something your assistance is necessary for. Anyway, this should be enough.”

“Lea Harue, that person is truly a troublemaker.”

Leah Harue’s actions towards Logan quickly spread throughout the academy like wildfire.

While there were some who questioned the veracity of Logan’s words, the majority of students, especially those in their second year or higher, did not doubt him.

Perhaps it was because he hadn’t publicly criticized Hareu in front of others but rather shared a painful story with close friends. Also, Logan had proven that his nature was good. However, the biggest reason wasn’t about Logan.

“I told you, didn’t I? That senior has a terrible personality.”

“Always boasting about herself, pretending to be polite on the surface, but inside, she acts extremely sinister. If she were like Asrian, she wouldn’t leave a pitiable girl alone, right?”

The assessment of Leah Harue in the academy remained consistent.

The Empire’s top talent in inscription and swordsmanship, a genius unmatched by anyone except non-human entities like Gomsen.

That was about it.

Even after serving as both the student council president and leader for a year, there was no evaluation of her leadership or character.

Because it would be a negative evaluation.

Even if students harbored complaints against her internally, they couldn’t afford to give her a bad review, especially considering her position as a duke’s daughter. Thanks to this, students in the academy silently held their grievances against her.

But then,

Logan Asrian, a male student who had lived a pitiable life, unexpectedly created the perfect situation to curse Harue.

Moreover, if Logan’s words were all true, it could lead to more than just insults; it could result in a significant political impact.

In an instant, all students in the academy began cursing Harue. By the next day, rumors about Harue had spread throughout the entire institution.

Since the personalities of the nobles with some reputation in the institution already knew about Harue’s nature, Logan’s words spread across the entire institution without any doubt.

Of course, if she had remained quiet, the rumors would have died down quickly, but our Harue had never experienced such rumors swirling around her.

“I did tell her to shut up, didn’t I?”

Because of this, she ended up committing the worst possible mistake.