I Hate You the Most in the World!

Henry grunted and disappeared. The other kids who had gathered also dispersed, murmuring among themselves.

Even when you think about it logically, it doesn’t make sense. According to Henry’s standards, she considers everyone in the school, except herself, as enemies. But where would she find the time to bother every one of the other kids?

Whether it’s Henry Lerris or Henry Lace, that guy had an excessive sense of self-importance.

Riett stared at the spot where Henry had vanished, seething with anger. She thought everything was getting messed up for no reason.

However, Riett soon found herself in another absurd situation.

* * *

Bang!

Riett forcefully opened the door and entered the teacher’s office.

“Riett… Did you come?” 

The teacher rolled his eyes, sensing Riett’s ominous demeanor.

“You called me.”

Riett’s red eyes were burning with intensity as if she already knew why she had come here.

“Because Pierre was so upset… He said you deliberately threw away his book.”

Riett’s fist trembled.

After the commotion with Henry Lerris, things had been quiet for a while. But a few days later, another troublemaker appeared.

It was Pierre.

A severely torn book had been rolling around near the desk for several days, so Riett threw it away, thinking it was abandoned trash. Little did she know it was his secret notebook or something.

She endured and endured, but the story eventually reached the teacher, and Riett ended up making the effort to come here.

“I didn’t throw it away on purpose. It was rolling around near my desk for days, and no one cleaned it up. It was in a terrible condition, so I thought it was ownerless and threw it away.”

“But Pierre said it was a very precious note…”

“Then he shouldn’t have left it there unattended!”

Riett slammed the teacher’s desk and expressed her frustration.

“Yeah, I called you just to confirm, so don’t get too upset. As you know, grades are a sensitive issue for everyone.”

The teacher’s hand gently touched Riett’s shoulder as she stood defiantly.

“And Riett… There’s a rumor going around that you’re intentionally causing trouble for other kids to get better grades. It would be best for you to be particularly careful with your actions.”

The teacher was right. Those stupid things kept getting in the way and wasting time.

While Henry’s issue seemed to have subsided, things became even more complicated with Pierre’s appearance. Since Henry had become excited and joined in, the situation gradually became more tangled. When two people were involved instead of one, the other kids soon joined in. Leaving the teacher’s office, Riett’s mind was in turmoil. As she furrowed her brow and walked down the hallway, she heard whispering voices behind her.

“Do you think Riett really did those things on purpose to cause trouble?”

“Nah, how could she? She barely has enough time to study. She stays at the library late every day and goes home at night.”

“But if being the first place is that important, she might do anything.”

Riett’s lips tightened at the sound of the murmuring voices.

Lucas, who had come down to the office with her for some business, approached and offered comfort.

“Don’t worry about it. Those kinds of rumors will die down soon.”

Riett agreed with the same thought, but still, she couldn’t help feeling down. The whispering voices were heard everywhere, making it difficult to ignore them.

“Isn’t it because of Riett that Samuel’s grades dropped honestly? He maintained fourth place well, but after becoming close with Riett, he fell to fifth place.”

At that remark, Riett finally stopped. Then, she turned around and was about to say something when…

“Who said that, you bastard!”

A large figure was holding one of the boys by the collar, lifting him with one hand. It was Samuel, the subject of the conversation.

“The reason my grades dropped is simply because I’m lazy!”

…Uh, thanks, but…

Riett was momentarily speechless at Samuel’s self-deprecating comment. Riett watched the scene silently for a moment and grabbed Samuel’s arm, which was burning with anger.

“Stop it.”

As Riett resisted, Samuel, who had been fierce, looked at her. His aggressive demeanor seemed to soften a bit.

“…Will this be enough? I should give him a proper scolding.”

At Samuel’s words, Riett nodded hesitantly. She didn’t want any more trouble.

Samuel let go of the boy he had been holding by the collar and growled.

“If he talks nonsense like that one more time, I won’t go easy on him.”

The boy’s face turned pale and he disappeared. Samuel slowly relaxed his tense expression. Then he asked Riett.

“There have been many rumors going around lately.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Why are these damn bastards doing this?”

Samuel clenched his fists, looking determined. Riett suddenly remembered a past incident. Did Samuel know? That he used to be one of those damn bastards too. Only now has he truly changed for the better.

Riett felt a hot flush rising in her throat. There was fatigue in her gestures.

“I don’t know either.”

When she first met Henry, she just thought she was unlucky. But then another guy like that appeared consecutively.

When the two of them met, they babbled about themselves like a fish in water, feeling excited. And some cowardly people supported them without openly showing it.

Even though her image had improved, there were still jealousies and rivalries from some people, and they eagerly sought out any opportunity to attack her.

Of course, they would prefer a clear opportunity rather than just a small opening.

“Riett, don’t worry too much. I will make sure these nonsensical rumors stop spreading!”

But suddenly, there was something more unusual than the current situation. It was the fact that Samuel didn’t care about his fifth-place grades.

“…Don’t you worry about your grades?”

“I’ve given up.”

Riett looked at Samuel with slightly surprised eyes. Samuel scratched his head with a smug expression.

“Honestly, the three of you are like fortresses, and to be honest, I didn’t want that spot… I just pretended to be ambitious because my older brother annoyed me when I was a freshman.”

That was certainly true.

As Samuel said, the top three spots never changed. Riett, Evan, and Lucas monopolized the top three positions.

Still, Riett secretly thought Samuel was amazing too. She wasn’t sure if he had a good foundation or if he was making an effort despite giving up, but he never fell below fifth place even though his rank dropped.

“Well, even if you’re not in the top three, there are many ways to make a living, right?”

Samuel shrugged his shoulders as if it didn’t matter.

“So don’t worry about me, Riett. Just knowing that I can help you makes me happy.”

“I’ve never been worried about you.”

In response to Riett’s harsh words, Samuel mumbled with a bitter expression on his face.

“She’s cold… Riett is always cold. That’s why I like her even more.”

As Samuel and Riett engaged in a casual conversation, the sinking feeling gradually recovered.

‘Yeah, let’s not worry about it.’

It was just baseless rumors, and the kids who were chasing after gossip would soon lose interest. Riett reassured herself with that thought.

* * *

As time passed, as Riett expected, the rumors gradually faded away.

In reality, they didn’t disappear naturally. There were three main reasons why false rumors could be eliminated.

The first is that Riett’s steady ignorance paid off. Henry and Pierre were not in their right minds and should not be fed. So Riett ignored them completely and acted with a certain dignity.

Upon witnessing this, the students at school initially wavered due to the rumors but soon responded with, “Of course, Riett wouldn’t do something like that. It’s just the incompetent kids getting angry for no reason.”

Secondly, it was thanks to Samuel’s significant contribution. He played the role of cutting off the spreading of rumors from behind the scenes.

To Riett, he seemed like a useless fool, but since Samuel was a threatening figure at school, his stern warning against false rumors regarding Riett resonated to some extent.

And most importantly, there was a decisive last reason: Henry and Pierre’s attitudes suddenly changed.

At some point, the momentum of the enthusiastic guys abruptly subsided, like wilting vegetables. It was as if they had been mentally crushed by someone.

Since Samuel was the most suspicious person, Riett interrogated him.

“It wasn’t me, Riett, you told me to ignore them completely.”

He vehemently denied it, raising both palms as if he was unjustly accused.

Indeed, Samuel’s words couldn’t be false. Riett knew that Samuel would only hear about it if she had ordered them to provoke and threaten those guys.

‘Well, what caused their sudden change in attitude?’

Although it turned out to be a positive outcome, Riett was curious about the reason. They seemed unlikely to be intimidated easily.

‘No, it’s a good thing. Just leave it at that.’

The exams were only a week away now. It was time to focus all her efforts. It was fortunate that she didn’t have to worry about unnecessary matters anymore.

Riett felt her eyelids grow heavy as she glanced at the ticking clock. It was approaching 7 p.m.

Riett closed the textbook she had been reading and got up from her seat. It was still bright since it was summer, but she needed to go home quickly today to practice swordsmanship.

Unconsciously reaching for the book, Riett, however, placed it back on the desk.

‘I won’t need it today since I won’t be studying. No need to take it with me.’

It was pointless to carry it when she wouldn’t have time to study anyway, and it felt heavy on her arms.

Without any hesitation, Riett placed the textbook into the space provided under the desk, specifically for textbooks, and left the classroom.

* * *

It was the next day.

Riett arrived at school, turning her stiff shoulders. Her muscles felt sore since she didn’t properly stretch after practicing swordsmanship for several hours yesterday.

Still, it was manageable. With the practice session over yesterday, she planned to take a break from practical training and focus on the academic exams for a while.

Riett thought so as she rummaged through the space under the desk to retrieve her textbook.

‘…What?’

However, only cold air lingered at the tips of her fingers. No matter how she felt around, there was nothing to touch.

Soon, an uneasy feeling spread throughout her body.

Riett hurriedly lowered her body and glanced under the desk. As expected, the space was empty.

All the essential notes were written in the textbook. Of course, there were summarized notes containing important information, but to study without a single mistake, she had to thoroughly search through the textbook until the very end.

Riett’s mind turned pale at the unexpected situation.

The teacher soon entered, and before she could come up with a plan, the class began, forcing Riett to grip her pen with weakening hands, forcing herself to take notes.