Holy Institution Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Junior make-up exam (5)

Suo Suo followed a silent Di Lin out of the building. He asked in a low voice, "You really don't like Princess Qiaoni?"

Di Lin sighed helplessly. "You asked that before."

Suo Suo widened his eyes in curiosity. "Then who do you like?"

"That's just an excuse."

"Excuse? Why?"

Di Lin struggled to restrain himself but still failed to endure it in the end. "I don't like the princess, but Justin does."

Suo Suo's eyes suddenly widened. "He likes the princess?'

Di Lin nodded. He had never been in a relationship but saw this aspect of things quite clearly.

"Then," Suo Suo was doubtful. "Why didn't you tell him the truth?" If Justin knew of it, surely he would be very touched?

"I sounded him out before," Di Lin's brows creased. This was where his conflicted emotions lay. "When he was drunk."

"The outcome?"

"He proposed a duel!" Rejecting the marriage with the princess was originally already an exceedingly thorny and troublesome issue. At that time, he had noticed that Justin liked Princess Qiaoni, and so his original intention was to egg Justin into taking the initiative to pursue her. On one hand, Justin's happiness could be fulfilled and on the other, success would allow him to retreat. Who knew that Justin's sword would immediately leave its scabbard right after he uttered the words? If it wasn't for his quick dodge, one of them wouldn't be standing here now - from a probability's standpoint, it was very likely that it would be him.

Suo Suo gazed at him dazedly. "Why?"

"It could be interpreted as his pride as a knight, or as his admiration for the princess." Because he was too prideful, he couldn't bear the idea of climbing up the social ladder through the princess. Because of his admiration, he would go through any possible means to fulfill his desire of having the princess.

Di Lin understood his motivations, but accomplishing it was a matter of great difficulty.

Suo Suo scratched his head. "Then, what now?"

Di Lin pondered over it. "Stick with the mistake to the very end."

To make the lie perfect, another lie was necessary.

Immediately upon returning to the dormitory, he told the entire matter to Rui Meng.

Di Lin fixed a fervent stare on Rui Meng after finishing what he had to say. Faced with his gaze, a layer of goosebumps appeared all over Rui Meng's body. "You can't be thinking of making me the person you like, right?" The Dream Continent was rather open-minded, and homosexuals didn't face much rejection or discrimination. This was especially true among the nobility. There was greater emphasis on capability for the heirs of nobility, so some nobility would even search for their heirs among the collateral lines in the family after realizing that their children weren't outstanding enough. This had greatly alleviated the conflicting views on the inability of homosexuals to give birth.

Hearing him utter it of his own accord, Di Lin's eyes immediately curved into crescents.

"Out of the question," Rui Meng refused resolutely.

Di Lin wasn't too surprised. "Why?"

Rui Meng answered honestly, "I don't dare to offend Princess Qiaoni." The reason why he dared to not give Xi Luo any face was because Senriga was quite a distance away from Kanding Empire, so he didn't need to pay too much attention to giving them face. But it was a different matter for Shamanril; they were only separated by Tangilly and Julan. He had no wish to offend Princess Qiaoni and bring trouble to his country. It had to be known that a woman's jealous heart could sometimes be very scary.

Di Lin very quickly figured out his apprehensions. He sighed softly. "It was me who didn't think through it thoroughly." The reason why he denied that it was Suo Suo was so that he could protect him. Now that he thought about it, his request to Rui Meng was indeed very selfish.

Rui Meng said guiltily, "It's not that I don't want to help you."

"I know," Di Lin smiled. "Please don't take it to heart."

Rui Meng asked, "Then, what do you intend to do?"

Di Lin was at a loss.

After calculating, the only one among so many schoolmates who possessed the qualifications and dared to wade into such muddy waters was Xi Luo. But if he said that he liked Xi Luo, then he feared that the consequences would not only involve Princess Qiaoni's fury but also implicate the Basco clan.

Rui Meng saw his look of dejection and said hurriedly, "But fondness need not be mutual. It can also be one-sided."

Di Lin said, "Even if it's one-sided…" It would still be difficult to guarantee that the individual would not be the recipient of Princess Qiaoni's rage.

"That'll depend on who the person is," Rui Meng revealed a meaningful smile.

Di Lin's eyes slowly lit up.

For once, Suo Suo was also quite bright. "I know! Chairman Orosai!"

Di Lin, "…"

Rui Meng coughed dryly. "This choice poses too much of a challenge, it would be better for it to be included in the list of candidates first." If Di Lin were to announce that the person he liked was Chairman Orosai, he would probably be included in the ranks of those who had a sexual attraction to the elderly.

Di Lin asked, "Then who do you think is better suited?"

Rui Meng said straightforwardly, "Head Instructor Macreis."

 Di Lin's expression said that he had indeed expected this answer.

"Firstly, Head Instructor Macreis has interacted with us for a period of time, so there is a period of contact to act as a base. Secondly, Head Instructor Macreis isn't very old and hasn't gotten married," Rui Meng's thinking was very quick. Within a short period of time, he had already thought of three advantages. "Thirdly, he has recently been busy with the barrier between the institution and the Nightmare Forest, so the chances of him appearing is very small."

Di Lin nodded in approval.

Suo Suo blurted out, "Why not Tutor Hydin?"

Di Lin and Rui Meng stared blankly.

"Tutor Hydin is younger and better looking than Head Instructor Macreis, and he had more contact with Di Lin…" As Suo Suo spoke, his voice suddenly weakened. "But he might get angry."

……

The issue wasn't whether or not he would get angry, but that the severe consequences of doing so could be felt just from thinking about it.

Di Lin decided to strike while the iron was hot and immediately settle this matter.

When he rushed to the president's office building, Princess Qiaoni still hadn't come out of the office. Even more coincidentally, Michelle wasn't around either. Everything from the time, to the location, and to the people was perfect.

Delight filled Di Lin's heart.

Seeing him return after leaving, Justin was a little startled. "You've finished thinking about it?"

"I decided to tell you who I like," Di Lin said with a solemn look.

Justin stared blankly for a while before asking coldly, "Who did you manage to convince?"

"Not convince, it's genuine," Di Lin strove to appear as calm and unhurried as possible.

Justin stared at him without uttering a single word.

"The person I like…"

Footsteps sounded behind them.

Di Lin suddenly turned around, his face turning slightly red.

"Who?" Justin asked severely. "Who is the person you like?"

Macreis and Hydin were walking alongside each other while Michelle was following behind them. Hearing Justin's question, all of them looked over with a peculiar gaze.

Di Lin felt so guilty that he didn't dare to look at Macreis.

Confessing behind someone's back was one thing but saying it in the presence of the person was another matter. Moreover, the gaze Hydin directed towards him was exceedingly sharp. Those pair of eyes were blue to the point that it terrified him, preventing him further from daring to act without thinking and only allowing him to gaze back at him innocently.

"Is it him?" Justin's tone of voice didn't appear to be as confident as before.

To him, the way Hydin and Di Lin looked at each other resembled the deeply emotional gazes of lovers.

"What?" Di Lin snapped out of it with an uneasiness.

Justin stared at Hydin. "Is he the person you like?"

"Of course…" Di Lin hadn't managed to say the word 'not' when he noticed the sneer at the corner of Hydin's mouth. His heart suddenly trembled. Given Hydin's arrogance, if he said that he was secretly in love with Macreis in front of him…

Just imagining it gave him a feeling that his world would be filled with darkness, without daylight.

But if he admitted that the person he liked was Hydin…

It seemed like it would also be a world without light.

……

It had clearly been a great opportunity that came only once in a blue moon, how did it transform into this miserable state?

Di Lin remained silent.

His half-spoken words was undoubtedly an acknowledgement of Justin's guess, causing Justin's expression to instantly become exceedingly ugly.

On the contrary, Hydin's smile became quite sincere. "? You like me?"

Di Lin tried very hard to shift his train of thought to something else in order to escape this moment of awkwardness. He glanced at Hydin's waist, suddenly realizing that he was wearing a mage gown today… how regretful. If not, he trusted that his attention would definitely have been diverted very swiftly.

The shock that Macreis had felt at the beginning turned into amazement. "You like him? Is this a love between teacher and student?"

"Love between teacher and student?" Justin turned and looked at Di Lin. "He's your tutor?"

Di Lin nodded. Things had already reached this point, so he could only confront it bravely. After resolving his old troubles, he could think of a way to settle his new ones - although he felt that the new troubles were even more of a headache than the old ones.

"This is my friend, Shamanril's head of imperial guards, Justin," Di Lin stood between Justin and Hydin as he introduced them. "This is my tutor, magic tutor Hydin·Tagilis."

"Hello, honorable sire," Justin saluted deferentially.

Hydin raised a brow at Di Lin and bantered, "I thought you would introduce me this way - ‘this is my sweetheart'."

Whoosh.

The blood from the entirety of Di Lin's body converged on his face.

T/N: Di Lin, you're going to regret this…

Chapter end