“Why would I panic? Exams are gonna happen anyway. Doing poorly won’t change anything, doing well won’t either. It’s one day whether you’re happy or not, so what’s the point of talking about this now? You’re killing the mood,” Winnie raised an eyebrow.

“No, no, something’s off, Winnie, this isn’t like you at all!” Fred wore a look that clearly said, ‘Did I come here to watch you act cool?’

“What do you want me to do then?”

“I said this so you would join me into complaining! Misery loves company, right? But you, you’re not acting like yourself at all! Usually you’d be right there screaming and crying with the rest of us! Why are you so calm today? Just watching everyone suffer like this?!” Fred pointed at Winnie, his face twisted in anguish.

“Well, if I can’t fake it, I can’t fake it. What do you want me to do?” Winnie said.

“Brother Winnie… don’t tell me you’ve betrayed us and gone off to study secretly?!”

“Brother Fred, didn’t you say earlier that you hadn’t seen  Winnie around much lately?” One of the card players suddenly chimed in.

“Ah! That’s right! So that’s when it happened! Spill it, Winnie, what exactly were you doing during that time?!” Fred’s expression instantly turned serious.

“Hey, hey, cut it out, you guys,” Winnie said in frustration.

“So it’s true, Winnie really went off to study secretly during that time!” the group began murmuring among themselves.

“No, something’s not right!” Fred narrowed his eyes, catching on. “It’s not that simple.”

“We all know what kind of people we are. Given your level of self-discipline, I’m certain you’d never volunteer to study on your own.”

“There must be a mastermind behind this!” Fred declared, looking like he’d seen through everything.~

“Why can’t it be a small fry?” Winnie tilted his head. (1)

If you talk like that, Aesphyra might sue you for discrimination!

“Don’t play dumb, Winnie, isn’t it true? You found some top students to tutor you!”

“Yeah, you caught me,” Winnie said casually.

“Really? Male or female?” Everyone couldn’t help but get nosy.

“Female.”

“Oh-ho??” The group immediately burst into teasing laughter.

“You actually managed to convince a female genius to tutor you? Winnie, could it be that she has a thing for you??” Fred clicked his tongue, his words tinged with jealousy.

“Damn it, Winnie, don’t tell me you not only went off studying secretly, but also betrayed our alliance?!” Fred looked truly heartbroken.

“Cut it out, it’s just a friend thing,” Winnie shot Fred a glare.

“Then who is she? Do we know her?” someone prodded.

“I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Winnie tossed his head.

“Why wouldn’t we believe you? Come on, just say it! Winnie, even if you say some big campus idol is tutoring you, we’ll still believe you.”

“Yeah, Winnie, just go big with it! Like how Aesphyra or Isatia are fighting over who gets to tutor you, hahaha!” The group egged him on.

“See? I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Winnie recalled. “So I’m just not saying anything.”

“Huh??” That shut everyone up.

“Wait, Winnie, you really meant that??” Fred looked truly shocked. “Brother, we joke around all the time, but this is taking it way too far?!”

“Yeah,  Winnie, I always thought Brother Fred was the biggest bullshitter among us, but turns out you’ve been hiding your talent all along?”

“Get lost! What do you mean I’m the biggest bullshitter? Why am I suddenly the go-to guy for all the lies? Why do bad things always get pinned on me when good things never come my way?!” Fred protested fiercely. “And hey, everything I said is true, okay?!”

“Sigh, forget it, forget it. See? I knew it, I said something and you guys wouldn’t believe me anyway. So what’s the point?” Winnie shook his head and went back to his card game. “Alright, enough talk, let’s play cards.”

“Huh??” Fred noticed Winnie’s reaction was off. Usually, when called out, someone will keep bluffing until everyone bursts into laughter. But this? This was completely different.

He looked like he couldn’t be bothered to explain, making it feel weirdly real.

“Tch, so you really pulled it off? Winnie, why lie? If you really had top campus idols fighting to tutor you, wouldn’t you have made sure the whole academy knew? Wouldn’t you want every single person on campus to hear about it?!” Fred said, half-disbelieving, half-jealous, like he’d just eaten a lemon.

“Yeah, fine, it’s fake. I was just bluffing. What else? You think I actually have the power to get the Empire’s First Princess and top campus idol to tutor me??” Winnie raised an eyebrow. “What could she possibly see in me?”

“Pfft, see? I knew it, Winnie, how long have we known each other? We know exactly what kind of guy you are: a die-hard card player. How could you possibly be interested in women?!” Fred thumped his chest proudly. “I never doubted you for a second!”

“Yeah! We card players only attract other card players, not the opposite gender! Our bond is unbreakable!” Another card buddy immediately joined in.

“Right! We have zero interest in women! Women only slow down our thinking and playing speed!” The card players shouted in unison.

“Then…”

“Hmm??” Upon hearing that faint “but,” everyone turned around in unison, staring at the timid card player who’d spoken.

“John, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you betraying our alliance?!”

“No, no! I’m reporting someone! Aiden, he’s not a true card player anymore!” John pointed at a nearby player.

“W-what are you talking about?! John, did I piss you off last night when I trapped you and made you lose? Don’t slander me like that!” Aiden, suddenly the center of attention, panicked.

“Hmm?!” Fred immediately assumed a big brother stance, gravely scrutinizing both John and Aiden. “John, you’re accusing Aiden of betraying our alliance? What’s your basis?”

“Here’s the thing, Brother Fred, Aiden is no longer a pure card player! I know, he secretly joined Aesphyra’s fan support club!” John accused.

“W-what nonsense are you spouting?!” Aiden, caught off guard, scrambled to defend himself.

“Oh?” Everyone exchanged looks knowing, except Winnie, who wore an expression of pure confusion and disbelief.

Aesphyra fan support club? Wait, does something that ridiculous actually exist in this academy??

Who the hell created that stupid club? The club approval system must be insane to actually pass something like that. It’s just wasting club resources.

Still, Winnie had clearly underestimated just how hormone-driven this academy environment was, how terrifying the allure of a beautiful girl could be, especially someone at Aesphyra’s level.

Now that he thought about it, it made sense, flawless beauty that could charm anyone, combined with innate nobility and confidence, top grades in both theory and practical exams, plus an elite family background. What teenage boy could possibly resist that kind of fatal attraction??

Alright, upon reflection, maybe it was just because he spent so much time with Aesphyra and constantly got irritated and riled up by her, so he’d lost the rose-colored glasses everyone else had.

But something like this definitely wasn’t started by Aesphyra herself. Sure, she was extremely narcissistic, but she’d never waste her time on something so meaningless. She didn’t have the time.

Besides, someone as confident as she wouldn’t need to prove her appeal through something like this. Only insecure people obsess over trivial validations. Aesphyra clearly wasn’t in that category.

“Oh? John, you say Aiden joined Aesphyra’s fan club, do you have proof?” Fred demanded, now fully in the role of an upright judge slamming his gavel under a ‘Justice Above’ plaque.

“Of course! And the evidence is on him, he’s wearing the Aesphyra fan club badge right on his undershirt!” John pointed.

“W-what?! Don’t make things up!” Aiden gasped, immediately denied it. “John, you’re framing a comrade here?!”

“Hmph, don’t deny it, I saw it with my own eyes when you changed clothes yesterday. Sewn inside your lining. If you keep denying it, we’ve got ways,” John sneezed, dropping another bomb.

“Hmm??” The card players turned their eyes to Aiden’s shirt.

“W-wait! What are you doing?! You don’t trust me? Brother Fred, Winnie, say something for me!” Seeing the group slowly surround him, Aiden swallowed hard and desperately turned to Winnie and Fred.

“Bro, it’s not that we don’t trust you. Look, just show us your undershirt, let everyone witness your unwavering card-player spirit, and slap John right in the face,” Fred said, arms crossed, clearly sensing Aiden’s guilt.

“Yeah, just a simple undershirt check. We’re all men here, what’s the big deal?” John kept fanning the flames. “The more hesitant and shady you are, the more it proves you’re hiding something.”

Clearly, the rest of the card players agreed. Their eyes locked onto Aiden, making it clear he wasn’t leaving until he showed them.

“Hurry up, Aiden, brothers to the end. Don’t make us do this by force.”

“W-wait! Hold on!” Seeing the group advance, Aiden pushed his hands out. “Fine! You can check me, but I’m reporting someone too!”

“Oh? You want to report someone too? Who?” Fred raised an eyebrow.

“The one I’m reporting is none other than John!” Aiden declared, pointing at John.

“Huh? What am I being accused of?!” John looked utterly confused.

“Heh! Keep pretending! You think I don’t know?!” Aiden sneezed.

“You’re calling me impure? Why single me out? He’s not pure either!”

“Everyone, you don’t know this, but this guy joined Isatia’s fan club ages ago!” Aiden said, throwing caution to the wind.

“So this whole thing wasn’t about exposing me, it was because he’s an Isatia fan and hates me, so he tried to use all of you to get rid of me!” Aiden cried out.

“Oh? So you admit you’re a member of Aesphyra’s fan club?” Fred said with sudden, knowing depth.

“I, I admit it! But he’s not getting away either! His fan club badge is sewn into his undershirt too, I guarantee it!” Aiden went full ‘if I’m going down, you’re coming with me.’

“You! Don’t slander me and turn the tables!” John gasped.

“You’re the one who attacked first!”

“Enough!” Fred waved his hand impatiently. “Fine, since it’s come to this, search both of them! Men, move!”

At Fred’s command, the card players surged forward, grabbing both and ripping open their linings.

“Brother Fred! Aiden was telling the truth, John’s got an Isatia fan club badge on him!”

“Brother Fred, John’s a real one too, Aiden’s definitely a member of Aesphyra’s fan club!”

Soon, the search was over. Someone pulled out the two fan badges and handed them to Fred.

Beside him, Winnie watched the scene unfold, unsure what expression to wear.

So factional warfare’s reached to his card playing friends now, huh??

“So? What do you think now?” Looking at the two fan badges right in front of his eyes, Fred was so happy he could hardly stop smiling.

“You usually put on such a righteous front, acting like you only care about cards and not women… turns out every single one of you is secretly a master at picking up girls, huh?”

“Hey, Fred, listen to my explanation!”

“I really did infiltrate Aesphyra’s fan club to gather intelligence!”

The card players who had just taken the badges snorted coldly. “Gather intelligence? What intelligence?”

“Is there even any information worth gathering there?”

“You’re not seriously saying you’ll follow ‘Lady Aesphyra’forever, are you?”

Fred burst out laughing.

“Brother Fred, I-I was being Forced!” John said anxiously.

“Forced my ass! Who would force you to join a fan club?”

“Was it Isatia herself who forced you?”

“N-no, I-I…”

“No more explanations. Drag them all down and punish them properly.”

“Make them rethink their identities as card players.” Fred waved his hand impatiently.

######

1 – This sentence took too much time because I felt it didn’t make sense.

为什么不能是矮人呢？

Wèishénme bùnéng shì ǎirén ne?

“Why can’t it be a short guy?”

I am talking because it came out of nowhere. Did you guys also feel it?

2 – Card player here Fred and group thinks that they will stay away from women

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep