“Oh, it’s him again.” Amaira sniggered the moment she saw Ashton walk in along with the Gruntas, “You will never cease causing problems, will you?”

“It seems you already know who the troublemaker is, Professor Amaira.” The professor sitting next to Amaira chimed in, “How convenient it is. Lady Michelle, I will suggest you save all of us some time and immediately punish the kid according to your disciplinary council laws.”

Ashton might think that it was all a set-up, but actually, this was happening because of his rotten luck and nothing else. It was a rule that if the Disciplinary council ever decides to hold a trial, two professors should be present throughout the duration of the trial to ensure it was an unbiased one. 

As a result, while Ashton and the Gruntas were being brought in for their ‘trial’, the council president asked for the available professors to come and oversee the trial. None of the professors initially wanted to get involved with something so irrelevant and had been wanting to let the S ranker involved in the incident go, as usual. 

But all that changed as soon as they realised who the S ranker in question was. Lady luck must be shining quite brightly over Amaira’s head. As she had been given the perfect opportunity to get some sort of revenge on Ashton for all the troubles he had caused her for beating up Hugo. 

As for the blue-haired professor next to Ashton, he didn’t know who Ashton was. He wanted to be unbiased and get the trial over with as soon as position. But when his brown eyes fell on Ashton’s slave mark, which was now out in the open as the sleeve of his shirt got torn apart during his transformation, his stance changed completely. 

Even if he was an S ranker, this unknown professor wasn’t someone who would have ever taken the side of a mutt over a noble family. Especially, if the noble family in question was the Gruntas.

“With all due respect, Professor Tanaka, this council does not show preference to anyone based on their birth.” A blonde girl sitting in the middle of the professors spoke up, “We are here to see what happened and who was at fault, rather than passing judgement just because you want us to.”

The girl continued, “Also, I would like to remind you that your attendance is just a formality and you hold no powers here. So please, be patient and refrain from showing your blatant favouritism.”

Although the girl had said all that with the politest smile on her face, it was clear her words had stung the professors quite a bit. 

‘Her family must be somewhat strong for her to scold the professors like that.’

Ashton was completely surprised by the girl. But he was, in for an even bigger surprise when the Gruntas immediately went on their knees as soon as they saw her. 

“May the great Lycaon bless her majesty with eternal beauty and might.” Both of them yelled simultaneously. 

‘Her majesty…? I guess her stats make some sense now. She’s level 29 already… damn.’ All of a sudden, Ashton was out in an awkward position, ‘Still, why do I feel like I’m fcked?’

If she was a princess, it was obvious none of the professors said anything to her once she had made her stance clear. They might have been professors of the academy in a neutral city, but even then they could not afford to upset someone of royal lineage. 

But it also placed Ashton in trouble. Although it didn’t mention that the princess was a purist, Ashton was pretty sure that she, being the princess, would not support him. At least not against high-classed nobles like the Gruntas. 

“I wish we could have met under different circumstances.” The princess replied with elegance dripping from her voice, “But it seems you have been causing some problems, Nick and Nicole Grunta. Your parents would be ashamed of your un-noble like behaviour.”

Nick opened his mouth to say something, but he was immediately silenced by one of the other attendees. This was a trial, not a ballroom dance where he could speak as and when he pleased. They were only to speak, when they were asked to, otherwise they had to keep their mouth shut. 

“Leon, would you mind telling us what happened earlier?” The princess said with her usual smile. 

At that moment, the one who had subdued Ashton stepped up and retold the story as he saw from his perspective. Ashton was pretty sure that the guy would change the narrative to help the Gruntas look like the victims there. But to Ashton’s surprise and Grunta’s dismay, Leon did not alter anything. 

“Are you sure that’s what happened? I personally know all three of them and I refuse to believe that the Gruntas did something like that unprovoked!” Amaira interrupted as soon as Leon was finished retelling the story. 

“Professor, I assure you, I have only reported what I saw myself.” Leon had a look of annoyance on his face. 

The presence of the professors was the reason he did not want to be a part of the trial in the first place. But since he had been the first one to act, he had to be the one to deliver the report about the incident as well. 

“Then I guess there’s nothing much for us to debate about.” The princess mumbled as she got up from her seat, “Nick and Nicole Grunta you have been found guilty of planning and assaulting an innocent party. As punishment, both of you will be placed under house arrest for a month and will only be allowed to attend classes. As for you,”

She turned towards Ashton, “For ruthlessly assaulting a senior, you are hereby suspended from attending any physical training classes for a month. If you have any problems regarding your punishments, you can appeal your case in front of Madam Director. You are free to leave now.”

“We will gladly accept the punishment as it is.” The Gruntas said with a gleeful smile. They weren’t the only ones smiling like the bastards they were either. Both of the professors were too. 

It might seem like their punishment was severe. But in reality, it was Ashton whose punishment was worse than he Gruntas. A month without physical training would place him way behind everyone else in his class. 

Not only that, once he was pushed behind, it was entirely possible that he would end up losing his S rank privileges.

‘This bitch… acting all righteous in front of everyone and screwing me from behind.’ Ashton gritted his teeth in anger, ‘Now I realise why the mistress fcking hates them so much. These bastards are rotten to their core.’

The princess might have been all high and powerful now. But she was going to regret doing this to him in future. Ashton was going to make sure of it. But for now, he had to put on his best performance and thank that princess bitch for her shitty ruling. 

“Thank you for your kind judgement, your highness..” Ashton said with a subtle but forced smile on his face, “I’ll surely give you a token of my appreciation in the future.”