Eating in the dining hall was the worst.

“This is hell!” Elliot mumbled beside me as he pushed his plate away from him. He hardly touched the food in it.

“Can we get back to our room now?” Cat asked. He looked like he was about to cry.

We were eating quite heartily earlier. I introduced my friends to Aunt May who handed us an extra apple each, and Cat was happily running around the place to look around, but the mood changed when a group of seniors came down for a late breakfast.

We heard them laughing even before they entered the hall.

They had two neophytes with them, and they were treating them like harlots.

“P-please let me go...!” one of the neophytes tried to pull away from the senior cradling him on his lap. His reddened eyes filled with tears and I could see ugly red marks on his nape.

The piece of pastry the senior was trying to feed him fell on the table.

“Now look what you made me do?” The senior slammed his hand on the fallen pastry. Jelly spilled out of it and splattered on the neophyte’s shirt.

“I-I’m sorry...”

“Now, clean it up for me.”

The senior began to stuff his sticky fingers in the neophyte’s small mouth, much to his companions’ entertainment, and to our disgust.

I looked at the table next to them, where two of their companions were also harassing another student. His bobbing head was partly obscured by the table, but I didn’t need to see to know what they were forcing him to do.

“So, this is what it means to be in this academy,” I found myself thinking aloud. “I have never been more thankful for being born ugly.”

“Patrick...”

I turned to my side, in time to see Cat throw up what he had eaten for breakfast.

“Ugh, disgusting!”

The senior feeding the neophyte shouted at us.

He stood up from his seat though he was five feet away, dropping the poor student on the floor.

I was worried when he started to walk towards our table and instinctively pushed my seat back to get between him and Cat.

“And what is this retched being supposed to be?” he snarled at me. “You are so revolting that even your companion couldn’t hold his food in!”

The whole hall was filled with the sound of the students laughing, while I, as well as some of my fellow neophytes, stayed silent.

“Tell me, what house did you crawl out from?” he continued mocking me. “What family decided to throw you here to save the rest of their children?”

Again, with the laughter.

“I am sorry, but I have left my family’s name behind the academy ga—”

I was surprised when a loud slap pierced the air.

I felt a sharp pain on my right cheek. The metallic taste of blood was on my lips.

“Boys, we’ve got a cheeky one here!” the senior spat out.

He came closer to me once more and grabbed me by the collar, pulling me out of my seat. I was forced to stand up to my full height and lift my head, my hood, falling off and exposing my face.

“Oh, you’re a tall one!” he said, as he looked up at me. “Want me to dig your eyes out? Huh, freak?” he sneered.

“It looks like it’s about to pop out already!” someone shouted.

They laughed again.

I simply stood in front of the senior, staring at him, keeping my silence.

“A tough one, huh?”

He raised his fist once more.

I was prepared to accept another hit, but it failed to reach its mark, as Cat jumped and hugged his arm while Elliot threw himself between us.

“P-please, no violence!” Elliot said, his voice quivering.

“H-his name is Patrick!” Cat shouted in a shrill voice. “He’s Patrick Siccus, the heir of Grand Duke Siccus! So you better stop bullying him since he’s the Emperor’s grandpa!”

There was a brief moment of silence before the hall was filled with murmurings.

“Is he really Lord Patrick Siccus? The Grand Duke’s first born?!”

“It’s the famous ‘Royal Recluse’!”

“But is it really him?!”

“Look at his deep purple eyes and ebony hair! Only the last pure bloods have such traits!”

“But with that look, it’s obvious that he has lost favor in his family and was merely sent here as a sacrifice.”

“True, but he is still a Siccus and has royal Indicum blood in his veins from his mother.”

“D-disgusting!”

The senior stuttered as he finally let go of my collar, pushing me back down on my seat.

He wiped his hand on the seat of his pants and looked nervously back at me.

“A pimply black boar, a bloated little worm, and a walking corpse! A fine group you freaks you are!” he said loudly, yet I could hear worry in his voice.

Could it be that he fears retribution from my family?

Not that my family actually care about me.

“Damn, I think I just lost my appetite!” the senior declared before grabbing his apprentice by the arm and walking out of the dining hall.

I finally gave a sigh of relief. I was about to check on Cat when someone called out to me and was surprised when a senior approached me.

“Greetings, Lord Patrick,” said he, “my name is Rian. Please forgive Turin’s insolent behavior. He was just being a bit rowdy since there are a lot of neophytes this year.”

‘Is that any reason to harass anybody?’ I thought to myself, but decided to keep my mouth shut. I know that talking back never solved anything, so I simply gave him a little nod.

“Would you like to have your meal with us instead, your grace?” He looked at a table near the middle of the hall where two other seniors sat eating.

“I must decline,” I told him. “My friends and I would like to rest in our room. Please excuse us.”

“Very well then, Lord Patrick, perhaps, some other time.”

We left the dining hall after that with a red eyed Cat clinging to my side.

“I’m really sorry, Pat!” he kept telling me. “I didn’t mean to tell them, but that senior was going to hit you again...”

“I know, Cat, I do not blame you one bit, so please stop crying.”

“Does your cheek still hurt?” Elliot asked worriedly. “You have a broken lip and a small scratch on your face where that bastard’s ring scraped you!”

“There is?” I touched my cheek.

He hit me with a backhand, the senior named Turin.

“I think your lip is still bleeding!” said Cat who stood in tip toes just to reach my chin.

“I believe I shall be better as soon as we return to our room,” I assured them. “I would also like to know more about this ‘apprentice’ thing.”