The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

1 – Receiving Hatred from Everyone

“I’ll be off.”

The voice of Logan, the eldest son of Viscount Asrian, dispersed into the air.

“I didn’t expect anything in the first place.”

Is it really that surprising that no one saw him off as he left for the academy, being the only son?

Well, it might be foolish to expect a farewell from parents who didn’t even bother attending the entrance ceremony, which is considered a given for most parents.

“Take care. Young master. It would be best if you didn’t come back.”

The maid who had been with Logan exclusively for ten years spoke with a cold expression.

“Yeah, I also don’t want to come back if possible.”

With those words, Logan boarded the carriage.

Between the closing doors of the carriage, the maid’s icy gaze lingered.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Even the coachman’s voice, which had been silent, carried a chill.

It was quite a surprising sight for Hans, who was famous for being kind to the townspeople, to use such a cold tone. If it had been anyone other than Logan, that is.

The epitome of trash.

The greatest shame of Viscount Asrian.

It would have been better if he had never been born.

All of these were terms used to refer to Logan.

‘Nevertheless, Hans had an excellent sense of professionalism, which was fortunate.’

If another driver had been handling the carriage, it was clear that they would have intentionally driven roughly to harass Logan.

Until they arrived at the academy, the two hadn’t exchanged a single word of conversation.

Hans had no intention of initiating the conversation first, and Logan disliked talking to others immensely.

And so, the carriage arrived in the village without any conversation.

Hans didn’t even bother to book a room at Logan’s inn; he went to book a different one.

‘I want to save money, you know.’

The Astrian Viscount was by no means from a small family.

Though not a family renowned for exceptional martial skills or extraordinary magical talents, they had accumulated considerable wealth since the ancestors’ time.

Even if he wasn’t the head but the successor, it was only normal for him to use the best inn in such a small village without any shortage of money.

However, that was Logan.

Because his evaluation within the Viscount’s household was always at its lowest, he had never received support from the family while attending the academy.

He couldn’t starve and attend school, so he had no choice but to work and earn money.

Of course, no matter how hard he worked, he couldn’t receive proper pay due to his tarnished image, and he even faced insults about bringing shame to the family.

‘It’s fortunate there’s a blanket.’

Fortunately, the carriage seemed well-equipped for an overnight stay.

To think that the eldest son of the Astrian Viscount would sleep in a carriage due to lack of money.

If someone had said such a thing 30 years ago, it would have been considered absurd enough to warrant a beating.

That night, Logan spent with a single blanket as his only companion.

The only stroke of luck for Logan was that it took only two days from the Astrian Viscount’s residence to the academy.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Good.”

“I believe you can find your way to the academy on your own.”

When the carriage arrived at the island, the sun had already disappeared beyond the horizon.

With the moon illuminating the sky, it was a rather inconvenient time to walk from the island’s gate to the academy.

Despite the simplicity, he still had luggage to carry and a horse.

“Turn back.”

Hans would probably spend the night on the island and wouldn’t have a problem giving him a ride to the academy, but that was Logan.

He didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks, as a viscount who not only wouldn’t provide an allowance but had also stolen money from Logan himself.

Even if the luggage Logan had wasn’t much, they were things he would need throughout his stay at the dormitory.

Carrying all the luggage to the academy was quite a hassle for someone like him who wasn’t used to manual labor, but there was no other way.

“It’s getting late. Come back in the morning.”

It took about an hour to finally arrive at the front of the academy, only to be stopped by a guard.

“Halt.”

Logan frowned slightly.

It wasn’t because he had seen another student carrying luggage into the academy just five seconds ago.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re Logan Asrian, right? It’s dark, so I couldn’t see.”

A male student with blue eyes and white hair seemed to be confused about how many people were at the academy.

He wanted to retort, but as he would be starting his activities as a second-year student at the academy from tomorrow, there was no need to take such a risk.

“Did you see a novice just come in?”

“Looks like you’ve seen wrong.”

-Swiftly

While the two were talking, a guard by their side opened the door and ushered in a novice who arrived later than Logan.

“Hmm.”

“What’s the matter?”

“The novice who just passed by, what’s that about?”

“A novice? Are you sure you didn’t just see something?”

‘These kids…’

Clear nobility’s arrogance.

It was a serious offense punishable by death if properly brought to trial, but within this empire, there was no favor toward Logan.

No matter what evidence Logan presented, no one would listen.

“Open it.”

“As I mentioned earlier…”

“Open it. I won’t say it twice.”

No matter how poor Logan’s reputation was, he was of noble birth.

Of course, the guards could detain Logan to the end, but…

“I’m sorry, but…”

“Open it, you bastards. If you don’t, I’ll force my way in.”

Logan’s temper wasn’t to be trifled with.

As Logan radiated anger with his eyes, the security guards opened the door as if they had done enough.

“Another dog-like rumor will spread.”

The rumor was about how he either yelled at the well-behaved security guards or mistreated commoners using his noble position.

“That’s why I shouldn’t show kindness.”

He had been trying to be nice lately, just to avoid getting caught by his family, but there were people who took advantage of that and became annoying.

With the luggage in hand, Logan headed towards a shabby and old building in the corner, which was not a dormitory but rather a place assigned to him by the academy because no one else lived in the same room as Logan, making it essentially an exile.

“Clearly, it’s not being maintained.”

As soon as he opened the door and entered, dust swirled around.

Even though it was a room, it was quite cold because the heating was not properly done.

It was late at night, and although a new academy life as a second-year student awaited him starting tomorrow, he couldn’t sleep in such a filthy place.

It took him two hours to clean the room, wiping the floor and walls with the rag he had prepared, clearing away the spider webs, and getting rid of all the dust.

“Phew. Now I can sleep well.”

Logan, who had tightly wrapped the blankets from his bag, said with satisfaction.

It was quite amusing that as someone who was supposed to be the eldest son of a viscount, he couldn’t even get a proper room and had to wrap himself in blankets in order to sleep.

When he was in his first year, first semester, he had shed tears because his situation was so miserable, but as the current Logan, he could calmly accept it.

“That person is Logan…”

“You can tell just by looking at him…”

The next morning,

As Logan walked from the dormitory towards the main building of the academy, numerous people looked at him with sympathy.

There were quite a few unfamiliar faces, so it seemed that there were also freshmen mixed in. It must have been the unfortunate lower-class students who would start attending classes at the academy from today, even though the entrance ceremony was yesterday.

“Tsk…”

Ignoring the voices around, walking down the street, a sound pierced the air ahead.

“You’re really making the morning disgusting.”

Long, flowing blonde hair that could almost trip.

Violet irises with a strong intensity.

And a heavily displeased expression, as if something was terribly wrong.

“Having a facial expression meltdown? Your skin’s not going to like it.”

“I sense the source of my discomfort.”

Her name was Anna Velocia.

She was an impressive figure, a rarity not seen in the Velocia lineage for a hundred years, being the daughter of a viscount.

Warm and truly aristocratic in nature, as everyone claimed, yet, like others, she despised Logan.

“Having you in the same class this year is undoubtedly a blight in my life.”

“Someone’s enjoying themselves, huh?”

“I’d dislike it far more. You truly are the worst trash.”

Logan casually dismissed her words and headed towards the bureau, passing by her.

For Anna, engaging in conversation with him was a loss.

The image was too perfect.

Just mingling in a conversation was an addition to Logan’s misdeeds.

“Heard the news?”

“That Stella’s headquarters have been located? Word is a major task force will be formed soon.”

Entering the classroom, the air was filled with unnecessary chatter.

“…”

Soon, silence prevailed.

It wasn’t that Logan was afraid.

What the eyes of the novices held wasn’t a feeble emotion like fear but powerful sentiments of disgust and disdain.

As always, Logan took a seat in the corner.

No one dared to take the spot assigned to him since a well-meaning novice, aware beforehand that Logan’s seat was off-limits, had personally scribbled graffiti on it.

-Thud!

“Ah, my mistake.”

Water droplets fell from above.

Turning his head, Logan found Anna covering her mouth, looking at him.

“I messed up the output control.”

Anna, trying to stifle her laughter with her mouth covered, couldn’t help but apologize like that.