The Villainess's Reputation [Kingdom Building]

322. Rexford’s Story From The Past Part 1

A Few Years Ago, High Noble’s Dorms, The Imperial Noble Academy, Outskirts of the Capital City, Ancorna Empire.“It is entirely improper to have a man in your quarters at this hour, Your Highness! I have warned you about this repeatedly!”

A younger Rexford stood stiffly outside the dorm room, his face a mask of official disapproval. He was dressed in the crisp, ironed uniform of the Student Council, clutching a ledger to his chest as if it were a holy shield. “As a member of the Student Council, I cannot allow such blatant disregard for academy regulations in a place of higher learning!”

“Yeah, yeah... Young Lord Roland. You always show up right on cue to nag about the rules,” Ravenna replied, leaning against the doorframe. She was dressed in her revealing silken night garments, idly twisting a lock of hair around her finger.

Rexford pointedly looked aside, his gaze fixed on the stone wall to avoid looking at her in such a state of undress. “Do you not get tired of being such a pathetic suck-up?” she teased.

“Unlike an unruly Princess who treats the world as her playground, I take discipline very seriously, Your Highness,” Rexford retorted, his jaw tightening. Ravenna chuckled, the sound melodic and mocking. “Oh? You take discipline seriously, but apparently not the hierarchy? You dare to insult me to my face?”

Rexford finally met her eyes, a smug, self-assured grin breaking through his stoic exterior. “I think you are mistaken. Within these walls, you are merely a student, whereas I am a student holding the rank of the Council. Therefore, in this specific environment, I am the one higher up in the hierarchy, Your Highness.”

“So you want me to bow to you? Don’t think too highly of yourself, Rexford Roland,” Ravenna glared at him, though her eyes sparkled with amusement.

Rexford chuckled, casting a brief, sharp look at Kenric, who was still standing casually inside Ravenna’s room. “I would never dream of asking for a bow from the Imperial Family. However, I do have the authority to have you evicted from the dorms. I judge that you wouldn’t enjoy having to return to the Sun Palace and commute to the academy every single morning.”

Ravenna’s smirk faltered for a fraction of a second before it returned, sharper than ever. “Fine,” she said. “I won’t be spending the night in the company of a man.”

Rexford puffed out his chest, a satisfied smile blooming on his face as he thought he had finally won an argument. But his triumph was short-lived.

“Kenric, return to your quarters,” Ravenna commanded. Then, looking Rexford dead in the eye, she added, “And have Laila come to my room immediately.”

Kenric let out a low, amused chuckle, bowing readily as he stepped out past the flabbergasted Rexford.

“There. Now I’ll just sleep with a girl instead,” Ravenna said with a wicked laugh.

Rexford’s face turned a brilliant shade of crimson. “Your Highness! Sexual interactions within the dormitories, of any kind are strictly inappropriate for this institution! Why do you refuse to understand?! I shall have you evicted tomorrow, just you wait and see!”

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“Yeah, good luck with that,” Ravenna waved him off dismissively.

Rexford turned on his heel and stormed down the corridor, rambling a string of frustrated insults under his breath about "unprincipled princess" and "wanton behavior."

“It seems you quite enjoy teasing him, Your Highness,” Kenric said, pausing for a moment before heading to his own dorm. He wore a knowing smile. “Do you fancy him, perhaps?”

Ravenna made a loud, disgusted sound, wrinkling her nose. “Him? As if... I absolutely hate the uptight types.” She began to close her door, offering a final instruction to Kenric. “Just make sure Laila arrives before lights out. I don’t want another confrontation with that guy tonight.”

Kenric smiled as the door clicked shut. “You say that,” he murmured to the empty hallway, “but you certainly seem to enjoy the look on his face when you make him lose his temper.”

Next Day, Around the same time, High Noble’s Dorms, The Imperial Noble Academy, Outskirts of the Capital City, Ancorna Empire.

“Now, what do you have to say for yourself, Your Highness?” Rexford chuckled. He held an official-looking document in his hand, waving it in front of Ravenna’s doorway with a triumphant, smug smile. He dangled the paper between two fingers, mocking her with its very presence. “With this notice, you are officially required to evict these premises immediately.”

“Oh my, how truly tragic,” Ravenna said, her voice dripping with insincerity.

Just then, Laila stepped out from behind her, yawning and stretching like a cat. She leaned against the doorframe next to Ravenna and immediately began her usual bickering. “What is wrong with you, Rexford Roland? Do you have nothing better to do than pick fights with Her Highness first thing in the morning?”

“Miss Laila, please stay out of this! I am speaking with Her Highness right now on official Council business,” Rexford snapped, trying to force the notice into Ravenna’s hand. Laila was faster. She snatched the parchment out of the air before it could touch Ravenna. “My, my, what do we have here?” she chuckled.

Rexford’s confidence wavered for a fraction of a second, a bead of sweat forming on his brow as Laila’s eyes scanned the document with clinical precision.

“This notice was signed only by the Head of Department and the Student Council President,” Laila noted, a sharp smile spreading across her face. “I’m sure you’re aware, Young Lord Roland, but to evict a member of the Imperial Family from academy housing, you must have, at the very least, a signature from the Dean of the Academy.”

Ravenna laughed, wrapping her arms around Laila from behind and resting her chin on Laila’s shoulder. “Did you hear what my lawyer said, Young Lord Roland?”

Rexford gritted his teeth. He had bet on the fact that Laila would be too exhausted to function this morning after pleasing Ravenna all night and he’d counted on Ravenna being too much of an airhead in the morning to check the legal fine print.

“But... isn’t the Dean away on official business at the moment?” Laila asked innocently. Ravenna squeezed her tighter, planting a lingering, provocative kiss on the side of Laila’s neck.

“How very unfortunate for you,” Ravenna added with a predatory smirk.

Rexford let out a strangled snort of indignation. “Cease this... this scandalous behavior at once!” he stammered, his face turning a deep shade of red. “I will see how long you can keep up this charade, Your Highness! And you, Miss Laila! You are always standing in my way! I’ll show you both!”

With a final, huffy glare, he turned on his heel and stormed off.

As he descended the stairs, Rexford’s mind was a chaotic mess of frustration.” I don’t understand that woman, Laila” he grumbled to himself. “She acts like an airhead most of the time, yet she suddenly becomes a legal scholar the moment the law is used against her.” But as he walked, his mind betraying him, the image of Ravenna in her revealing nightclothes, draped so intimately over Laila, kept flashing before his eyes.

He abruptly stopped and slapped his own cheeks. “Snap out of it, Rexford! Control yourself!” he scolded his reflection in a hallway mirror. “I must ensure that the unruly Princess follows the rules, no matter what!”

He adjusted his collar, took a deep breath, and began walking even faster toward the Council chambers, desperate to escape the memory of Ravenna’s laugh.