Chapter 114: Ex-Girlfriend

Vinesha is in front.
Sharin Sazariss is behind.

A life-or-death crisis.
What can I do here?

I’ve overcome countless dangers before, but at this moment, my mind was completely blank.
Beyond the window, a dark entity began to move.
The being Vinesha had summoned from the other world was approaching.

A critical situation.
Sharin was about to be attacked.

“Vinesha!”

I immediately grabbed Vinesha’s shoulder.
She flinched in surprise at the sudden physical contact and looked up.
Her eyes were wide as she stared at me.

“I came to Zeryon Academy with an important mission. If chaos erupts here, everything will be ruined.”

Vinesha rolled her eyes while looking at my serious expression.
Then, she gently cupped her cheeks with both hands.

“If you approach me so boldly like that, oh my, even a young lady like me will get flustered.”

She glanced at my face repeatedly as she spoke.
I could sense the presence beyond the window quieting down.

We’re safe.

“So, Vinesha, please hold back for my sake. I have my reasons. You understand, right?”

Vinesha looked up at me with bright, expectant eyes.
Then, she soon turned her gaze past my shoulder, her expression becoming emotionless.

“Is that what you call ‘having reasons’?”

Sharin stood there with a clueless expression.
Then, she opened her mouth wide and let out a long yawn.

She didn’t seem to care about the situation at all.
Typical of Sharin—calm even after dropping a bombshell.

“…Yeah.”

As soon as I answered, Vinesha let out a sigh and suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace.

At that moment, Sharin, her hair standing on end, whipped her head toward me.
But I had no time to pay attention to her reaction.

“Alright. If it’s my dear husband’s words, I’ll believe anything. After all, my dear husband is destined to save the world!”

Well, I am doing something similar.

“Then, my dear husband, I must go find some supplies now, so I’ll be off.”

Vinesha gave me a bright smile before stepping away.
As she passed by Sharin, she clicked her tongue with a rather fierce expression before leaving.

Somehow, the crisis had passed.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips.

“Hey, hey, heeey.”

Just then, Sharin had suddenly moved next to me.
She started pounding my back with her tiny fists.

Of course, with my reinforced body, her punches had no effect whatsoever.
Still, she kept hitting me with determination.

“What’s with that woman?”

“She’s a new associate professor in the magic department.”

“Then why is an associate professor hugging my husband?”

Is this girl seriously planning to keep calling me her husband?

I grabbed Sharin’s wrist, stopping her relentless tapping on my back.

“It’s complicated. I stole the Veil Bandages from her.”

Sharin knew I was in disguise.
Now realizing that the source of my disguise came from Vinesha, she subtly furrowed her brows.

“Then that means…”

Sharin looked at me with slightly raised eyebrows.

“Does that woman know your true identity?”

Of course, she does.
But I couldn’t answer right away.

I could sense a hint of displeasure from Sharin.
I blinked.

Sharin was looking at me with an obviously sulky expression.
It was the first time she had ever shown her emotions so openly.
And I knew exactly what that emotion was.

‘…Jealousy?’

Of course, jealousy exists even between friends.
Just like how a friend might feel jealous when another friend gets closer to someone else, jealousy is a complex emotion.
It can happen between anyone, regardless of gender.

But the jealousy I saw in Sharin’s eyes felt different. Subtle.

“…Yeah, she knows.”

At my response, Sharin slowly lowered her hand from my wrist.
She looked deflated.

“Mm, I see…”

Without another word, she turned around and walked away.

I watched her retreating figure for a moment before quickly following after her.

“Sharin.”

“I’m the fiancée, and even I don’t know. But she does, huh…”

“Sharin, wait—”

“I helped with your magic engraving and everything. So that’s how it is, huh…”

She wasn’t even trying to listen to me.

How did things end up like this?

With a troubled expression, I followed her into the training grounds, where students were in the middle of practice.

She glanced at me once, then turned sharply and strode toward the magic department.

She was seriously upset.

I didn’t want my relationship with Sharin to go sour.
But at the same time, my mind was tangled with thoughts about the emotions she had just revealed.

“Ah! Prince Sweet Potato!”

Just then, Seron spotted me and started bouncing excitedly, waving her hands.

She looked like a puppy wagging its tail like a propeller upon seeing its owner return.

If only things were as simple as they were with Seron.

I shook off my complicated thoughts.
I’d deal with Vinesha and Sharin later—right now, I headed toward Seron.

“How have you been?”

“What, did you think I’d be all miserable without you or something?”

Seron puffed up with pride, but it was obvious she was happy to see me.

“You were miserable for a while, though. All sulky and down.”

“Ugh!”

Just then, Hania suddenly popped up beside her and pointed it out.

It seemed like Hania had been looking after Seron in my absence.

“She looked like a lost puppy. I couldn’t just ignore her.”

“T-That’s not true.”

Seron whistled and turned her head away, but her eyes flickered with guilt.

“Welcome back.”

Hania ignored Seron’s reaction and greeted me properly.

Then, making sure Seron couldn’t hear, she whispered quietly.

“I heard about what happened with Lady Sharin Sazaris.”

Sharp ears.

Well, it made sense—Hania was always by Iris’s side, after all.

By that point, the imperial family’s ears must have been fully open.

‘News of the engagement will spread soon enough.’

The Blue Tower Master wants to implement Zeryon’s magic.
To keep me alive rather than kill me, he’ll have to rush the engagement announcement one way or another.

“Sorry, that’s how things turned out.”

“I understood the situation as soon as I heard about it. I know that, as Hanon, you had no choice.”

Hania was incredibly understanding.

“More than anything, you went along with it all for my sake, didn’t you? So honestly, I’m grateful for everything until now.”

She wasn’t just generous—she was an angel.
No, Hania was a goddess.

“I feel like I might start crying.”

“Why would you cry over something like this?”

“Hania, you’re the best girlfriend ever.”

“Hmph, it’s a relief you finally realize that.”

Hania raised her chin slightly, looking a little smug.

“Anyway, I think it’s about time we end our ‘romantic’ relationship. The people who had feelings for me seem to have given up, and most importantly…”

She curled her lips into a smirk, as if thoroughly pleased.

“That mutt—oh, I mean, Associate Professor Barkov—doesn’t have any interest in me anymore.”

That was an unexpected statement.

Professor Barkov, who had launched a full-on tactical confession assault.
The idea that he had suddenly lost interest in Hania seemed almost impossible.

“More importantly, that guy didn’t get fired after the recent boycott incident?”

“His family is powerful, so I guess corruption doesn’t concern him.”

“But women do.”

At least he was consistent.

Still, it was shocking that someone like him had given up on Hania.

“Professor Barkov found a new woman.”

“Now that’s a surprise. Who’s the unfortunate victim?”

“A new associate professor in the magic department—someone named Vinesha.”

And at that moment, my face completely froze.

Barkov…
So, you’ve finally decided to commit suicide.

“Thanks to that, things are easier for me. Since she’s also an associate professor, I’m sure she’ll handle it herself.”

Hania usually didn’t care about things as long as they didn’t affect her.

But unlike her, my expression turned serious.
Knowing Vinesha’s personality, if Barkov tried one of his aggressive confessions, she would actually kill him.

“…Why do you look like that? Are you that sad we’re not a couple anymore?”

Hania studied my face and asked.

“I’m just a little heartbroken that my first romance is ending like this.”

“We’re in the same boat, so just deal with it. More importantly, go see Lady Iris later.”

“Got it, ex-girlfriend.”

“Take care, ex-boyfriend.”

With that, Hania left coolly and cleanly.
It was the neatest breakup ever.

“What’s going on?”

Seron, who had been quietly listening, suddenly leaned in and asked.

“A scary story about how Professor Barkov is about to be murdered.”

“Sounds like good news.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong.

“More importantly, Prince Sweet Potato, I made it to the round of 32 in the preliminaries! Pretty impressive, huh?”

Seron puffed up her chest and proudly showed off.

Making it to the round of 32 was a huge achievement, considering it was among academies worldwide.

Seron, huh.
All that encouragement I gave her really paid off.

I raised my hand and ruffled her hair messily.

“You really did well.”

“Uh, uhm.”

Seron flinched, pressing her legs together, as if she hadn’t expected such genuine praise from me.
Then, she rolled her eyes around and quietly turned away.

“I—I should go train some more.”

And just like that, she bolted away in embarrassment.

As I slowly lowered my now purposeless hand, another familiar face walked toward me.
Golden honey-blonde hair fluttered in the wind.

Her hair had grown slightly longer compared to the first semester, and she came to a stop right in front of me.

Isabel Luna.
The main heroine of Blazing Butterfly Arc.

“You’re back.”

Right after my one-on-one match with Isabel, I had been taken away.
But Isabel must have read in my eyes that I would be fine.
So she hadn’t been too worried about me.

“A celebrity has arrived.”

Ever since she showcased Goddess’s Wings in the individual matches, Isabel had skyrocketed to fame.
Her reputation had momentarily been overshadowed when I was captured by the imperial soldiers, but it was clear that her fame would only continue to grow.

After all, she had awakened the Goddess’s Wings, a power that had only existed in legends.
It would have been stranger if she didn’t become famous.

“Don’t flatter me. You and I aren’t all that different.”

Unfortunately, in my case, it was mostly infamy.
I had used an elder dragon’s magic and been taken away by the Imperial Knights—of course, I’d gained a notorious reputation.

“You knew everything back then, didn’t you?”

“I knew somewhat.”

If I had judged the situation to be truly dangerous, I would have run for my life.

“You really are…”

Isabel looked at me with an expression full of words she didn’t say.
She also knew that I had fought her with my full strength on purpose—to push her forward.

“…You and I haven’t settled things yet.”

She was right. Isabel and I had yet to determine a decisive winner.

“Even if we don’t, I feel like I already know how it’ll turn out.”

“I wonder how long that arrogance of yours will last.”

Isabel said that with a small smirk.

“But I don’t really hate it anymore.”

Had her feelings changed over time?
Her expression looked much brighter than before.

“Oh, right. There was another commotion during the individual matches.”

“A commotion?”

Even after Isabel’s Goddess’s Wings and my Heavenly Dragon Transformation, there had still been something else worth making a fuss over?

“Azure Flame.”

From Isabel’s lips came the name of Unyielding Azure Flame.

“The one who took second place in the individual matches declared that she’s transferring to Zeryon Academy.”

A big fish had taken the bait.