Chapter 115: The Academy’s Most Promiscuous Student

The Unyielding Azure Flame.

Eve.

I was the one who thwarted her in the international individual tournament.
She tried to put an end to the remnants of my elder dragon in that tournament.
But after my fiery battle against Isabel in the Round of 64, I was taken away.
For her, it was an utterly exasperating situation.

‘If I think about the image I’ve shown Eve all this time…’

It was a clear provocation.
A deception, as if to say, No matter what you do, I’ll slip away unscathed.
Infuriated to her core by my provocation, she fought fiercely in the individual tournament.
And in the end, she climbed all the way up to second place.

Then came the award ceremony.
There, she announced her intent to transfer to Zeryon Academy.

Her declaration sparked a rumor—
A commotion that Eve caused in the individual tournament.
It was concluded that the reason behind it was a love confession from Eve.

And in the midst of all this, I was taken away by the Imperial Court.
Throughout the tournament, Eve had been brimming with anger.
Her demeanor seemed like that of someone furious over the capture of a loved one.

To top it all off, she declared at the award ceremony that she would transfer to Zeryon Academy.

People didn’t know the truth.
So, they interpreted it however they pleased.
They said Eve was so hopelessly love-struck that she was going overseas just to chase after love.

‘I wonder if she’s regretting it now.’
Maybe she’s berating herself, thinking she made a rash decision in the heat of the moment.
Maybe she’s fuming, asking herself how things turned out this way.

Of course, all of this was entirely within my expectations.

‘But it wasn’t just because of me.’

Her Azure Flame is particularly sensitive to evil.
And in this tournament, her final opponent in the championship match was none other than Iris.

In the original storyline, Eve wouldn’t have noticed the corruptive power festering within Iris.
In Act 3, after Nikita’s incident—
Lucas realizes that he can quell Iris’s nightmares with his Flame of Determination and remains by her side.
The flame melts away her nightmares, gradually weakening the force of corruption.
Through this, Lucas and Iris grow even closer.
As a result, Eve wouldn’t have sensed anything unusual while competing against Iris.

But this international tournament did not follow the original timeline.

During the finals, she must have realized it—
The corruptive power embedded within Iris.
That power, seeping out without control.

‘She must have noticed that something was wrong with Iris.’

Instinctively, she would have realized that her Azure Flame could suppress it.

And so, after the finals, she made her declaration.

Since Iris, an Imperial Princess, cannot go to the fallen kingdom of Prellis,
Eve decided—
‘Then I’ll go instead.’

Anyway.

A reckless act, carried out the moment she saw a way to help.
A protagonist-like move, even if this was just a side story.

For someone like me, who was focused on simply following the original storyline,
it was an impossible course of action.

Zeryon Academy would welcome Eve’s transfer with open arms.
Prellis’ academy, Ordo, would strongly protest.
But Eve isn’t a noble—she’s a commoner.

Ironically, being a commoner made it harder to restrain her with rules.
She had no obligation to remain in Ordo Academy.

‘Besides, the students at Ordo don’t even welcome her.’

They would be more than happy to see her leave.

Those who believed their achievements had been overshadowed by Eve’s all this time—
it was only natural for them to think that way.

So, in the end, Eve’s transfer would be confirmed the moment she announced it.

‘Now, what happens to Lucas’s patchwork?’

Even if the story had been twisted, it was finally starting to move forward as a proper narrative.

‘The immediate problem is…’

It had to be the Vinesha issue.

She was tied to Grantoni from the Special Department.
And she was also the mid-boss of Act 4.

‘Besides, Vinesha’s real problem lies elsewhere.’

That problem was that she belonged to Mysticism.
She was a stepping stone for the scenario that would follow Act 4.

‘After all, it’s through Vinesha that Lucas obtains the Veil Bandage and infiltrates Mysticism.’

During the upcoming winter break after Act 4,
Lucas would infiltrate Mysticism and gather all sorts of information.
Through that process, Act 5 would begin in earnest.

Additionally, Lucas would pay a price for overusing the Veil Bandage—
he would lose love.

So from the moment I planned to steal the Veil Bandage from her,
I knew things would turn out like this.

What I didn’t expect, however, was that my own relationships would end up holding me back.

Even if I had somehow managed to deal with the situation with Hania,
I never imagined I’d end up engaged to Sharin.

Why does this whole situation keep escalating?
Did I really bring this upon myself?

As someone desperately trying to keep the story on its proper course,
I had mixed feelings about it all.

“Hanon.”

At that moment, a voice reached my ears.

I turned my head toward the familiar voice,
and there, long black hair fluttered in the wind.

Even now, I couldn’t help but acknowledge how beautiful her black hair was.

That is, if not for the emotionless ruby-red eyes beneath it.

“Why did you proceed with the engagement without even telling me?”

The Third Imperial Princess.
Iris Hyserion.

With the afternoon classes now over,
she was interrogating me about my engagement.

Behind her, Hania let out a quiet sigh.
She had already foreseen this outcome.

Meanwhile, Seron, who had intended to speak with me,
took one look at Iris’s mood and fled the scene.

I’d make sure to flick her forehead for that later.

“Princess Iris, I also had no prior knowledge of this engagement.”

I spoke honestly to her.
This engagement had nothing to do with my own intentions.

The Blue Tower Master had simply put this arrangement in place as a temporary measure—
a leash to keep my life in check.
I hadn’t foreseen this at all.

“Was the engagement forced upon you?”

“Not exactly, but there were reasons that made it difficult for me to refuse.”

Iris’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

It was a habit of hers whenever she ran into a situation she didn’t like.

“It’s because of the Elder Dragon’s magic, isn’t it?”

Now I understood why she was so upset.

I had once fought against Nikita,
who wielded the magic of an Elder Dragon.

Although I had personally asked to be on her team,
Iris believed that I had fought Nikita because of her.

After Nikita’s incident was resolved, the matter had been brushed aside—
but from Iris’s perspective,
she thought I had been marked with the Elder Dragon’s magic as a result of that battle
and had been desperately trying to suppress it ever since.

And all of this—without revealing anything to Iris.

Iris was someone with a strong sense of responsibility.
Even though she had her grievances about ascending to the imperial throne,
her decision to silently go through with it wasn’t just because of Duke Robliaju.

She carried that responsibility because of those who stood by her,
those who genuinely wished for her to become emperor.
For their sake, she had taken on the burden and moved forward all this time.

I didn’t need to think too deeply to understand what she must have felt
on the day I wielded the Elder Dragon’s magic.

“Hanon.”

Before I knew it, Iris had stepped right in front of me.

She raised her hand and suddenly grabbed both of my cheeks—hard.

“I don’t hate people who care about me.”

A deep warning flickered within her crimson-red eyes.

“But I do hate it when they keep secrets from me in the name of protecting me.”

She started kneading my cheeks, pressing them this way and that.

I could tell—if I ever did this again, she might actually crush me.

“Got it?”

“Yes, Princess Iris.”

The truth was, this situation wasn’t about protecting Iris.
I had brought it upon myself.

But right now, this was the only answer I could give.

Satisfied, Iris let go of my cheeks.

“Sleep with me tonight.”

…So it’s another stuffed-animal night, huh?

After dropping that statement, she casually turned on her heel and walked away.

As I rubbed my sore cheeks, Hania approached me with a knowing look.

“She was really worried about you, you know. Try not to make Princess Iris worry anymore.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“It’s hard for a former girlfriend to watch her ex get scolded like that.”

“Thanks for the advice, ex-girlfriend.”

With that, Hania, too, walked away after Iris.

…All this mess over a single unexpected engagement.

What a headache of a day.

* * *

Time always moved fast.

Between receiving check-ins from acquaintances
worried about me after my capture due to the Elder Dragon’s magic,
a full week had flown by before I knew it.

It really hit me—
I had formed a lot of connections with people.

To the point where I had deeply embedded myself into their daily lives.

But aside from those daily interactions,
a rumor was spreading rapidly throughout the academy.

And the rumor was none other than my engagement with Sharin.

Not long ago, I had been dating Hania.

Then, out of nowhere, news broke of my engagement to Sharin.

No wonder Zeryon Academy was in chaos.

I was already infamous within the school,
but now I was tied to some of the most beautiful women in the city, one after another.

It would’ve been weird if the academy hadn’t erupted.

And amid all the rumors—

「I was the one who dumped him first.」

Hania had made a clean escape from the whole mess.

By now, my notorious reputation was already well established.

So when people heard that she had dumped me,
they just nodded in understanding.

The real problem was the rumors that followed.

“That guy is always surrounded by women.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him without one.”

“So… just how much of a playboy is he?”

“And yet, despite that, the girls never stop flocking to him. Just what is it about him? Don’t tell me…”

“I heard they call his card the ‘King’s Something’…”

“Shi—t, I’m so jealous.”

Just like that, I had suddenly become the most scandalous person in the academy.

‘Are they idiots?’

Think about the women I’ve been involved with so far.
Not a single one of them is the type to allow a promiscuous lifestyle.
Their status and personalities simply wouldn’t allow it.

At this point, it felt like people were just tacking on whatever they could to insult me.

‘I did bring this on myself, but still…’

If I was actually living up to the rumors, at least it wouldn’t feel so unfair.
The most scandalous thing I’d ever done was that surprise cheek kiss from Seron.

“By the way, are you okay with all this?”

“With what?”

I asked Seron, who was sitting across from me, eating lunch enthusiastically.
There was tomato sauce smeared by the corner of her mouth—was she saving it for later?

“You got some tomato sauce there.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Seron casually wiped it off in front of me.
She got embarrassed over the weirdest things, yet something like this? No shame whatsoever.

“I meant my engagement to Sharin.”

“That?”

She took a bite of meat, looking completely content.

“It’s just an engagement, anyway.”

I tilted my head.

What was that supposed to mean?

“I’m the one who’s going to marry Prince Sweet Potato.”

…What the hell.

She turned bright red after realizing what she’d just blurted out.
And yet, she tried to act all nonchalant, sucking on her fork and humming as if nothing happened.

Seron was getting more ridiculous by the day.

“I heard you got engaged to Sharin?”

Later that morning, Isabel brought it up during our training session.

I was slightly worried she’d react like Hania did,
but instead, she just laughed.

“It’s just like what happened with Hania, right? I figured as much.”

She didn’t believe for a second that I was seriously engaged to Sharin.

“I mean, you were the one who said it—that you’re not interested in relationships.”

“Engagements are different, though.”

“Of course they are. But you’re the one we’re talking about here.”

With that, Isabel ran ahead of me.

“If you ever genuinely fall for someone, it’ll be so obvious that the entire world will know.”

I had no idea where she was getting that from.
She had never even seen me fall for anyone before.

Not that it mattered, anyway—thanks to Veil’s Bandages, I had already lost the ability to love.

‘Everyone seems to be oddly quick to understand my engagements in the wrong way.’

It was honestly fascinating.

And then, another rumor surfaced.

This time, it was about the new assistant professor in the Department of Magic Studies—Vinesha.

She had stunning looks and quickly became the talk of the academy.
On top of that, she had a cheerful personality, so students naturally adored her.

And that’s when the problem started.

“My dear husband~! I packed you a lunch!”
“My dear husband~! You must have had such a tiring day!”
“My dear husband~! I brought you some snacks!”

Vinesha started appearing everywhere.

And every time she did, the looks from the students around me grew increasingly suspicious.

After all, she was a professor.
A professor clinging to a student was bound to raise eyebrows.

Normally, a professor behaving like that would be criticized.

But the real issue was—

The student she was clinging to was me.

Zerion Academy’s most notorious figure.

And just who was I?

Rival, Isabel Luna

Secret Crush, Seron Parmia

Emotional Support Plushie, Iris Hyserion

Ex-Girlfriend: Hania Rapididia

Fiancée, Sharin Sazaris

Fake Love Interest, Eve

Adulterous Partner, Professor Vinesha

No matter how you looked at it—

My track record was insane.

“Hanon Airei.”

And because of all this—

“I heard you’ve been corrupting the academy’s atmosphere lately. Care to explain yourself?”

I ended up in a professor’s personal hearing with Beganpn.

I swear, I could almost cry from the sheer injustice of it all.

If I was going to get scolded,
I’d rather it be for something I actually did.