Chapter 156: The Perfectionist Younger Sister

I glared at the fake Vikarmern while shielding Xenia.

My current appearance was neither Vikarmern nor Hanon—just the one form that only I remembered.

It was a rare sight in this land, where Western features were dominant.

To put it simply, I was a black-haired foreigner.

Recently, Hanon had been involved in many things.
Especially ones connected to White Wood Duke.

‘During the Centriol incident, it’s highly likely Mysticism found out I intervened.’

The more cautious you are, the better.
Just being here in this form could tip Mysticism off that Hanon was present.

So, I avoided appearing as Hanon to leave no room for suspicion.
But appearing as Vikarmern in front of Xenia was also a problem.

Xenia and Vikarmern were blood relatives.
I just happened to take over Vikarmern’s body.

Since she was related to him, she might have noticed something.
To avoid that awkward situation, I had no choice but to appear in my former form.

Through the thick smoke,
I raised a knife-hand forward.

After all, my younger sister—by blood now—had gone through something terrible.

And yet, there was no real anger coming from me.
I was reminded once again that the Veil Bandages had taken all my rage.

Not even the faintest flame of fury remained in my heart.
Instead, I felt relief.

‘If I had been a little later, it would’ve been disastrous.’

The blue gem used earlier by the fake Vikarmern was a soul hunter for Mystics.
Xenia’s soul had nearly been taken.

‘That was close.’

It had been worth urgently rushing to Niflheim after delivering word to White Wood Duke.

‘I never expected them to approach in Vikarmern’s form.’

I saw the fake Vikarmern stir from where he was embedded in the wall.
His face and body were half-collapsed in a grotesque form.

He was a golem made of mud.
That, too, was a type of Mystery.

Leave it to Mysticism.
They seem to have everything related to Mysteries.

Then, my eyes fell on Xenia’s injuries.
I could sense her complexion darkening by the second.

She gasped for breath.
As the bleeding worsened, her body temperature dropped rapidly.

Her wounds were severe too.
If I didn’t act fast, it could be dangerous.

Healing Xenia took priority over fighting.

“You carry a Mystery within you too, huh?”

At that moment, the fake Vikarmern spoke.

“Why would someone with a Mystery oppose us?”
“Drop the idiotic idea that everyone with a Mystery supports Mysticism.”

I said this beyond the fake Vikarmern, to Vulcan who was likely watching.

The fake Vikarmern stared at me silently.
Eventually, he stepped forward.

He’s coming.
Just as I prepared to strike—

Crack!

The fake Vikarmern collapsed on the spot.

He must’ve realized staying here any longer would be pointless.

Just as he expected, a carriage had arrived in front of the Niflheim count’s estate.
A special-grade carriage with access to any imperial territory.

It belonged to White Wood Duke.

‘Even if he pretended otherwise, he clearly couldn’t withstand the sanctified magic.’

Sanctified magic isn’t called Zeryon’s exclusive spell for nothing.
Even Vulcan’s puppet had its limits.

‘Moving around in someone else’s form like that…’

Not that I’m in a position to judge.

With the fake Vikarmern gone, I finally took a breath.
Then hurriedly pulled a high potion from my mini bag for emergency treatment.

“This is going to hurt. Please bear with it.”

There was no time for a reply.
As soon as Xenia bit down on her lip, I poured the high potion onto her wounded side.

Chiiiiiii—!

As a sizzling sound echoed like burning flesh, Xenia grabbed my clothes tightly, her body trembling.

High potions regenerate flesh during the healing process.
But they come with intense pain.

Since I’d experienced that kind of pain myself, I was impressed by how well Xenia endured it.

A moment later, she seemed to stabilize.
For now, the bleeding had stopped.

Further treatment would be necessary, but the emergency care was complete.

“Lady Xenia!”
“What on earth happened—”

In the meantime, the servants had reached Xenia’s side.
As they murmured in shock, I saw the count family’s personal physician hurrying over.

When I tried to hand Xenia over to them, she looked at me with faint, barely-open eyes.

“…Who… are you?”

I currently appeared as a man who no longer existed in this world.
Thankfully, that meant Xenia didn’t recognize me at all.

“Pleased to meet you, Lady Xenia.”

So I needed to fabricate my words appropriately.
Straightening my posture, I placed my right hand over my chest and gave a respectful bow.

It was a formal noble greeting.

“I’m Ryu, in service to Lady White Wood Duke.”

I casually used only a surname without a full name.

“Under Lady White Wood Duke’s command…”

Xenia knew well of White Wood Duke’s crusade against Mysticism.
So she didn’t find my presence here particularly strange.

“…I’ll need to express my gratitude to Lady White Wood Duke.”
“She’s someone who appreciates promising young talents. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.”
“…Promising?”

At that moment, Xenia let out a hollow laugh.
Her expression darkened in an instant.

“I let my guard down and got caught… and that’s supposed to be promising…”

Had this incident left her disheartened?

‘She’s just as described by her inherent traits.’

Xenia is an unprecedented user of sanctified magic.
But like everyone, she has her own unique traits.

[Perfectionism] [Self-Criticism]

These traits always follow Xenia.

Perfectionism—
A drive for flawless achievement and capability.

She’s a perfectionist, especially the self-oriented type.
When she fails to meet her own expectations, she harshly criticizes herself.

That’s why the Self-Criticism trait accompanies her.

In truth, I don’t know much about Xenia at this point in time.

‘Originally, she was set to enter Zeryon Academy next year.’

That’s also when Lucas was supposed to meet Xenia for the first time—and the same goes for the player.

Right now, it’s before she’s even enrolled.
Naturally, I can’t know what she’s currently thinking.

‘But her perfectionist tendencies are clearly intact.’

During Zeryon Academy’s entrance exam, an enormous number of applicants gather.

Because of that, the academy hires extra personnel to assist with the exams.

In addition to the student council, even third-year students are recruited to help.
Since assisting brings various benefits, many third-years eagerly volunteer.

Lucas also joins to help, partly due to his connection with Iris, who becomes the student council president.

And the person Lucas meets during that entrance exam—is none other than Xenia Niflheim.

Act 5, Chapter 1: First-Year Entrance Exam

A 3-versus-1 match with a proctor, meant to assess team coordination, even with strangers.
Naturally, it’s three students versus one proctor.

Thanks to his stellar performance and grades in his second year, Lucas was well-qualified to serve as a proctor.
The one he faced in that match was Xenia.

‘Xenia holds her own, but ultimately loses to Lucas.’

Xenia is a genius.
As the reincarnation of Zeryon, that’s no surprise.

But Lucas, too, is a genius—so much so that he becomes the protagonist of the Blazing Butterfly arc.
No matter how powerful Zeryon’s reincarnation may be, the protagonist can’t be outshined.

That frustration—losing to a peer.
The crushing mix of pride and her perfectionist mindset led her into intense self-criticism.

At that moment, the one who stopped her self-criticism was none other than Lucas.

By that point, Lucas had already achieved many accomplishments by his second year.
His recognition of Xenia was the first thing that made her pause her self-berating.

From that point on, Xenia started paying attention to Lucas.

And eventually, she would come to learn what Vikarmern had done to him.

Growing to despise Vikarmern even more was just a bonus.

That was the scenario of Act 5, Chapter 1: the entrance exam.

But right now,
Xenia’s perfectionism, which should have made her confident up until the exam, had twisted into self-criticism.

She was already prone to harshly criticizing herself.
If left alone like this, she’d dig herself into a hole by the time of the entrance exam.

Xenia’s perfectionism stems from her family.

The crushing pressure of eventually having to lead House Niflheim.
The weight of being called a genius her entire life.

And then the moment she saw her own useless brother abandoned by their father—
It was inevitable that such pressure would give rise to perfectionism.

She’d even used her prized sanctified magic—yet lost helplessly.
Judging by that, it seemed this would affect her performance in next year’s entrance exam too.

‘What to do.’

I’m using Vikarmern’s body.
Naturally, that means I’ve inherited his duties as an older brother too.
For Vikarmern’s sake as well, I can’t treat Xenia like a stranger.

That’s why I couldn’t just sit back and watch her get crushed by her perfectionism.

Right now, the person who would have become her goal—Lucas—isn’t here.
If I can’t be like Lucas, then at the very least, I should help lift her spirits.

“You impressed me. Had it not been Lady Xenia, the opponent from earlier wouldn’t have fled so helplessly.”

“…Me?”

Perfectionism stems from the anxiety of not achieving success.
So the key is to help her recognize her own accomplishments and foster a sense of satisfaction.

To help her realize that, given the circumstances, she did more than well enough.

Ideally, this praise would come from someone a perfectionist like her respects.
But that’s not possible right now, so I’ll do it myself.

“Yes, you stood and fought bravely on your own. By the time I attacked that man, you barely had any strength left in your body.”

She had already accomplished something remarkable.
So I reminded her of that fact again.

“This was undoubtedly thanks to you, Lady Xenia.”

Xenia had been raised with great care.
In House Niflheim, what she received wasn’t praise but constant pressure to aim higher.

So praise and recognition from others were unfamiliar experiences for her.

As I kept encouraging her, she rolled her eyes slightly.
Then turned her head and let out a soft cough.

“R-right. Of course. Someone as capable as me wouldn’t possibly fail to play a role.”

Perfectionists feel most fulfilled when they’re acknowledged.
Xenia was no different.

“Yes, precisely. You were the perfect mage in the face of an ambush.”
“…Perfect.”

I could see her trying to suppress a small smile.

Considering I’ve once showered Nikita with endless praise, this level of encouragement was nothing.

By now, all the servants had gathered around Xenia.
It looked like the self-criticism had stopped, so I figured the praise could end here.

“You truly did well. Even though you used a high potion, there’s no telling what complications might arise. Please get a thorough check-up. Your body is far too precious.”

“Ah, yes. Mr. Ryu, thank you for saving my life.”

Xenia gave me a polite bow, then left with the physician.

Her steps were light, almost bouncy.
Probably because her body felt lighter.

If she knew I was Vikarmern, would she have expressed such gratitude?
I’m not sure, but I think it’s best not to reveal my identity.

‘The Vulcan side has started using any means necessary.’

The fact they moved this aggressively meant they were getting desperate too.

In that case, I couldn’t afford to sit back either.
I had to take down Vulcan as soon as possible.

‘Even if it means the scenario progresses faster than intended.’

That was better than letting Vulcan cause more damage.
What worried me was that Vulcan wouldn’t give up on Xenia so easily.

I couldn’t leave Xenia here.
She was originally a key character who teamed up with Lucas to dismantle Mysticism.

At the very least, the conditions of the main storyline had to be upheld.
I couldn’t just let her be.

‘What do I do…’

I tapped my crossed arms a few times.
After all that thinking, I finally arrived at a simple conclusion.

‘Let’s ask Lord White Wood Duke for help.’

The only trump card a child could play.
Time to throw a bit of a tantrum.