Chap 56-Prey

 

“…Are you really sure you didn’t do anything else?”

It was Lina who broke the silence.

With her arms crossed, she fiercely interrogated Elise, who was cowering in the corner with a terrified expression.

Her usual gentle and kind demeanor was nowhere to be found.

“Are you really sure you only took blood?!”

Elise, on the verge of tears, with her eyes brimming with tears, shriveled up and answered.

Her voice was so small it was almost inaudible.

“I, I really… I, I didn’t do anything… Just… a little blood…”

“How can we believe that?”

This time, Bella stepped forward.

She glared at Elise with menacing eyes and took a step closer.

Her aura was so fierce, it was as if she would draw her sword at any moment.

“Everyone at the academy knows that your family is after Yeon. Are we supposed to believe that you only took blood and let her go so easily? How are we supposed to believe that?”

Elise shrank even further at Bella’s sharp questioning.

With an expression as if she would burst into tears at any moment, an expression as if she was about to lose her mind, she stammered and barely managed to answer.

“I… I really… I, I don’t know anything… I just… did as my mother told me… sob…”

Bella cleared her throat for a moment and said awkwardly.

“…I’m sorry. It seems we pushed you too hard.”

Lina added in a slightly softened voice.

“Yes… I’m sorry for cornering you so much. But we’re worried about Yeon…”

Elise was still sobbing, but she seemed a little calmer at their apologies.

An awkward silence hung in the practice room for a moment.

“Come to think of it…”

It was Lina who broke the silence.

As if she had suddenly remembered something, she looked at Bella with questioning eyes.

“Professor.”

Lina’s voice was a little sharper than before.

“I thought you said from the beginning that you had no relationship with Yeon, that she was just a student… So, was that all a lie after all? Both on the rooftop and now. It seems you treat Yeon too specially.”

“…!”

Bella’s shoulders twitched slightly as if she felt a sting.

She tried to act nonchalant, but she couldn’t hide the slightly reddened tips of her ears.

“What, what are you talking about…!”

Despite Bella’s denial, Lina’s suspicion did not subside easily.

She crossed her arms and continued to glare at Bella.

“Then, Student Lina, what about you! Why is a Saintess Candidate so worried about and following around a villain… ah, a wicked woman like Yeon Bennet? Isn’t that even stranger?”

“That’s exactly the question.”

Lina answered firmly.

“As I said before, we’ve known each other since we were young. And, decisively, she once saved my life. So, I just think it’s my duty to repay the favor she gave me, even a little, and lead her on the right path.”

She turned her sharp gaze back to Bella.

“But what about you, Professor? What is it about Yeon that makes you stay by her side? As far as I know, you served on the front lines, and most of those people… hate Yeon extremely, don’t they?”

At Lina’s direct question, Bella was speechless and avoided her gaze.

“…It’s not like that…”

Bella answered with difficulty.

“If it’s not like that, then what is it?”

Lina took another step closer and asked again.

Her blue eyes shone relentlessly, as if trying to see through Bella’s inner thoughts.

“That’s… well…”

Bella stammered, sweating profusely. The reason for helping Yeon.

The reason for being by her side.

Her mind seemed to go blank.

What should I say?

Pity?

Compassion?

Or…

Lina widened her eyes and pressured Bella.

It seemed her patience was running out.

“Just…”

Bella muttered without realizing it.

“Just?”

Lina asked again.

“…Because she’s pretty.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

At Bella’s shocking confession, silence fell in the practice room for a moment.

Lina, Elise who had stopped crying and was staring blankly, and even Bella herself were at a loss for words.

“Ah, no! No, that’s not it! What I just said was a slip of the tongue! Really!”

Bella tried to fix it belatedly, but it was already too late.

Her face was as red as a tomato.

At that moment, Elise, who had been quietly in the corner, suddenly raised her head.

Then, she stared intently at Bella and muttered in a very small voice.

“I thought it was strange…”

“…What’s strange, Lady?”

There was still some wariness mixed in Lina’s voice.

Elise glanced at Bella once, then opened her mouth again towards Lina.

“Yeon Bennet, I mean. It’s been strange since she forced her way into my dormitory room. I think I’m her next target.”

“What? Yeon forced her way into sharing a room with you?”

Lina asked back with a surprised expression.

She seemed to have never imagined that Yeon would do such a thing.

Elise quietly nodded.

Then, as if recalling a terrible memory, she trembled slightly and continued.

“Yes… and she threatened me… to listen to her… and she… she… forced me… sob…”

She suddenly couldn’t hold back her rising emotions and couldn’t continue speaking, bursting into tears.

“Lady???”

“Student Elise!”

What did she force her to do?

Could it be…

Lina asked cautiously.

“Di… Did Yeon do something terrible to you?”

Elise nodded her head several times while sobbing.

Then, barely holding back her tears, she added.

“And… last time… in my room… she looked at my chest with a very blatant and lewd gaze…”

At Elise’s shocking testimony, Lina and Bella couldn’t say anything and froze in place.

Elise took a deep breath and, with a solemn expression as if she had discovered a huge secret, continued.

“At first… I thought she had other motives. Like our family’s alchemy secrets, or some other political reason… But… seeing Professor Bella, who is now out of her mind because she’s caught in her clutches… I finally understand!”

Elise clenched her fist and shouted loudly, as if she had made a discovery of the century!

“Yeon Bennet! That woman is definitely… she definitely likes women!!!”

Her cry echoed in the empty practice room.

She continued to speak loudly, with a slightly excited expression, as if she had uncovered a huge truth.

“Think about it! Why would she approach Professor Bella? She must have seduced the professor with her pretty face! To satisfy her dirty desires!!!”

At Elise’s absurd conjecture, Bella looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

But on the other hand, Lina’s expression was coldly hardened.

She seemed to be deep in thought as she listened to Elise’s words, and a cold anger was slowly rising in her eyes.

Elise continued to assert her claims, regardless of the two’s reactions.

“I thought it was strange!! At first, she threatened and harassed me, and then one day, she was surprisingly kind! She must have been trying to slowly tame and seduce me!”

It was when Elise was passionately expounding on her logic.

Bang!!!

Suddenly, the lab room door was opened roughly.

Standing in front of the door was the very person who had just been the subject of Elise’s words, Yeon Bennet.

Her face was flushed red as if it would explode, and her eyes were blazing with intense anger, even to the point of feeling murderous.

And the next moment, a cry of anger erupted from Yeon’s mouth.

“When did I ever do that, you crazy bitch!!!”

…

“So, you’re saying Yeon forced you to clean?”

“Yes!!! You should have seen the state of my room back then! It was a pigsty like no other! It wasn’t an environment a person could live in!”

I shouted in frustration.

“Is it so wrong to ask you to clean a little?”

“Ha! My previous roommate never said anything, okay? You’re just too sensitive!”

“No, there’s no way she could say anything to you, a Lady! That’s why you’re always alone!”

“Ha! I never thought I’d hear that from you?”

Elise laughed in disbelief.

“Well, I voluntarily don’t have friends, but you’re a real outcast, aren’t you?”

“……”

I had nothing to say.

I just glared at Elise, huffing and puffing.

At that moment, Lina, who had been watching us from the side, quietly whispered to Bella.

“…Professor. Don’t those two seem closer than I thought?”

Bella also frowned and replied.

“I know… I never thought there would be someone Elise would be so comfortable with…”

“We’re not close!!!”

“We’re not close at all!!!”

Elise and I shouted at the same time.

And as if we had promised, we glared at each other.

‘Seriously, I can’t believe this.’

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

Well, me… I guess that’s understandable.

But why is she so desperately denying it?

Does she hate being seen as close to me so much, even though she doesn’t have any friends?

I felt secretly annoyed and snapped at Elise again.

“Anyway! Say it right! People misunderstand when you cut off your words like that! When did I ever seduce you!”

I snapped at Elise again.

“Hmph! Then what was it when you stared at my chest so intently the other day? Tell me honestly! You like women, don’t you!”

Elise landed another decisive blow.

“…!”

I was momentarily speechless.

‘No… that was because I was out of it because of my period… because of the pleasure…’ I shouted inwardly, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.

It was obvious that telling the truth would only lead to more misunderstandings.

In the end, I couldn’t make any excuses and just shut my mouth.

The situation was getting more and more twisted.

Just then, Lina, who had been quietly watching us, intervened.

Her eyes were sparkling as if she was expecting something.

“So, Yeon. Do you really… like women?”

“Huh? Th, that’s…”

I stammered in embarrassment.

Women?

Do I like women?

Come to think of it, since I possessed this body, I had only been interested in ‘pain’ because of that damn ability, and I had never seriously considered romance or sexual preferences.

I pondered deeply.

Do I really like women?

Since the memories of when I was a man in my previous life remain, if I had to choose one, I was more drawn to women.

Even now, when I see someone with big breasts, my eyes instinctively go to them…

‘…But wait a minute. Why am I seriously thinking about this kind of thing right now?’

Without realizing it, I had pondered this useless question.

‘…Huh?’

On Lina’s face, who had been quietly watching me like that, there was a fleeting… predatory look, like a hungry beast that had found its prey.

Something… something felt seriously wrong.