episode_0037

“Rude…you say?”

“Yes. Emma, you are quite rude.”

Gulp.

I watched the clash between Rosalie-nim and Emma, my hands sweating.

Rosalie-nim’s sharp first strike, but her opponent was Emma, the madwoman with rolling eyes.

Although Emma was a madwoman with rolling eyes, she was actually quite prone to picking on the weak. However, I wasn’t sure if Rosalie-nim would be a burden in Emma’s eyes.

Of course, Rosalie-nim’s position, abilities, and qualifications were vastly superior compared to Emma, who was nothing more than a mere noble lady.

However, while Emma picked on the weak, the direction of her behavior was completely different from Pisces.

What she completely bowed her head to was ‘power’.

Emma cared more about a person’s social status or power than how good their abilities were.

Rosalie-nim was an impressive career woman, but from Emma’s perspective, she was just a professor ‘from commoner stock,’ so there was nothing much to be afraid of.

Come to think of it, Pisces, who would cower after comprehensively assessing the opponent’s aura, atmosphere, appearance, and abilities, was actually much more pure.

Indeed, even though both picked on the weak, Pisces was cute because she was pure, while Emma was unpleasant, like someone with overflowing grime.

“Things like greetings…fine. Some students talk behind my back, saying things like, ‘She’s not even like a professor.’ That’s something that happens every year, so it’s not surprising.”

“…….”

It seemed there were some crazy people who occasionally said such things about Rosalie-nim, who didn’t take on separate courses.

They were idiots.

If there wasn’t a skilled healer like Rosalie-nim, the academy’s little brats wouldn’t be able to fight without a care during class.

In fact, she was far more important than most professors in the current academy.

“But, to say things like ‘affair’ or whatever about a student who went out with me, right in front of me….isn’t this openly insulting me?”

“That…! Ras,”

Emma tried to continue speaking, but Rosalie-nim simply cut her off.

“Ras nearly died, and he was a critical patient who needed to be careful about lingering after-effects. Naturally, he had to go to a hospital in the capital for a check-up as soon as possible. You knew this, didn’t you?”

“I know that, but even so, to rush off with just a female professor…”

Emma’s voice slightly softened because she knew her logic was weak, but she was still insisting, ‘Anyway, that’s not right, you two..!’

Honestly, what if I *was* having an affair? Even if I gave Lizley a million years of leeway, it would be a mutual affair.

“Then should Ras, whose symptoms could flare up at any time, have gone all the way to Sephir alone? Another professor? No one else but me could immediately alleviate Ras’s symptoms when he was in pain.”

A healer who could confidently say such things was naturally treated as an extremely valuable asset, though Emma was too worthless to understand that.

“Regardless of anything else, treating my actions or intentions in caring for a patient in such a way is no different from an insult. In the past, it would have been enough for me to demand a trial by combat.”

Trial by combat was a social custom that had been prevalent in Sephiroth until about 100 years ago. It was a custom often used to legally turn an opponent into a bloody mess when disputes concerning honor arose…

Considering Rosalie-nim’s background, having served as a high priestess in various battlefields, if a real trial by combat were initiated, Emma would die.

With a grinding sound, Emma glared at Rosalie-nim, but it was funny how she was unable to say anything, seemingly overwhelmed by her momentum.

“So, apologize before I refer you to the disciplinary committee.”

Emma glared at Rosalie-nim, her face red, at her demand for an apology, but this was clearly Emma’s own fault.

The situation was very different from when she used to badger Irha, saying, ‘So, do you have proof? Do you?’

There was a difference in the credibility of testimonies, and most importantly, unlike that time when it was perfectly just the two of them, there were many witnesses now.

“Vicious Emma can’t even move, Ras..!!”

“Usually, useless people are just loud.”

Meanwhile, Irha narrated the situation with her usual loud voice, and Emma’s face contorted even further upon hearing her words.

“Grinding sound…I apologize for speaking carelessly, ‘Professor Rosalie-nim’.”

What could she do? She just had to quietly apologize, thanking that trial by combat was abolished, I chuckled.

“You’re not just apologizing to me, are you? Hurry and apologize to Ras too. If student Emma had struggled to go to the capital because she was sick, would you have tolerated some irrelevant boy saying such things?”

“Exactly. You hurt my feelings terribly. It was a very nasty thing to say, digging into someone’s heart, you know?”

When I teased her, Emma glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.

Sigh, seeing that idiot not even trying to hide her murderous intent anymore… It wasn’t particularly scary, just amusing.

“Alright. Ras, I’m very sorry. But my opinion of you hasn’t changed. If you have a lover, how about you act a little more carefully? It’s not good to see you giggling with other girls.”

Emma then turned sharply with a swish, walking away irritably and disappearing from sight.

“Her escaping skills are top-notch, Boss? That’s the textbook way to subtly avoid a one-on-one duel in the back alleys.”

Pisces, an expert in picking on the weak, watched Emma’s quick exit and clapped in admiration.

“Hey, minion. In your opinion, how many points is she in combat power?”

When I suddenly asked out of curiosity, Pisces answered immediately after about three seconds.

“If we take each category out of 10 points… looks are 6, aura is 2, temper is about 6?? That’s 14 points??”

According to Pisces’s merciless scoring, Emma was a pushover who couldn’t even exceed half of the 30 total points.

For reference, when I asked later, Pisces himself scored 19 points: 10 for looks, 4 for aura, and 5 for temper.

Irha was 10 points: 8 for looks, 1 for aura, and 1 for temper.

Tsk… Work harder, Irha!!!

*

While Ras was having a happy meal with pretty girls, Lizley was also quite busy.

Of course, she was enjoying her weekend with her passionate affair partner.

From Leon’s perspective, it was still an affair, but from Lizley’s perspective, it was no longer an affair.

As was customary on weekends, the two had intimately intertwined bodies at Leon’s villa.

After their intimate time ended and a long, harmonious period passed, Lizley seized the opportunity to tell Leon what she had been agonizing over.

“Leon, I have something to say.”

“What? Speak freely.”

Lizley thought it was time to talk about the truth she had been debating whether to say all week.

“I’m going to break…up with Ras.”

Leon gestured with his eyes for Lizley to continue.

“Last time… when I visited him in the hospital, Ras told me to speak up if I wanted to break up. Anyway… there’s no affection, and breaking up…”

Leon abruptly spoke to Lizley, who was stuttering in a deflated voice.

“Well. Breaking up is your freedom, Lizley, but can the Gracia family afford to repay the debt owed to the Etgard family? Wasn’t the engagement based on that debt as collateral?”

“That’s…honestly, from my perspective, it’s impossible right now. But…”

Leon very coldly cut off Lizley, who was struggling to continue speaking.

“Don’t expect help from me, Lizley. I do cherish my pet dogs, but… there are times when I don’t forgive them.”

Leon gently stroked Lizley’s slender, delicate jawline and continued speaking.

“It’s fine if you don’t listen to me sometimes. But… I can’t forgive seeing you lose a fight and tuck your tail between your legs. That’s just too boring.”

It was fine to break up with Ras.

But it shouldn’t be initiated by Ras, or done by him while enjoying the breakup.

Leon was the type to enjoy taking what others cherished, not the type to pick up what others had discarded.

“Both the breakup and the pain must be initiated by you, Lizley. What I expect from you is a trainer who holds Ras’s leash, not a discarded dog.”

Of course, Lizley’s appearance was attractive to Leon, but ultimately, apart from her looks and a bit of magical talent, Lizley didn’t really have any qualities that appealed to Leon.

Even more so when he had Marisa as his fiancée, who was a complete superior version in both looks and magical talent.

Lizley had only one comparative advantage over Marisa in Leon’s eyes.

It was her personality, capable of completely disregarding morality and ethics, and maliciously harming others.

Only by drawing the sword of that corrupted personality and dancing a sword dance could Lizley gain vitality and appeal from Leon.

“So, either seduce Ras and trap him back in your grasp… or draw a knife and stab him, sending him completely to rock bottom. Well… not just Ras, but also your ambition to take the spot next to me… try that well too?”

Lizley de Gracia could no longer break up with Ras carelessly.

She had to try to seduce and change the mind of a man who was only hers in name, no… a man who hated her more than anyone else in the world.

However, the chance of success for this was 0.

Not close to 0, but a pure 0.

Then, all that remained was to make Ras a mess, drag him to rock bottom, and trample him, whether she liked it or not.

“Ras avoided the ‘Succubus’s Tear’… Honestly, it was a stroke of divine luck, but I want to commend him. However, when I think about it, the fact that a foolish commoner girl gave me entertainment is quite disappointing, Lizley.”

Lizley trembled, looking at Leon with pleading eyes.

“As long as you’ve taken my hand, you must abandon everything. Feeling obsession, possessiveness… things like that towards Ras are good, but… I hope you don’t feel any late-blooming love.”

“No. Love… there was never any such thing from the beginning. Alright… whether it’s seduction or ruin… whatever you want…”

Leon didn’t reply and got up from the bed to go wash.

Even as she watched his retreating back, Lizley, who still felt no regret, was quite a woman herself.