Ch.243243. Mirror Therapy

Victoria Evatrice lay dazed in her private room, looking completely bewildered.

She had just regained consciousness on this side moments ago.

“…”

Of course, even though she had only just regained consciousness, her memories remained remarkably clear.

She absently touched her lips.

So, just now.

What had she done with these?

“…”

As she stared blankly at the ceiling, the scenes from moments ago replayed behind her eyes.

So.

With a completely dazed expression, she had begged Darwood Campbell not to abandon her.

And then, as if trying to flatter him, she had taken his hand and—

“…”

Ah.

So that’s what happened.

“…!”

Victoria’s eyes flew wide open.

Her face was flushed with an unmistakable blush, unusually expressive for someone who rarely showed emotion.

“…What trick did you play on me…!”

She muttered those words, but her cold rationality was denying them in real time.

The title of Grand Assassin wasn’t something she’d won in a card game. She prided herself on her thorough knowledge of mental interference techniques.

From that perspective.

That man hadn’t really played any tricks on her.

To be precise, he had done something, but it certainly wasn’t the kind that would “forcibly” subjugate her and control her actions.

At most, it only went as far as making her “honest,” so to speak.

“…Eek.”

She unconsciously let out such a sound.

So, about that.

To be honest.

If a similar situation were to arise again.

Wouldn’t she do it again?

“…Eeeek…”

Even reflecting on it now.

She felt no disgust, no discomfort, not even shame.

Rather, when doing such things, from the deepest part of her heart, the satisfaction and pleasure that filled her—

“Eek, eeeeek…!”

Victoria’s face turned bright red as she gritted her teeth and began pummeling her pillow.

The innocent pillow had been waiting quietly for its owner only to suffer this abuse, but Victoria’s anger showed no signs of subsiding.

Some wise person… or someone resembling one… once said that the most frustrating thing in the world is when you can’t blame others for your misfortunes.

When you can’t blame others.

Whether this applied directly to Victoria’s case was unclear, but it was certainly true that the embarrassing act she had committed after setting aside her murderous intent toward her sister was of her “own” volition.

“…I’ll teach him a lesson…”

Even she didn’t know exactly what lesson she intended to teach.

However, it was also true that she couldn’t bear not muttering such words right now.

“I’ll teach you a lesson, Darwood Campbell…!”

The cry of the small furry girl, filled with powerful resentment and even greater embarrassment, fell fiercely within the room.

●

[I’ve been thinking about something.]

“Yes?”

The next morning.

As I was wiping my fingers, slightly swollen from being licked so enthusiastically by certain creatures, that voice suddenly reached me.

[In the end, you didn’t kill her either, right?]

“…”

[The match is still ongoing, isn’t it?]

Huh.

I guess that’s true.

[I mean, saying you’d kill her with pleasure, what kind of absurd—]

“No, originally I was planning to count it if Serath said something like ‘I’m going to die’ while I was giving her a thorough massage…”

[…]

“You don’t need to ask if that makes sense. Things usually work out somehow if I insist enough.”

If it bothers you so much, you should have properly defined what “dying” means before challenging me.

Anyway, well.

“She probably won’t recklessly attack again. That’s enough for now.”

Having been thoroughly humiliated once, she’ll likely choose to keep her distance and observe Serath rather than approaching her for the time being.

Victoria herself has an even stronger safety-first mentality than I do. She’ll want to proceed cautiously with everything.

‘…Then I can prepare something more dramatic.’

One thought that occurred to me after seeing Serath and Victoria meet:

The rift between those sisters is deeper than I expected.

Even considering the influence of the demonic fragment, I never expected her to rush in and try to stab her sister like that.

I thought their relationship was at most one of love-hate, but the situation seems more serious than I anticipated.

[So, what are you going to do?]

“I need to arrange a reconciliation.”

My goal is to reconcile those two by the time of the Elphante Academy festival.

That will lead directly into the main quest, the Great Imperial Turmoil, after which I’ll have difficulty paying attention to them.

With system messages already appearing indicating that they’ll both be key figures in the main quest, I can’t leave them in this state.

[…But isn’t that kind of mediation only possible if you’re on good terms with both sides?]

If I were that young lady, I wouldn’t have any reason to like you after what you did to her.

As those words fell, my expression soured.

Indeed, that’s the problem. I need to solve that first before I can think about how to proceed. It’s going to be a headache.

That’s what I was thinking.

Until this window appeared.

< System Message >

[ ‘Skill: Fatal Charm’ has activated! ]

[ Target’s affection level has been elevated to ‘Interest Level 1’! ]

[ A reward is available! ]

[ An event related to the target will occur soon! ]

“…”

I blink involuntarily at a window I haven’t seen in so long.

Well, I mean.

I’m not particularly surprised by this window appearing out of nowhere anymore. It’s happened countless times before.

What’s surprising is the last line.

An “event related” to her. In other words…

“…There are still women for me to seduce?”

[…That line just now sounded incredibly rakish.]

Ignoring Calivan’s comment, I look at the window in front of me.

“…How many are left?”

[The blue one, the red one, Her Imperial Majesty, and that princess.]

“…”

Every single one of them is terrifying.

Especially the last one—I can’t even begin to guess what she’ll bring.

But still.

“It’s fine. We’ll manage somehow.”

Haven’t we overcome everything like this so far?

My very survival until now is proof enough that it’s possible.

[Actually, I’ve been thinking about this lately too.]

“What?”

[About how the Chancellor encourages you to build a harem. I’m starting to understand it lately.]

“…What do you mean?”

Is he talking about my tendency to be forcibly loved by villains?

What does he mean he understands it now—

[You could achieve world peace with your lower body.]

“…”

[I’m not joking, so think seriously about this statement—]

“Shut it.”

I snap back at him while finishing my preparations to leave.

I inject a slight tension into my body.

Even if I postpone the “match” between Serath and Victoria until the academy festival, other people might challenge me to a match anytime, anywhere. I need to stay prepared.

With that thought, I step outside my private room.

And immediately encounter a very troublesome person.

“If it isn’t my senior!”

“…”

“Foll… I mean, come with me!”

That’s not how juniors should address seniors, Your Imperial Majesty.

I wanted to say that, but the urge got stuck in my throat as I was dragged away by the smiling Emperor who grabbed my wrist.

“Wait, Your Maj…!”

“Cecilia.”

“…What?”

“Call me Cecilia. A commoner student who somehow saved enough money to enroll at Elphante. That’s who I am.”

“…”

What is she saying?

I wanted to ask that, but the determination on the Emperor’s face as she pulled my wrist was as unyielding as iron.

Though she was smiling, there was enough of a sense of danger to make me feel that if I disrupted this “concept,” my head might get split open.

“…Yes, Cecilia.”

“I’ve decided on the terms of our match!”

Hearing those words, my expression becomes slightly serious.

‘…Come to think of it.’

I still haven’t heard the ‘real reason’ why this person wanted to join our club.

Given that she’s come all the way to the academy with this ridiculous concept, she must be after something.

“Don’t worry so much. I truly have no intention of risking my life to defeat you. Rather than that… enjoying this time is my priority.”

“Then, where are we going now?”

“To a referee I’ve bribed to make biased judgments in my favor.”

“…”

I thought you came to enjoy yourself.

You’re fully intending to win.

“Well, if I lose the match and have to follow your orders without question, I probably won’t be able to do half the things I want to try.”

“…”

“So won’t you quietly accept defeat?”

“…Let’s just go see first, Your Maj…”

I barely change my words at her piercing gaze.

“…Cecilia.”

The Emperor smiled at my words.

As previously indicated, she took me to the faculty office. This should be where Percy, who agreed to be our club’s advisor, would normally sit.

Is this the referee she mentioned bribing?

Thinking that, I inwardly sighed as the Emperor entered the faculty office with confident movements.

And the next moment.

Both the Emperor and I froze simultaneously.

“Welcome, Student Darwood. Student Cecilia.”

The last “student” was delivered with an accent that seemed to say “stop this nonsense,” flying toward us as a greeting.

The smile that hadn’t left the Emperor’s face even once on our way here suddenly vanished completely.

“…Chancellor Sullivan. What are you doing here?”

“My, Chancellor?”

Sullivan, with glossy blonde hair adorned with a bright brooch and headband, answered with a broad smile.

It was a frivolously vibrant styling that could be called inappropriate considering his age.

Flipping his hair once as if showing it off, Chancellor Sullivan grinned and said:

“I am Sulli, newly appointed to the academy as a teacher.”

“…”

“As of today, I will be the advisor for the Exorcism Club. I look forward to working with you.”

The Emperor’s—no, Cecilia’s face crumpled dramatically, as if she had seen something nauseating.

You’d need to watch a cockroach crawl out of your lunchtime sandwich to achieve an expression close to that.

“…Have some dignity and decorum, Sullivan. Don’t you feel ridiculous?”

“…Says the imperial ruler who’s hiding out here? You’re one to talk.”

“And ‘Sulli’? What kind of disgustingly cute name is that? Can’t you properly cooperate with my moment of leisure—!”

“I wouldn’t have cared if that leisure didn’t involve that man—!”

As the two women exchanged heated words with hostile expressions, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

So.

Is this what they call mirror therapy or whatever?

[Probably?]

Right?

●