Chap 23-Are You Going to Treat Me That Way?

 

“…I made eye contact… What should I do…?”

Elise quietly lowered her head and headed towards the dormitory.

Her mind was still in turmoil.

Unable to overcome her anxiety, Elise headed to a secluded place on the outskirts of the academy, away from the eyes of people.

And carefully, she took out a Mana Herb and lit it.

Since that incident, an unshakeable anxiety had taken root deep in her heart.

Only by periodically smoking the highest quality Mana Herbs sold by the family’s trading company could she barely calm her mind.

The smoke and Magical Power from the Mana Herb permeated deep into her lungs.

Yeon Bennet.

To the world, she was just an evil and selfish villainess, a stain on the Duke Bennett family.

But to Elise, Yeon was a being with a slightly different meaning.

No, perhaps she was the most important person to Elise.

The only being who had no problems even after coming into contact with Contamination.

Considering her wicked and twisted nature, many people suspected that she had secretly become a Contamination Worshiper.

It was a natural suspicion.

But surprisingly, Yeon had passed all the rigorous examinations conducted directly by the Holy Theocracy.

No traces of Contamination were found in her body.

If the test results had been different, she would have been executed immediately, no matter how much Duke Bennett protected her.

When it was revealed that Yeon had an abnormal resistance to Contamination, all of Terra was abuzz.

And the first to move was Elise’s family, the La Bellacia Ducal House.

They strongly argued that Yeon Bennet should be used as a test subject ‘for the sake of humanity’ and ‘for research to overcome Contamination’.

Although it was packaged as being for the greater good, Elise knew the real reason for their claim.

It was because of Elise’s younger sister, Sera.

Someone Elise wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.

A bright and lovely child.

A small sun in the house that changed the entire La Bellacia family, who had always been engrossed in research and indifferent to each other.

“Unni, Unni! Look at this! It’s a new medicine I made, and the color changes like a rainbow! Isn’t it amazing?”

“Sera, I told you not to do dangerous experiments. Still… it’s pretty.”

“Hehe, Unni thinks so too? I’ll help with Unni’s research later!”

Even Elise, who was taciturn and only knew about research, could smile in front of Sera.

But that happiness didn’t last long.

Sera… tragically, was caught up in a terrorist attack by Contamination Worshipers and became infected with severe Contamination.

Even the La Bellacia family, who boasted the best Alchemy skills, was helpless.

They used all sorts of medicines and magic, but Sera’s condition only worsened.

Time passed, and hope dwindled.

The Duke of La Bellacia couldn’t bear to kill Sera, so he locked her up deep in the basement of the mansion.

It was something that would be met with enormous criticism if it became known to the public, but everyone in the family agreed with the decision.

It was then that the existence of Yeon Bennet became known.

The only human who had no problems even after repeated contact with Contamination.

To the La Bellacia family, she was the last remaining spark of hope, the only way to saving Sera.

But the La Bellacia family’s attempt was miserably thwarted.

Unexpectedly, the forces protecting Yeon Bennet were too powerful.

Not only Duke Bennett, who was shielding his troubled adopted daughter, but even Dorothy, the Transcendent who was the chairman of the academy, directly stepped in to refute the La Bellacia family’s claims.

As long as the Transcendent directly expressed her opposition, even the La Bellacia family could no longer try to use Yeon Bennet as a test subject.

There could be no one in Terra who dared to defy the will of the Transcendent.

In the end, when even the last hope, Yeon Bennet, disappeared, Elise had no choice but to find another way in despair.

The treatment of Sera, which even the family had given up on.

But Elise could never give up.

She searched through ancient Alchemy books day and night, explored dangerous ruins that no one else would go near, and began to search for rare materials and methods to save Sera.

In between academy classes and research, sometimes even risking sneaking out of the academy.

That was the only thing Elise could do.

The memory of that day was terrible.

Just another ordinary day.

Late evening after regular classes.

Elise quietly put on her coat and left the academy.

‘This time… I have to find it.’

Elise pulled her old hood down low and walked through the winding alleyways.

The atmosphere was quiet and gloomy as usual.

Somewhere, a drunken merchant was staggering around, shouting at the top of his lungs,

and the sound of pigeons and rats rummaging through the water could be heard.

She was familiar with the road, having walked it for months.

But that day…

Something.

Was different.

“……?”

The moment she stopped walking, cold sweat ran down her spine.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

The noisy shouts of the drunkard, the disgruntled cries of the junk merchant carrying his luggage,

had disappeared as if someone had flipped a switch.

“Wh-Who… is it…?”

The moment she carefully turned her head.

Something came out of the shadows.

A hood with no eyes, nose, or mouth visible.

And a hand covered in shiny black leather gloves.

“The child of La Bellacia.”

A damp and gloomy voice, like rubbing a wet cloth.

“……!”

Her body wouldn’t move.

She clearly tried to run away, but her legs wouldn’t even tremble as if they were stuck to the ground.

A cold hand touched Elise’s forehead.

And…

The light went out.

The world blurred and a sensation distorted like fog consumed her mind.

A body moving against her will.

That alien sensation was unbearably disgusting.

“N-No… Please… Stop…!”

“…Stop it… I said stop…”

Elise looked at her arm.

Dark and bizarre Magic Circles appeared on her skin, and the energy of Contamination was leaking from her fingertips.

‘If this spreads…’

‘The entire dormitory, no, the entire academy…’

“I don’t want to… I don’t want to…!!”

The wave of black brainwashing tried to paralyze her ego, but Elise groped for her emotions and tried to hold on to herself as much as possible.

That was the only resistance she could offer.

And…

“It’s okay, everything will be alright.”

A warm voice she heard in the last moment before losing consciousness.

When she lost consciousness and opened her eyes, everything was back in place.

With the culprit of the incident, which she had clearly done, changed to Yeon…

Was it because of anxiety?

Elise had always liked being alone, but now, more than ever, she didn’t want to run into anyone.

But now, she couldn’t be alone like before.

When she arrived at the dormitory, her roommate would be waiting for her.

Elise quietly regretted it, suddenly remembering the day she first entered the academy.

She had always disliked people and had no friends, and she was so lacking in social skills that she couldn’t even talk to the servants.

She hated herself for that.

She wanted to change, even a little.

Her grades and status were more than enough to qualify for a single room, but…

She deliberately applied for a double room instead of a single room.

She thought she could change if she lived with someone else.

But…

The roommate she met was someone from Camilla’s faction, who had gathered nobles who followed her as soon as she entered the academy.

The five great ducal houses were basically in competition with each other, so the two of them didn’t even talk properly and always avoided each other warily.

But today.

When she arrived at the dormitory, she was packing her bags.

“Uh…? Where are you going?”

“Ah. I’m sorry, Lady Elise. I’m moving to a single room. They said they’d switch me without any conditions…”

She said she was sorry, but her expression was anything but.

She looked relieved instead.

After she left.

A little later, someone opened the door and came in.

Elise inadvertently raised her head and widened her eyes.

Yeon Bennet was standing there with her luggage.

“Hi?”

Elise was shocked.

“…You… Why are you here…?”

“We have a lot to talk about. Don’t we?”

Yeon slowly raised the corners of her mouth.

Elise felt that her smile was more evil than anything else.

“Can you help me unpack first?”

Yeon said with a very calm face.

“Why… Why would I…?”

Elise reflexively answered that way.

Was her voice too sharp?

A moment of worry washed over her.

But she soon steeled her heart.

She shouldn’t show her weakness to her now.

Although her power has waned a lot now, she is Yeon Bennet.

The woman known as the worst villainess in Terra.

If she showed even a little gap, she didn’t know what would happen.

But Elise had no choice but to collapse at Yeon’s sneering remark.

“Why? I went to jail because of what you did, and you’re going to treat me like that?”

“……!”

‘She knew after all.’

Elise carefully raised her head.

Yeon’s expression was smiling, but her eyes were not.

‘…I shouldn’t provoke her any further.’

Elise pursed her lips and quietly approached and began to unpack her luggage together.

‘But… if she knew everything, why did she get caught so easily back then?’

A new question arose in her mind.

A word from the author (author’s afterword)

Thank you for watching!