Chap 40-I Liked You First

 

“Hoo…”

Lina also let out a long sigh next to me. Then, she forced a smile and said,

“Come on, cheer up now. How long are you going to keep making that sad face?”

“It’s none of your business what kind of face I make…”

Before I could finish, the rooftop door burst open.

“Yeon! You were here!”

It was Bella, panting as she ran over.

She approached me with an urgent expression, losing her usual composure.

Lina looked at Bella, surprised.

“Professor Bella Staren? What’s wrong…”

Before I could finish, Bella cupped my face in her hands.

Then, she gently wiped the corners of my eyes with her thumbs.

Only then did I realize I had been crying.

“…!”

I froze, flustered by her sudden action.

After wiping away my tears, she hugged me tightly without a word.

It was a warm embrace.

Unlike Lina’s words a moment ago, I felt a more direct and intense comfort.

“Are you okay?”

Bella whispered softly in my ear. Her voice was filled with genuine concern.

I nodded awkwardly and tried to pull away from her embrace.

But she didn’t let go.

Instead, she seemed to hug me even tighter.

I felt uncomfortable with Lina’s piercing gaze right next to us.

“What are you two doing here?”

A cold and sharp voice.

It was a completely different tone from the voice that had been comforting me just a moment ago.

Lina was glaring at us with her arms crossed.

Her face was devoid of her usual gentle smile, replaced by a cold, expressionless mask, and her eyes were as sharp as ice as they stared at Bella and me.

‘…Ah, that expression.’

It was the same eerie expression I had seen just before we parted ways at the cafe last time.

“Ah, Lina. This is…”

Bella stammered, trying to explain hastily, but Lina’s gaze didn’t soften in the slightest.

“I never knew the famous Professor Bella was in such a relationship with Yeon Bennet.”

Lina’s voice was laced with obvious thorns.

“I have no prejudice against same-sex relationships, but even so, shouldn’t you refrain from showing affection within the academy, especially in front of me?”

“Affection! It’s not like that!”

Bella stuttered, her face turning red. Her usual cool demeanor was nowhere to be found.

“I just… uh…”

Bella, still hugging me, desperately signaled Lina to leave, as if begging her to give us some space.

But Lina didn’t budge.

Instead, she crossed her arms even tighter and continued to watch us.

“…”

An awkward and uncomfortable silence hung in the air for a moment. Finally, Lina spoke.

Her voice was so flat that it lacked any emotion, but it gave off an eerie feeling.

“I thought you said you weren’t close last time.”

Her eyes were empty, as if they had lost their light.

Like the bottom of a deep lake, reflecting nothing…

And she slowly turned around.

“I’ll be going now. Sorry for interrupting.”

Step, step.

Lina left the rooftop without any hesitation.

Even after she disappeared, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of chills running down my spine.

That expression, that voice.

It was so different from the Lina I knew. It was like she was a different person.

“Hoo…”

Bella finally let out a sigh of relief and released me after Lina had completely disappeared.

“Are you okay, Yeon?”

“I’m… well… I’m a little better now.”

I tried to answer as if nothing was wrong.

Bella grabbed my shoulders and looked at me with worried eyes.

“Still… you have to be careful. The situation is getting a little strange.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

I asked, puzzled.

Professor Bella Staren’s expression turned serious.

“Rumors have already started circulating that Dorothy is absent. And… as if waiting for it, some families have started to move.”

“Families?”

“Yes.”

Bella lowered her voice.

“The Medici Family, the Rapellasia Family, and… even some forces within the Bennet Family, backed by your sister Serena. They’re all demanding your custody.”

“…My custody?”

I asked, dumbfounded.

“What am I…?”

“Normally, it would be absurd. To demand the custody of an academy student, especially a young lady from a ducal family… But with Dorothy gone, it seems they’re trying to take advantage of this gap until the next guardian is appointed to seize you.”

‘I can understand the Rapellasia Family.’

They were the ones who tried to use me as a test subject to cure Elise’s sister, Sera.

‘But why the Medici Family and our family?’

Camilla would try to use me to attack the Bennet Family, and Serena would want to expel me from the family.

Why would they bother securing my custody?

Is there some other motive I don’t know about?

…

Leaving the cold wind of the rooftop behind, Lina’s footsteps descending the stairs were heavy and cold.

In her mind, the scene she had just witnessed replayed like an unpleasant afterimage.

Yeon Bennet in Professor Bella’s arms.

Her teary eyes, a vulnerable face unlike her usual self.

And the subtle air between the two of them, which made Lina uncomfortable.

‘They’re not together?’

Lina scoffed.

Bella’s excuses didn’t even register.

What mattered was that Yeon was in someone else’s arms, and that she had shown a weak side to someone other than herself.

A dark and viscous emotion welled up in Lina’s heart.

Yeon Bennet.

When Lina first met her in the slums, she genuinely hated Yeon.

Like the other adults in the slums, she was greedy, self-centered, and didn’t hesitate to trample on others for her own gain.

Lina despised that kind of Yeon.

But…

The moment she appeared covered in blood, pushing her away from the magical beast’s sharp claws and getting injured instead.

The very faint hint of embarrassment and worry that flashed across her cold and venomous face.

At that moment, Lina saw a different possibility in Yeon for the first time.

And she felt it intensely.

She wanted to be by that child’s side.

She wanted to make that child her own.

Even after that, Yeon still pushed her away.

It hurt in the corner of her heart every time, but it was okay.

Yeon was pushing away everyone else, not just her.

Since no one would be able to enter her world, she was secretly relieved that she alone, who knew Yeon’s other side, could be her special existence.

When Lina saw Yeon being bullied by the students, she thought it was an opportunity.

Now was the perfect chance to approach Yeon, save her, and in return, win her heart.

She believed that even her coldly frozen heart would melt before the warm hand she offered.

But all that came back was a cold “Mind your own business and get lost.”

She was momentarily enraged by her resolute attitude of pushing her away, but at the same time, another thought crossed her mind.

‘…Is she not desperate enough yet?’

Lina walked down the dark hallway with an eerie smile.

Yes, it seems she still thinks she has somewhere to rely on.

But it’s okay.

Time was on her side.

With Serena Bennet’s declaration, she had already been abandoned by her family.

Now, the students and even the professors at the academy would completely turn their backs on her.

Once she was completely abandoned by everyone in the world and driven to the end of despair with nowhere to lean on…

Wouldn’t she inevitably come looking for her then?

Because she would be the only one who would reach out to her.

It certainly would have been…

‘…I won’t forgive you.’

But today, Bella Staren appeared.

And dared to show an attitude as if she coveted what was hers.

Yeon in her arms, shedding tears, and Bella worrying about and embracing such Yeon.

That sight chilled Lina’s heart.

What does that Bella even know?

Why is that woman okay, but I’m not…?

I liked her first…

I’ve known her since we were kids…

Even when she pushed me away, I always…

Always…

Why…

Am I…

Why???

Originally, Lina wanted to have an equal relationship with Yeon.

From the moment she was saved by her in the slums, Lina saw a different side of Yeon hidden behind her cold mask, and she wanted to understand her.

She wanted to pull her out of the darkness and lead her to the light, to help her wash away her past mistakes and live a new life.

She was sincerely going to do her best to rehabilitate her.

But… what if Yeon rejected her hand to the end and continued to wander in the darkness?

What if she crossed the point of no return and became a criminal truly tainted by Contamination?

‘Criminals involved in Contamination have no human rights.’

Lina muttered coldly.

It was an iron rule she had learned in the Holy Theocracy, and one she herself agreed with.

Contamination was an absolute evil that corroded Terra, and those who sympathized with it had abandoned their dignity as human beings.

Lina sincerely hoped.

That Yeon would not cross that line.

That she would please take her hand.

So that they could move forward together as equal friends, or even more than that.

But if, really if, the worst-case scenario came…

Then there was no choice.

It would be heartbreaking, but she would no longer be able to treat her as an equal human being.

Instead, she would have to make her her own possession.

It would be better than being imprisoned and suffering for the rest of her life, or being miserably executed.

Living safely by her side, under her control.

At least she would treat her like a pet.

Yes, that would be the last mercy for Yeon.

Lina looked at the cross in the chapel, faintly shining at the end of the dark hallway.

And she prayed quietly.

‘Please… don’t make me do that, Yeon.’

Author’s Note

There’s a next chapter!!!!

TN: It was supposed to be wholesome… how did it become this?