Chapter 174: Do you understand now, Senpai?

With a face full of terror, Rushel fled the room, running as though escaping.

Once Shirley and the other women confirmed that the bleeding from my hand had stopped and that the knife hadn’t gone too deep, they finally let out a sigh of relief.

“…A-are you okay, youngest?”

Even Erina, who had a sympathetic expression, was gently comforting me, which seemed to mean that this time, at least, she believed me.

The other women around me were also looking at me with eyes filled with guilt.

“U-um… Erina, senpai…”

I cautiously grabbed her hand.

“Hmm? What is it? Do you need something?”

“Well… could you keep this incident a secret from Lady Black Rose?”

Erina’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What? Youngest, don’t you realize how unfairly you’ve been treated?”

Erina was probably the person who most wished for Rushel’s downfall.

But unfortunately, I didn’t have it in me to push Rushel completely into the abyss.

“It’s just… I really like Lady Black Rose, and I don’t want to bring her bad news.”

“You should hide what you can. Rushel needs to be properly punished.”

I awkwardly smiled at Erina’s harsh tone.

“More than that… we could disappoint Lady Black Rose with this. What if she loses trust in us?”

No one in this place would want to anger Mardian.

If we caused her unnecessary distress, it would be like reducing the amount of gold coins we’d receive.

“Hmm… I guess that’s true…”

Erina seemed to understand, and she fell deeper into thought after hearing my words.

“And… it’s not just Rushel, but there are others who’ve tormented me as well…”

The eyes of Erina and the other women flickered, filled with hesitation. Their gazes were laced with discomfort.

They must have felt guilty.

After all, one of the people who had wronged me the most in this place was Erina.

It was almost like an open threat.

Even someone as dense as Erina couldn’t help but notice it.

The trust I had built up until now was probably going to crumble, but I didn’t care.

After all, tomorrow, I wouldn’t be here.

I looked at her with a faint smile and whispered quietly in a soft voice:

“Please… keep this a secret from Lady Black Rose.”

***

The incident was quickly buried.

After having a meal with me, Rushel made an excuse that she wasn’t feeling well and stayed behind, while the other women went to entertain Mardián.

Erina, not wanting to miss the chance to surpass Rushel, hurriedly finished her preparations and left.

My little commotion passed in an instant, as if it had never happened.

Time passed, and in the early morning, when everyone should have been deeply asleep,

I stood in front of Rushel’s room, a place I had never set foot in.

Was it because she wasn’t a mere consort? The size of her room was impressive right from the entrance.

The door looked at least twice as big as mine. The interior would likely show even more differences.

I opened the door without knocking.

What unfolded before my eyes was the interior of the room, lavishly decorated.

And there, trembling on the bed, was Rushel.

“Hello, senpai.”

“You, you…!”

Rushel contorted her face, looking around in a panic.

Then, she grabbed a potted plant from the windowsill and made a gesture as if she was about to throw it at me.

I just smiled.

Seeing my unmoving demeanor, Rushel carefully set the potted plant down with trembling hands.

“Do you dare to frame me?!”

“Frame you? If anyone else were to hear this, they’d think I never bothered you…”

I looked around, inspecting all the places where someone might be hiding: the wardrobe, under the bed, behind the door.

Then, I slowly approached her.

I sat quietly in front of Rushel and spoke in a soft whisper.

“Rushel, senpai. You’re smart, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

“You, you… damn it, who the hell are you—?”

“Your family consists of both your biological parents and your younger brother. Your family home is in the western Mondina village area, and your brother is currently attending Merhen Graduate School… Am I right?”

Rushel, who had been blankly listening to my words, had a slight tremor near her eyes.

It was an emotion caught somewhere between confusion and fear.

“I have some connections with high-ranking people.”

“You, you… who exactly are you—?”

“Senpai . Right now, I’m the one speaking.”

Rushel’s lips pressed tightly together. It seemed he was finally willing to listen to me.

“I will return your daily life to you. But there’s only one thing I want in exchange.”

“…What is it?”

As expected, he was quick on the uptake.

It was oddly comforting how the conversation flowed so smoothly without needing much explanation.

“Make… no, make Black Rose happy.”

“…What?”

“I told you. I’m a huge fan of Black Rose.”

I smiled lightly and continued.

“I just want her to be happy. But right now, you, Rushel, seem like you could be a danger to her… so I caused this little disturbance.”

“This… is a little disturbance?”

“I don’t mind if you’re receiving money from Black Rose. In a way, it could even be considered a profession.”

“…”

“But, at the very least, don’t treat her like a fool.”

At my bold remark, Rushel’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I… I never—”

“Please, senpai, don’t lie.”

Rushel’s mouth shut again.

Perhaps he finally realized that lying didn’t serve any purpose in this situation.

“I know what you’ve been thinking. Once, I… felt the same.”

I had once treated people as fools, taking money from them.

I had trampled on the precious feelings behind their small gifts and laughed at them in return.

“I hope you won’t do that, senpai.”

And for that, I left a wound on Mardian that could never be healed.

I hope that Mardian never has to experience that pain again.

“Do you understand now, senpai?”

“In other words, you’re saying that I should give back the same value I’m receiving?”

“…Well, that’s close.”

Mardian gives money in exchange for physical pleasure.

A transaction wrapped in the name of ‘lover.’

I don’t expect for love to blossom between them.

“But at least, while you’re receiving the money, be sincere with Black Rose.”

“How can I make her happier, how can I make her more joyful… Please try your best.”

“Ha, if it comes to that, it’d be better to just give up.”

Rushel spat out the sharp words.

This was probably her last act of defiance.

“Are you sure about this?”

“What? Are you threatening to tell on me for today?”

“No, I told you already.”

I slowly extended the hand that had been hidden behind my back.

“That earlier… was just a little disturbance.”

The small kitchen knife in my hand glinted with a sharp light.

Rushel’s eyes trembled as she stared at the cold blade.

“Are you… threatening me right now?”

I pressed the tip of the knife close to Rushel’s neck.

Her pale face turned white as she desperately staggered backward. Her hands touched the ground, and she crawled away in a desperate attempt.

“You… you bastard, do you want to end up in prison?”

“What are you talking about? The one who should go to prison is probably you, Rushel.”

“What?”

I slowly grabbed Rushel’s hand and placed the knife into her grasp.

Still holding the small knife, she looked at me with a confused expression.

“You’re scary.”

I smiled softly and lifted Rushel’s arm.

I made her point the knife at me slowly, and without hesitation, I pulled her hand.

Thump—

The sharp blade slightly pierced the nape of my neck.

With a searing pain, hot blood flowed down my neck.

“Hi… hiick!”

Rushel gasped as if she was suffocating, and pulled her hand away.

The bloodstained kitchen knife fell uselessly to the floor.

I whispered quietly.

“If you scream here, it’ll be as if you stabbed me, Rushel.”

The voice that leaked from my slit throat was faint, with a hoarse undertone.

Rushel’s lips trembled.

“Monster…”

I smiled.

“I love the Black Rose that much.”

I locked eyes with Rushel from a distance close enough that our breaths almost mingled.

The face reflected in her eyes looked as if it were tainted with madness.

“If you hurt Black Rose, really, really, really… I will hate you, Rushel.”

I picked up the knife that had fallen on the floor.

This time, I brought the blade to Rushel’s neck.

Rushel’s face turned pale. With an expression like she was about to faint, she urgently nodded her head.

“Ugh, a-ah, I understand… Please, the knife…”

I slowly curled my lips into a smile.

“Hehe, thank you, senpai.”

Only then did I, satisfied, retract the knife.

“Hi, hiii…”

I tried to offer a gentle smile to reassure Rushel.

But it seemed that the smile only heightened her fear.

Well, anyway, this should be enough.

“Then, good night, senpai.”

With a faint smile, I stood up.

As I did, I was met with an unexpected sight, and I couldn’t help but smile sympathetically.

Between Rushel’s trembling legs, a yellow stain was slowly spreading.

***

I closed the door and leaned against it.

In the quiet silence, I slowly inhaled.

Looking out the window at the round moon hanging in the night sky, I exhaled deeply.

“Hu… Huaa…”

I collapsed onto the floor as my energy drained away.

The tension had crumbled in an instant.

Maybe it would have been different if it was Nia, but this kind of thing doesn’t seem to suit me.

I gently touched my neck with my fingertips. The sharp, throbbing sensation was still vivid.

It was a relief that Rushel was so fearful.

If the knife had gone deeper, it could have really hurt.

“Well, still, the goddess’s relic will protect me.”

I gently stroked the necklace hanging around my neck with a light touch.

The relic given by the goddess.

As its warm energy seeped in, an unconscious grin spread across my face.

“Oh, please don’t misunderstand, Goddess? I… I’m not that kind of person…”

This was to protect Mardian.

Right, I had a debt to repay to her.

That’s right.

I love Mardian.

And honestly…

This is all Nia’s fault.