Chapter 61 : Apostate

“I think I need a little rest.”

The night sky looks yellow. No, is it my vision that’s yellow? Dancing turned out to be a much more calorie-consuming activity than I had

thought.

They say Trea’s body was never very strong. I barely managed to escape just before panting like a dog, tongue out and gasping.

[Are you okay?]

“No, not okay. I’m going to rest alone for a bit, so you all go enjoy yourselves separately. See you.”

I left the party, but fortunately, none of my old companions clung to me. Teferi always had a lot of friends, and Amiter quietly stepped aside

without a word.

Once they disappeared, I leaned against the stair railing and struggled to climb up to the 5th floor of the hall.

“Phew.”

Since the 5th floor was restricted to regular people, unlike the 1st floor, it was quiet. A VIP room, a space specialized for nobles of high status.

It’s a salon for nobles, where even most lower-ranking nobles hesitate to come. Welcome to the “egalitarian” academy.

That place was sealed by a thick, soundproof door. If I open it and go in, the suffocating atmosphere will overwhelm me. In this place, they

don’t need Trea, but Lady Ludvek of the Duke’s family.

I stood for a moment to fix my hair and outfit, then carefully grasped the doorknob. As the door creaked open, everyone’s attention turned to

me.

If the ballroom was full of luxury and indulgence, this place overwhelmed me with the strong scent of perfume and a quiet atmosphere.

As it was a space for women, even the smallest actions would quickly spread through word of mouth. Though it looked like a calm sea, in

reality, it was a shark’s den.

“Oh my, Miss Trea! I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Are you just arriving from downstairs?”

Getting caught in questions like these is just foolish. I returned their greetings appropriately, then quickly made my way into the inner space

without delay.

I didn’t come all the way here just to rest, after all.

A bit further in, I found a room with resting beds, hidden behind curtains.

I entered the innermost part and knocked gently before going in.

“Nice to meet you, Princess Lruier. Or is this our second time?”

Inside was a girl around my age, reclining diagonally on a bed. Upon seeing me, she straightened up and greeted me.

“I think it’s our second time, Miss Ludvek. Although it was just a brief glimpse.”

“Please, just call me Trea, Your Highness.”

“Only if you also call me casually. I’m not quite a royal yet.”

“Shall I?”

Princess Knight, Lruier Jaskamin. Not yet, but she is destined to become the queen of the Jaskamin Kingdom.

I remember seeing her on the first day of swordsmanship class. A princess attending school—how absurd. But of course, her skills matched

her title as she was in the advanced class.

‘She’s so natural.’

Her dress was entirely pink. The room was also soft and pink in every direction. But it didn’t feel gaudy or awkward like some candy-themed

mess. Maybe this is what they call elegance. I suppose if I just shut up and sit still, I can appear elegant too.

“By the way, what brings you here…? I was just about to leave.”

Even though she’s a royal heir, she can’t look down on a duchess like me. The Trivago family is unusually large, but I’m no pushover either. I

plopped down across from her on the bed. It was really soft.

“I just came to chat. It’s not like I’m banned from this place. No special reason.”

A lie. A few hours from now, according to the original story, Lruier dies.

She’s the first to discover the demons invading the academy and becomes the first victim of the demonic energy. She attacks others and then

dies. The story suddenly darkens from this point on.

Looking back, I should’ve quit reading when things started feeling off. Who knew they’d suddenly kill off a character praised as the future of

the kingdom?

I’m not exactly a good person, but I can’t just sit by knowing someone’s going to die.

I awkwardly smiled and pulled out something I had prepared.

“By chance, do you like chess?”

“If you use the wizard to jump over the wall here…”

“Then my knight captures the king. Like this.”

I brought it to play chess, but now that I think about it, I’m not very good at it. It’s not even regular chess but some otherworldly version.

To make matters worse, Lruier seems to be quite fond of chess. Why can’t I win even once?

“If I sacrifice all ten soldiers to summon the checkmate golem…”

“That’s not a rule, Miss Trea.”

” I lost again.”

When are those damned demons showing up? It’s already nearly dawn. I know they’ll strike before noon, but I don’t know the exact time.

Until a loud noise erupts outside, I’m stuck playing chess in here. It’s no big deal, but losing repeatedly is bruising my ego.

You’d think she’d want to stop by now, but maybe it’s been a while since she had a playmate—Lruier didn’t seem ready to call it quits.

“You have a unique playstyle, Miss Trea. If you insist on saving every minor piece, it’ll be hard to win.”

“I’m just a little odd, I guess.”

Lruier plays with clean calculations, while I refuse to let go of even the smallest pawns.

Saving pieces in chess obviously lowers my chances of winning. Resting her chin on her hand, she captured one of mine and said,

“But as a person, that’s admirable. It’s the kind of style I like.”

“Um, thank you? I guess that’s the right thing to say.”

“Yet you always sacrifice your shaman piece. Checkmate.”

Time really flew while I was with this pink princess. It’s already bright outside.

While I kept glancing toward the window, she captured my king again. Aaagh.

“Actually, I figured you had a reason for coming.”

“Huh?”

How did she know? I don’t think I gave anything away. Was my face weird?

She smiled slightly and began packing up the chess pieces. The silver pieces neatly slid into the box.

“On party night, there’s no way someone like you would come to me just because you didn’t have friends. It’s not that you really wanted to

play chess with me either.”

Well… saying I had no friends isn’t entirely wrong. Lruier was much smarter than I thought.

I fumbled with my expression, flustered. She continued.

“Still, I can tell that you don’t have bad intentions. If you did, you wouldn’t have used such a clumsy method. Now, tell me what you want.”

Oh. I actually put some effort into this plan, but I guess it wasn’t so bad in the end.

But if I suddenly asked her to just sit here and not move… would she actually listen?

 Just then, there was a sound like fireworks exploding outside, and the outside became noisy.

That must mean they’ve finally clashed with the demons. It’s starting. I need to head out.

“…Until it’s safe, please don’t move from here. That’s what I want.”

“Do you know something?”

Well, I do. But would it be weird to admit that?

“No, I don’t know either.”

“Miss Trea, controlling your expressions is important in chess too. Please practice before the next match. I enjoyed this.”

Thankfully, she seemed to be considerate. I hesitated briefly, then gave her a light bow and left the VIP room.

The noise died down not long after I went down the stairs. Was it over already? I thought it took longer in the original story.

That’s good.

The real threat is the demonic energy, but for now, I can relax. Or maybe double relax.

‘Alright, that’s it!’

I saved someone. Lruier, who should’ve died by now, is alive!

Now I just need to go down, take care of the people tainted by demonic energy—the so-called heretics—and everything will be fine.

I feel bad for them, but once they’re corrupted, there’s no going back. I can’t save every nameless person.

Still, I think this episode was a huge success.

“What’s going on?”

I ran outside with a face that said I knew nothing. My God, are those the demons? The front yard of the hall was littered with grotesque

corpses.

They were larger and more threatening than typical monsters, but no matter how powerful they are, they won’t make it out alive from here.

This is basically a suicide bombing as a declaration of war.

As expected, the corpses leaked prepared demonic energy, corrupting a few people and turning them into grotesque forms. It was already

getting chaotic.

That was their goal this time. Once infected with demonic energy, people become physically stronger and fall into a violent state optimized

for fulfilling their desires.

‘Still, it’ll probably end without much damage.’

Demonic energy at this stage isn’t that dangerous. Its infection rate and effects are limited.

People of a certain level won’t be consumed by it even if exposed. Everyone I know should be safe.

“Everyone, please help others! Deal with threats as necessary!”

As the professor’s urgent voice rang out, everyone sprang into action. I, too, ran around looking for the heretics.

Some had already subdued the ones who had transformed. Their regenerative powers were strong, so unless you beheaded them, it was hard

to stop them.

I know they’re not truly guilty, but this is the best option.

It’s really sad, but there’s no other choice…

Tap. My running feet slowed and then stopped altogether.

Several students were surrounding a single heretic. And unfortunately, I recognized him.

“…Sir?”

Only now did I realize I had never called him by any proper title.

His awkward name wouldn’t come to me, even as I tried to remember it.

– Are you close?

Teferi’s words floated into my mind for some reason.

“Miss.”

It was the retired janitor who greeted me every morning. As usual, he called me.

That voice came from the heretic consumed by demonic energy.