Chapter 82 : Was inevitably revealed in the end

“Try to explain yourself.”

Naturally, there was no answer. She must have known that unless she came up with a convincing excuse, staying silent would be more

helpful.

Thus, only a heavy silence lingered in the carriage. The sharp tension, ready to burst at any moment, gnawed at both of them bit by bit.

“Say something, anything.”

The fact that I have an older brother—it may seem trivial, but unless you’re a member of our family, it’s not something you could know at this

point.

That person appeared so suddenly in the later part of the story that calling him an “unexpected addition” would not be an overstatement.

To make that unreasonable plot twist more palatable, the author gave him two defining traits.

A “woman disguised as a man” and a “genius.”

Though born female, her extraordinary talent meant she kept her identity hidden until she succeeded the family head position.

Because of the outdated tradition that only men can inherit the title, everyone treated her as a man, and I too referred to her as my “older

brother.”

Maybe the original Trea would’ve had a different reaction, but I had no particular attachment to becoming the family head. And she wasn’t a

bad person, either.

‘Either way, it’s not something you should be able to know.’

She first appeared in the original story near the end of the third year, right as the Academy was destroyed and war began in earnest.

So no matter how capable Teferi is, there’s no way she could know about that right now.

To find out, she’d have to sneak into our family’s estate at the western edge of the continent and search the basement. Which is, in itself, a

major crime.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Teferi’s emerald-green eyes were one of her charms. Yet despite that, she averted her gaze and looked down. Foolish girl—if you’re going to

lie, at least don’t get caught.

“Tell me. How did you know? If you try to brush it off and say someone told you, I won’t find it amusing.”

Teferi looked hesitant. She seemed unsure whether she should say it or not.

But as I continued to press her, she reluctantly opened her mouth.

[A-actually, I…]

Finally, she began to speak, her voice strained.

Please, let it be nothing serious. I hoped my overreaction was just the result of piling misunderstandings, like someone overly sensitive

during her period.

[I’m a regressor.]

“…What?”

[A regressor. I came from the future.]

That statement left not only me, but even Amiter—who had been quietly observing beside us—completely stunned.

So, the person in front of me isn’t the original Teferi, but someone else?

She let out a deep sigh and finally looked me in the eyes.

Having revealed that she came from three years into the future, she pointed at me and spoke in a gloomy voice.

[Trea, in the future I came from… you die. Horribly.]

For some reason, she’s now quite proficient in magic, unlike before. It was easy to notice that she’d omitted that part.

Judging by her achievements—being ranked as an Archmage in the later part of the story—what I’ve accomplished over the decades probably

seemed trivial.

Teferi began to calmly tell her tale, unprompted. Not of the past, but the future—corrupted people, collapsing normalcy, dying friends.

When she mentioned an incident that the original Trea must have experienced, even Amiter grimaced and tucked her tail, not wanting to

imagine it. Clearly, it wasn’t a pleasant story.

She glanced at me and quietly ended her explanation.

[I just wanted to save you. Does that explain things a little?]

“Explain? I think you’ve explained more than enough.”

Until now, there had been so many things I just couldn’t make sense of—her unbelievable achievements, her cryptic lines, her habit of

constantly following me.

Now I get it. Ah, now I finally understand. And I’m so happy to know.

Haha.

“So basically, you’ve been playing with me all this time, you f*cking b*tch.”

“Trea!”

Amiter tried to stop me by grabbing my arm, but I shook her off. Even though I hadn’t done anything, my hands were trembling violently.

My breathing quickened, and my words started coming out in a stutter. My already-red eyes turned bloodshot.

“Was it fun? Every time you looked at me—did you think I was just some idiot trying to act out of her league? You’ve been toying with me this

whole time, haven’t you?”

“Trea, please calm down…!”

“I’m asking you, you damn b*tch!”

The wooden carriage shattered under the force of my magic.

I had released enough power to easily kill someone, yet Teferi’s body remained completely unharmed.

“You really thought I wouldn’t notice you hiding your power? You thought I was that stupid?!”

[ just wanted to… protect you…]

Teferi’s telepathy didn’t reach me. Do you know the peculiarity of the [Emotioner] Mystic? There are monsters it doesn’t work on.

Sometimes, even monsters like Aram, if they retain a shred of reason, can be affected.

But if someone has absolutely no desire to communicate, it often fails—even if that someone is human. Unfortunately, I was the latter case.

Teferi seemed to give up on talking and instead tried to calm me down, but it didn’t work. Spells like Sleep that affect emotions are non-

combat, after all.

As a result, my breathing became erratic, wheezing. But the words pouring out of my mouth wouldn’t stop, like a dam breaking.

“I… all these years…”

Not everything over the past ten years was happy. There were more than a few times I wanted to give up everything.

Do you know how many times the practice dummy in the basement had to be replaced? How many times I cried in frustration at my slow

progress?

You wanted to save me? Don’t flatter yourself. Then what about everything I’ve done up to now? Pity and sympathy—those are the worst

knives that can stab into a person’s heart.

My face suddenly felt cold. When I touched it, I realized I was crying.

Ah, I thought I promised myself I wouldn’t cry. It’s strange how fickle the human heart can be.

“What’s going on!”

The loud crash brought our companions to a halt.

Professor Heitz approached and demanded an explanation, but no one answered. Instead, I turned to Teferi and opened my mouth.

“The winner gets a wish granted, right? The finals?”

No one responded to the sudden question, but I didn’t care. I smiled coldly. My bangs drooped, now disheveled. You better be ready. With

those words, I cast invisibility and walked into the empty forest—where no one could find me.

“What in the world happened? A carriage breaking down—this thing could withstand an ogre stepping on it!”

Professor Heitz, who was in charge of the group, was flustered. Everything had been going smoothly until now—then this happened on the

way back.

What was more frustrating was that everyone involved gave vague, evasive answers. Even the apparent victim.

“So, where is Trea now…?”

“…I’ll go find her. You can head back. We’ll reach the Academy by tomorrow.”

Amiter half-declared as she stood up. Where could she have gone?

Unfortunately, she wasn’t great at deduction—but fortunately, she was quite confident in tracking.

Moving quickly, it wasn’t hard to find Trea’s trail. Invisibility didn’t erase her scent.

Following the strong lavender fragrance, she spotted Trea wandering aimlessly in a secluded forest. Amiter climbed down from the tree and

called out.

“You okay? Sorry, but you’ll have to finish sulking later.”

Trea noticed her but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she smiled—coldly.

Then, from that familiar voice came an unfamiliar tone.

“So it’s you. Amiter.”

“…Trea?”

“It’s our first time meeting, isn’t it?”

Beastkin intuition is nearly prophetic. Amiter immediately sensed this was not the Trea she knew.

Without hesitation, she bared her sharp claws and asked the person before her:

“Who are you?”

That person, smiling just like when they first met Trea, answered.

It would’ve been a lovely first impression, had Amiter thought so even slightly.

“I’m Trea Rudbeck.”

The smile on her face was unnerving to anyone who saw it.