episode_0026

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“You don’t need to bother with formalities like goodbyes.”

“What if I wanted to say it?”

Chris lightly stepped away, gradually growing more distant.

Somehow, the more I tried to ignore him, the bolder he became—but honestly, I’d rather see him act like this than watch him tiptoe around me, wary of my reactions.

In fact, if he could just shake off whatever lingering guilt he still has, I’d have nothing more to ask for.

“Let’s go, Anna.”

“Yes…”

“Quit looking so down! You’re the Young Master Grave’s escort, aren’t you?”

And just like that, my confidence proved to be unfounded.

“……”

Whoosh—!

“Eek!”

“H-he saw us…!”

“Lower your heads!”

Sigh. I didn’t have high expectations for my reputation, what with the mess I made in the first semester, but this is too much, isn’t it?

Treated worse than trash—no, as if I didn’t even exist—I somehow managed to find the classroom listed on my schedule.

“Young Master, I’ll take my leave now.”

“Got it. You’ve worked hard. And absolutely no detours—go straight back to the estate.”

“Even I’m not foolish enough to forget my duties.”

“Good.”

Creak—

As soon as I parted ways with Anna and opened the door, I was met with a massive classroom that looked more like a university lecture hall.

The space felt even larger than it had appeared from the outside. The moment I stepped inside, dozens of eyes locked onto me at once.

I wasn’t late, but it seemed I was the last to arrive.

“Hmm…”

Many students were already seated. Some had books open in front of them, while others had notes and papers scattered messily across their desks.

Were they reviewing ahead of time? How diligent.

But even they couldn’t help but stare—my presence was that attention-grabbing.

And judging by their expressions, any hope of a normal, enjoyable school life had already sunk before it even began.

Thud.

I plopped into an empty seat at the very back and began rummaging through my bag for my books.

Normally, I’d have had to register for classes before the semester started, but thanks to Chris’s prior arrangements, I was able to keep the same schedule as the first semester.

Another moment where I felt the weight of the ducal family’s influence.

Creak—!

Not long after I entered, the door opened again, and a stern-faced man with a sturdy build strode confidently to the lectern.

“Richard Collian. Let’s begin.”

This guy never changes.

Professor Richard Collian—gruff, strict, and infamous for his brutal exams. Yet, there’s a reason I’m taking his class again.

He’s a staunch meritocrat, and his teaching skills are first-rate. If he believes something must be done, he acts without hesitation.

Since he’s also responsible for training members of the Hero’s Party, he doesn’t mind frequent absences as long as your grades are good.

So even if I’m quietly retaking his class, it shouldn’t be an issue.

“Eric Grave. Stand up.”

“Huh?”

“Did you not hear me? I said stand.”

I awkwardly rose to my feet.

“Well, well. How astonishing that the Young Master of House Grave would deign to retake such a worthless academy class.”

“Worthless? I never said that.”

“Then I take it you don’t remember blowing up the exam hall during midterms? Or is that how the Graves teach students to question their instructors?”

“Ah.”

Hearing Collian’s words, I sighed.

I could feel it—my response here would determine my fate in the academy moving forward.

Richard Collian is rigid and cold, but at the same time, he’s also the most merciful professor in the academy.

If a student makes a mistake, he disciplines them.

But he doesn’t harp on it or jump to rash judgments.

Even if the mistake is grave, he forgives it—as long as the reasoning makes sense to him.

If someone is struggling financially, he helps them find magic or commissions to earn money.

If someone is violent, he gives them an outlet for that aggression.

A rare beacon of light in this rotten academy—the ultimate tsundere.

But by the same token, if I couldn’t convince him here, persuading any other professor would be a lost cause.

“Answer me. What do you think of the atrocity you committed last semester?”

The first semester of this loop doesn’t exist in my memory.

Even though I regressed, I only woke up after the second semester of my second year had already begun—there’s no way I’d remember the first.

But if Collian is referring to that incident, there’s only one possibility.

The exam hall bombing.

The event that shattered whatever sympathy people might’ve still had for me.

During midterms, someone had carved explosive magic circles into the exam hall and detonated them right before students entered.

Miraculously, no one was hurt, but the building collapsed entirely, and the trauma of nearly dying right before their eyes went without saying.

A brazen act of terror, as if mocking the academy’s reputation for safety.

Naturally, the faculty launched a full-scale manhunt, and the culprit was revealed far more easily than expected.

The mana used in the explosion magic was laid bare—no concealment whatsoever.

And that culprit was me.

Even if no one was injured, this wasn’t something House Grave’s name could simply cover up or dismiss as the antics of a madman.

But the academy still managed to sweep it under the rug, concocting the absurd excuse that I’d been “bewitched by demons” and sentencing me to “self-study at home”—effectively a forced suspension.

Of course, the other noble families raised an uproar, but Duke Grave, true to his title as the Empire’s Pillar, successfully silenced all dissent.

At the cost of abandoning all expectations for me, though.

No wonder the other students looked at me with fear. To them, I was someone who’d attempted murder and still waltzed back into school unscathed.

But even so, my actions in the first semester wouldn’t have differed from the previous loop.

I’d probably do the same thing all over again. There was no other choice.

Back then, the exam hall had already been rigged with explosive magic circles—far deadlier than the ones I planted—set as booby traps.

The academy claimed I’d been “bewitched by demons,” and in a way, they weren’t entirely wrong.

I’d just detonated them before anyone else could enter.

If I’d done nothing, the academy’s finest talents would’ve been wiped out in an instant—either killed or left with lifelong injuries. Among them were three second-years who would later form the Hero’s Party.

So at the time, my only thought was stop it now. I triggered the demons’ magic circles myself—but I gave zero thought to the aftermath.

If I’d tried to explain what happened, the obvious question would’ve been: How did you know? Playing the madman was my only option.

“Explain what happened.”

“Who knows? I just felt like blowing it up.”

Try telling them, “I saw the future and stopped it.”

I’d either be branded an incurable lunatic or become a pawn in the power struggles between factions vying to control a supposed “prophet.”

Not to mention the demons who’d kill to eliminate such a threat.

That’s why the fact that I knew the future had to stay between me and the Hero’s Party. Too bad they didn’t even trust me because of what I’d done.

And now, my recklessness was coming back to bite me.

“I’m sorry.”

First, I bowed my head. People generally can’t stay angry at someone who apologizes.

“If ‘sorry’ fixed everything, this world wouldn’t have conflicts.”

“I was jealous.”

“What?”

“I envied Chris. It wasn’t easy to accept that someone was better than me—that they were praised by everyone.”

Rational persuasion was impossible. So I had to appeal to emotion instead.

“Now I know. No—I knew, but pretended not to. I didn’t want to admit it. That my recklessness led to this mistake.”

“……”

“I’ve realized how much harm my foolish actions caused—to you, Professor, to my peers, and to the entire academy. So I beg you this.”

BANG!

I bent at the waist and slammed my head against the desk hard enough to echo.

“I won’t ask for forgiveness. Just give me a chance.”

A brief silence passed before Collian spoke.

“…Raise your head.”

I obeyed.

“Class is starting. Sit down.”

Emotional manipulation always works.

With a light heart, I opened my notebook and textbook. I’d already taken this class in the previous loop, but I didn’t remember it perfectly, so it still felt fresh.

Like solving a problem when you already know the steps.

Enjoying the rare feeling of normalcy, I began taking diligent notes.

Move aside, honor students.