episode_0037

The academy’s dormitory, Orion Hall.

After the entrance ceremony, Aria was the only one who returned there.

The brown head… no, the person I thought was Julian disappeared somewhere as soon as the entrance ceremony was over.

‘I thought it was just a lie about gender.’

A hypothesis that I suspected from the moment I first met her, and was certain of even without clear evidence.

Julianne Dustin is a woman, not a man.

‘But I didn’t know that he wasn’t Julian Dustin in the first place, and that he was just a fake with a name.’

If the boy named Julian had actually changed his mind in the past on Mount Daeseol, just as the saint had confirmed.

Eugene and I have been childhood friends for over 10 years, so who on earth is the Julian that they know?

‘No, even leaving all that aside.’

In the first place.

‘Is it really true that Eugene doesn’t know this fact?’

The Eugene she knew was a person with quick wit and a quick mind, despite his rough appearance.

‘But Eugene didn’t even notice the important fact that his friend had switched places?’

I thought it was nonsense.

That’s why Aria didn’t go looking for Julian who had disappeared somewhere, but instead waited for Eugene to return home.

To confirm the truth.

How long did I wait, sitting at the table in the communal kitchen on the first floor of the dorm?

“I’m back.”

It was only when the sun was starting to set that Eugene returned to the dormitory after work.

Perhaps the faculty and staff held a meeting to discuss the aftermath of the entrance ceremony and the results of the class assignment test.

Aria slowly got up from the chair she was sitting on and went out to meet him.

“Eugene, come in.”

“Aria? You’ve been waiting for me all this time? You must have been tired today, why don’t you just rest?”

Aria shook her head at those worried words.

Sure, he was tired, as he said, but there were things he had to take care of first.

“By the way, what about Julian? Did he go to bed first?”

It seemed strange that Aria and Julian came out to greet him while bickering normally.

“That person hasn’t come back yet.”

“Julian hasn’t come back? Since the entrance ceremony?”

“Yeah, he went somewhere right after the entrance ceremony was over.”

“He’s not the type of guy who would do something like that without saying anything, and he’s not the type of person who would unilaterally make others worry.”

… Should I go look for it? Actually, it wouldn’t be a problem as long as I come in before curfew.

He was talking to himself like that, worried about his friend who was suddenly acting like he never did before.

“You know, Eugene.”

Aria unpacked the bundle of questions she had been holding in her.

“There was a time when Julian got seriously injured at Daeseolsan, right? Eugene was definitely there at that time.”

As the story that she shouldn’t have known came out of her mouth, Eugene’s expression hardened for a moment and she asked back.

“Aria, how do you know that? Did that guy Julian tell you?”

But Aria didn’t give an answer and continued asking questions.

Because now I decided that it was right rather than muddying the waters.

“I’m sorry, Eugene. But I want you to answer my question first. Were you there with Julian until the end when he got hurt?”

“I don’t know why you’re suddenly asking that, but… I feel a bit awkward talking about myself when Julian isn’t around.”

“That’s because the question has to do with the fact that he’s not coming back to the dorm right now.”

Eugene was silent for a moment, then sighed and answered.

“We came down Daeseolsan together, but after that, we had to leave him in the care of the medical team.”

“… So, you weren’t together until the end?”

“Because I had a responsibility to finish the cleanup operation. And.”

… The next time I saw him was when I heard news that he was safe and went to visit him in the hospital.

As he muttered like that, Aria’s eyes lit up as she noticed the subtle hint hidden within him.

“Are you sick? Did you feel anything strange at that time?”

“… Well? It’s been over 10 years, so I don’t remember that well.”

“… Really?”

After experiencing regression, Aria wanted to know more about her lover.

For that reason, I tried not to take my eyes off him as much as possible and observed him.

That’s why I could tell.

The slight gap it took for the answer to come out just now, and the hint that something was hidden within it.

“Eugene, you knew?”

Aria looked up at Eugene and said.

“The fact that a person named Julian changed once.”

And Eugene’s face hardened at her question.

***

Immediately after the entrance ceremony, I left the academy and wandered the streets of the school city for several hours.

Julian, who was tired from walking endlessly… .

No, Julia was crouching in the corner of a dark alley.

‘What do I do now?’

The secret was revealed.

To be exact, not all the details were revealed… but that too is only a matter of time.

‘Aria Floris, that woman has a good sense.’

From the moment we first met, I could tell that he was a man, but his true gender was completely unknown on the outside.

Now that we’ve provided a decisive pretext, it won’t be long before we get to the truth.

And when she realizes everything, she will tell Eugene the truth.

It was natural that Eugene would hate him since his secret was revealed like that.

How can you forgive someone who ate your own friend, stole his life, and deceived you for ten years?

’10 years… When I think about it this way, I’ve really been deceiving you for a long time.’

To Julia, who decided to live as Julian in her brother’s stead after his death.

One day, a black-haired boy came to visit.

I could tell right away.

He was mentioned again and again through my brother’s mouth.

The fact that it was Eugene she had wanted to meet so badly.

But she couldn’t face him as Julia.

Because from now on, she had to live her life as Julian Dustin.

That’s why I played the role of the twin brother in my memories.

He fooled Eugene by imitating his speech, gestures, hand gestures, and personality.

-Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe.

Although she somehow got over it at the time, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of crisis inside.

Just because she imitated her brother, she couldn’t see through all the time and relationship that her brother and Eugene had built up.

One day, a fatal flaw would be revealed.

In order to avoid that, he had to prepare more thoroughly and play Julian Dustin more perfectly.

Only, she thought, was the only atonement for the real Julian, who had lost his life because of his own greed.

She started moving to get information.

That’s right, by using her specialty, spirits.

Starting with the servants of the mansion, I attached a spirit to anyone who had even the slightest connection to my brother and spied on them.

Among them, if I had to pick someone who put in the most effort, it was Eugene, my brother’s best friend.

After attaching a spirit to him and making it watch his every move and everything about him, he received a report.

When you wake up, when you eat, when you go to the bathroom, when you practice, when you wash, and when you go to bed.

Who you usually meet, who you are close with, who you have an uncomfortable relationship with, what you like, and what you dislike.

After I got that information, it wasn’t difficult at all.

By the time they next met, she already knew more about Eugene than her brother.

-I can now control spirits.

-A spirit?

-Yeah, I want to try fighting as a spirit from now on. Can you help me?

-If you want it… I’ll help you.

This made Eugene become accustomed to the Julian she played, not the real Julian who existed in his memories.

‘I should have stopped there.’

However, as I got closer to Eugene, my heart started to pound more and more.

I had a vague idea of what was causing that throbbing, what the name of that emotion was… .

I couldn’t bear to accept it.

Because she had to live her life to atone for her brother.

‘Eugene Eberhart’ and ‘Julian Dustin’ were ‘friends’ after all.

They had to protect their precious relationship.

That’s why I couldn’t destroy that relationship again because of my selfish desires, or reveal my identity, or anything like that.

One, I couldn’t stand to see another woman clinging to him on such a topic.

So I kicked them all out from the side so that no dirty bugs would get to him.

Every time, they rationalize to themselves that they are just a bunch of stray dogs who approached Eugene only because of his family and not his character.

Even I thought about it, it was really twisted.

Eventually, she felt guilty about his dark behavior and personality and distanced herself from him for a while.

But I had no idea that in that short period of time, I would quickly become engaged to the villainess Aria Floris.

‘If I had known it would turn out like this, if I had known I would get caught like this… I should have just been honest.’

Now I regret it, I’ve come too far to turn back.

‘Where should I go now?’

Orion Hall? Another dormitory at the Academy? Or the Dustin family mansion?

It all just felt so pointless.

[Really? Then let’s go back. Into the darkness where there was only the two of us to lean on.]

The dark voice of the guy that she had been hearing from time to time since her brother’s death tempted her once again.

[Let’s go back. To a world where there is no need to worry or fret.]

Julia also now knew that he was not a good being.

That is why she desperately resisted and ignored it even as it harassed her and polluted the spirits around her…

‘Brother, what do I do now?’

I felt like I couldn’t resist any longer.