episode_0050

The words I spit out cannot be taken back.

I felt a pang of regret, and I even hesitated, knowing that my heart would race like this, but I didn’t stop.

It’s not in my nature to act first and think later.

It’s not like me to let emotions lead without considering the consequences.

Not at all like myself.

This time too,

It’s clearly because of the possession.

It must be the personality of the previous owner imprinted on my body.

Doing such a foolish thing like this is definitely your fault, Beatrice.

But still.

Thanks to you, I feel relieved after being deceived.

Maybe the knife will completely lose interest in me because of this, or maybe he won’t flatter me while treating me like a crazy woman, but it doesn’t matter.

Let it be as it may.

…

Karl hmmed and opened his eyes narrowly.

I was curious about what he would say, and I was also afraid.

If he suddenly turned around and left me here, it wouldn’t be surprising. If that happened, I would probably sit alone on this rooftop for a long time before going down.

Clearly sitting down and crying-

“Is that a necklace?”

“…?”

Karl’s gaze was fixed on my neck.

If it had gone a little lower, he would have seen something other than the necklace, a temptation hard to resist, but there was no hint of wavering. His demeanor was impressive yet… unbelievable.

“Do you see the necklace now?”

“Yeah.”

He was so relaxed, almost excessively firm.

Some people tried to untangle their feelings, but he spat out words mixed with irritation and no consideration at all…

I looked pathetic, whimpering alone. He seemed indifferent to my prickly words, focusing on me as if they were nothing.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it? It suits you well.”

“….”

His gaze on the necklace did not drop, instead, it rose straight up to meet my eyes. Then he lightly smiled.

You jerk.

Karl looked around, picked up the blouse that had fallen to the ground, and carefully brushed off the dust. Then-

“Wanna show me your arm?”

I couldn’t even get angry like a fool, and I hesitantly raised my arms. Then, from behind me, someone helped me put one arm at a time into the blouse. Soon both arms were in, and the collar was up on my shoulders.

Swoosh-

Before I knew it, they had come around to face me and slowly buttoned up the blouse from the bottom.

The unexpected closeness almost made me blurt out a sound. I blushed and covered my mouth with one hand. I was extremely flustered but couldn’t push them away.

The irritation, the nervousness, all melted away.

I couldn’t understand why I was angry or why I overreacted so much; it all felt too trivial, despite being just moments ago. That’s how intense this moment felt.

Thin but long fingers slowly rose, finally reaching the protruding chest… The surrounding buttons also met the fingertips. I could do nothing but stand still as if frozen. It took longer to button up the lower part than before. It felt longer, and indeed, it took longer.

And then it was over.

That’s as far as the buttons went.

There were two buttons left above the chest, up to the neck, but they didn’t fasten them.

“Looks good on you, as expected.”

“….”

“You even wore such a pretty necklace, it would be a shame to hide it under layers, right?”

I usually kept all the buttons fastened.

What he meant was, since I wore a necklace, I should unbutton at least two buttons to show it off.

Perverted jerk.

Who are you trying to impress?

If you say that, am I supposed to willingly expose my necklace and walk around?

“…Is it a gift?”

“Huh?”

“A necklace that a man would pick out, now that I look closely.”

Karl’s brow furrowed.

“No!”

“Really?”

“I, I picked it out. At the department store in the commercial district….”

I said, surprised.

He spilled unnecessary information. There was no need to specify it as a department store in the commercial district… The necklace was one of the things I picked up when I went to the department store with Yulia a few days ago. It was one of the items I bought haphazardly to hide the fact that I bought underwear…

“Come to think of it… I didn’t wear the underwear I bought then.”

It was still kept in the room.

I didn’t expect to encounter him so closely, dressed so lightly. At most, I thought we would have a confrontation with Chloe… I didn’t think about it.

If I had worn it, would he have said that the bra strap peeking through the necklace suited me better?

….

Crazy woman.

What is she thinking?

When I was lost in my own ridiculous imagination, Karl’s deep voice was heard.

“Thank goodness.”

“….”

The heavy, downcast gaze returned.

Karl smiled, this time picking up my jacket and helping me put it on.

“…Beatrice, don’t just wander around carelessly undressing.”

“What?”

“Even if it’s a space where only Chloe and I are, and you feel frustrated swinging the sword, don’t do that.”

“….”

Karl said with a stern expression.

It was like the expression of parents giving a warning to a daughter who wanders around in revealing clothes. No, it was different. It was more intense.

“If you catch the eye of some weirdos…”

“Why are you suddenly-”

Karl’s hand, which was tidying the collar of the jacket, tightened.

I was surprised by the firm grip on the collar and couldn’t continue speaking.

“Huh… It’s dizzying to think that someone other than me might have seen it.”

“….”

Crazy guy.

He again arranged the collar with a gentle touch and smiled satisfactorily.

“Be careful. The academy is a scary place. You never know what kind of pervert might be lurking.”

I wanted to say that you’re the biggest problem, but I held back.

Just now, the intense emotion that Karl had exuded for a moment, something about it pleased me.

For some reason, I felt content.

“…Why are you meddling?”

I grabbed his wrist and pulled it down from the collar.

Then I turned around to get the wooden sword. It seemed dangerous to keep looking into his eyes. I didn’t want to show my rapidly changing expressions.

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you go to Chloe on the same floor?”

“…”

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave.”

I wanted to leave hastily.

“Wait.”

I stopped at the voice coming from behind. I still couldn’t turn around. I didn’t have the confidence to face him.

“I heard you’re quite strong, not like a second-class.”

“…?”

“Beatrice, unless you’re too tired… would you like to spar with me?”

It was an unexpected proposal.

“…With me? Not with Chloe?”

“Yeah, with you. It’s disadvantageous to fight in a state of undress, so I took the trouble to pick up clothes for you, but now I feel regretful…”

“Disadvantageous?”

“I can’t concentrate with that kind of attire.”

….

Only then did I slowly turn around.

I hoped the moonlight would be covered by clouds. So I hoped that my slightly rising tail of my mouth wouldn’t be noticed.

“You, don’t have a wooden sword either?”

In response to my question, he shrugged his shoulders, took out a portable magic tool, and used the space magic embedded in it. Then two wooden swords appeared in the air. They must have been expensive magic tools.

“Well… shall we start with one for now?”

He picked up one of the two wooden swords. I stared blankly at his figure and slowly approached. Unconsciously, I extended the wooden sword and adjusted my posture. A fighting posture.

Smiling, he also prepared to fight in the same way.

“Please go easy?”

“No, thanks.”

“…!?”

Thwack!

I forcefully swung the sword from the beginning, deflecting his playful words. Seeing him parry the sword, I felt good. It was refreshing.

“What, what…?!”

“Prepare yourself. Seriously.”

I smiled and reached out the sword again.

As much as I had been unlucky and suffered, the opportunity for payback had come.

I couldn’t help but let out a smile, and I laughed quietly.

That’s how we sparred for quite a long time.

It was just another day like any other.

The lecture on combat theory was in full swing.

Professor No passionately continued his class, filling the chalkboard with notes. However, his voice was not as passionate as his writing; it was a small voice that didn’t reach every corner of the grand lecture hall.

So, I found myself yawning and succumbing to the overwhelming drowsiness.

On the other hand, Cloe, sitting next to me, perked up her ears, concentrating on the lecture, determined not to miss a word.

Karl, sitting alone by the window far away, rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the textbooks. At first glance, it seemed as though he was absorbing the contents of the book diligently… but I knew better from observing him; he was dozing off with his chin propped up.

…

The peaceful afternoon lecture hall was no different from any other day.

No, it should have been no different.

Thud!

The sound of the classroom door being forcefully thrown open startled everyone, causing all eyes to turn toward the door. It wasn’t so much the sound of the door being opened as it was the sound of it being broken.

Students who were focused on the lecture, students who were diligently taking notes in their books, and even drowsy students like me—all eyes were fixed on one place.

There stood a man dressed in priestly attire.

…He was the detestable priest of the despised pulpit.

I wanted to tear him apart right then and there, wanted to suffocate him, but I suppressed the rising anger and watched.

“What’s going on? In the middle of a lecture?”

Professor No spoke politely.

It wouldn’t have been strange if he had exploded in anger, but due to the weight of the priestly attire, I decided to let it go for now.

“Professor Greffel, please forgive the rudeness. However, the will of God is the most precious thing… Even the lectures of the academy cannot delay that will.”

The man in priestly attire spoke with courtesy, but the content was truly discourteous. Essentially, he had come to carry out the will of God, implying that worldly matters should be set aside.

“…I’ll ask again, what’s going on?”

Professor No’s patience had reached its limit. He decided to endure just one more time.

The man scanned the spacious lecture hall, then slowly approached the seated students.

Step by step, he came closer.

Towards me…?

Without a doubt, he was coming straight toward me.

“Caught… already!? How…?”

All sorts of memories flooded my mind.

Was there a survivor in the Inquisition Bureau? Or did someone witness the Green Emperor removing his helmet? Or maybe…

I turned my gaze to the sword.

Even amidst the commotion, he remained calm, resting his chin on his hand.

As the man in priestly robes drew nearer, my dilemma intensified.

Should I unleash my power?

Could I escape using the power of the royal family?

Damn it…

Before my dilemma could resolve, the man stood before me.

Thud-

He looked down at me with a cold gaze and finally spoke.

“Cloe Deminuss.”

“!!?”

“Quietly follow me and cooperate with the investigation.”

It was a chilling command.

“…Yes?”

“Follow me.”

Cloe looked bewildered, her eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights, but the man’s voice grew even colder.

“Investigation?! Even if it’s the academy, why are you suddenly involving the princess of the kingdom!?”

“There are reasons for everything, Professor Grephil.”

“What reason could possibly justify stirring up trouble like this!?”

Professor Grephil boldly blocked the man who was trying to take Cloe away. The man in priestly robes almost snarled in response.

In answer to the professor’s question, the man slowly began to speak, loud enough for everyone in the lecture hall to hear.

“The enemy of humanity, an impure being.”

“!?”

“Cloe Deminuss, in accordance with the Academy’s special regulations, you are to cooperate.”

As he finished speaking, fully armored knights filed into the lecture hall. The room became noisy with the clinking of armor and footsteps.

The knights pounded the end of their spears on the ground with a thud. It was a menacing sight.

“There is no right to refuse.”

It was a procession of the pulpit.