episode_0084

Chapter 85 – Rumors

Weeks after the clash between Kenneth and Pernia, the academy was already nearing midterms.

As I headed to class for school, I sensed something amiss.

“Look over there. It’s Young Master Ruan.” “Do you think the rumors are true?” “I don’t know. But isn’t it possible? It’s been quiet for a while, but his reputation was never good to begin with.”

It seemed bad rumors about me had spread. There were already so many existing rumors that I wondered what it was about this time.

I pricked up my ears, and soon, a group of female students satisfied my curiosity.

“But even so, would he really rape a fellow academy student?” “He must not be satisfied with just maids anymore.” “You think so? But to imitate Eunrang of all people…” “That’s malicious. To tarnish that person’s reputation.”

Eunrang referred to the masked man I disguised myself as when I saved Alisa and her group.

Apparently, that’s what they started calling him over the break?

At any rate, gathering the information, it seemed I was caught imitating Eunrang, wearing a mask, and raping a female student.

‘Who on earth spread this rumor?’

If the rumor that I was Eunrang and a rapist had spread, I would have devised a countermeasure since it would be true. But I was caught *imitating* him?

Imitation is common, as many people follow celebrities, so I could accept that, but committing a crime and getting caught immediately felt too contrived.

It could only be seen as someone intentionally spreading rumors to discredit me.

That’s why it was even stranger.

I was just a good-for-nothing rogue not even worth dealing with, so why would someone go to such lengths to spread false rumors and damage me?

‘Could my identity have leaked?’

But if that were the case, just spreading the rumor that I was a transmigator would have been enough. The deliberate use of the ‘rape’ element…

“Besides, they say he’s a transmigator, right?” “Exactly. He must have used future information to commit the rape!” “And then a variable came up, and he got caught!”

The female students provided new information as soon as I raised my doubts. I was so grateful I could almost cry.

‘This makes it possible.’

Someone who noticed I was a transmigator might have used this method to keep me in check.

My head grew more complicated by the moment.

As I walked down the hallway, deep in thought, a familiar voice echoed in my mind. -Ruan, are you alright?

It was a tone filled with worry. I looked up and saw Deborah staring at me from among the countless female students. Around her, many were urging her to break up with ‘that kind of trash’.

Even in that situation, Deborah didn’t waver in the slightest, her gaze solely fixed on me.

Just as I was about to give a wry smile and reply.

“Ruan Friuli!!”

This time, an angry voice from behind caught me.

Alisa was there.

She seemed incredibly furious, her face twisted fiercely as she approached, one heavy step at a time.

Then she raised her hand. *Swish!*

She tried to slap me, but my hand caught hers, stopping it midway.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Though I often got hit by Alisa under the pretext of sparring, being hit like this for no reason at all was absolutely unacceptable.

To my bewildered question, Alisa audaciously turned her anger back on me.

“What do I think I’m doing? What about you? How dare you imitate Hyun and commit such trashy acts? Did you think I’d just stand by?”

“…Rumors are just rumors. There’s no proof that I did it, is there?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Who else but you would do such a thing?!”

To Alisa, I was nothing more or less than a rapist. No matter what I said, her mind wouldn’t change.

I clenched my fist in frustration when the whispers of those female students reached my ears.

“It’s Lady Alisa.” “As expected, their relationship isn’t ordinary.” “Then, was she really victimized?” “It’s possible. Otherwise, her level of anger wouldn’t make sense.”

At those words, I became conscious of the surrounding gazes once more.

Their eyes were colored with a certain conviction and suspicion, rather than surprise or worry.

‘So that’s what it was.’

As the rumor that I was a rapist spread, a secondary rumor attached itself, claiming that Alisa, who was tied to me by some ill fate, had also been raped.

This explained why Alisa was so furious.

For her, this rumor was an issue that could potentially ruin her life if mishandled.

Noticing Alisa’s emotions conveyed through her trembling hand, I quickly made a suggestion before she could make a mistake.

“Let’s talk somewhere else first.”

“……”

“Or do you intend to end everything here? Didn’t you say you had a debt to repay Hyun?”

“Don’t you dare mention him!!”

*Thwack!*

Alisa screamed as if in a frenzy, then roughly slapped my hand away.

She fumed, struggling to suppress her anger, and only after a long moment did she open her mouth.

“…Follow me.”

Then she turned her back and walked away.

I glanced at the crowd parting like the Red Sea and followed her.

A short while later, we stopped in a secluded clearing.

Alisa thoroughly checked her surroundings, then immediately interrogated me.

“Now tell me. Why did you impersonate Hyun?”

“I didn’t.”

“So it’s all a coincidence? There are more rapists like you in the academy?”

“Seems so.”

“What? You trash…”

Alisa gnashed her teeth, her eyes blazing, as if infuriated by my casual response to her question.

Her gaze was so intense it felt like fierce flames would pour out and incinerate my entire body.

Finally, just as her patience was about to run out.

“W-wait a minute!”

With a shrill cry, Deborah turned the corner and appeared.

Alisa flinched for a moment.

“Who are you? Were you here?”

“I followed you secretly. I’m sorry. But I couldn’t just stand by.”

“…Why? Because of what your lover did?”

The flustered Alisa, perhaps to distract from the previous conversation, feigned composure and provocatively taunted her instead.

Deborah shook her head resolutely.

“There’s a lot I want to say, but first, to answer your question, Ruan didn’t do such a thing!”

“How can you be so sure?”

“W-well, you see…” Deborah, stammering, gave me a meaningful look as if to signal cooperation, then dropped a bombshell.

“Th-the truth is, we were together all day yesterday until this morning! The incident happened Sunday dawn, didn’t it? The crime couldn’t have happened in the first place!”

Deborah’s cheeks flushed crimson, as if embarrassed. I wanted to applaud her courageous act.

However, the situation didn’t resolve easily.

“Oh really? You two are quite close, aren’t you? But what to do? I’ve already confirmed everything.”

“Huh? Confirmed?”

“Yes. There’s a friend of this trash in my class. They supposedly had lunch together on Sunday, so I don’t know what happened, do you? Care to explain?”

“Ah! W-well… actually, on Sunday, we met from the afternoon…”

“Oh, sorry! My mistake. They said you had dinner together?”

“Then from night…”

Deborah’s voice grew quieter and quieter.

Even she knew how nonsensical her actions were at the moment.

In contrast, Alisa grew increasingly triumphant.

“Why don’t you stop lying? Do you really have to go that far to cover for him? I actually don’t understand it. If my lover was a rapist, I’d want to kill them on the spot.”

“B-but he’s not…”

“How can you be so sure? Do you have proof that this trash isn’t a rapist!?”

Everyone is sensitive to pain. That’s why people want to be empathized with and wish for the downfall of those who caused them pain.

Alisa was no different. She wanted my downfall, which was why she was trying to persuade Deborah by any means necessary.

She wanted Deborah to be influenced by her opinion and condemn me alongside her, hoping that I would be hurt in the process.

What Alisa overlooked was that Deborah already knew my vulnerabilities.

“…How can *you* be so sure?”

“What?”

“How can you be so sure that Ruan is the culprit of the rumors?! You’re not even the victim! Aren’t you just acting like this based on rumors?!”

“You have no right!” Alisa’s complexion changed drastically at the instantly conveyed intention. Her blazing red eyes glared at Deborah.

The anger that was directed at me had now infected her as well.

“I… have no right? How dare you, someone like you, say such a thing? You know nothing! That trash… me…! Me……”

Alisa couldn’t finish her sentence.

She couldn’t contain her anger, but she couldn’t bring herself to expose her trauma to others.

But that was enough.

Deborah, as if she had been suspecting it all along, gained certainty from Alisa’s words and spoke.

“You already knew, didn’t you?”

“……Knew what.”

“That Ruan… might have committed rape.”

“What? How could you… No, wait. Don’t tell me?”

Alisa, guessing the answer as soon as the question formed, stared at Deborah with horrified eyes.

Deborah nodded, affirming it.

“That’s right. I also… got intimate with Ruan. …In a somewhat forceful way.”

“…Really? You were… victimized too?”

Alisa’s expression was confused.

She looked as if she doubted whether what she had just heard was true.

Soon, she continued.

“Let’s say your words are true. Then why on earth are you defending that trash? Why are you defending the man who raped you?!”

There’s a condition called Stockholm Syndrome.

It’s a phenomenon where one develops affection for their aggressor. Alisa must have suspected Deborah had Stockholm Syndrome.

Deborah returned her gaze with a smile.

“Because there must have been circumstances.”

“Circum…stances?”

“Yes. At the time, Ruan’s face when he assaulted me was incredibly desperate. It was definitely not something he did purely for pleasure. What about you? Wasn’t it the same for you?”

Alisa lowered her gaze for a moment.

Presumably, the memories of her own assault were replaying in her mind.

And if one calmly examines their memories, things they hadn’t noticed before tend to become visible.

The problem was that Alisa wasn’t ready to accept it yet, and she had no intention of doing so in the first place.

Because to her, I was simply a rapist.

So, she wouldn’t even consider the possibility that she might have misunderstood.

No, she chose to ignore it.

“Th-there’s no such thing! That guy just raped me because he wanted to feel good. That’s it. There were no ‘circumstances’!”

However, Deborah didn’t allow that.

“That’s a lie. Your face is saying you know. You’re just running away.”

“Shut up! What do you know?! There were circumstances? What circumstances? What kind of circumstances would make someone rape a woman?!”

“At the very least, it must have been a matter of life or death. It must have been for you too. There must have been some circumsta─”

“Don’t bullshit me! Those damn ‘circumstances’! ‘Circumstances’! The ‘circumstances’ are him cumming in your filthy cunt! I get it now. You just surrendered to his dick, didn’t you? Huh? Isn’t that right? You filthy whore. You were raped and you’re happy to follow him.”

Now, Alisa’s eyes began to fill with not just anger, but also disgust and contempt.

Deborah was flustered by the unimaginable verbal abuse.

“W-what did you say? How can you speak like that? Isn’t that too much?”

“You’re the one who’s too much! Saying a rapist might have circumstances in front of a victim? Is it okay to rape if there are circumstances? Do you think that makes sense?!”

“Th-that’s…”

Deborah couldn’t easily continue her words at the shout, which seemed to contain a hint of madness.

At that point, I stepped forward.

“Stop. Both of you calm down.” I pulled Deborah behind my back and faced Alisa directly.