episode_0094

Chapter 94 – Election Campaign

Let’s go back a little in time. Abel’s group came to visit Isis, who had been engrossed in her election campaign activities since early morning.

“What? Is that true?”

“Yes! Ruan has disappeared. They say he didn’t even return to the dormitory yesterday!”

“…Has this ever happened before?”

“No. Never. Could something have happened?”

Isis bit her lip tightly.

If his friends were this certain, it was right to assume that something had happened to Ruan.

Of all days, this had to happen today.

‘Could it be related somehow?’

Ruan’s reputation was so bad that many people held ill will towards him, so she couldn’t jump to conclusions, but the timing was too coincidental.

Above all, even if it wasn’t related to the election, the fact that Ruan needed to be saved remained unchanged.

Isis hastily devised a plan.

“Do you happen to know why Ruan didn’t return home until late yesterday?”

“Hmm… He was probably in the training hall. He’s been diligently training ever since he entered the academy.”

“…Really? Then something must have happened on his way back from the training hall. There are many people around the training hall, so it wouldn’t be there, which means the path between the dormitory and the hall is… the promenade!”

Isis’s brilliant mind had grasped the entire structure of the academy. Having instantly deduced the conclusion, she gestured to Regina.

“Regina-nim. Could you perhaps help again?”

“Of course.”

“No, not that, uh… could we use the intelligence division?”

“The intelligence division? That’s…”

Regina’s confident face was now clouded with embarrassment.

She faintly shook her head.

“I’m sorry, but it’s impossible. I lost the authority to use the intelligence division because of what happened last time.”

“If it was last time…”

“The rumor incident, that is. Anyway, because of that, I can’t mobilize the intelligence division right now. Please understand.”

As if saddened by the fact that she couldn’t live up to the beloved Isis’s expectations, Regina’s eyes drooped.

Isis quickly comforted her.

“It’s alright. Regina-nim doesn’t need to apologize. Then, would you help us track him instead? You’re confident, aren’t you?”

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

“Thank you. Then, for a moment…”

Isis gave a telepathic instruction to one of her trusted subordinates standing behind her, then quickly moved to the promenade.

It was there that Regina’s true efforts began. She seemed to be looking here and there, and finally found traces hidden in the bushes.

“Isis. Look at this.”

“These are… footprints.”

“Yes. They’re faint, but clearly there. I think it’s from someone carrying Ruan Friuli. They probably made a mistake trying to support the weight.”

Moving while hiding traces is difficult enough even alone, but having to bear someone else’s weight must have made it incredibly hard.

After a brief explanation, Regina continued to move, precariously following the traces.

Finally, the group arrived at a tall wall.

“It ends here. It looks like they went outside.”

“…As expected, they ran far away.”

In truth, it was perhaps obvious, but Isis had hoped the culprits were still inside the academy.

Because going outside the academy meant that the scope of their pursuit had expanded from within the academy to the entire capital.

She looked at Abel’s group.

“From here, we’ll go alone. Classes will start soon, so you should head in.”

“What? No! We’ll go with you too.”

“Are you sure? It’ll affect your grades.”

“Of course! When our friend is in danger, are grades important?”

At the answer, given without a hint of hesitation, Isis smiled faintly.

“Thank you. Then, will you lend us your strength? It’s fortunate that Ruan has so many good friends.”

“It’s only natural. I’ve also received a lot of help from Ruan.”

“It’s a relief to hear you say that. Good. Follow me.”

Isis lightly leapt and cleared the wall.

Everyone followed her, and they resumed their pursuit under Regina’s guidance.

And in that state, two hours passed.

Tracking was relatively easy up to the academy wall, but beyond that, the traces suddenly fragmented chaotically, making it difficult to pinpoint which direction the kidnappers carrying Ruan had gone.

They had belatedly realized their mistake and taken countermeasures.

Ultimately, the pursuit ran into difficulties.

“Isis. Let’s head back to the academy soon. It’s almost lunchtime. There’s only one hour left until the vote results are announced. If you don’t attend, you’ll naturally be considered to have resigned.”

“But…”

“What ‘but’! Let’s go back and ask my brother for help instead. If it’s my brother, he can mobilize the intelligence division, so we can save him much faster!”

“……”

Isis fell silent for a moment.

Just as she, lost in thought with her eyes closed, was about to open her mouth.

Beep!

A signal rang from within her pocket.

The cause was the pager she had given to her subordinate along with the instructions earlier.

Isis’s expression changed rapidly.

“Let’s go back quickly!”

“What? Did you take some kind of measure?”

“Yes! So hurry! Friends, I’m sorry, but I’ll go ahead!”

Isis kicked off the ground like an arrow.

As if her previous speed was out of consideration, she no longer matched Abel’s group’s pace and instantly vanished.

Regina quickly followed alongside her.

“What is it? You need to explain!”

“…Earlier, I instructed Jenny to keep an eye on Remian Herana. A signal means she’s on the move.”

“What? That woman is the culprit? How did you know?”

“It was just a guess. So I didn’t expect much. I’m surprised too. More importantly, we need to hurry even more now!”

Whoosh!

Isis sped up even more, as if the conversation was over, and headed towards the source of the signal.

‘Ruan. Wait for me!’

Praying for her brother’s safety.

*

Tension permeated the air.

I looked at Isis and Remian, who were confronting each other without an inch of retreat.

“How did you know about this place?”

“You answer first. Did you do this to Ruan’s face?”

“…What if I did?”

“By what right? You kidnapped someone? Are you in your right mind?”

Isis’s aura was fierce. It was proof of her immense anger. It felt like she would explode at any moment if one looked away for even a second.

In front of her, Remian, on the contrary, burst into laughter as if satisfied.

“Ahaha! Why? Are you angry?”

“You! Is this situation funny to you right now?”

“Why shouldn’t I laugh? To see the great Isis Friuli this enraged. You’re finally acting a little human, aren’t you? You always looked down on others. I’m so satisfied that you’ve fallen to the same level as me.”

Even after her kidnapping act was discovered, Remian didn’t care at all and provoked Isis.

It meant she had something to rely on.

‘Surely, she’s not planning to deal with all of us, is she?’

Remian was the young lady of a Count’s family.

As such, her family’s prestige was strong, so it wouldn’t be impossible if they truly intended to cover it up.

Of course, we also have a Marquis family background, but the Friuli family is too far from the capital to easily exert its influence, so even if they started investigating late, all traces would already be gone by then.

In the end, to escape this crisis, I had no choice but to use my full power.

‘That’s the problem.’

Even putting Remian and the kidnappers aside, her escort knight seemed to be over level 250.

Even if I didn’t necessarily have to defeat the escort knight, to create even a small opening, I’d have to use both “Rape Declaration” and “Avatar Transformation,” which would expose my identity not only to Isis but also to everyone who gathered upon hearing the commotion.

If that happened, my future activities would be restricted, and I might not be able to intervene in time.

Even worse, I’d have to rape Isis.

‘I don’t want to do that.’

Just thinking about Isis’s eyes, which always held interest and affection for me, being filled with disgust, made my heart ache.

To avoid that, I had to find a new method, not a physical confrontation.

Even as I searched for a breakthrough, the conversation between Isis and Remian continued.

“Why do you hate me so much? And if you were going to kidnap someone, why didn’t you just kidnap me instead!”

“Is that even a question? The Crown Prince’s gaze is always on you, isn’t it? He’s so focused on you every day that he doesn’t even pay attention to me anymore. What tricks did you use? What did you do to make him so completely infatuated that he can’t come to his senses?!”

“I didn’t do anything…”

“Don’t make me laugh! Ah, I get it now. You seduced him with that unnecessarily seductive body of yours, didn’t you? That’s why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince only seeks you out every day! Isn’t it!”

As she spoke, perhaps her emotions were escalating, Remian blurted out everything without distinguishing between what should or shouldn’t be said.

I realized a new fact from that.

‘Could it be that the Crown Prince has a crush on Isis?’

Now that I thought about it, suspicious circumstances were sometimes caught in the game too.

Especially in the community, people who supported other heroines would cut out those scenes and maliciously slander her.

And the NTR fans would ‘juice’ it up with delight.

People seeing it for the first time would even believe it was official, and it seemed to be half true.

‘I should be wary of the Crown Prince too.’

How dare he target Isis? Unacceptable.

“Remian. I never did that. I merely treated His Royal Highness the Crown Prince as a fellow student council member.”

“Ahaha! Of course, you would say that. Your opinion doesn’t matter. I’m going to end all of this right here. Bezef! Deal with them!”

“…Yes.”

At Remian’s command, Bezef walked out steadily. Aura billowed from his entire body, pushing back Isis’s aura.

Just as I was about to intervene.

“Stop right there!”

With a high-pitched shout, Imperial Princess Regina descended from the hole in the ceiling where Isis had appeared.

Seeing her, Remian became agitated.

“You’re th-the Imperial Princess? Why are you here, of all places…”

“Don’t you know? I’m always by Isis’s side. Why would you think this time would be any different?”

“……”

“So what did you just say? ‘Deal with them’? Are you planning to kill me too, by any chance?”

Regina smiled annoyingly.

Because she knew that no matter how blinded by inferiority Remian was, she couldn’t commit regicide.

As I expected, Remian stopped Bezef.

“Bezef. Come back.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

As Bezef returned to his original position, Remian bit her lip tightly and asked.

“By any chance, did you call His Royal Highness the Crown Prince as well?”

“Why? Don’t you want your beloved to find out about this?”

“…I beg of you. Please keep this matter a secret.”

As the Crown Prince’s fiancée, who had been with him for a long time, she knew the power of the Imperial Family better than anyone, except for the imperial family members themselves.

At her freely bowing head, Regina’s face hardened coldly.

“You’re asking the wrong person. You should ask Isis, not me.”

“That’s…”

“And it’s already too late. You said it yourself, didn’t you? My brother’s gaze is always on Isis.”

“…No way!”

As soon as Remian understood Regina’s words, numerous unfamiliar presences appeared around them, and then the Crown Prince emerged, descending the stairs.

He looked at Isis, Regina, Remian, and me in order, then let out a sigh.

“Remian, I’m disappointed in you.”

“Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I…”

“No excuses are needed. First, apologize to Young Lady Isis and Young Master Ruan.”

“……”

At the stern command, Remian’s eyes reddened as if she was about to cry.

She radiated an aura of intense displeasure with her entire body as she bowed her head to us.

“…I’m sorry for doing such a thing. I will compensate you in any way possible, so I hope you can forgive me.”

At that apology, Isis gazed at me without a word. Then, only after I nodded, did she open her mouth.

“I’ll accept the apology for now. But I can’t just let this go. Please promise that such a thing will never happen again.”

For Isis, what was important was my safety, not compensation.

It was the Crown Prince, not Remian, who replied to that.

“I will promise that. As my fiancée, I will manage her well. Remian. For the time being, you will receive bridal training at the imperial palace.”

“…Yes.”

That virtually meant withdrawal from school.

Remian could not disobey the Crown Prince’s directive and obediently complied.

And so, the situation was resolved for now.

“More importantly, Young Lady Isis. There’s something I’d like to say for a moment…”

“I’m sorry, but please ask me later!”

Isis lightly brushed off the Crown Prince’s words and ran over in a single breath to undo the magic restraints.

“Ruan. Are you alright? Aside from your face, are there any other injuries?”

“Yes. I’m perfectly fine. Actually, even my face was like that because I deliberately provoked them.”

“Even so, is it right to hit someone like this? Let’s go get treatment right away. You might get a scar on your handsome face.”

Isis’s gaze never left me for a moment. It was quite burdensome.

I tried to refute her words for no reason.

“I’m not *that* handsome…”

“Don’t say that. To your older sister’s eyes, you’re the most handsome in the world. Come on, lean on me.”

Of course, my words were dismissed by Isis’s refusal, as if there was no room for disagreement.

Ultimately, I leaned against Isis’s firm yet curvaceous body.

The Crown Prince continued to watch us until we left the underground area.

That face, etched with a deep sense of defeat!

‘Is this what superiority feels like?’

I deliberately pressed closer to Isis, as if to show off to the Crown Prince.