IDWF 6

chapter 6

After resolving everything with a single recording, I stepped out of the faculty office and raised my hand, staring at my trembling fingertips.

Ah.

Seeing my hands shaking so finely, the composure I had forced onto my face cracked like glass.

It was a stark contrast to how I had boldly lifted my chin in front of them.

The expression slowly faded from my face. At the same time, memories I didn’t want to recall came rushing back in force.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart pounded rapidly as those memories resurfaced. My palms were already soaked with cold sweat.

There were students passing by, so I clenched my teeth and suppressed the emotions surging up.

But from the moment those memories returned, it felt like my insides were burning black.

The clubroom.

Right now, classes weren’t over yet, so no one would be there.

Having made my decision quickly, I started running toward the clubroom.

I never thought I’d end up using the recording magic pen I had brought just in case, here at the academy.

I had forgotten. I had barely escaped it.

But using the pen again after so long brought it all back.

When I reached the clubroom, I quickly locked the door.

In the empty room, I let out the tears I had been holding back. Then, gritting my teeth, I tried to calm the crushing anxiety closing in on me.

Calm down.

This is the academy. He’s not beside me.

You saw it earlier, Rien.

Here, no one can touch you.

No one.

“…That’s what happened.”

“Say that again, Fior.”

“So Rien joined our club, and then five overly persistent kids—”

“Not from the beginning. Just the part where she said why she joined the club.”

“You mean the part where she said she joined because your face is kind, Karsion?”

“…That basically means I’m handsome, right?”

“Probably.”

“That expressionless girl really said something like that?”

“Yeah. The recording orb is going around, so I can repeat it word for word. Since five people are facing expulsion, it’s spreading even faster.”

Fior answered Karsion’s questions in detail, but in truth, none of it was really sinking in for Karsion.

‘She joined because of my face?’

She had looked at him like she had zero interest in him—who would’ve thought she was thinking that inside?

Was her blank expression just a habit, or was she hiding her feelings?

And why was he feeling like this over something so trivial…

Why did it make him feel so good?

“Karsion, your face is red.”

“I know, so shut up.”

Fior looked at Karsion’s flushed face with a strange expression, then carefully spoke.

“Karsion, could it be that you…?”

“…Ha.”

Karsion covered his face with both hands and lowered his head deeply.

“Fior, what do I do? I think what you’re thinking is right.”

Oh dear.

Fior had already suspected it—from the moment Karsion couldn’t say a word back and just got teased by Rien.

Especially when even after the two-week club adjustment period had passed, he still hadn’t said anything—Fior had laughed his head off.

But now that he heard it confirmed, it felt real—and a little pitiful.

“…That’s unfortunate.”

For Rien, who would have to endure Karsion’s obsession.

When Karsion first saw Rien’s face, he found himself thinking—uncharacteristically—that she was pretty.

But he told himself it wasn’t love at first sight.

Really.

On the first day of the club, when he saw Fior and her chatting cheerfully unlike himself, and he cut off the conversation—

‘That wasn’t because I liked her. It was just because Fior’s fake smiling annoyed me.’

But when she placed her hand on his shoulder, he had been flustered by the sudden touch.

And when she blew on his ear?

That was just because it caught him off guard. Or maybe because he was embarrassed at falling for such a silly prank.

…So at least until then, it wasn’t that he liked her.

The problem was, that night, after returning to the dorm, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

It bothered him that she had been lying on a hard chair.

And the way her pale, slender legs were precariously exposed under her slightly raised skirt also lingered in his mind.

Of course, her cape covered most of it, but still.

‘This is annoying.’

Karsion abruptly sat up from his bed and ran a hand roughly through his hair.

Then, with a complicated expression, he grabbed a coat from his wardrobe and started putting it on.

His roommate Fior asked where he was going at this hour, but Karsion ignored him.

Teleportation.

Late at night, wearing his coat and consuming an enormous amount of mana, Karsion arrived at the ducal residence of House Lysianthus in the capital.

A long-distance teleportation spell that most mages wouldn’t even dare attempt.

There was a reason he came to the mansion.

High-end furniture usually had to be custom-ordered, meaning it would take weeks to get a good sofa.

So Karsion chose a different method.

He would just take one that already existed.

After casually storing the sofa from his room into subspace, he stared at the now-empty spot.

Then, without much thought, he pulled the bell cord by his bed.

The bell rang in a place where it shouldn’t have, and a servant rushed in, flinging the door open.

“Who dares pull the bell cord in the young master’s room at this hour—!”

Gasp.

How is the young master, who should be at the academy, here…?

“You. Bring me a blanket.”

The servant, staring at him as if he’d seen a ghost, froze at those words.

When Karsion’s brow twitched slightly, the servant realized his mistake and hurriedly bowed.

“My apologies! I’ll immediately bring something suitable for you to use, young master.”

“Not for me.”

“…Pardon?”

“Not for me to use…”

Karsion trailed off, unable to find an excuse.

But the servant, quick-witted, nodded.

“You mean… a blanket for someone else.”

Karsion kept his mouth shut and gave a small nod.

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

As the servant hurried off, something felt off.

The young master still had that inhumanly handsome face and terrible personality.

But this strange sense of unease…

Could it be that someone disguised as the young master had infiltrated the mansion?

…No way.

Shaking his head at the absurd thought, the servant suddenly had a realization.

Ah.

So that’s what felt off.

Good heavens!

The young master… giving a blanket to someone else?

That’s impossible!

…Unless.

Maybe the person isn’t alive.

Yes. That would make sense.

Letting out a small sigh of relief, the servant muttered,

“I should inform the duke that there’s a body to dispose of again after a while.”

The next day, after placing the sofa in the clubroom, Karsion eagerly waited for Rien to arrive.

Eagerly?

…No, not that eager.

He was just a little curious about how she would react.

When Rien entered the clubroom, she stared at the sofa for a moment, then called out,

“Pink hair.”

‘What a ridiculous nickname.’

Though annoyed, Karsion still responded to everything she said.

As their conversation continued, he naturally let slip the words “crazy bastard.”

Realizing it, he quickly corrected himself to something milder.

He didn’t know why, but it felt like he had to.

As he experienced unfamiliar emotions, Karsion kept staring at Rien, who wasn’t using the sofa.

Why isn’t she sitting on it? She slept just fine on a hard chair yesterday.

Turns out, she thought he brought the sofa for himself.

Who did he bring it for, then?

After clearing up the misunderstanding, she carefully sat down.

Thankfully, she seemed to like it.

Her softened expression was cute.

From her light movements to the way her toes tensed as she bounced slightly—

Maybe that’s why, when her face returned to its usual expression, he felt disappointed.

“Forget it. What’s the point of seeing that again?”

In truth, he wanted to see it more.

With these strange feelings rising again, Karsion decided he should stop talking to her. He handed her the blanket he had brought and told her to just sleep.

Seeing that, she seemed to think he was kind, and said the rumors about him were nonsense.

But after hearing them, it seemed less like they were false and more like they were toned-down versions of real events.

Karsion had never cared about rumors about himself before.

But hearing them from her mouth suddenly made him care.

“Maybe it wouldn’t be bad to clear up those rumors this time.”

At the academy, club time was at least two hours every day.

Which meant he’d inevitably see Rien every day except weekends.

Pranks that he would’ve scoffed at if anyone else did them—

Karsion found himself helpless against them day after day.

“I don’t know what I did wrong, but please stop now.”

It had been about a week.

He couldn’t bring himself to truly get angry at her, so those words slipped out.

Her eyes widened, guilt appearing on her face.

Then she immediately apologized sincerely.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was that hard on you. I was being selfish. I won’t tease you anymore.”

It was exactly what he had wanted to hear.

Yet ironically, the moment he heard it, it left a bitter taste.

So, in a fit of impulse, he said—

“I was joking.”

“Huh?”

“I mean it. Telling you to stop—I was joking. You tease me every day, so I just tried it once too. How could you fall for something like that?”

Words that would bring disaster upon himself.