The Former Fiancée's Warning

My former fiancée's voice pulled me back to my senses. "Are you... all right...?"

"Ah... Yes, I'm fine." I forced a calm tone into my reply. A cold sweat had already beaded across my forehead. Damn it, my hair's ruined... Rachel had styled it for me this morning. And now I'd gone and messed it up before the day even started.

As I wiped the sweat from my brow with a furrowed expression, Margaret studied me with a strange look in her eyes. "......Are you feeling unwell? Your face is pale."

"I'm fine."

"No, right now your face is......"

"Don't worry about it." Ah, damn it. That's not what I meant to say. My nerves were frayed, and the words came out harsher than intended. I let out a sigh, clutching my throbbing head.

The girl in front of me let out a hollow laugh. "Ha." She bit her lip for a moment before her expression hardened into ice. "My apologies. How dare someone like me worry about the young master."

"Lady Filer, that's not what I meant......"

"Hah, whatever... Fine. I'll just say what I came to say and leave."

What do I do? She really looks angry. I felt a slight tremor run through me as I looked at the girl glaring at me with venom in her eyes. Margaret paid no mind to my reaction and continued.

"You disappeared right after losing a duel to a mere first-year, only to come crawling back without a shred of shame."

......That's not why I disappeared. And "mere first-year"? At this point in time, Allen is probably the strongest student in the entire academy. The complaints swirled in my mind, but I kept them to myself. I'm being scolded right now. Adding anything unnecessary will only make it worse.

"I don't know what possessed you to return, but if you plan on causing trouble again, you'd better be prepared."

Because I will stop you, no matter what. The girl spat the words with a fierce scowl. It was ironic how even that vicious expression looked beautiful on her.

"......Understood." I gave a short, obedient reply. There was no point in adding any excuses here. Margaret wouldn't listen to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me anyway.

......Raiden tormented Margaret terribly, after all. Raiden had been Margaret's first love. If anyone heard the things he'd done to forcibly sever her feelings for him, they'd all call him a madman.

"Uh, eh...? What did you just say...?"

"I said I understood."

"......?" Margaret looked genuinely surprised that I had answered so readily. She couldn't hide the bewilderment on her face. I offered her a bitter smile.

"......"

"My lady?" Ah, she's frozen. It was strange how everyone seemed to freeze ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up whenever I smiled. Did I have some hidden skill I didn't know about? A skill that petrified people when I curved my lips upward. Something like "Raiden's Lethal Smile."

While I was lost in such pointless thoughts, Margaret regained her composure and furrowed her brow. "I'll be watching you. If I see you doing anything suspicious, then......"

"......Then?"

"Expect my challenge to arrive in the name of every student at the academy."

"......"

Margaret whipped her head away and returned to her seat. I watched her silver hair sway with each step for a moment before letting out a deep breath and slumping back over my desk. I really thought she was going to hit me. Well, given what Raiden had done in the past, I'd been prepared to take a few blows if it came to that. Still, I was relieved it had ended peacefully. Though she had warned me that any misbehavior would result in her cutting me in half...

I planned to keep my head down from now on, so it shouldn't matter. This is exhausting...... It was still morning, and I already felt completely drained. The thought of having to endure another six hours like this made me wonder if I'd go insane before I could even reach the happiness the system had promised. I let out a heavy sigh at the thought.

Margaret Filer. The eldest daughter of the Filer ducal house, known as the Shield of the Empire. A girl who wielded considerable influence in noble society as the flower of the social scene. Her refusal to discriminate based on status, her dedication to always giving her best, her beautiful appearance, and her eloquent speech made her a role model for young nobles her age.

However, even this seemingly perfect girl had one weakness... and that was the boy named Raiden Lisite.

"......" Margaret stared blankly at the blackboard. Though her eyes were directed at the professor delivering the lecture, her mind was elsewhere entirely.

Raiden Lisite. She glanced at the boy seated far away from her. Looking into those black eyes filled with emptiness brought to mind the many epithets he carried. The worst scoundrel in the empire. The disgrace of House Lisite. The academy's most notorious problem child. And...... ......my former fiancé.

Crunch. Margaret bit her lip without realizing it. The pain that pierced her chest forced her to suppress the rising anger.

-Ha, what an ugly face.

-What business is it of yours who I fool around with?

-Get lost. How dare a mere shield try to block the path of a sword?

Even now, her body trembled at the memory of those words. Margaret exhaled heavily to calm her twitching brow. At first... when they had first met, Raiden hadn't been like this. She remembered it clearly. The boy who had treated her with care despite their engagement being nothing more than a political arrangement. The boy who had silently patted her back whenever she cried from the strict atmosphere of her household. The shy smile he had given her.

-I'll stay by your side, Margaret.

But the boy had changed. That coldly frozen face no longer smiled at her. For some reason, he had become a scoundrel, earning the hatred of many. When Duchess Lisite, who had been wasting away with worry for her son, finally succumbed to her illness, his reputation sank even further. Of course, the duchess's death had been an assassination, not a natural passing, and Raiden's descent into depravity had begun after her death. But outsiders had no way of knowing that. Margaret hadn't known either. The tragedy had been thoroughly concealed as one of the empire's highest secrets.

In that situation, there had been nothing Margaret could do. She could only be hurt, tormented, and suffer from the boy's cruel words. Eventually, after some great incident, Margaret had let go of Raiden and come to hate him.

......I will curse you for eternity. Margaret clenched her fists as she muttered the words in her heart. In truth, the reason she had approached Raiden earlier had been to pick a fight with him. But...... when she saw the boy drenched in fatigue and melancholy right in front of her, words of concern had slipped out before she could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stop them. When he responded with cold indifference, she came to her senses and tried to berate him, only to be met with—

-Understood.

-My lady?

Faced with the boy's sudden change, her mouth had gone dry. The upturned corners ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of his lips. The gentle curve of his eyes. If she wasn't hallucinating, that had definitely been a smile. A smile identical to the ones Raiden used to show her before he changed. At the sight of that trace of the past, Margaret's once-cold heart had begun to beat again. In the end, she had only been able to leave behind a warning not to cause trouble and turn away.

"Haa......" Margaret let out a sigh. She wasn't the kind of person whose emotions fluctuated over a single smile. Raiden Lisite was still an object of hatred and resentment to her. ......However. Just that smile... had reminded her of the past, of the kind Raiden she had once liked, and for some reason, it made her feel a strange sense of longing.

But...... That can't be right. Margaret shook her head. He had already changed. Into someone selfish, someone who hurt others, someone who chased after women. The very type of person she despised most. And from her experience, people like that didn't change easily.

So...... ......So, trying to find traces of the boy she had once loved in a single smile was nothing but foolishness. Margaret let out a meaningless hum and turned her gaze back to the blackboard. Right, this has nothing to do with me anymore. I don't love you anymore. She muttered the words in her heart and cleared her mind of distractions.

Meanwhile, I had to endure the painful stares stabbing into my cheek throughout the entire class. Whenever the sensation grew too bothersome and I turned my head slightly, I would see Margaret glaring at me with a fierce scowl.

S-Scary...!! My lady, I'm sorry. I was rude when I answered you, so you're really angry, aren't you? I won't do it again. So please stop staring at me. I feel like I'm going to suffocate. Seriously. I'm going to have a panic attack. Really.

So...... why do I have to suffer for something that isn't even my karma?!

How is this my karma? It's obviously because of the things Raiden did in the past...! I may have been a bit rude to someone who was worried about me, but...! It's not something that warrants that kind of glare, is it?!

You're doing this on purpose, aren't you...? I stayed meekly slumped over my desk, bickering with the status window until class ended, all while enduring Margaret's intense stare. Damn it. The first day is already this hard.