Episode 28
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 28
“Marianne is in a fragile state, shocked by this series of events. If she hears that Siene Reve is the culprit on top of all this, her condition might worsen drastically.”
“…”
“So, I’d appreciate it if you could end this by having Siene Reve withdraw from the academy voluntarily. As quietly as possible.”
Elysia stared intently at the man’s face as he looked down at her, his expression asking if she understood what he meant. He saw Siene Reve go behind Lucian Violante’s screen at 9 PM… Tilting her head, Elysia asked.
“If you saw her go in, why didn’t you stop her?”
“Many students sneak a peek at artworks before the festival. Besides, I already know the Little Count and Reve don’t get along. Why would I want to stir up trouble?”
It was a clean, concise explanation. Then again, the two of them were always growling at each other as if they wanted to tear each other apart, so it must have been awkward for others more than once. After jotting down the information from Rayner in her notebook, Elysia snapped it shut with enough force to make a sound.
So why can’t I trust this guy?
“Well, I get it for now. Thanks for your trouble.”
In any case, she had somewhere to be. She’d originally planned to go at midnight, but thinking of Evan made her anxious, so she decided to leave a little earlier. As Elysia tried to pass Rayner, she was blocked by the man, his face hardened.
“Where are you going?”
“The cleaner for the Art Hall should be there by now. I’m going to meet them.”
“Isn’t this matter over?”
Elysia looked up at Rayner with an annoyed expression as he brazenly blocked her path, refusing to let her pass. She took a step to his side. With a large stride, the man deliberately blocked her path again.
Elysia’s eyebrow twitched.
This bastard.
Elysia, who was not known for her good temper and boasted a patience of adorably small proportions, felt her insides begin to boil.
And she had no idea how to hold back.
“Are you insane? Out of your goddamn mind? This is ridiculous. Who are you to decide whether it’s over or not?”
“Isn’t the culprit confirmed by my testimony?”
“Your word alone doesn’t confirm anything. You saw her go in, but did you see her tear it?”
Rayner laughed as if he found her absurd, his tone turning mocking.
“You’re being biased.”
“I don’t confirm a culprit until I find satisfactory evidence. Anyway, why are you blocking my path? Are you some kind of thug? Get out of my way.”
She conveniently ignored the fact that her own way of speaking was far more thuggish. Rayner approached her menacingly, trying to intimidate her with an overbearing attitude.
“Just like this afternoon, you’re desperately defending Siene Reve. How interesting. Did she pay you? How much did you get to keep your mouth shut?”
Now that was a funny story. Elysia glanced at her currency window, which showed an infinity symbol, and struggled to hold back the retort itching on her tongue.
What the hell is he talking about? I might be nouveau riche for reasons I don’t understand, but Siene Reve doesn’t have a penny to her name. A mosquito wouldn’t even bite her. There’s nothing to suck!
Staring at Rayner, who tilted his head and watched her with menacing eyes, Elysia let a smirk fill her mouth as she asked.
“And you? Why are you acting so damn desperate?”
“Watch your mouth.”
“Why? Would it be a disaster for you if Siene Reve wasn’t the culprit?”
“I told you to shut up.”
The man’s face contorted for a moment as he clenched his teeth in warning. Soon after, he returned to his usual cheerful expression and muttered in a lighthearted voice.
“I have no choice, then. I’ll have to speak to the Student Council.”
“What?”
“A prefect is openly protecting a prime suspect. I have no choice but to report it to the Student Council, do I?”
Her jaw dropped. Wow, what a dirty, petty bastard.
Rayner looked triumphant, as if he expected Elysia to submit at this point. But his threat was like pouring oil on a fire. Elysia answered with a crooked smirk.
“The way you’re acting just makes me want to dig into this even more thoroughly.”
Taking out her notebook, Elysia scribbled under Rayner’s testimony like a defiant graffiti.
「— Must verify the authenticity of the testimony」
Rayner scoffed as he read the words in the notebook in Elysia’s hand.
“It would be better for Reve’s honor to have her leave the academy voluntarily. You’re being foolish.”
“That’s for me to worry about.”
“If you cause a scene and Marianne’s condition worsens, it will be all your fault.”
He can blame me all he wants for all I care.
With a shrug that conveyed just that, Elysia hurried off toward the Art Hall.
First, let’s hear the cleaner’s testimony.
*
Elysia looked down at the dizzying drop below her. Ivy vines, which had climbed the wall just as she had, dangled and swayed far below. Her legs swayed along with them.
How on earth did I end up here? Ah, right.
This tragedy began when the Art Hall guard refused to let her in.
“Come on, I just need to meet the cleaner and I’ll be right back!”
“Security has been tightened since the last incident. I’m afraid I can’t let you in. My apologies.”
His face, however, looked anything but apologetic. After yelling in frustration at the guard’s hostile expression, which clearly told her to get lost, Elysia was all but thrown out.
As she watched her own feet drag along the ground, held by two large men, she felt a wave of misery. What on earth am I doing?
Landing with a thud on a soft flowerbed, she chewed her lip as she stared at the full moon, which glowed faintly behind a haze of clouds.
The moon, veiled by clouds, unable to properly illuminate the world, and below it, the uneven stone wall…
Huh? Uneven?
“…I think I can climb that.”
And so, she began to struggle her way up the wall. It was only when she reached the halfway point that she sensed something was wrong.
Barely holding on with trembling limbs, Elysia winced and furrowed her brow at the thorns that had sprouted on the vine she was gripping. The thorns dug deep into her palm, and she almost lost her grip.
The moment she read the system window that popped up before her eyes, she felt a cold sweat run down her back.
What is this…?
SYSTEM: HP -100 (1,900 / 2,800)
Due to increased Fatigue from ‘Plant Poison’, you will take -100 continuous damage every minute until you reach the ‘Combat Incapacitation (HP below 100)’ state.
Once you reach the ‘Combat Incapacitation’ state, you will recover +50 HP per minute.
“You’ve got to be kidding me— Are you serious right now?”
Help me! My sane mind is trapped in this piece of shit body!
I thought leveling up would mean I wouldn’t have to fear for my life anymore, but I guess LV. 4 is still low-level?
Having grown used to these insane situations, Elysia was about to brush it off without complaint when she suddenly froze.
No, this is definitely strange. Was this a thorny vine from the start?
When she first grabbed the vine, there weren’t any thorns. If she’d known it was a thorny vine, she never would have chosen to climb the wall in the first place.
Elysia took a deep breath to compose herself and reached for a smooth section of the vine farther away. And in that instant, she clearly witnessed sharp thorns sprouting from the stem, which had only been covered in soft fuzz a moment before.
“…Ha!”
She burst out laughing in disbelief. She had no idea what was going on. The only thing certain was that something inexplicable was happening right before her eyes. Elysia glared at her rapidly dropping HP and bit her lip hard.
Even the damage numbers are completely arbitrary. This morning, I took -800 damage from hitting my head on a mirror, but a few scratches on my hand from a plant’s thorns deal -100 damage, plus continuous damage on top of that?
Is it just my imagination, or does it feel like the system of <You’ll Fall in Love> is actively trying to hinder me, even going so far as to alter the terrain?
A chill ran down her spine at the sudden, creepy thought.
If so, why?
Her mind raced, but her limbs didn’t stop moving. She was already halfway up, so she had no choice but to see it through to the end. After a desperate struggle, Elysia finally reached the top of the brick wall, her face flushed red. Realizing just how high she’d climbed—a height she hadn’t appreciated on the way up—she let out a curse with a look of despair.
“Shit…”
She had spent over ten minutes climbing the wall. The continuous damage had chipped away over 1,000 HP, and being pricked by the thorns multiple times had cost her another 1,000.
Half my HP, just like that…
Normally, she would have jumped down as soon as she reached the top of the wall. She knew there was a soft patch of grass right below. But things were different now. What if the system created another obstacle to try and eliminate her?
What should I do?
Elysia let out a soft sigh and muttered in lament.
“Hah… If only a healer would just ‘ta-da!’ and appear right about now, I could die happy—”
“What are you doing up there?”
“Ack!”
Elysia flinched and whipped around.
A gust of wind blew with a whoosh. The clouds that had veiled the world from the moon’s eye scattered listlessly, and the man’s face, which had been just a blurry silhouette, became clear in the sudden light.
Though he looked haggard after just one day, his firm, green gaze silently took in the sight of her, perched on the wall like a cat.
“…Senior?”
In her moment of crisis, a healer had really appeared with a ‘ta-da’.