046. The Villainess's Petty Ploy (5)
‘Hmm, it feels like something’s there…’
Serena closed her eyes and methodically shut down each of her senses, which had been moving unconsciously.
Then, in her heightened awareness, something seemed to tickle her body.
‘Ugh!? Is this it?’
Honestly, Serena still couldn’t wrap her head around why she was doing this meditation.
What did mana roads have to do with becoming a knight, and what did it mean that she didn’t need to train?
But her trust in Zeke was rock-solid.
'He said this would let me wield a sword.'
That night—the most humiliating black mark in Serena’s life so far.
She’d kicked at her blankets until the late hours of dawn, screaming I’ve lost my mind, I’ve lost my mind! over and over.
Exhausted and on the verge of sleep,
all that remained was resentment toward Zeke and her original goal of becoming a knight.
'…Anyway, Instructor did that for my sake. So there must be a reason for this too.'
But…
‘He’s going to do that to all the students!?’
In a normal knight faculty full of guys, she probably wouldn’t have worried about stripping down and letting someone touch her back.
But this class had four girls.
And every single one of them was stunningly beautiful!
‘Ugh, I hate this so much… Wait, what if we blindfold Instructor Zeke completely?’
It was a sudden idea, but it seemed like a solid plan.
She’d go along, cover his eyes herself, and observe.
That way? No one would suspect anything shady, and the girls would feel safe too, right?
Serena had already drifted far from meditation into full-blown delusion.
‘And! She said she wouldn’t come, but then she meets up and gives him a necklace!? What’s that about! I’ve never seen anything like that around Instructor’s neck!’
Serena had memorized every tiny change in Zeke’s usual appearance,
so she remembered how he’d looked after three days away—down to the details.
'He even got some weird tattoo on the back of his hand! At least discuss it with me first! The back of the hand is way too visible!'
Of course, the tattoo itself suited him pretty well, in its own way.
Amid his usual stoic, stone-like demeanor, a touch of wildness wasn’t bad.
'Seriously, what if Father and Mother mistake him for a delinquent because of that hand tattoo when I introduce him later!'
Now Serena had forgotten all about mana and embarked on a very distant journey.
—Greetings, Lord Yohayden. Give me your daughter.
Zeke wasn’t the type to beat around the bush, so he’d get straight to the point.
Her doting father would no doubt scowl in displeasure.
—What!? My daughter!! You dare! Who the hell are you!!!
—I’m Zeke Clayman, instructor at Lamieli Academy.
—Clayman? Never heard of it. Some no-name family eyeing my daughter!? You got money?
—A northern noble house. And no money.
At that, Father would grimace and scan him up and down, searching for flaws.
And then he’d spot the tattoo on the back of Zeke’s hand and furrow his brow even deeper.
—A tattoo on your hand, huh. I can just imagine what you were like as a youth. No money, and a sword instructor to boot. Hah. I’ll never allow it.
—D-Dad! No! He saved my life!
—Serena, snap out of it. You can’t decide your life on a fleeting emotion!
—Dad!
—Understood. Then I’ll take her.
—Did you hear me right!?
Tap tap tap.
Zeke sneaks in through her window late at night.
Serena’s hugging her pillow and crying in her room when she spots him and opens the window.
—Let’s go.
—Huh!?
—We’re leaving this place.
Serena wavers between family and love, but Zeke grabs her wrist firmly and drags her away…
And so Zeke and Serena begin their elopement of love.
E dodging the Yohayden knights, her father and brothers,
fighting monsters now and then, even running into Iriel once…
They overcome countless perils, hardships, and adventures.
And as they share so many experiences, our love deepens more and more.
In the end, Zeke and Serena abandon their names.
No one knows our past, so we become commoners.
They settle in a quiet rural village, where Serena does the laundry and Zeke chops wood.
But she doesn’t feel unhappy.
Sometimes she misses fluffy blankets and delicious meals,
but they have a daughter with black hair and a son with silver hair…
“…Rena.”
“…”
“Serena.”
“S-Sip! Y-Yes!”
Serena’s eyes flew open.
Zeke’s face was right in front of hers.
‘Eek!’
She flinched in surprise and averted her gaze.
“Called you several times, no answer. Fell asleep?”
“Ah, um, y-yeah… I must’ve dozed off without realizing.”
“Class is over.”
“I-It is!?”
Zeke nodded.
Serena had been so lost in her delusions that she hadn’t noticed the time passing.
‘Uh oh, so I skipped training…?’
Guilt was about to set in when Zeke’s next words blew it away.
“And Iriel says she has something to tell us.”
“Iriel!?”
“Yeah. Let’s go see her.”
'That cliff! She pulled every dirty trick to keep Zeke and me apart!'
Iriel had shamelessly stooped to petty, underhanded tactics without a hint of noble pride.
Of course, this was all in Serena’s delusions,
but sparks flew from her eyes anyway.
She walked with Zeke toward a quiet, secluded spot.
“Why’d she want to see us?”
“Hm, probably something about me. Seems like she and I had some connection in the past.”
“Ah, you don’t remember, Instructor…”
Serena clenched her fists.
'She’s definitely plotting to steal Instructor away!'
I won’t let her have him. No way. Serena vowed fiercely.
As they walked, a sudden question popped into her head.
'Wait, why did Instructor agree to meet Iriel anyway?'
Before she could ask, red hair came into view a short distance away.
Zeke led Serena to the spot Iriel had specified.
Iriel, in her training clothes, looked far from appealing—even being generous.
Dust clung everywhere, and sweat made her face gleam.
“Zeke.”
“Banmal.”
“Instructor…”
“Why’d you want to meet?”
Zeke cut straight to it.
“…”
Iriel glanced at Serena, then back at Zeke.
She seemed to be choosing her words carefully.
“You probably already know, Instructor… but my family’s planning to take you out…”
Serena’s eyes widened like saucers.
“What!? What does that mean!”
Zeke raised a hand to calm her.
“Why tell us that?”
“…B-Because I… I don’t want you to get hurt, Instructor… And to help Serena Yohayden too…”
“Hah, what an idiot.”
Zeke interrupted and hurled the baguette in his hand at her.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
Thud.
She dodged but fell flat on her butt.
Thankfully, the baguette missed her.
On the ground, she glared at Zeke with venomous eyes.
“Wh-What the hell, Zeke!”
“Look behind you.”
Zeke pointed a finger a short distance away.
Iriel turned to look.
“Urk.”
“Hades!?”
In the distance, the middle-aged man who’d been shadowing Iriel knelt clutching his gut.
“Came with your tail wagging right behind you, huh.”
Zeke strode toward him casually.
The man struck a pose and grinned.
“Hah, Zeke Clayman. Long time no see.”
“That so.”
Crack!
Without another word, Zeke’s baguette slammed into the man’s head.
“Argh! You bastard! Think you’ll get away with this!”
Crack!
“Guh!”
“Yeah, seems like I will.”
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
“Gaaah!!!”
Zeke mechanically swung the bread, pummeling the man’s body.
As the baguette struck vital spots repeatedly, the man’s initial bravado faded.
“W-Wait, stop!! I-I!”
Crack!
“Stop!”
Crack!
“Cough!”
The man collapsed, trembling on the ground.
Zeke rummaged through his pockets.
“Nothing. Hm, what to do… Interrogate him?”
Then Serena and Iriel caught up from behind.
Iriel balled her fists and shouted at him.
“H-Hades!! You!!!”
The trembling man regained his swagger.
“Cough. Haha. Lady. So you’re taking Zeke Clayman’s classes. Heh. The prince, Yohayden, and now Zeke Clayman… You’ve betrayed us all in the end?”
“No! I…!”
“Hah, hah, what were you thinking, Lady? You were warned. To think you’d be this reckless…”
Crack!
“Guh!”
“Cut the posing. It’s annoying.”
‘Hmm, torturing him for info inside the academy might be tricky.’
For now, Zeke decided to knock him out.
Thwack!
A light swing of the baguette, and the man’s jaw lolled, eyes glazing over as he crumpled.
“You killed him!?”
Iriel stared at Zeke with wide, rabbit-like eyes.
“No, just knocked out. Anyway, you are an idiot, Iriel.”
“What do you know about my feelings!”
Iriel bit her lip and glared, but Zeke couldn’t disagree with the man’s words about her recklessness.
He didn’t know the full context, but between the man’s words and hers, he’d pieced it together.
She really was an idiot.
Apparently, this girl had decided to attend his classes on her own whim.
'Thought the family sent her or something.'
“Tch.”
'If she knew her family was targeting me, she should’ve stayed away quietly. Or found a way to contact me privately.'
Right after learning her family planned to eliminate him,
she’d boldly waltzed into a class packed with Yohayden and imperial folks.
How would that look to them?
'No way she thought this wouldn’t get noticed. But kill their own daughter?'
Zeke decided to ask her directly.
“Iriel, they already know you’re in my class. So what happens to you now?”
At his words, Iriel’s hands shook like she was panicking.
“N-No!! No expulsion!!! Engagement or convent…”
“They won’t kill you?”
“…Zeke, what kind of talk is that!”
“Hm…”
Zeke frowned.
'Then why would she die?'
Sudden early exit for the villainess here?
In a romance fantasy world, losing the villainess’s role could halve Soy Spoon’s hardships.
But Zeke ran one more check.
“Iriel, what was your original plan?”
“…Use this flower-head to borrow Yohayden’s power… and the necklace to ask the First and Second Princes for help…”
Zeke’s brow furrowed.
Serena stared at Iriel in disbelief, equally stunned.
'This blockhead’s supposed to be the real villainess?'
Zeke repaid kindness with kindness, malice with greater malice.
Iriel hadn’t harmed him.
Help? That was ambiguous too.
Her intentions were good, even if the results were a mess.
'If I had to say, yeah, she helped a bit.'
Even if those targeting him had shown up suddenly, he wouldn’t have been in real danger,
but knowing ahead versus stumbling into it made a difference in hassle.
Plus, that magic stone necklace got him a nice tattoo on his hand.
“Iriel, how’d you know I needed a magic stone back then?”
“Magic stone? That necklace!?”
“Yeah.”
“I-I… gave all your money to the army…”
Sparks flew from Zeke’s eyes.
'It was you!!'