After Story
The assault by the Dark Cult wrapped up without catastrophic damage. Calling it minor might be a stretch—there were fifty casualties total, with half of them fatalities—but when you considered the strength of the enemies who had shown up, the numbers were actually on the low side.
The injured students had been carried off to the infirmary, where they were resting under the priests’ care. After receiving only the most basic treatment myself, I was heading back toward the dormitory when I ran into Abel’s group.
“Luan. I need to talk to you. Got a minute?”
“…Sure. Take all the time you want.”
“Thanks. Then follow me.”
We moved to a secluded clearing behind the old school building, well out of sight of the other students. Abel looked straight at me.
“Luan. When you ran from the south gate, was it to ask Professor Sara for help?”
“…No.”
“Then why? I’d like to hear the reason.”
Even after being betrayed, the fact that he was still giving me a chance to explain myself was exactly what you’d expect from the ridiculously good-natured protagonist.
Instead of answering, I glanced around at the group. Every face showed disappointment, though the intensity varied. Maybe Shakra was right after all.
If a simple betrayal was enough to bring things to this point, the moment they learned my real identity everyone would hate and despise me. As that bitter thought crossed my mind—
-Luan, are you okay?
A cautious voice rang inside my head. When I traced the source, I found a pair of purple eyes brimming with worry fixed on me.
Even though she knew my true identity and had been raped by me herself, Deborah still looked at me with kindness. She understood both why I had fled and that I had fought desperately for their sake. The turmoil inside me settled in an instant.
Yeah. I’m fine.
As long as even one person understood my intentions, I could endure any condemnation. Which meant I could do something like this.
Thud.
“I’m truly sorry, everyone.”
I dropped to my knees so hard it felt like they might shatter, bowing my head in apology. The famous delinquent lowering himself this far caught them completely off guard; I could sense surprise rippling through the group.
Yas rushed over and tried to haul me back up.
“Hey, hey! Get up! You don’t have to go that far! I already forgave you. Friends don’t keep score over crap like this.”
“…You sure?”
“Yeah, dumbass! Next time I run away, you cut me some slack too, got it?”
The question of whether friends shouldn’t actually hold each other to higher standards nearly made it out of my throat, but there was no point saying it now, so I swallowed it.
In the meantime Deborah had hurried over and grabbed my other hand.
“I forgave you too! There wasn’t even anything to forgive! You went to ask Professor Sara for help, right?”
“……”
“See! He basically admitted it!”
Since I couldn’t bring myself to lie, I stayed silent. Deborah took that as confirmation and shouted to the whole group. Of course, the others’ expressions didn’t soften in the slightest.
Alissa looked at me like I was something disgusting and shot back, “Really? I don’t buy it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I never saw that trash come back with Professor Sara. If he really went for help, they should’ve returned together. But he showed up alone. Obviously he was just hiding somewhere and then crawled out when it was safe.”
“That’s ridiculous! That’s pure speculation!”
“What’s ridiculous about it? Then how can you be so sure, Deborah? He never said a word, yet you decided everything on your own. Or are you two involved? Is that why you’re defending him so hard?”
“Th-that’s…”
Deborah clearly had a lot she wanted to say, but she couldn’t reveal it, so she just mumbled. The way she hesitated made the others look at us with growing suspicion.
Sensing the mood turning strange, I quickly stepped forward.
“Alissa. Then what exactly do you want to do about it?”
“Me? Obviously I want to kill you. I want to kill you… but then I wouldn’t be able to repay my debt to Hyun, so I’ll restrain myself. Instead, I’ll spread a rumor.”
“A rumor?”
“That you abandoned us and ran away. You can handle that much, can’t you?”
“……”
Alissa had zero intention of letting this go. If she couldn’t hurt me directly, she would incite others to isolate me. But she had overlooked one thing.
Who cares?
My reputation was already so ruined it was beyond saving; something like this wouldn’t even scratch it. Just as I was about to agree, Abel, who had been watching quietly, cut in.
“Alissa. You can’t do that.”
“What? Why not?”
“It’s wrong. Luan made a mistake, but spreading rumors is going too far.”
“Too far? Have you forgotten? If it weren’t for Hyun we’d all be dead!”
The person who should have felt the deepest betrayal was now opposing her, and Alissa exploded with pent-up emotion. Abel faced her with a coldness I had rarely seen from him.
“Alissa, don’t put everything on Luan. In that situation we had no chance of winning anyway. You know it.”
“Ugh…! Still, I can’t just let it go!”
Her attitude was uncompromising. She wasn’t only upset about this incident—she wanted payback for when I had raped her as well.
Just as the tense atmosphere threatened to drag on, Scadia walked up to me. Her movements were ordinary, yet they drew every eye with unnatural force. Even Alissa and Abel, who had been locked in fierce debate, turned to watch her.
Under all that attention she dropped her bomb.
“Luan. Let’s break off our engagement.”
The instant those words left her lips, a heavy silence blanketed the clearing. Even Alissa, who had been so eager to spread rumors, could only open and close her mouth wordlessly. The rest of them were speechless.
I asked, “What did you just say?”
“I said let’s end it. After what happened today, I finally understand. I can’t stay with you. So please, set me free.”
I saw Scadia’s intention clearly. She was doing this in front of everyone instead of alone with me because she wanted me to resist. She wanted me to shamelessly refuse, proving I felt zero remorse, so the others would despise me even more.
Even knowing that, I had no choice but to play along.
Damn it.
If I was still the notorious scoundrel Luan Priulri, the reaction expected of me here was already set in stone. Just as I opened my mouth, my eyes met Deborah’s. Those worried purple eyes somehow made me feel like acting spoiled.
Wait. There was that option.
A perfect idea flashed through my mind. I gave Scadia a confident smile and answered her directly.
“Fine. Let’s break it off.”
“…Pardon?”
She clearly hadn’t expected such an easy acceptance; her eyes widened. I doubled down.
“We’re done. During the break I’ll send the official cancellation to the Maryland estate. That’ll be the end of it. Sound good?”
“…Are you serious?”
“Yes. I have no lingering attachment to you anymore.”
Because I have someone far more precious now.
I didn’t say the second part out loud, but I turned my gaze toward Deborah as if to reveal exactly what I meant. Scadia followed my eyes, spotted Deborah, and froze. The rest of the group reacted the same way the moment they saw her. Only Yas let out an impressed whistle.
“This bastard… when the hell did he…!”
He looked genuinely jealous, as if it wasn’t enough for me to have a beautiful fiancée—I had to seduce Deborah too. Meanwhile Deborah, now wrapped up in this bizarre misunderstanding, was completely flustered and babbling.
Before she could recover, I sent her a quick telepathic message.
-Deborah. Just this once, I’m begging you.
Her resentful eyes bored into me. She looked like she wanted to deny everything, struggling internally before finally hanging her head. The group took that as confirmation and let out soft sighs.
Scadia spoke again. “……So that’s how it is. Very well. If you don’t send the cancellation letter, I’ll tell my father everything. Do we have an understanding?”
“As many as you like. Anything else?”
“No. Then… I’ll take my leave.”
Scadia left the clearing, still seeming slightly unsatisfied, as though something still bothered her. Once she was gone I let out a small sigh and looked at Alissa.
“Alissa. Let’s finish our earlier conversation. About that rumor…”
“Wait! Forget it.”
“What?”
“I said forget it. Thanks to you I learned something interesting, so I’ll let it slide this time.”
Alissa looked back and forth between Deborah and me, snickering, then left the clearing. With the biggest obstacle removed, Abel smiled in satisfaction and wrapped things up.
“Then we’re done with the Luan issue, right? No one still has any complaints?”
Everyone nodded readily. Only Yuni muttered with a dissatisfied expression. Given that she liked Abel, it made sense she wouldn’t be happy with the traitor. Anyway, thanks to this I had avoided my reputation plunging straight into the abyss.
A short while later, once Abel’s group had left, only Deborah and I remained in the clearing. She immediately grabbed me by the collar.
“What the hell were you thinking! Why did you do that? Why!”
“Sorry. But I didn’t have a choice.”
“What do you mean you didn’t have a choice! What if weird rumors start spreading? Did you see Alissa’s face? She’s definitely going to spread them!”
With Alissa’s personality, she absolutely would. The only difference was the rumor would change from “betrayer” to “romantic scandal.” I patted her shoulder.
“Calm down. The closing ceremony is next week anyway. Endure one more day and we won’t have to see each other for a whole month. The kids will forget all about it by then.”
I had no intention of seriously pretending to date her. Getting through the current crisis was enough. If anyone asked later, I could just claim I had meant something else and they had misunderstood.
But Deborah’s next words struck right at my weak point.
“Do you think I’m worried about what the other kids will say? What about Master? What if Master finds out?”
“Huh? Master?”
“Yes! Master pays so much attention to me! If a rumor like that spreads, she’ll definitely hear about it!”
“…That is a problem.”
From everything I had seen so far, I knew exactly how much Roxana cherished Deborah. She would listen to any news involving her, and if a romance rumor started circulating she would definitely keep an eye on the other party. If I ended up raping someone while under surveillance, my life would be over that very day.
When I fell silent with a grave expression, Deborah clutched her head in anguish.
“Ugh… We can’t let her find out.”
Had she made some kind of no-dating promise with Roxana? Even if we got caught, I would be the only one scolded, so I didn’t understand why Deborah was this upset. After thinking for a moment, I offered a solution.
“Then how about this? We spread multiple rumors.”
“…Multiple?”
“Yeah. We don’t know if Alissa will actually spread anything, but we strike first. I’ll randomly get paired with a bunch of different people. Then even if our rumor circulates, no one will pay much attention, right?”
“Y-you’re right! People will just think it’s all nonsense and ignore it!”
“See?”
“Yes! That’s a brilliant idea!”
Deborah’s earlier gloom vanished; she beamed as if she had never been worried. The girl really was a bit simple.
“Anyway, that settles it, right?”
“Yes! But how do we spread the rumors?”
She looked at me with sparkling eyes, clearly expecting another stroke of genius. I betrayed those expectations.
“How should I know? You figure it out.”
“Eh…?”
“I don’t care if rumors spread about me. You’re the one who hates it. So handle it yourself. Got it? I’m leaving.”
“Uh… W-wait! Stop! Luan! Luan!!”
I dashed out of the clearing like a gust of wind. Her desperate voice chased after me, but I didn’t look back even once as I heartlessly left the scene.