Election Campaign
The election campaign. A little while ago, back in the early morning, Abel and his group came looking for Isis while she was fully immersed in her election promotion activities.
“What? Is that true?”
“Yes! Luan’s gone missing. They say he didn’t come back to the dormitory last night either!”
“…Has this ever happened before?”
“No. Never. Do you think something might have happened to him?”
Isis bit her lip hard. If her friends were this certain, it was safe to assume something had gone wrong with Luan’s safety. And of all days, it had to happen today.
‘Could it be related?’
Luan’s reputation was already terrible, so there were plenty of people who might hold a grudge. She couldn’t jump to conclusions, but the timing was far too suspicious. Even if it had nothing to do with the election, the fact remained that she had to rescue Luan.
Isis quickly came up with a plan.
“Do any of you know why Luan was out so late yesterday?”
“Hmm… He was probably at the training hall. Ever since he entered the academy, he’s been training really hard.”
“…Is that so? Then something must have happened on his way back from the training hall. There are too many people around the training hall for anything to happen there, so the path between the training hall and the dormitory… It must be the promenade!”
Isis’s sharp mind had already memorized the entire layout of the academy. Having reached the answer in an instant, she gestured to Regina.
“Lady Regina. Could you help us again?”
“Of course.”
“Not that… Could we use the intelligence department?”
“The intelligence department? That’s…”
The confidence on Regina’s face quickly turned to discomfort. She shook her head slightly.
“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. After what happened last time, I lost the authority to use them.”
“Last time… you mean the rumor incident.”
“Anyway, because of that, I can’t mobilize the intelligence department right now. Please understand.”
Perhaps saddened that she couldn’t live up to the expectations of the Isis she loved, Regina’s eyes drooped. Isis hurriedly comforted her.
“It’s alright. You don’t need to apologize, Lady Regina. Then could you help us with tracking instead? You’re confident in that, right?”
“Of course. Leave it to me.”
“Thank you. Then just a moment…”
Isis gave a quick instruction via telepathy to one of her trusted subordinates standing behind her, then immediately headed toward the promenade. That was where Regina’s real performance began.
After scanning the area here and there, she eventually found traces hidden in the grass.
“Isis. Look at this.”
“This is… a footprint.”
“Yeah. It’s faint, but it’s definitely there. I think it belongs to whoever was carrying Luan Priulri. They must have slipped up while trying to support the weight.”
Hiding one’s own tracks while moving was difficult enough. Doing so while also carrying another person’s weight would have been incredibly hard. After giving a simple explanation, Regina continued forward, carefully following the traces.
Finally, the group arrived at a high wall.
“The trail ends here. Looks like they went outside.”
“…So they really took him far away.”
It was only natural, but Isis had still hoped the culprits were still inside the academy. Going outside meant the search area would expand from the academy grounds to the entire capital.
She looked at Abel’s group.
“We’ll take it from here. Classes are about to start, so you should head back.”
“What? No way! We’re coming too.”
“Are you sure? It’ll affect your grades.”
“Of course! How could grades matter when a friend is in danger?”
At the answer that held not a shred of hesitation, Isis gave a faint smile.
“Thank you. Then could I borrow your strength? I’m glad Luan has so many good friends.”
“It’s only natural. I’ve received a lot of help from Luan too.”
“I’m relieved you feel that way. Alright. Follow me.”
Isis lightly leaped over the wall. Everyone followed after her, and the pursuit resumed under Regina’s guidance once more.
And so, two hours passed.
Tracking had been relatively easy up to the academy wall, but beyond it, the traces suddenly split off in chaotic directions. It became difficult to determine which path belonged to the kidnapper carrying Luan. They must have noticed their mistake belatedly and taken countermeasures.
In the end, the pursuit hit a snag.
“Isis. We should head back to the academy now. It’s almost lunchtime. There’s only an hour left until the vote results are announced. If you don’t show up, you’ll be automatically disqualified.”
“But…”
“What do you mean ‘but’! Let’s just go back and ask your brother for help. If it’s him, he can mobilize the intelligence department and we’ll find Luan much faster!”
“……”
Isis fell silent for a moment. She closed her eyes, deep in thought, and was just about to speak when—
Beep beep!
A signal rang out from inside her clothes. It was the call bell she had distributed to her subordinate along with instructions earlier. Isis’s expression changed drastically.
“We need to get back right now!”
“What? Did you already set something up?”
“Yes! So hurry! I’m sorry, but I’ll go on ahead, everyone!”
Isis kicked off the ground like a bolt of lightning. As if she had been holding back out of consideration until now, she didn’t match her speed to Abel’s group and vanished in an instant. Regina quickly caught up beside her.
“What is it? You have to explain!”
“…I told Jenny earlier to keep an eye on Remian Herana. The signal means she’s on the move.”
“What? She’s the culprit? How did you know?”
“It was just a guess. I wasn’t expecting anything. I’m surprised too. But right now we need to hurry even more!”
Bang!
As if declaring the conversation over, Isis accelerated even further and raced toward the source of the signal.
‘Luan. Hold on!’
While praying for her brother’s safety.
The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. I watched Isis and Remian as they faced off without giving an inch.
“How did you find this place?”
“You answer first. Did you do this to Luan’s face?”
“…And if I did?”
“What right do you have? And kidnapping in the first place? Are you out of your mind?”
Isis’s aura was fierce. It was proof of just how furious she was. It felt like she would explode the moment anyone took their eyes off her.
In front of her, Remian instead burst into satisfied laughter.
“Ahahaha! What’s wrong? Are you mad?”
“You! You think this situation is funny?”
“Why shouldn’t I laugh? The great Iris Priulri is this angry. Finally, you seem a little more human. You’ve always looked down on everyone else. Seeing you brought down to my level is incredibly satisfying.”
Even though her kidnapping had been discovered, Remian didn’t seem to care at all and continued provoking Isis. It meant she had something to fall back on.
‘Does she plan to take care of all of us?’
Remian was the daughter of a count. Her family’s influence was strong enough that if they were determined to cover this up, it wouldn’t be impossible. Of course we had the support of a marquis family too, but the Priulri household was too far from the capital to exert much influence. Even if they started investigating later, all traces would already be erased by then.
In the end, to overcome this crisis, I would have to use my full power.
‘That’s the problem.’
Setting aside Remian and the kidnapper, her escort knight looked to be over Level 250. Even if I didn’t need to defeat the escort knight, to create even the slightest opening I would have to use both the Rape Declaration and Hwasin-hwa. If I did that, not only would Isis find out, but so would everyone who came running after hearing the commotion. My identity would be exposed.
That would restrict my future activities and prevent me from intervening when needed. And on top of that, I would have to rape Isis as well.
‘I don’t want to do that.’
Just imagining Isis’s eyes—eyes that always looked at me with interest and affection—filling with disgust made my heart ache. To prevent that, I had to find a new solution that didn’t involve a direct clash of force.
While I was searching for a way out, the conversation between Isis and Remian continued.
“Why do you hate me so much? And if you were going to kidnap someone, you should have taken me!”
“Are you even listening to yourself? His Highness the Crown Prince’s eyes are always on you, aren’t they? He focuses only on you every single day, so he doesn’t even look at me anymore. What exactly did you do? What kind of trick did you use to make him so obsessed that he can’t think straight!”
“I didn’t do anything…”
“Don’t make me laugh! Ah, I get it. You seduced him with that obscenely sexy body of yours, didn’t you? That’s why His Highness only looks for you every day! Right?!”
As she spoke, her emotions grew more and more heated. Remian spewed out whatever came to mind without filter. From that, I learned something new.
‘So the Crown Prince has feelings for Isis.’
Thinking back, there had been suspicious scenes in the game too. Especially on the community forums, people who supported other heroines would clip those scenes and maliciously spread rumors. The NTR lovers ate it up. New players even believed it was official canon. It seemed at least half of it was true.
‘I’ll have to keep an eye on the Crown Prince too.’
How dare he set his sights on Isis. I would never allow it.
“Remian. I never did anything like that. I only ever interacted with His Highness as a fellow student council member.”
“Ahahaha! Sure you did. I don’t care what you think. I’m going to end everything here anyway. Bezeff! Take care of them!”
“…Yes.”
At Remian’s command, Bezeff stepped forward. A powerful aura rose from his entire body, pushing back even Isis’s presence.
Just as I was about to intervene—
“Hold it right there!”
With a high-pitched shout, Princess Regina dropped down through the hole in the ceiling where Isis had appeared. Remian’s face twisted in shock when she saw her.
“Y-Your Highness the Princess? Why are you here…”
“You don’t know? I’m always by Isis’s side. Why would you think this time would be any different?”
“……”
“So what did you just say? Take care of them? Don’t tell me you were planning to kill me too?”
Regina smiled mockingly. No matter how blinded Remian was by inferiority, she knew she couldn’t commit regicide against a member of the imperial family. Just as I expected, Remian stopped Bezeff.
“Bezeff. Come back.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Once Bezeff returned to his position, Remian bit her lip and asked,
“Don’t tell me you called His Highness the Crown Prince as well?”
“Why? You don’t want your beloved to find out about this?”
“…I beg you. Please keep this matter a secret.”
As the Crown Prince’s fiancée who had spent many years with him, she understood the power of the imperial family better than anyone except the imperial family themselves. Seeing her bow her head without hesitation, Regina’s face turned icy cold.
“You’re asking the wrong person. You should be begging Isis, not me.”
“That’s…”
“And it’s already too late. You said it yourself. His Highness’s eyes are always on Isis.”
“…No way!”
The moment Remian understood what Regina meant, unfamiliar presences appeared all around them. Then the Crown Prince descended the stairs.
He looked at Isis, Regina, Remian, and me in that order before letting out a sigh.
“Remian, I’m disappointed.”
“Your Highness, I…”
“There’s no need for excuses. First, apologize to Lady Isis and Lord Luan.”
“……”
At the firm command, Remian’s eyes reddened as if she were about to cry. She exuded reluctance with her entire body as she bowed her head to us.
“…I’m sorry for doing something like this. I’ll compensate you in any way I can, so please forgive me.”
At the apology, Isis silently stared at me. Only after I nodded did she finally speak.
“I’ll accept your apology for now. But I can’t just let this go. Promise me this will never happen again.”
To Isis, what mattered wasn’t compensation—it was my safety. The one who answered wasn’t Remian, but the Crown Prince.
“I’ll make that promise. Since she is my fiancée, I will manage her properly. Remian, for the time being you will receive bridal training in the imperial palace.”
“…Yes.”
That was essentially the same as withdrawing from the academy. Remian couldn’t defy the Crown Prince’s order and obediently accepted.
With that, the situation was finally resolved.
“By the way, Lady Isis. There’s something I’d like to talk to you about…”
“I’m sorry, but it will have to wait!”
Isis lightly ignored the Crown Prince’s words and ran straight to me, removing the mana restraints.
“Luan. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere besides your face?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Actually, the face was because I deliberately provoked them.”
“Even so, how could they hit you like this? Let’s go get treatment right away. Your handsome face might get scarred.”
Isis’s gaze never left me for even a second. It was quite burdensome. I tried to argue back for no particular reason.
“I’m not that handsome…”
“Don’t say that. In your sister’s eyes, you’re the most handsome in the world. Here, lean on me.”
Of course, her words left no room for disagreement and my protest was completely ignored. In the end, I leaned against Isis’s firm yet curvaceous body.
The Crown Prince continued to watch us until we left the basement. The look on his face was thick with defeat!
‘Is this what superiority feels like?’
I deliberately pressed myself even closer to Isis, as if showing off to the Crown Prince.