Expulsion, and Two Years Later (4)
After class ended, I returned to the dormitory. It was the VIP-exclusive dorm reserved for the academy's upper class. The spacious single room came with excellent facilities. I wondered why a room for one person needed four bedrooms and two bathrooms, but I decided not to dwell on it. What actually bothered me was something else.
'Even holding the top spot for years wasn't enough to get in here…'
The chancellor who had once sneered at me was now on his knees, rubbing his hands together and offering me this dormitory. What exactly was power, that it could break a person so thoroughly? What was money, that it made people betray their humanity, their ethics, their friendships and love?
'If I'd had this kind of power back then… I wouldn't have been expelled from the academy.'
But dwelling on the past changed nothing. The past could not be rewritten, and time had already moved on. Hypotheticals like "if only I had power" were meaningless. I had been a penniless orphan, the academy's top student Eden Rofas, and that very status had earned me the jealousy of that madwoman Louise Violet. She had ruined me.
Yet I had clawed my way back up through my own strength. What remained now was neither the academy's hope Eden Rofas nor its top student Eden Rofas. Only the vengeful ghost Eren Lopez remained.
So all I had to do was carry out my task.
I opened a notebook and began listing names. After writing down thirty names, I circled the chancellor and Professor Ivanov.
'Two out of thirty have already had their weaknesses secured.'
The chancellor and Professor Ivanov were my customers. The amount of Phelopon they had purchased was enough to erect a statue in their honor. They could never betray me a second time. Simply reporting their crimes to the imperial family would be enough to bring them down. Of course, I had also considered the possibility that they had some connection to the imperial family. But it didn't matter. The organization had excellent assassins on standby at all times. The moment I contacted Heil, I could erase their existence from this world. Those who had regularly bought drugs from Lopez would know full well that their lives rested in my hands.
Of course, Louise Violet's power was still formidable, so they wouldn't dare act against her wishes. Therefore, I had to proceed with the next phase of the plan slowly and carefully.
"Next is… Alicia."
I wrote [Alicia Floren] in small letters beside the list. Alicia Floren, daughter of a fallen barony. She had suffered just as much at Louise Violet's hands as I had. I would make her the academy's new queen—so that Louise's downfall would be all the more miserable.
The plan was proceeding smoothly. Neither too fast nor too slow. Like an ancient tree being eaten away by insects. Like a flower slowly withering. Louise would gradually fade away without even realizing it.
Episode 1: Expulsion, and Two Years Later
Louise's mind grew cold as she left the lecture hall.
'How dare that orphan bastard…'
Eden Rofas. The insolent brat who had dared to challenge her authority. The arrogant fool who had trusted only in his own talent and looked down on the world had returned.
'How on earth…'
Two years ago, Louise had slipped Phelopon—the empire's designated harmful drug known as the Rose of Ruin—into Eden Rofas's drink to expose the Violet family's drug trafficking and expel him. Phelopon caused intense hallucinations and addiction. It was clearly a dangerous substance; even ten people would agree on that. The very nickname Rose of Ruin was enough to convey its lethality. After consuming such a large quantity, Eden Rofas should have become a street junkie. That was how it should have been… yet he had returned. And in remarkably good condition.
'Don't tell me he found an antidote…'
The thought crossed her mind, but Louise immediately shook her head. While an antidote existed to prevent the side effects of accumulated Phelopon use, it was extremely expensive—over a hundred gold per dose. There was no way Eden Rofas could have obtained it. If that wasn't the case, then how had he overcome the addiction and returned to the academy? Through sheer willpower? No. Phelopon was not a drug that could be quit through willpower alone. Without the antidote, withdrawal symptoms would set in—agony as if thousands of insects were devouring one's body. An ordinary person would go mad within a single day. The only way to escape withdrawal was to regularly consume the expensive antidote.
"Whatever."
It didn't matter what means he had used to return to the academy. The only important fact was that Eden Rofas had come back. And he had clearly come for revenge. His confident demeanor suggested he wasn't without cards to play. But what exactly gave him such confidence?
She could easily have his head severed right now by unleashing the Violet family's assassins. Yet Louise couldn't make that decision so easily.
'What is he hiding?'
Having lived in a noble society rife with schemes and intrigue, Louise knew all too well how dangerous it was to move before an opponent's hand was revealed. The Violet family's assassins were a secret organization. It wouldn't do to expose their full strength just to kill one insignificant person.
Instead, Louise chose a different approach.
"Keep an eye on Eden Rofas."
She would use the academy's disguised assassins.
"As you command, my lady."
The assassins belonged to the notorious organization Yamwol from the underworld. If they were posing as students, they would be able to track Eden Rofas's movements.
Five assassins vanished in an instant. Only then did Louise return to her dormitory and lie down.
***
Night had fallen over the academy. A group of assassins hid among the trees near the dormitory. They were Yamwol—killers who thrived in the empire's shadows. For the right price, they would assassinate anyone. Professional contract killers, through and through.
"I've found him."
One of the assassins opened his eyes wide and spoke.
"Shall we eliminate him?"
"Don't do anything stupid. Our role is surveillance, not assassination. Don't do more than the client requested."
"I'm sorry…"
When the woman who appeared to be their leader glared at him, his gaze dropped. She raised her head and followed the trail of mana the man had left behind. At the end of it stood a single man. Eren Lopez—the new student who had entered the academy mid-semester and brought chaos back to the institution.
'Eren Lopez…'
Whether the alias was meant to hide his identity or to be discovered, she couldn't tell. He was originally Eden Rofas, famous as the top student of the swordsmanship department. On top of that, the incident two years ago had made him a household name. There was no way she wouldn't recognize him. He could have used a common disguise or makeup, yet he had returned in his original form. That clearly meant he had some ulterior motive.
'Revenge…'
She had heard rumors that after being expelled, he had fallen into the underworld. She didn't know the details, but after hearing the news, she had stopped paying attention. The empire's underworld was a world where fists and blades mattered more than law. Most who set foot there returned as cold corpses. Yet Eden Rofas had come back. Having operated in the underworld herself, she knew the process couldn't have been smooth.
'He is no ordinary person, that's for certain.'
Surviving the underworld and then returning to the academy using a false identity meant one of two things: either Eden Rofas had powerful backing hidden somewhere… or he had become a major figure in the underworld itself.
The possibility of hidden backing could be ruled out. If he had possessed such support in the first place, he wouldn't have been expelled from the academy. That left only one conclusion: he had become a major player in the underworld. If that were true, he would be one of the names in her memory.
'Eren Lopez…'
Lopez. A name suddenly surfaced in her mind. A year ago, an enigmatic figure had suddenly wiped out the underworld's drug dealers and established an organization. The man who monopolized both Phelopon and its antidote, known by the epithet Drug King.
'No way… Eden Rofas couldn't possibly be that Lopez.'
The thought had barely formed when—
"Hurk…!"
"Gah…!"
Two Yamwol assassins who had been perfectly fine moments ago rolled their eyes and collapsed forward. Their limp bodies fell from the tree.
"What the—!"
She hadn't sensed any presence. Where on earth… As she looked around, she suddenly felt a chilling sensation on the back of her neck and turned her head. But it was already too late. The sharp needle had already pierced her throat.
***
The next day. The top floor of the VIP dormitory. In the vast room used by only one person, vulgar moans echoed. The sound of splashing water mingled with a woman's shrill screams. Through it all came a knock—knock, knock—at the door.
"Lady Violet! I have urgent business to report!"
Louise Violet, who had been vigorously moving her hips, lightly pinched her sex slave Eldrick's shoulder and said,
"Ahh… Stop, you fucking bastard…"
"I-I'm sorry, Lady Violet!"
"Keep it up until I get back."
Louise slipped on the robe hanging on the wall and opened the door. Her closest aide was kneeling outside, waiting. The moment Louise saw his face, she kicked him, but the man, momentarily losing his balance, quickly regained his posture and waited for her words.
"I told you not to disturb me when I'm busy."
"I-I'm sorry. But this is truly urgent…"
"If it's nothing important, I'll have you hanged."
The man clenched his trembling hands and bowed his head deeply.
"Yamwol… they've all gone missing."
"……"
Louise stood frozen for a moment, as if she had lost her voice, then returned to her room. Eldrick, seeing Louise's face flush red, stiffened in fear.
"Get out."
"Th-then I'll take my leave."
Eldrick, still fully erect, scrambled out of the room without even properly dressing, and the door slammed shut. Louise bit down hard on her lower lip, then raised her right hand high and slammed it down on the desk. The vase on top lost its balance and fell, shattering into pieces.
'…Just how far has Eden Rofas planned this?'