Leonhart Elibream (1)
"Ughhh…"
Leonhart finally opened her eyes only when her platinum-blonde hair—once so lustrous it could rival polished silk—had gone completely frizzy and dull.
Staring at her haggard reflection in the window, she recoiled in horror, glaring viciously at the dark circles beneath her eyes. Her irises, which should have been shining a vivid jewel-blue, somehow looked cloudy and dull today.
What the hell? What happened yesterday?
She gripped her throbbing skull and tried to think.
Wait—why does the back of my head hurt so bad?
Then, a fragment of memory she'd been trying to forget surfaced from the depths of her mind.
"You awake?"
Right. That guy.
Her attachment doll—the one she'd drained dry and discarded over the past few years. Sion Behmut.
A pushover so stupid there was no comparison.
But something was off.
He was supposed to be a spineless, fearless pushover, yet her hands and feet were trembling so badly that cold sweat was pouring down her body.
"What, still groggy? Why aren't you saying anything? Want me to hit you? I still have one free punch left, after all."
Oh.
She remembered now.
Those crude, vulgar words and actions from yesterday. The demon she'd seen yesterday—Sion Behmut.
"Ah, ugh…"
Her mouth refused to move.
Was yesterday's terror just that overwhelming?
No. Leonhart's pride wouldn't bend that easily.
Even though the fear was etched into her brain, her mouth moved on its own.
That was the only way she'd survived this long in this world.
"…Do you even remember what you did yesterday?"
"What, what did I do?"
"You really…! Are you actually possessed by a demon or something? You don't remember that?!"
Sion poked her earlobe, then blew air through his mouth with a phew.
Damn bastard, Leonhart thought—and then blurted it out right there.
Sion smirked and replied with a mocking tone.
"Oh~! You're talking about how I dumped you yesterday? I didn't realize it was bothering you that much."
THUNDERBOLT!
A bolt of lightning struck straight through Leonhart's brain.
What the hell did that bastard just say…?
What? He dumped her? The daughter of the Emperor himself—Leonhart Elibream?
She had to refute this.
No—she had to crush him.
A crude, ignorant human like him needed to be properly educated by the imperial princess Leonhart herself…
"……"
But she couldn't say a word.
The karmic debt of everything she'd done so far came flooding back.
And above all—yesterday's Leonhart had indeed been dumped.
Her pride,
this humiliation—they wouldn't easily allow her to admit it.
But there was no denying that yesterday's Leonhart had been rejected by Sion.
…Leonhart herself believed that deep down.
However, Sion thought differently.
What was the big deal?
Did it really matter whether you dumped someone or got dumped?
No—first of all, they were "girlfriends," weren't they?
Sion—or rather, Lee Hyun—had always believed this.
Whether he was in a co-ed high school, in college, or even during the two relationships he'd had.
A girlfriend could look pretty. You might even confess your feelings to her once.
The reverse was true as well.
But the conclusion was always the same.
A girlfriend should exist only as a girlfriend.
You could find her attractive, you could even love her—but at that point, she was no longer a friend. She was a reserve romantic partner.
At the very least, he sincerely believed that anyone who loved someone should be honest with their own heart.
That was why he felt no emotion at all about dumping Leonhart.
From his perspective, they were practically strangers. If you really counted, all he'd done was secretly peek at her in the novel.
Before throwing his accumulated punches, Sion wanted to have at least one conversation with Leonhart.
You hit what needs hitting, and you ask what needs asking.
There was a clear difference between the two.
"So, why did you do that to me?"
"…Do what?"
"What do you mean 'what'? Why did you steal all my special weapons, my secret manuals, my potions, and then even try to look down on me?"
Leonhart hesitated slightly, then squeezed her eyes shut.
"You're asking because you don't know? It's because you're such a huge pushover, dummy."
Sion didn't flinch.
Wow, she just said that out loud? Should I just start punching her right now?
The man's fist was crying out to strike her, but he decided to hold back—for now.
This punch—this fist of resentment and regret that would eventually land on that cheek—would be needed at the right moment.
And he needed information. He'd only skimmed the early parts of the novel, so while he might know the latest chapters, the earlier sections were fuzzy in his memory.
"Who doesn't know that? What I'm asking is why you saw me as a pushover. If you'd treated me a little better, what would've changed?"
"…That's true, yeah! That's true!"
Leonhart was the one who shouted this time.
The startled health teacher rushed over.
When the teacher asked what was wrong, Leonhart smoothly deflected and continued.
"Think about what you did. If you were me, could you love a guy that easy? Especially when the object of that love isn't even just you alone?"
"…Hmm."
Thinking what did I do, he gestured at her chin.
Go ahead, recite it for me.
This guy gave you love, a little pushover behavior, and… a mountain of gifts.
What's wrong with that?
Leonhart sighed and then, as if possessed by someone else, began a little performance.
One voice was Leonhart herself, and the awkward, stuttering voice was probably… an imitation of Sion.
"Leonhart, imperial princess. Hello."
"…Nice to meet you."
"Leonhart! Eat this."
"Ah, this kind of thing is fine…"
"Come on, eat it!"
"Okay, thank you."
"Leonhart, this is my sword, but… you're so beau-, beautiful, so…"
"Oh……"
This one's a potion, that one's a secret manual, this one's my gallbladder, my liver—
Disgust rose in his throat.
What the hell had this bitch been doing?
"Hey, hey! That's enough, fuck. I'm embarrassed, so stop it."
She was actually insane.
Now that he thought about it, Sion wasn't normal either.
What was it called again? Stalking?
He was pretty sure the work itself had been controversial because of that kind of stuff.
Why the hell did I start reading this novel in the first place?
Sion—or rather, the Lee Hyun inside him—had even that thought.
"There's more, you know. You want to stop?"
"…Just go ahead. Let me hear it."
But this girl—
She's so damn annoying, but the more I listen, the more talented she is at acting.
I should either talk after hearing just this much, or just punch her.
As Sion watched her self-directed performance, he chuckled to himself.
How long did that ridiculous little performance last?
About ten minutes, maybe.
Short. A mere ten minutes of conversation would flow by like water in everyday life.
But for the two of them today, it was different.
Especially for Sion.
He was laughing so hard he could barely breathe, and he gasped out:
"Ah, this is so damn funny. Leonhart. Do it one more time."
"No! How many times do you want me to do it? It's embarrassing, and the teacher is right here…"
"For real, for real, last time. Like, jjin-mak!"
"What the hell is jjin-mak?! That's the third time you've said that word—!"
Her cheeks puffed up with anger, looking like a pufferfish. A rare golden pufferfish.
Thinking that, Sion laughed again.
Exhausted, Leonhart sighed.
…What is going on?
It was strange.
Ever since yesterday, when Sion had asked to see her, every single thing about him—his actions, his thoughts, his way of speaking—had changed into someone completely different.
Was he really possessed by a demon?
Even though she knew it was a foolish thing to say, the more she thought about it, the more believable it became.
But then again… in some ways, he's unmistakably still Sion.
Something about him was always a little odd.
Sion Behmut had always been that way.
He was a pushover, timid, and had no social skills, so he had few friends—but he was always consistently a little off-kilter.
And in Leonhart's eyes, that had appeared as "purity."
A one-hundred-percent pure, untainted innocence. And that was what had made Sion's life even worse.
It was the same now.
Yesterday's events were shocking, but from Sion's perspective, they were completely natural.
After all, how much had the author given him to work with?
And yet—
this pushover bastard was laughing and falling over in front of her again.
Where was the murderous intent from yesterday?
…It's so annoying.
At first, she'd ignored him as always.
Then she'd been flustered by his changed appearance.
Finally, she'd been terrified—so terrified her mind had gone completely blank.
And today.
The uncomfortable, heavy feeling Leonhart was experiencing today was irritation.
This crazy man, who was returning to his usual role as her everyday pushover, was beyond what she could consider human.
That was why she'd used him as an attachment human.
"Sion, you… are you still not back to your senses? You pushover bastard?"
"What the fuck, now? We were just laughing together and now this again. You need to ditch that worthless pride of yours first, you—"
"Acting tough won't fool anyone, you know? You're just a permanent pushover, my attachment human! And it's not just me, right? You'll spend your whole life being used as an emotional trash can by other people until you burn to death somewhere!"
She spoke faster and faster, her emotions rising with every word, not even pausing to breathe.
"What you've given me alone is worth twenty years of living expenses for an ordinary commoner. You didn't just do it for me, did you? Silvia, right. You did the same for her too. And there are others, aren't there? I'm royalty so it's less obvious, but you must've showered other women with stuff too, and they must've loved it—!"
Leonhart huffed at Sion while simultaneously being unable to understand herself.
Why am I getting so angry?
It's already over, isn't it?
And besides, Leonhart had never intended to accept Sion's confession in the first place.
No—she'd have trampled it into the ground. Of course, Sion's preemptive strike meant her turn never even came.
Either way—
wasn't the result the same whether Sion did it or Leonhart did it?
It was clearly a good thing.
Right. Normally, seeing Sion's evasive, stalling behavior would make her irritation rise to the top of her head, and she'd pound her chest in frustration.
So why was she getting angry now?
Realizing her own behavior was meaningless, Leonhart's words faltered.
"…So, what I'm saying is. That's…"
At the same time, Leonhart swept her platinum-blonde hair back.
She gathered her frizzy hair behind her and tied it up with a rubber band.
Sion didn't respond at all, silently watching the scene.
She's pretty. Damn, she really is.
Leonhart's personality was truly rotten, but her appearance was undeniable.
The descriptions in the novel, the illustrations, and the real person in front of him—
they were all slightly different, but they all converged on one conclusion: she was incredibly beautiful.
It's no wonder I could've been tempted by that fox sometimes. How much did this pushover love her?
Thinking that made his heart feel heavy.
Leonhart—that bitch—he'd firmly resolved to give her a piece of his mind the moment he saw her.
But now that he was actually here, seeing her face in person, that resolve was wearing away bit by bit.
And it wasn't like he'd done nothing, right?
He'd cursed her out in her face. Enough to knock her unconscious.
He felt somewhat satisfied, and he didn't think this would change Leonhart anyway.
Just… let's stay friends like this.
Sion didn't care what happened as long as it didn't go against his principles.
So—
he didn't even let Leonhart's countless insults and accusations register in his ears.
WHAM!
"Ouch."
That was why Sion forgave Leonhart's sudden outburst with just a single flick on the forehead.
Leonhart stared at him blankly. Unlike yesterday's violence, he'd offered a somewhat gentle resolution.
She had no idea what rhythm to match, what made him angry, and what made him forgive.
To her, it was all incomprehensible.
It felt exactly the same as when her father, the Emperor, spoke.
"Honestly, you just keep doing whatever you want—"
"Don't overthink it. We're just friends from now on. Friends who calculate things so thoroughly and perfectly that we wouldn't even peel a perilla leaf for each other."
Sion said that and smiled.
Exactly as Leonhart had imagined—a bright, pure smile with not a trace of malice.
Snicker.
Infected by that pure smile, Leonhart was also smiling at Sion.
"Anything else you want to say? You were chattering like a goldfish earlier."
"Never mind. I forgot. Because of your ridiculous behavior."
She flipped over on the health room's treatment bed and added:
"Right, what's the point of any of this anyway. Forget it. See you in three days, Sion. As for homework… you probably already finished it all, right?"
But Sion couldn't relate and shook his head.
"…Three days from now? Why would we be seeing each other then?"
As he said it, he repeated it a thousand times in his head.
This world I've entered.
The main genre is fantasy. And the main area of activity is…
Please, no. It can't be.
I'm not going to have to wear a school uniform again, am I…?
"Well… that day is the start of school, so?"
Oh, fuck, God.
Please, seriously, this can't be real.
You want me to go to school at this age?
Sion wailed internally and panicked.
And fuck, I didn't do my homework?
That was a valid concern.
Summer vacation ended in three days, and Lee Hyun had only transmigrated into Sion yesterday.
How was he supposed to finish homework in just one day?
No—Sion hadn't even known that it was currently summer vacation.
…I should've checked my surroundings first.
Sweeping his heavy thoughts aside, Sion fell into deep contemplation.
What to do.
Should I go to the academy?
Sion was aware of one thing.
This world was a shitty morning-drama-style romance fantasy novel, but its setting was actually quite thoroughly constructed.
Sion attended the Silfren Central Academy.
Not many people could attend this place.
Only those from noble families with wealth, connections, or high family status.
It was a blessed sanctuary where only the children born with "gold spoons" in their mouths could enroll.
And at this Silfren Central Academy, both Sion of the Behmut family and Leonhart of the Elibream Imperial Family were enrolled.
They were first-years this year, according to the novel's setting.
Since the novel ended without them ever graduating first year, at least first year is confirmed.
A slightly more composed Sion steadied his thoughts.
And just as Sion was about to give up on the homework, Leonhart called out to him in a low voice.
"Th-, Sion Behmut!"
"What? I'm busy!"
"No, it's just… today's the last day I can go out, so do you want to go to the beach?"
"What?"
"I mean, things are like this now, but… we had planned to go, right?"
Leonhart twisted a strand of her hair around her finger.
"…Why would I go there?"
Of course, Sion refused.
He'd only told her yesterday not to meet one-on-one and to be real friends.
What? The beach?
Is she crazy?
She's the one who can't read the situation.
Sion thought that.
But Leonhart was different.
…It feels too bad to end it like this.
There was quite a lot of meaning packed into that thought, but—
on the surface, it was just summer vacation.
Just the surface-level reason.
So Leonhart played her trump card on Sion.
A sweet temptation that no student could possibly refuse.
"You seem like you didn't do your homework this time, which is unlike you. If we go to the beach together, I'll show you. You can catch up in a day, right?"
"I'm coming right now, Leonhart-ssi."
If you'd said that earlier, I wouldn't have had to refuse.
He added that and bowed deeply to Leonhart.
However—
"But I'm not going alone."
"…Fine."
Sion had knelt for homework, but he was a man who held fast to his principles once set.