Chapter 521: Jealousy is My Power (21)
Chapter 521: Jealousy is My Power (21)
Looking back, that day felt strange from the very morning.
The moment I opened my eyes, a uniquely hot and humid air filled my lungs. The sweltering weather that had persisted for days showed no signs of letting up; instead, it seemed to be expanding its oppressive domain day by day.
It was a catastrophic abnormal heat.
With summer ending and autumn approaching, it was nearly time to prepare for the harvest. A heatwave arriving just before the reaping was anything but welcome.
The Empire already seemed to be agonizing over various relief measures. It was serious enough that the Emperor, during his stay at the Academy, had discussed follow-up alternatives with several scholars.
And yet, today was different.
The temperature was noticeably higher than the day before. No matter how difficult it was for human strength to gauge the heavens, such a blatant change was enough to instill a strange sense of unease.
It didn't take long for this intuition to turn into certainty.
Right after I finished washing up and stepped out the door.
"…What the hell is this?"
I unintentionally let out a sound that was somewhere between an exclamation and a groan.
The area in front of my door was a complete mess. Starting with flowers, various envelopes were strewn about, and some notes even bore chilling, blood-red writing.
The contents varied from note to note.
‘I love you with all my life, Senior Ian.’
‘Drop dead.’
‘Every time I see the moon and stars, I think of that day. Do you remember the Homecoming Festival?’
‘Aren't you curious how long your luck will last?’
‘The laws of the world are consistent; that which is hot craves that which is cold. In that desire, biological limits like gender sometimes do not exist.’
‘Don't get cocky. I liked her first. She isn't a woman someone like you should covet.’
After reading a few lines, my hands naturally shredded the notes.
A sigh followed, along with an irritated mutter.
"What a shitshow…"
That one phrase summed up my feelings perfectly.
To anyone's eyes, this was not a normal situation.
Out of nowhere, my dormitory door was plastered with letters and notes, and their contents were even contradictory.
A memory suddenly flashed through my mind.
When was it? It was around the time of the Homecoming Festival.
The 'me' from the future had publicly provoked Princess Cien. After that, my reputation hit rock bottom, and people around me, including myself, were subjected to violence.
The only saving grace was that, unlike then, public opinion seemed split.
There appeared to be just as many people defending me as there were hating me. Just as I was thinking that perhaps I didn't have to worry about the same kind of one-sided ostracization as before—
The contents of another note lying on the ground caught my eye.
‘Senior, it must be hard dealing with women you don't even care about, right? I'll help you. If I get rid of those women, I can take their place, can't I?’
‘Dealing with pathetic humans one by one is a disgrace to a noble. Why do you still keep those of low rank by your side? Ah, do I have no choice but to step in for you?’
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
Right, there was no way the problem would be solved that easily.
I immediately kicked off the ground and hurried out of the dormitory. I felt gazes fixed on me from all directions, but securing the safety of my acquaintances came first.
Both those who loved me and those who hated me could target the people precious to me!
It was truly the worst-case scenario.
As I rushed down the stairs, the scene from the previous day flashed through my mind.
The 'barrier' the vampire was said to have prepared.
I couldn't help but think it had exerted some kind of influence. To think that a moment's lapse in judgment would lead to this.
Even if I had grown stronger, there was no way to win against the collective malice of the masses.
And I couldn't keep my precious people by my side twenty-four hours a day, could I?
The only solution was to resolve this situation quickly.
But how?
I racked my brain, but there was a limit to the strategies I could devise on my own.
There were only two people worth visiting at a time like this.
First, my friend 'Reto Einstein'—without question, the strategist I trusted most.
And the other was Princess Cien. I didn't want to admit it, but she was quite clever.
Of course, the path there was not smooth.
"I-I love you, Senior Percus! Please accept my feelings!"
A confession from a junior whose name I didn't even know was just the beginning.
"What are you saying… Sir Ian, please ignore that gloomy-looking woman. You've seen my face at least once, haven't you? It was on the day of the Homecoming Festival…"
"Tsk, tsk. Women sure talk a lot."
The sounds of all sorts of people murmuring washed over me like a tidal wave.
After standing dazed for a moment, I let out a groan and pressed a hand to my forehead.
"Ian Percus, won't you please make some time for just the two of us? You must be fed up with these chirping women as well…"
"Shut the hell up, you homo."
"…What?"
"Ah, how vulgar! So noisy! Everyone, please just be quiet…!"
It took no time at all for the gathered crowd to start shouting and brawling amongst themselves.
It was a scene straight out of a cheap erotic novel.
And naturally, everyone's attention was drawn to the commotion occurring at the crack of dawn.
The murmuring voices made my head throb as if it were splitting open.
"What's with that guy?"
"I guess the rumors about him being a playboy were true. Tsk, tsk. I only feel sorry for the women who fell for a guy like that…"
"Hmph, it seems he just got lucky despite being a lower noble."
"No wonder… but as expected of a rootless family, he can't even manage his own belongings properly, can he? Pfft, ahahaha!"
Censure and mockery.
"You, you… I've seen you! Last year, you were clinging to Senior Russo! You're just a slut who goes crazy for anyone older, aren't you?"
"W-What nonsense! I gave up those feelings a long time ago!"
"As expected of someone from a cheap family, your love is cheap too. Pfft."
"If you insult my family one more time…!"
Jealousy and killing intent.
Whichever it was, they were emotions difficult to bear.
The atmosphere had already turned as hostile as it could get. It wouldn't have been strange if blades were drawn or stones were thrown right then and there.
How did it come to this?
I didn't have the luxury to worry about such trivial matters. The Imperial Secret Garden, Celine's disappearance, the vampire's conspiracy.
I was missing the decisive clue to tie all of these together.
At such a critical juncture, petty love confessions, envy, and jealousy didn't move me in the slightest.
They were merely troublesome and annoying.
Unaware of my feelings, the conflict was reaching its peak.
The signal was the cold gleam of a blade being drawn with a sharp metallic ring.
"You don't seriously expect to survive after hurling such insults, do you?"
"You're the ones insulting my noble love!"
"Fine, fine. It's better to clean up the trash in advance… Then the last one standing gets to talk to Sir Percus…!"
Just before those aligned murderous intents could begin their macabre dance—
I realized I couldn't stand it any longer.
Clang! A sword flew into the air.
It happened before anyone could grasp the situation.
Thud! An elbow slammed into a solar plexus, and a woman let out a fragmented groan as she was forced onto her tiptoes. Then, the hand axe that had parried the sword returned to my hand, regaining its momentum.
A textbook rush.
The opponents couldn't even react. No, they just stood there with idiotic expressions, unable to even comprehend what was happening.
Clang, clang!
Following a crescent-like trajectory, several blades flew into the sky or slammed into the ground. Immediately after, the sounds of people gasping for breath echoed in succession.
Urgh! Ack! Gack!
The chain attacks were faster than sound. By the time the thrown hand axe returned to my hand, the bodies of students clutching their solar plexuses and the backs of their necks collapsed onto the ground like stalks of straw.
No one remained standing.
Only the onlookers in the distance remained, staring at me with wide eyes.
"Whew," I exhaled, steadying my breath, and cast a cold gaze toward them.
"Anyone else have something to say?"
It didn't take long for the startled onlookers to scatter in all directions.
"Crazy bastard," someone muttered under their breath, the insult lingering faintly in the air.
Only then did I click my tongue and start walking.
However, there was still one unexpected person left to catch my ankle.
"…Oppa!"
At the voice coming from somewhere, my eyes flicked behind me.
Black hair and golden eyes.
The curves prominent even beneath the pure white dress spoke to the fact that the girl's development was proceeding well. She had been so sickly and thin as a child; I felt a renewed sense of relief.
A look of joy crossed my face as I recognized her.
"Ria!"
But today, Ria's complexion looked a bit strange.
Even the way she came running toward me, clutching her skirt with both hands, was urgent. My heart sank at the premonition that something might have happened to her.
Who would dare touch my younger sister?
I ran to her in a single bound, took her in my arms, and spun her around once. Then, patting the back of the panting Ria as she caught her breath, I spoke in a worried voice.
"Are you okay, Ria? What on earth happened?"
"O-Oppa… s-strange people attacked the shop."
Whether it was anger or bewilderment—
My body stiffened at a sensation I couldn't even identify. Ria was looking up at me with eyes that were practically brimming with tears.
"They were chanting Oppa's name… I don't know, I'm scared… most of them were women. A-Ah! And I think they were wearing Academy uniforms…!"
"Son of a bitch."
I spat out what must have been my umpteenth curse of the day and immediately moved my hand toward my waist.
To think the incident I was worried about would happen so soon.
It was then.
A strange doubt flickered through my mind.
Wasn't the timing too coincidental?
Furthermore, I was a brother who loved his sister dearly. In the midst of the chaos of a sudden situation, if I heard that something had happened to Ria, my reason was bound to be paralyzed.
The small doubt that sprouted was soon put into words.
"…Ria, it's really you, right?"
At that, Ria blinked as if asking what I meant.
It was a lovely face no matter when I saw it, but I couldn't let my guard down.
I had been deceived once before, after all.
"I mean, is it okay for you to be walking around like this? There's a woman with the exact same features as you wandering about…!"
"Ugh, seriously!"
Ria didn't even listen to my entire argument.
She simply stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss right on my lips.
Then, she puffed out her cheeks as if she were genuinely angry. Not that she could hide the faint blush rising on her face, though.
"There, happy? That means 'it's been a while'! Where else in the world would you find a sister who does this for her brother?"
"Hmm," I nodded as if that made sense.
There probably wasn't any other sister who loved her brother enough to kiss him without hesitation like Ria.
There was no better proof than this.
Above all, if I didn't trust Ria, it was unclear who I was supposed to trust.
A faint sweetness lingered where Ria's lips had brushed against mine. I toyed with my lips with my hand before asking with a bitter smile.
"What's this sweet smell?"
"A special gift for Oppa."
"Heh," Ria replied with a confident smile.
I'm sure it is.
I let go of my suspicion toward Ria and decided to hurry on my way once more.
In fact, I had already scanned her entire body with my Qi sense the moment we made contact. To be honest, I wasn't confident I could perfectly distinguish between my two sisters either.
The only way to tell was to scan every nook and cranny of Ria's body with Qi.
Fortunately, I hadn't found anything strange while scanning her. Moreover, since I could see through her interior as if it were transparent, I could rest easy for now.
Yes, let's trust her.
How could one live if they doubted everyone?
It was the moment I made that resolution and took a step forward.
Flash!
A bolt of lightning pierced my brain like an ice pick. The intense headache was enough to make me frown instantly.
I groaned, struggling to keep my balance.
But it was already too late.
My body, which had been trembling like a newborn fawn, eventually slumped onto the ground. Even as my consciousness blurred, I desperately racked my brain to find the cause.
But there was only one answer.
My questioning gaze turned behind me. There stood Ria, a faint smile on her face.
"You… wh-what did you…?"
"This is all because of you, Oppa."
It was a sticky voice that reminded me of someone.