Ashley's Resolve
The training grounds buzzed with chaos in the aftermath of the incident. The black-clad soldiers were being dragged away in ropes, while students clustered around Angelina, Lydia, and Hazel, cheering wildly.
"You girls were amazing!"
"Teach me that spell sometime!"
Alicia watched the scene from nearby, the stark contrast hitting her like a downpour under a dark cloud. Despite the short distance, her side felt utterly isolated. No one lingered around her—the girl who'd been taken out in one hit by Padmera. Her usual poise and smile had given way to deep dejection.
"Tch…"
Her arm was broken too. But she couldn't show it. She was Alicia, proud daughter of a duke's house. She refused to look weak in front of the students. Priests milled about nearby, but she didn't want to draw attention to her injury. She started to slip away quietly.
"Why aren't you getting treated?"
He appeared.
"There are priests right over there."
"You…!"
Alicia glared at him. Assistant Professor Naru. The infuriating guy who never listened.
How did he even know I was hurt? I was standing perfectly fine, not showing a thing.
Questions swirled, but anger flared first. "Mind your own business and scram."
"Growling like an injured stray. If you don't get treated soon, it'll be serious."
"You dare compare me to some mangy dog?"
"Look at this."
"Eek!"
Naru grabbed her right arm and rolled up the sleeve. Dark energy writhed across her skin.
"I saw you get hit by that woman earlier. The fracture's secondary—this dark energy needs immediate treatment. Delay too long, and the skin could necrotize. You might end up with black skin for life."
Alicia's nape prickled at his words. She swallowed hard, tension gripping her.
"H-how do you treat it? Call a priest?"
"Lucky for you, you've got a hero right here. I can handle this."
Naru gripped her arm lightly. The dark energy vanished under his warm palm. He stroked upward, infusing sacred energy all the way to her shoulder.
"There. It's gone now. Call a priest for the fracture."
"Why'd you help me?"
"You looked like you were in danger."
"That's it? Some pompous pity? Mercy? Consideration? Magnanimity?"
"All wrong. I was just walking by and spotted an injured kitten, so I checked it out."
"What?"
Naru chuckled and brushed past her. "Go apologize properly to Angelina."
"Shut up! I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Keep that up, and you'll spend your life without friends."
"Hah."
Alicia stared at Naru's retreating back as he vanished after saying his piece. She chewed her lower lip, eyes narrowing in thought.
"Wait… is the reason he helped because… he's interested in me?"
"Ptoo! Godless scum!"
"Dumps her hardworking husband for a divorce!"
Passersby spat and hurled curses as they passed the Laphone estate.
At that moment, Lady Michelle fumed over a letter. It was news about her husband Hireger, who'd jetted off to a distant resort right after the curse lifted weeks ago.
The count appears to have taken up with some wench he met by the seaside. He spends every day at her home.
She crumpled the letter and flung it away. "That trash!"
No wonder he'd so readily handed over all family rights and titles before leaving. She'd suspected something fishy, and here it was—he'd planned to set up a separate household far away.
"Looks like your father's got no intention of ever coming back!"
In the drawing room sat not just Lady Michelle, but Ashley, Serena, and Roberini too. Ignoring the furtive Roberini, Ashley and Serena wore grim expressions.
"What do we do now?"
"And the debts are piling up…"
The Laphone family was in dire straits. Since Naru left, the estate and territory management had faltered, and now the family's crop yields had plummeted. With low harvests, they couldn't sell enough to cover loans from the bank. They'd long operated by borrowing for luxuries and lavish parties, repaying later with territory produce sales. But without Naru's savvy management, revenues tanked. Tax income dwindled, crops failed. Old debtors vanished without a trace, and the new overseer was still green.
At this rate, they couldn't even pay interest, let alone principal. Total crisis. Miss those payments, and the bank would seize the land. To top it off, Naru's bombshell divorce announcement at last week's party had turned public opinion vicious against the Laphones. Rumors flew that they'd abandoned him during his bet with Vera, earning every curse imaginable. Sympathy dried up—no nobles would lend a hand.
"No more spending from now on. We tighten our belts."
"But I wanted that new dress…"
"Get a grip, Serena."
Meanwhile, Naru thrived. Word spread of his stellar teaching at the academy, and he'd conquered an undefeated mermaid dungeon. Lady Michelle seethed with envy, while Ashley wept daily, blaming her mother, sister, and friend. "I never wanted to divorce Naru. It was you and Mom."
"W-we just gave advice."
"You made the choice, sis!"
"Now you're blaming Mom too?"
Ashley stood abruptly, resolute. "I don't want to lose Naru. No matter how many times I agonize—ten, a hundred, a thousand— he's the only husband for me."
Her friend Roberini glanced slyly. "But he hates you. What're you gonna do?"
"I'll make him love me again, no matter what."
Ashley's will burned fiercer than ever. The party divorce declaration hadn't broken her; fear of the future fueled her. If the bank took their land, her mother would sell her off first to save the family—marry her to some rich creep for funds. Suitors for a fallen noble's daughter? Usually disfigured old men craving nursemaids or perverts itching for sadistic, irrational romps.
Ashley knew her mother would do it without hesitation. Society expected it too—when a house faltered, sacrifice the daughter first. "I'm not coming home for a while."
"What? How?"
"I'll camp outside Naru's house until he forgives me."
Serena tilted her head. "Until when?"
"Dunno. However long it takes."
"Sleep? Food?"
"Take a few servants, pitch tents, live there."
"You'll eat and sleep in front of his house?"
"Yeah. Years if needed."
"Creepy. I couldn't."
Lady Michelle clapped elegantly. "Well decided. Legally, you're Hero Kang Naru's wife. Show him your resolve to protect the home."
"I won't return empty-handed this time."
Ashley clenched her fist, eyes blazing. "Somehow, someway, I'll share his bed again."
Our classroom was just ten minutes away, but thirty minutes later, we still hadn't arrived. Every corridor step brought someone approaching with chatter.
"Hello, Assistant Professor! I'm Trvlet from the cooperation department. Nice to meet you!"
"Hey, Professor Naru! How'd you wrangle those students? Spill the secret!"
"Professor, could you lecture our joint department sometime? We'd love to hear you."
Thanks to Angelina, Hazel, and Lydia's morning heroics—or because of it—they'd shone so brightly, I was now the academy's hot topic too. Before, I'd felt like a rising star; today, full celebrity. People didn't just stare—they mobbed me. Not annoyed or thrilled, just dazed on how to react. I kept a straight face to avoid seeming arrogant, smiling occasionally with humble nods.
Click.
Finally, I opened the classroom door. Empty. The morning uproar had halted classes academy-wide. Royal investigators swarmed, probing the barrier breach and intruder cause, while our kids were dragged around giving statements.
"All girls in here—always smells nice."
I shut the door, sat at my desk. Handle some work, then head home. Pen in hand, reviewing tasks—when the door opened.
"There you are."
Assistant Professor Anne. Her hair down sexily today, holding two teacups. I stood quick, let her in, closed the door, then sat back.
"What brings you?"
"Tea together. Got time?"
"Ah, sure."
Hard to read her. When I first arrived, she'd subtly pressured me to quit, seeming indifferent. Lately, her vibe shifted oddly.
She approached, offering a cup. "Good for fatigue recovery."
"Thanks."
"Whoa, hold on. White hair here."
"Already?"
"Yeah, on your crown. Turn this way—I'll pluck it."
Sitting, I faced her. She stepped close, pressing in. Her deep shirt cleavage loomed, filling my view with dizzying allure and sweet scent. Barely three centimeters away. Anne's cleavage jiggled before my eyes. I gulped.
"Got it?"
"It was there, but slipped. Hold still—I'll find and yank it."
As she rummaged my hair, I stared hard at her cleavage, inches from my nose. Couldn't help it—she was glued too close. Does she not know I'm staring? Or does she? Innocent or teasing? Either way, nice.
Damn, her tits are huge…
Then they smothered my face.
"Mmph!"