How Laughable

Dorothy Academy.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠place where the finest talents in the world gathered—and the institution founded by the Transcendent Dorothy Lightsheld herself.

It was also the city with the most expensive land in all of Tera.

The path I walked was paved in clean white marble. Carefully pruned trees, elegant fountains, gardens and statues arranged at every turn.

It was a landscape cleaner and more beautiful than anywhere else.

Magnificent buildings stretched in long rows, ordered walkways and ponds, landscaping held in perfect balance.

It was splendid, certainly—but plenty of high nobles lived on estates finer than this.

And yet this place commanded the highest prices for one reason alone.

Security.

The Academy was the safest region in Tera.

Crime rates lower than any noble domain, and not once had it ever permitted a monster to breach its grounds.

Because this was the territory of the Transcendent Dorothy Lightsheld.

The moment you set foot here, you could not escape her watch.

One of the few places where a Transcendent's power exerted its influence directly.

Causing trouble here was nothing short of insanity.

So it's that bad already...

Which was why, when I'd been harassed just now—

If the Headmistress had been in her right state, she would have intervened somehow. In some form. Without fail.

It meant her senses no longer reached across the entire Academy.

My parting with my master was drawing near.

With a bitter taste in my mouth, I made my way toward the dining hall at the center of Dorothy Academy.

When I pushed open the doors, the warm smell of food washed over me, threaded through with a low murmur of voices.

Dorothy Academy's dining hall was nothing like an ordinary school cafeteria.

A broad, old-world interior. Floors of polished marble; tables and chairs carved with exquisite care from the finest timber.

Every student inside turned to look at me. Some flinched and looked away. Others, all too aware of my presence, let out small whispers.

"Isn't that Yeon Bennet?"

"Did you see her getting beaten earlier? For all that pride of hers, she didn't scream once."

"Why does she look like that, though? She's completely soaked."

A scream, huh...

I hadn't even thought of it. I'd simply been enjoying that wretched situation—and given the things I usually did, it hadn't been anything special.

But next time... maybe I should scream on purpose?

If the mockery got louder, I might enjoy it even more.

My steps had never felt lighter, and yet I walked more slowly than ever, so that everyone could take a longer look at my miserable state.

No one blocked my path outright the way they had before, or tried to harass me so openly.

Most of them hated me—but they feared me, too.

Well, of course. I had been the one person at the Academy you did not touch. The ones who'd decided overnight to start bullying me were the strange ones.

They must have had someone backing them.

I headed quietly for the register. When I took a tray and joined the line, the students ahead of me glanced around uncomfortably and edged away, bit by bit.

I frowned slightly.

He sent it again.

Money from Duke Bennet.

Millions of gold poured in automatically every month.

I had never touched it, and I had no intention of ever using it.

I didn't want anything to do with money that dog of a man sent me.

I selected the Academy stipend account and paid.

The Academy issued every student a monthly stipend of five hundred gold for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠living expenses.

If you ordered the cheapest menu and skipped a meal or two, it was more than enough for a month's food.

I took my tray and moved on in silence.

A corner seat. The most out-of-the-way table.

I'd gotten into the habit of choosing empty tables so I wouldn't inconvenience anyone else—and by now, this was simply more comfortable.

The dining hall was still thick with whispers. Students stole glances at my legs.

"Look at that... the marks from the professor still haven't faded."

"Whoa... she must have been hit hard."

"I've never seen a noble take corporal punishment that severe."

"So what? She's lowborn trash. She's probably used to that kind of thing."

I slowly lowered my gaze. As I'd sat down, my skirt had ridden up naturally, leaving the marks on my skin plain to see.

I quietly crossed my legs.

The students' eyes sharpened further.

Savoring their stares, I picked up my utensils.

With their mockery and contempt as a side dish, I slowly lifted my spoon.

For the first time in a long while, I actually had an appetite.

Lately, Bella's mind had been a constant tangle.

Yeon Bennet—known as the worst villainess in the world. And the truth of who she really was.

A child who was still only a student had sacrificed herself to save people, and the world had driven her into despair for it.

Serena Bennet's bombshell declaration.

Yeon's notoriety climbing ever higher.

Bella felt helpless in the face of her own powerlessness.

She wanted to tell people the truth about her—but doing so would ruin everything Yeon had chosen...

Thinking of the burdens Yeon carried, Bella let out a quiet sigh.

Then, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all at once, a familiar silhouette caught her eye in the distance—someone walking out of the dining hall.

Yeon Bennet.

Bella stopped walking.

Do I even have the right to approach her?

Not long ago, she herself had driven a blade through that child's heart.

Yeon had said she'd already forgiven her. That it was fine. But...

Had it really been fine?

Bella hesitated for a moment.

Then another feeling rose in her chest and set her moving.

She wanted to be of some small help. At the very least, she didn't want to leave her alone.

Having made up her mind, Bella quietly started toward her.

But the closer she drew...

Bella felt something off.

Yeon's indifferent expression was no different from usual—but her gait was unmistakably limping.

Bella narrowed her eyes on instinct.

And came closer still.

Yeon's clothes were damp. Water dripped faintly from the hem of her skirt, and though her hair was nearly dry, wet traces still clung to the ends.

And then...

Her legs.

The moment Bella's gaze reached Yeon's calves, her heart plummeted.

Red, swollen welts.

Dark, purpling bruises.

The lash marks that had cut across the skin were fully exposed.

This was no simple fall, no minor scrape.

Someone had punished Yeon.

Cruelly. And without mercy.

Bella herself was an Academy graduate; she had experienced corporal punishment and witnessed it as well.

Under no circumstances did it ever leave wounds this severe. Academy discipline was meant more for correction than for pure punishment.

"......"

Bella's hands clenched of their own accord.

Yeon walked on in silence, as if nothing were wrong.

Bella could no longer simply ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stand by and watch.

As she stepped closer, Yeon stopped.

"Senior?"

Yeon turned her head and looked at Bella.

"Just come with me."

Bella took Yeon by the wrist and pulled her along.

Yeon didn't resist.

The body that had fought a bloody battle without yielding an inch against six high-rank monsters felt startlingly light.

Bella dragged her all the way to her private faculty quarters.

She shut the door, quietly steadied her breathing, and then—

asked in a voice strained with suppressed fury.

"Who did this."

Her voice was low, thick with held-back rage.

"Did what?"

Yeon played dumb, but her face was tinged with dismay.

"Your legs."

Bella looked straight at her.

"Who did this to you."

Only then did Yeon glance down at her own legs.

"Ah, that..."

She smiled as if it were nothing and answered.

"I just couldn't answer a question in class, so I got corporal punishment."

For a moment, Bella's chest locked tight.

"......Yeon."

Bella looked at her.

"I mean—I'm a problem student to begin with! I've caused plenty of trouble... so I kind of had it coming..."

Watching Yeon ramble on in their defense, Bella felt fury surge up inside her.

No Academy professor—none—had the authority to inflict that kind of punishment on a duke's daughter.

She had worked harder for the world than anyone, and this was what came back to her.

"If you really resolved to become a villainess...!"

Bella's voice shook.

"Then at least... fight back! Don't just take it lying down!"

Yeon stared at her blankly.

She blinked, looking briefly flustered—then smiled as if reassured.

"Oh, if that's what you're worried about, don't be. I'm really fine. The press is completely on our side right now."

Yeon walked slowly toward the window as she went on.

"The Mirage Times—Duke Bennet founded that paper, you know. I don't even have to try anymore. My notoriety spreads on its own. The seal isn't going to break."

At those words, Bella clenched her fists tight.

"That... that isn't the point."

Yeon turned. Bella's eyes were trembling hard with anger and grief.

"The people you protected are treating you like this—and it doesn't bother you? You're not even angry?"

Yeon let out a quiet breath.

"Haa. I'm the one who made it this way. It's what I wanted."

She turned her gaze back to the window.

"I'm the one who deceived them. Wouldn't it be pretty laughable if I got angry at them for it?"

"But...! Even so......"

Yeon was right.

This was the path Yeon herself had chosen, and everything she was enduring now was simply part of her plan.

Bella could understand it with her head.

But she could not accept it. Not at all.

Her chest tightened, heavy and stifling—as if a great stone had settled on it.

Why did this child not spare herself even a little? Why did she endure every pain as if it were only natural?

Yeon quietly turned her head and pointed out the window.

"There."

Where Yeon's fingertip aimed—the streets beyond the Academy, far in the distance.

A market alley lined with cluttered shops. People laughing as they talked. Each of them absorbed in their ordinary days.

"Someday, I want people everywhere in this world to live like that. No monsters, no Contamination... just living, and smiling."

Yeon lifted her face and smiled brightly.

"So... I'm honestly glad this ability went to me, and not to anyone else."

In that moment, Bella could no longer hold back. She stepped forward and pulled Yeon into her arms.

"......Senior?"

Yeon whispered, startled—but Bella said nothing at all.