BIWMD 04

Chapter 4 – Leave Me Alone! But No One Listened (4):

“……”

Perhaps the words were unexpected. The dean’s smile faltered slightly.

Instead of responding right away, he lifted the teacup in front of him and took a sip.

It took quite a while before the clink of the cup meeting its saucer echoed in the room again.

Then, the dean asked casually,

“…Aren’t you currently in the same group as Prince Behemoth and the second son of Count Godwin?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Was the student named Yan from the Godwin family?

Count Godwin was famous for his flashy swordsmanship. If Yan was his second son, then he surely had excellent skills too.

It was a bit of a shame that he died during the subjugation practice, unable to further develop that talent.

‘Not that I had any plans to help him survive, though.’

The dean tapped the table lightly with his long fingers.

“That’s a good group.”

“I know. It’s more than I deserve.”

“To be more specific, the group you’re in, Miss Crowell, was formed with top students at the front line to ease the burden on the other groups.”

“I suspected as much.”

“Then why are you asking to switch groups?”

His sharp eyes fixed on me with a steady gaze, as if trying to find a single oddity. His stare was relentless.

If I’d truly been brainwashed,

‘I plan to head to the rear to investigate a strange curse. But being with the conspicuous Prince Behemoth would be a problem,’ I might have blurted out.

Unfortunately for him, I’m quite good at lying.

Calmly folding my hands, I began gently,

“Have you heard that some students say it’s favoritism that I was placed in the same group as Prince Behemoth?”

“Ah. Of course I’ve heard. But aren’t you the type who doesn’t care about such rumors, Miss Crowell?”

The dean tilted his teacup, murmuring as if he was wondering whether he had misjudged me.

No, you’re spot on.

‘But I have my reasons for acting this way.’

I quickly followed up,

“Of course. If this were just a regular group assignment, I wouldn’t have asked you to change my team.”

“Then?”

“This is a subjugation practice that requires multiple groups to work together.”

“Hm.”

“I was worried that just because I’m in the leading group, some students might refuse to follow instructions or act out.”

“I see.”

That actually happened.

It was one of the reasons the subjugation squads were wiped out. Even if that issue were solved, they still wouldn’t be able to defeat that thing with students of this level.

So the subjugation group from the academy would almost certainly be wiped out as originally planned.

“…Hmm. Still, matching skills with a strong knight is a valuable experience for a young magician.”

I responded gently to the disappointed dean.

“Perhaps next time.”

Though, there won’t be a next time.

“Hmm…”

The dean still looked a bit regretful.

But maybe because I, who never made requests, had come this far, he finally gave in and shook his head.

“Alright. If your resolve is that firm, there’s no point in trying to convince you.”

The dean closed the cookie tin.

That meant the meeting was over.

I could feel the magical energy I had been suppressing under my tongue—containing the brainwashing spell—starting to dissipate.

The dean asked casually,

“Then do you have a group you’d like to join?”

“No. But if there’s a group short on members… I’d prefer to join that one.”

That way, it would be easier to avoid attention and go out to investigate the curse.

I had no interest in that thing that no one would be able to subjugate anyway.

“In that case… there’s a student from the Therion family who’s in the rear support group alone. You could join them.”

The dean flipped through the stack of papers on his desk and mentioned an unfamiliar family name.

‘Therion family?’

I didn’t know the name, which likely meant they were insignificant and probably died during the practice.

Besides, a two-person team would be perfect—easier to slip away unnoticed…

Without any hesitation, I nodded.

“Yes.”

“Good. Then you may return.”

“Thank you, Dean.”

“It was a pleasure. Ah.”

Just as he was about to send me off, the dean spoke again.

My heart skipped a beat in surprise.

Did he figure that out?

The dean smiled gently, then raised his hand and pointed to his cheek.

“I forgot to ask about that wound on your cheek. I heard there was a commotion yesterday…”

Ah, the wound.

I raised a hand to my cheek and felt the rough scab. It had already started to heal overnight, probably because it was shallow.

“…It’s nothing serious…”

“Still. It’s a bad habit to always shrug things off. Miss Crowell, make sure to treat it properly.”

The dean rummaged through his drawer, pulled out some magical ointment and a bandage, and placed them in my hand.

If I had known the wound would catch his attention, I would’ve healed it before coming. How could I forget?

“……”

His gaze lingered briefly on the palm of my hand—where I had gripped the blade and received the wound—then shifted away.

Then he smiled and patted my shoulder, nudging me toward the door.

“You should treat your hand too.”

“…Yes.”

‘…He definitely noticed.’

I quickly bowed and exited the dean’s office, leaving behind his kind smile.

A few butter cookies rustled in my pocket.

‘He noticed, so why didn’t he confiscate them?’

I came to the dean’s office with two goals.

First, to move to a support group where I wouldn’t attract attention. Second, because I needed these cookies.

Within the academy, these cookies were the only magical item close to a truth serum that didn’t have any lasting side effects.

Enchanting food with magic at my level would take a lot of time.

The cookies would come in handy. I didn’t have any reliable informants right now, so I had no choice but to use whatever means I had.

The way the dean knowingly let me go was uncomfortable. But he didn’t stop me…

That meant he either trusted me to some extent, or assumed I didn’t know what enchantment was on the cookies.

Either way, I hadn’t planned to be caught by the dean.

‘It’s probably the wound that gave me away.’

It would be suspicious if the injury suddenly vanished. I wonder how long it will take to heal naturally…

As I blankly rubbed the scabbed cheek, someone grabbed my wrist and pulled it down.

“Edith Crowell.”

It was none other than Prince Ethan Behemoth, looking rather displeased.

Without hesitation, he got straight to the point.

“I have something to ask you.”

“…Excuse me?”

Then why did you grab my wrist?

I frowned slightly and looked at him. He spoke something incomprehensible.

“Is this because Chester insulted you?”

What are you talking about?

“Chester… you mean?”

Tilting my head to show I had no idea why he was grabbing me, Ethan ran a hand through his hair and turned his face away.

He seemed reluctant to make eye contact.

Looking again, even the hand that grabbed my wrist was gentle.

‘What’s with him?’

…This was back when nothing had happened between us yet.

He confessed his feelings during one of my regressions, on a day when I was especially struggling and on the verge of losing my mind.

At this point, still very much a boy, there were no memories between us yet.

So why was he acting like he felt guilty about something?

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

“…The knight who pointed his sword at you yesterday. Chester Hert.”

“Oh.”

I remembered. The guy who pointed his sword at me and, quite literally, got hit in the nose.

He tried to make me drop out of the subjugation practice. A bit too aggressively.

So I rejected him… appropriately for his level.

But why bring it up now?

“I wasn’t really bothered by it.”

“You… I saw you coming out of the dean’s office. Are you really withdrawing from the subjugation practice?”

“No. Not at all.”

“…Then…”

Why would I quit the subjugation practice?

Sure, quitting would guarantee my life. But I wasn’t seeking an empty life—I wanted a perfect death.

“I visited the dean’s office for something else. I’ll be participating in the subjugation practice as planned.”

As soon as I confirmed my participation, Ethan’s face visibly brightened.

‘Hmm.’

Tilting my head slightly,

Seeing his youthful face light up like that… it was kind of cute.