HTNSA 71

Chapter 71

Eila stared at Rosia for a moment before reluctantly accepting her greeting.

“We’re not really close enough for you to visit me, but still, thank you for coming.”

Upon hearing Eila’s words, tears immediately welled up in Rosia’s eyes.

“Why are you talking like that, Eila? Making it seem like there’s distance between us.”

“Can’t you just tell me what you came for right away?”

Her cold tone was very irritating, but Rosia, sniffling, continued speaking.

“Because of you, the whole family is in a gloomy state right now. No matter how desperate you were, how could you use a monster’s egg to practice forbidden magic?”

“……”

“I understand that you were hurt from being kicked out of the family. But how could you tarnish the name of Blanche in such a terrible way? Why did you do this?”

Eila calmly observed Rosia’s actions, as if trying to figure out her true intentions.

Rosia, undeterred by Eila’s gaze, continued her passionate tirade.

“Did you do this just to beat me in the exam? Did you hate me that much?”

Listening to her, Eila internally scoffed, but outwardly, she denied it calmly.

“I don’t hate you.”

“What?”

“And I didn’t hide the monster’s egg, nor did I use it for forbidden magic. There’s nothing to worry about like you’re concerned, and there’s no need to worry about tarnishing the family’s name. The truth will come out soon through the investigation.”

Rosia blinked, stunned.

To claim so confidently that it wasn’t a monster’s egg…

Her head instantly became a whirlwind of confusion.

Could it be that her own knowledge as a magician was wrong?

Rosia, unable to easily believe it, shouted loudly.

“Why are you lying to me, Eila? I saw the egg! That big, dark, ominous-looking egg, how could it not be a monster’s egg?”

Hearing Rosia’s words, Eila tilted her head with an expression of confusion.

“What are you talking about? How do you know what the egg looks like? Only the professors have seen it. Could it be… you were the one who reported me, Rosia?”

Eila looked at her in surprise.

Rosia was momentarily speechless. In her agitation, she had accidentally said something she shouldn’t have.

“I… I just wanted to stop you before you went down a bad path.”

Rosia quickly added an excuse and then tried to persuade Eila.

“You don’t need to think so badly of me. I’ll help you. So just admit what you’ve done. It’s true you used that egg to cure your mana insensitivity, right? If you didn’t do anything else wrong, maybe I can ask for leniency.”

“……”

“If you tell the truth, I’ll ask my father to bring you into the family. Then, even if you get expelled from the academy, you’ll have a place to go.”

Rosia spoke gently, as though truly worried about Eila.

But Eila shook her head firmly.

“As I said before, I’m innocent. So I won’t be confessing.”

“That can’t be true, Eila. I’m asking you to be honest.”

Rosia’s voice grew louder.

Eila looked at her for a moment, then, as if in disbelief, she smiled slightly.

She then spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.

“Why are you denying what I’m saying about my innocence? It seems like you don’t want this issue to be resolved, but you want me to be guilty.”

“What?”

“If you really care about the family, why did you come here to see me? If I get taken away, the position of top student will be yours, right? Can you honestly say that doesn’t have anything to do with your attitude?”

“……”

“If you wanted to beat me, Rosia, you should have earned that top position with your own ability. Fight fairly with your skills.”

At that moment, flames seemed to burst from Rosia’s eyes.

What was that supposed to mean?

How dare Eila—

She, who had taken my man, my position, and the honor I deserved.

Her anger reached its peak.

“You lowly commoner!”

Rosia, unable to hold herself back, stood up and slapped Eila across the face.

Smack!

With a sharp sound, Eila’s head was violently turned to the side.

At that moment…

“Eila!”

The door slammed open, and Cadin and Cedric stormed into the visiting room.

Rosia’s eyes widened in shock. She was more surprised than Eila, who had been slapped.

However, ignoring Rosia, Cadin and Cedric rushed to Eila’s side.

Her cheek was swollen and red from the slap.

Cadin looked at the injury on Eila’s face, gritting his teeth in anger.

He turned around and walked straight toward Rosia. Rosia trembled in fear.

Cadin found her reaction sickening.

Eila was the one who had been slapped, so why was she the one acting shocked?

‘It’s probably because she got caught abusing Eila all this time.’

Cadin looked at Rosia with contempt and asked sharply.

“What are you doing here?”

“Cadin, I…”

“I’m really disappointed in you. Come with me, now.”

At Cadin’s cold words, Rosia’s face turned pale.

She began shaking and hurriedly tried to explain.

“I’m innocent, Cadin. If you knew what Eila said to me, you wouldn’t say that. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

Cadin, clearly irritated, grimaced.

He had heard Eila and Rosia talking outside the room.

Eila had remained calm and reasonable throughout their conversation, simply asserting her innocence.

It was Rosia, on the other hand, who had aggressively attacked Eila with harsh words.

And in the end, it was Rosia who slapped her.

Cadin spoke with a frigid tone.

“Just come with me. I don’t want to make a scene.”

His once polite demeanor was now gone.

Rosia’s eyes welled with tears.

She wanted to explain herself, but the sharp gazes of the two men made her unable to speak.

Especially Cadin’s gaze, which seemed to pierce through everything about her.

Realizing that she couldn’t speak any longer, Rosia reluctantly followed Cadin out of the visiting room.

When Cadin and Rosia left, the room was filled with heavy silence.

Cedric, who had been hesitating for a while, finally spoke cautiously.

“Eila, did… did Rosia always treat you like this?”

He reached out, looking at Eila’s swollen cheek with concern.

But Eila coldly pushed his hand away.

“Even if she did, it’s no longer something you need to worry about.”

She avoided his gaze, gingerly touching the sore spot on her face.

‘Rosia’s slap was worse than I expected.’

She had known this would happen from the original story, but experiencing it firsthand felt different.

Actually, Eila knew that another person had requested a meeting before this.

She had heard from the guards that there was someone else who had also requested to meet her.

That’s why she intentionally provoked Rosia with her words.

Whoever was waiting outside, exposing Rosia’s true colors wouldn’t cause her any harm.

‘I picked the words that would make her the most angry, and it worked.’

As expected, Rosia fell for the provocation, and eventually resorted to violence.

However, when Cadin and Cedric suddenly burst into the room, Eila was momentarily stunned.

‘Cedric and… Cadin? What are they doing here?’

In an instant, Eila realized her mistake.

Cadin hadn’t interacted with her since his declaration about Felix, and she had thought he would still hold some grudge against her.