Episode 10
As soon as the sun came up, I went to Ian’s dorm.
It was already time for classes, so I didn’t feel like I was bothering him. Besides, Ian had insomnia, so there was no way he was sleeping.
As soon as I knocked, Ian flung the door open. Maybe because it was morning, he looked more annoyed than usual. He glared at me and said:
“What is it? So early in the morning?”
“We made a bet, remember? About your sleep. I came to help you win it.”
I held out the potion bottle that contained the sleeping medicine.
I turned the bottle upside down and shook it gently. The potion inside swirled into a small vortex and slowly settled again.
“This is a sleeping potion. Drink it. It works well.”
“Hmph.”
Ian snorted loudly on purpose and, right in front of me, drank the potion in one gulp.
There was no sugar in it, so it probably tasted bitter or a little sharp, but he didn’t show any reaction.
“By tomorrow, bring me all the information you can find on Katane.”
“Sure. If this doesn’t work though…”
I handed him the potion and left for class. I only heard later that the top student of the Magic Department skipped all his classes that day.
Looks like it worked *really* well.
—
The next morning, I visited Ian again, just like I had promised.
Only one day had passed, but he already looked like a different person. The dark circles under his eyes had disappeared, and the dullness in his eyes was gone.
He didn’t do anything special, just slept well—but his whole expression looked fresher. Even his voice sounded different.
“What’s going on?”
Ian obviously knew why I was there, but pretended he didn’t.
The sleeping potion had clearly worked. Maybe he felt awkward lying and pretending it didn’t, so he stayed quiet.
“We had a bet. Remember? About the potion. How was it?”
“Oh, that.”
Ian looked up like he was thinking and replied slowly.
He was so natural, I almost believed him. Then he added:
“It didn’t work at all.”
He let out a big yawn—just like he had done at the entrance ceremony.
For a second, I wondered if I’d made a mistake while making the potion.
But no. I was sure I had done everything right.
“Then give me more. Didn’t you just give me too little?”
“…”
Liar.
He was acting exactly the same as when he lied to Bichot about not sleeping.
I was sure he was lying.
But I had no proof.
So instead, I just chuckled quietly on purpose. He flinched at my reaction.
It was fine.
I had expected this. If Ian was being this stubborn, it meant the truth behind Katane’s death was that serious.
“If you want, I’ll say you won the bet. Just tell me the truth. Did you actually not sleep at all?”
Ian frowned and nodded.
“How many times do I have to say it? Your sleeping potion didn’t work.”
“You’re still being stubborn even when I’m letting you win. Fine. I’ll tell you. The one who killed Katane… was Dimagen. That’s all you wanted, right?”
Dimagen was a black magician from the north who hadn’t shown up in the story yet. Ian probably had no idea who that was.
“Who’s that?! You need to explain!”
No wonder Ian was reacting so emotionally.
“Okay, I’ll explain. But this is just my kindness, alright? So you owe me a favor.”
“If it’s something I can do, anything.”
“Good.”
Seeing how easily he agreed, maybe I didn’t even need the bet in the first place.
Then again, maybe not.
Either way, I had now broken the connection between Bichot and one of the male leads. That alone increased my chances of surviving, so it wasn’t a waste.
“Dimagen is…”
I began explaining who Dimagen was and how he killed Katane.
—
Dimagen was a black magician who had spread his influence all over the Empire. He built a huge dungeon and lived there.
He was the kind of villain who would do anything for power. He committed large-scale crimes.
He enslaved many monsters and kidnapped humans for experiments. Katane, who built a magic tower in the west, became one of his targets.
Katane had trained for many years and had strong mana, but little battle experience.
Dimagen took advantage of that weakness. He brought civilians into the fight to stop Katane from using large-scale magic and teamed up with a cursed sorcerer.
Katane fought hard, showing impressive skill, but couldn’t win against the overwhelming numbers.
In the end, Katane lost.
Part of his soul was taken by Dimagen, and that soul held much of his mana and magic knowledge.
Katane barely escaped to his tower, but it was too late. Once part of the soul was lost, it couldn’t be recovered.
He slowly faded away. Afraid that Ian might try to take revenge, Katane hid the truth. He told his students he had an illness—and died like that.
A meaningless death.
—
“…and that’s what happened. Now you understand, right?”
“I’ll kill him. No matter what.”
Ian’s eyes were bloodshot.
His face and neck turned red with anger. His fists trembled, veins showing, and his mana responded to his rage, pressing down on the air.
I tapped his arm and said,
“Hey, calm down. I’ll help you. Just listen for now.”
Just like normal schools, the Academy had vacations between terms.
In the original story, Dimagen was defeated during the winter break after the second semester.
By then, he had moved to the north to gather more monsters. The day he was caught was a snowy, freezing day in the far north.
The northern duke and Bichot got involved, and Bichot was kidnapped. Then Ian and the duke teamed up to rescue her and defeat Dimagen.
Dimagen’s hideout was revealed during that event—it was in the far northern underground.
Ian and the duke barely won after a tough fight.
Even though Dimagen’s own strength was weak compared to the main characters, the traps and the number of monsters in his dungeon were huge. If Ian went alone, he would lose. And die.
Would that be good for me? Would it help me survive?
I opened a map of the Empire and pointed to Dimagen’s hideout.
“Here. This is where Dimagen is.”
“Alright.”
Ian nodded without question. He believed me right away.
Why? Isn’t it strange that I know this?
I could be working with Dimagen to trick Ian.
“Aren’t you even curious how I know this? I could be lying to you.”
“I already know.”
“What? Know *what*? Speak clearly.”
Ian hesitated. He looked like he was wondering if he should say it.
“Hey, what is it? Just say it.”
After clearing his throat, Ian said,
“Your parents were also killed by a black magician, weren’t they?”
“Huh?”
“Even if I don’t care about things outside the tower, I *am* the master of a magic tower. Did you think I wouldn’t know something like that?”
“Oh.”
Yeah… that *was* the setting.
If Raphael’s parents were still alive, he wouldn’t have inherited his title. And that would’ve gotten in the way of Bichot’s story. So my sister killed them off.
And since my hair is black—like most bad guys these days—the murderer was, of course, a black magician. My sister only added that detail for convenience.
“I believe in you.”
That made me uncomfortable.
How was I supposed to explain something like this?
I just sighed.
“Ha… okay. Let’s go with that. Now unclench your fists.”
Ian was very emotional right now. If I gave him just a bit more information, he’d probably rush off to kill Dimagen.
If I guided him wrong, he could die.
That might actually help me survive.
Right now, Ian was still young. Even if his magical skills were amazing, he didn’t have enough experience.
And he hadn’t unlocked his special trait yet—where his power increases the angrier he gets.
His chances of winning? Less than 50%.
If I lied about a few traps, Ian would walk into death.
It would increase my survival rate.
It made sense logically… but for some reason, I didn’t feel like doing it.
Besides, Ian had almost no chance of ending up with Bichot anymore. I might as well keep using him for now.
His magical talent was unmatched. Maybe he could save me one day.
So, I decided to help him.
I explained what preparations he needed to fight Dimagen and told him to wait for the right time.
—
The biggest reason I worked so hard to enter the Academy was *Katarina*—a swordmaster and one of the Empire’s best sword instructors.
In the original story, the character *Jeprin* learned from her and grew fast.
Jeprin was the classic second male lead: extremely honest, to the point of being a bit stupid.
His only real charms were his pure, loyal love and sword skills. Unlike other male leads with wealth or power, he was very simple.
Normally, I would’ve removed him from the main competition. But my sister made sure to highlight his good traits to me, so I couldn’t ignore him.
> “It’s all about the pure love.”
>
> “You don’t get it. It’s not stupidity, it’s loyal love.”
>
> “Characters like this need to shine. They look good standing next to the heroine.”
Still, no matter how much attention he got, he had limits.
His biggest problem? Combat power.
Without his personality, all he had was his sword skills—but even those weren’t that great compared to other male leads.
When he first entered the Academy, Jeprin couldn’t even break Ian’s barrier.
No matter how fast you swing a sword, if it doesn’t do any damage, it’s useless.
That’s why he had a power-up event—Katarina’s training.
*Katarina*, the Sword Saint.
Leader of the White Lion Knights. One of the top two swordsmen in the Empire.
She wasn’t just good at swordsmanship—she was also amazing at teaching.
She helped her students grow by developing their strengths and hiding their weaknesses.
She taught Jeprin a unique skill that gave him more power.
Today was her first class.
Excited to learn, I went to the training field—and saw her smiling as she walked toward me.