Chapter 38
Meanwhile, not long after Clemence Jacqueline left the lecture hall, the rest of the professors who had been chatting also dispersed.
Melin let out a cheer.
“As expected of my sister! Ahem, everyone saw that, right?”
On the other hand, another corner of the room felt like a storm was coming—an air of chaos.
It was Louis Bentley and his gang.
“Dude… what are you going to do, Louis? It seems like even the principal’s got you on their blacklist.”
One of Louis’s lackeys, Koleb, said to him.
“Shut the hell up! You think I don’t know that already?!”
Louis Bentley shouted.
“Hey! I said that because I’m worried about you. No need to be so harsh!”
“Tell me straight—are you really worried, or are you secretly enjoying this? Don’t lie—you’re happy to see me fall, aren’t you?!”
“This jerk’s seriously twisted.”
Koleb let out a dumbfounded laugh. Honestly, Louis wasn’t wrong.
He always bragged about his father being the Count Bentley. So deep down, Koleb was savoring Louis’s fall—he just pretended otherwise.
As Louis and Koleb’s argument began, cracks started forming in their group. That’s when Melin, wearing a triumphant smile, walked over.
“When are you going to keep your promise?”
“W-What promise?”
Louis looked at Melin as if she were spouting nonsense.
Despite his rude attitude, Melin smiled brightly.
“You didn’t forget the bet you made with Ren, right?”
“……”
Louis went silent, and Melin’s expression hardened.
Then she leaned in so close that only he filled her vision. Louis’s face reddened at the proximity, then quickly stiffened.
As he saw the anger in her eyes, he felt a strange pressure, like something was tightening around his throat.
“You insulted my sister and now you’re running away?”
It felt like an overwhelming force was pressing down on him.
Louis didn’t realize it, but it was the spirits resonating with Melin’s emotions, expressing their fury.
“I-I mean…”
“Hehe, so you’re doing it then?”
Melin grinned innocently again.
The mood shifted so suddenly that Louis reflexively nodded without thinking, and then panicked.
‘Crap. What the hell did I just agree to?!’
Satisfied with his answer, Melin laughed and waved at him.
“I’ll be waiting at the plaza tomorrow! Don’t forget—it’s down to your underwear!”
“H-Hey…!”
Louis stared at her in shock, dumbfounded by what he had just agreed to. Then, realizing the mess he was in, he glanced nervously around the lecture hall and dashed out.
From this moment on, there was only one path left for him—
Run for his life! (like in the Thirty-Six Stratagems)
Meanwhile…
‘What’s with that guy…’
Mion, who had stayed in the lecture hall to see Melin, was doing his best to ignore a pair of eyes staring directly at him.
‘Wasn’t his name Lennox?’
They had first and last met at Clemence’s graduation. Mion remembered him because he had lived a particularly turbulent life in his past 45 feline years.
‘But why does he keep staring at me?’
Then Lennox tilted his head curiously as he approached.
“That’s weird… It was this size back then too.”
‘W-Wait…!’
Before Mion could run, Lennox quickly grabbed the scruff of his neck.
In that instant, Mion read his memories—and all the fur on his body stood on end.
‘What kind of bastard dares mess with my Mel?!’
His blue eyes blazed with fury.
These damn punks! I’ll rip them apart myself!
But then another memory drifted in, and Mion paused, looking up at Lennox.
‘Wait, this guy… helped Mel?’
Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have any romantic interest in her and appeared to be her only friend.
Mion’s sharp gaze toward Lennox softened slightly.
‘Hmph. Then I’ll forgive you for grabbing my neck… this time.’
But that relief was short-lived.
Another memory made Mion freeze again.
‘Hold on… he’s the one who sent those letters to the witch?!’
The unexpected info made Mion glance sideways. Then, by chance, he locked eyes with Lennox—and froze.
It was the first time he’d met Lennox’s gaze directly. It felt like staring into the eyes of a massive predator.
A primal fear coursed through Mion, and he shivered.
Dominic, back at Duke Penelope’s estate, had a unique aura too—but not like this.
‘…What the hell is this insane energy?’
Since their first meeting at Melin’s entrance ceremony, Lennox’s aura had gone off the charts.
Then Mion remembered something he had forgotten.
The Euclid family possessed destructive innate powers passed down for generations.
Mion, having read even Lennox’s lost memories, realized that those powers would awaken the moment his memories returned.
His blue eyes rolled nervously.
‘Shouldn’t I tell the witch about this?’
A student who had approached the witch under the anonymous name “Aquila” was this dangerous? That didn’t sit well.
Feeling Lennox’s gaze intensify, Mion swallowed his pride and meowed as cutely as he could.
“Me… Meow.”
But Lennox’s sharp eyes didn’t waver.
“Oh, Mion!”
Then came a welcome voice in Mion’s ears.
‘Melin! My love!’
There was no moment more relieving than this one.
It felt like he’d just been saved from the jaws of a predator.
Melin spotted Mion and scooped him up in a hug.
“Up you go, my cute little Mion! What are you doing here?”
‘I came to see you, of course!’
Mion hated that he couldn’t speak in times like this.
While she fussed over Mion, Melin turned to Lennox and said,
“Louis agreed to keep his promise tomorrow!”
“Yeah.”
His dry response made Melin pout.
“Why so cold? Be honest, you don’t really care, right?”
“……”
Lennox didn’t reply, but that silence was confirmation.
Just as she said, Louis Bentley was no longer his concern.
Now, something else weighed on his mind.
‘So… is Clemence going back to the count’s estate now?’
Now that the cheating scandal had been resolved, she likely wouldn’t stay at the academy.
Their letter exchanges had been nice, but meeting her in person only made him more curious.
I’d like to meet Aquila sometime.
He hadn’t even told her that he was Aquila yet… and he still didn’t know why she had helped him back then.
Lennox’s eyes drifted back to Mion.
His gaze deepened as he looked at the cat.
“Hehe, cute, right?”
Melin, misunderstanding his look, proudly held Mion out.
Now brought closer to Lennox, Mion silently screamed at her not to do that—but of course, she couldn’t hear him.
Lennox stared and asked,
“Melin, when did you adopt this cat?”
“Um… three—oh! That’s a secret!”
She suddenly remembered her sister’s warning to keep Mion’s origin hidden and clamped her mouth shut.
But Lennox already caught on.
‘So it really was the cat I saw at the entrance ceremony.’
Under his suspicious gaze, Mion flinched and buried himself deeper in Melin’s arms.
“Mion’s such a shy little thing!”
Melin laughed cheerfully at his behavior.
To Lennox, though, it looked more like avoidance than shyness.
‘Everything’s suspicious.’
Clemence, disguised as her sponsor “Rose,” was already suspicious. But this cat had secrets too.
And Melin…
Lennox’s gaze naturally shifted to her.
‘She definitely used some strange power.’
Back when they first met, she had saved him with a power that clearly wasn’t human.
Lennox looked at her and spoke slowly.
“Don’t you want to see her one more time?”
“Huh?”
“She looks like she’s leaving soon.”
Despite the vague statement, Melin understood who he meant.
“Oh…!”
Startled, she dropped Mion.
He landed safely, but felt strangely jealous—like he had just lost to Clemence.
“I’ll look after the cat. Go talk to her.”
“Hm… okay. Thanks!”
How generous.
It was uncharacteristic of Lennox, but Melin didn’t question it and handed Mion over.
‘No! Don’t leave me, Melin!’
Mion silently screamed as he watched her run off.
Now, Lennox’s eyes were focused entirely on Mion.
His gaze narrowed.
He had to find out.
Why did he feel like he was being seen through whenever this cat looked at him?
“…Let’s figure out who you really are.”
Lennox whispered as he picked up Mion and walked off.
In his arms, Mion squirmed and screamed inside:
‘Save me, witch! No—master!!’
Wrong novel 🥺