It looks like I cant escape from these headaches.

As I tried my hardest to find a way out of this situation, the sound of rushed steps echoed through the hallway, so I hurriedly took off my suit jacket and covered Lizzys lower body.

Ah.Ha.Hm!

I didnt even say anything, but she continued to have her brief panic attack.

Theres not even a speck of the proud and defiant girl who faced me in the classroom. All I see here is a broken child.

In order to avoid unpleasant rumors from spreading. I overrode Lizzys control of the corpse and made it push her wheelchair as I went down the ramp.

Oh

Then a woman ran into me.

Yuriel Wayne Dayna Alfred.

Why is she here?

No.It shouldnt be weird for her to be here.

However, the timing couldnt be worse.

Hey, do you have something to say? Youre in my way..

She looked at me strangely, perhaps bothered by my silence, and tried to walk past me.

For a moment, I thought Id grab her wrist and stop her, but I restrained myself since, until now, I havent done anything wrong..

Yes, I didnt even touch Lizzy.

I wondered if it meant anything to her since I just tried to be kind in my own way, believing that it was beneath me to do nothing as my student found herself in a precarious situation.

But the results of my kindness werent ideal.

Ah, so you were here, Lizzy, I was waiting for you with your brother, but since youre a little late, I came to look for you..

The marriage between the eldest daughter of the Alfred family with the eldest son of the Claudia family.

So it would make sense if Yuriel, the second daughter of Alfred, was waiting for Lizzy with her soon-to-be brother-in-law.

Lizzy?

Yuriel quickly noticed something was amiss.

Professor Yuriel.

You!

I didnt do anything.

Before she could misunderstand me, I interrupted her.

You think Im stupid, Ferzen? If you didnt do anything, how come this child is.What did you did you forget what youve done to her in the past too?!

I know what happened in your lecture, but would you make her suffer just for-

Dont be mistaken, Professor Yuriel. Im not such a petty person.

In Yuriels eyes, I mustve been a bastard who seemed to have caught Lizzy, who was about to leave the Academy, and began harassing her.

Well, to be honest, anyone seeing this would have arrived at that same conclusion.

Besides, if its Yuriel, she would jump to conclusions rather than try to understand what really happened.

So you, the one who smashed a little girls ankle for a goddam dancing mistake, is trying to tell me hes not a petty person!?

The irrefutable evil deeds committed by Ferzen.

This must be some sort of curse.

One I will never be able to get rid of.

Of course, Ferzen, too, had his reason to commit such evil deeds.

But no one would ever accept such excuses.

Everyone has a certain degree of obsessions, but in Ferzens case, his obsessions are severe enough to become a mental illness.

Ironically, there were rumors pointing out that Ferzen was indeed a lunatic, but Brutein used its influence to cover up such rumors.

And Ferzen, too, had his own pride.

Therefore, even if I did confess the reason for my actions, this would only cause even more damage to my image and pride.

Its too late for that anyway.

Ask the child when she calms down. And she will tell you that I didnt do anything.

Since I, too, held some disregard for Lizzy, my words may be influenced by this, and besides, this woman would never believe me anyway.

To be honest, since the oh-so-great Alfred family is backing this kid she shouldnt have anything even in front of Brutein, no?

Hearing this, Yuriel frowned, wondering if her early deduction of the events was indeed incorrect, so she looked at Lizzy.

Lizzy!

At this point, I turned around, satisfied that the seed of doubt had been planted in Yuriels mind, but I stopped when I heard a mans voice, followed by the sound of his urgent steps.

A unique black uniform with the Imperial crest engraved on it.

The classic red brooch is localized on the right side of the chest area.

The symbol was only granted to the members of the Imperial Templar Knights.

Yes, this man was Lizzys older brother and a member of the Imperial Legion.

The eldest son of Claudia Household Roer Poliana Claudia.

He was coming from the same way I intended to go.

I. Well.!

The bewildered Yuriel looked at Roers cold and impassive face as he tried to grab my wrist when he approached me.

Roer walks the path of Auror Knight.

Therefore, it was meaningless for me, a man who walks the path of magic, to resist him physically.

Ferzen Von Schweig Brutein.

.. Its Ferzen Von Schweig Louerg. And Im sure we are not close enough for you to address me in such a familiar manner, Viscount Roer.

When I met his rare pale blue eyes, for a moment, it was as if the cold breeze of Louerg brushed my entire being.

Killing intent.

Im sure Id be dead a hundred times over if it was possible to kill me with his look.

Hes not even trying to restrain himself.

My fists were clenched with such force that it wouldnt be strange if my tendons snapped.

Im confident that my bones would crack with a little more strength.

Should he give me a reason to resort to violence

Wait here for a moment.

Worry not, my fangs arent sharp enough to bite you for now.

After boldly declaring his intent for revenge, Roer stepped back.

The scared boy who kneeled before my father has grown enough to bare his fangs at me.

Truthfully speaking, his threats arent even a concern for me.

However, I must be cautious since I dont know what could change if the variable known as Ciel Midford were to stand with him against me.

This, however, was something I feared.

No, that was an understatement.

My entire being was covered in a cold sweat.

But Ferzens ego would never allow trivial emotions such as fear to ruin his aristocratic visage.

Lizzy Poliana Claudia. Theres no need to return this dirty jacket. Throw it away later. I believe you can take care of this, Professor Yuriel.

After saying my piece, I took the opportunity to walk away.

For a moment, I almost stumbled because of my trembling legs, but fortunately, no one noticed.

As I left the academy building, the pouring rain greeted me.

Opening my umbrella, I walked slowly, accompanied by the constant downpour.

Ferzen Von Schweig Louerg.

The villain who cant and wont be understood by anyone.

Even Jeremiah, his own brother and someone who carried the same blood as him, doesnt fully understand the character known as Ferzen.

Hes just a good-natured brother who also happens to be the head of Brutein.

In this World, can someone even understand Ferzen?.. Maybe such a person exists.

But in the 24 years of his life, no such person was found.

If Isabel Ron-Pierre Genova was still alive, Im certain we would have been close friends.

The core memories of the woman who was called The Witch of Genova, viewed through his talent, can only be invoked once the body is fully comprehended.

Knowing about the woman who suffered from the curse of the Genova bloodline and myself, who suffers from my severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, I felt a strange sense of. companionship.

* * * * *

My child, you have to remember to take care of yourself. Dont skip any mea-

Y-Youre too much, father I d-dont nneed.. Im n-not a. k-kid anymore.

Hahaha, I know, my little princess I know, but remember, daddy will always love you. always you.

I-I.Loyou too.

Despite being shy, Laura opened her arms and warmly hugged her dear father.

And after saying farewell and having finished their meal, Laura, who was satiated, moved to the dormitory on the opposite side of the Academy.

Hmmm, lets see.

For students pursuing black magic, the dormitory is also a place where they can make deals with the underworld. Because of this, the dormitory had strict regulations.

Therefore, it was prohibited for one who didnt meet certain conditions to enter the dormitory. Even professors and the other staff were required to follow this rule.

There is also a rule banning the students from leaving the dormitory once they enter it. They could only leave after 8 am on the following day.

Although there were exceptions to such rule.

Its hard to remember all these rules.

Laura, who tried to memorize the academys rules while walking, gave up and neatly folded the memo in her arms.

?

On the path between Dormitory A and the Academy Building A.

A man was standing in front of a beautiful flower garden.

Laura realized that this mans back was quite familiar, so she approached him slowly, trying to look at his face.

Professor.. Ferzen?

Despite the sound of the pouring rain muffling the sound of her voice, Ferzen turned his head to her.

Flinch!

When she met those red eyes, Laura instinctively flinched.

So its you, Laura.

W-What.. are y-you.doing.. here?

He didnt seem to be the type who would become immersed in his thoughts while looking at flowers.

I was just. brooding over something.

Oh..Thats.ok?

Awkward.

Its so awkward

Her stutter became a tool for Laura to avoid having social interactions.

Because she didnt have the talent to conduct a normal conversation..

Laura De Charles Rosenberg.

Yes.?

Do you think you would be capable of understanding a man who is forced to murder people because he suffers from a curse that demanded him to commit such heinous acts?

She was only 17 years old.

Ferzen wondered what he was doing asking such a young child this kind of question.

Lauras scarlet eyes contained an unusual seriousness as she formulated her answer while gripping the umbrella.

I. Understand.

You understand?! Are you trying to be nice?

Thats.n-not itmost people.revenge..To the person who is doing..b-but, if you get revengeyoull be just like him..I wouldnt suggest.doing so

That is a pretty disgusting way of looking at things.

The man w-what he is going through. I didnt go through the same, so maybe I dont understand completely. but still..I can empathize.. Im not trying to flatter.or trying to curry favor..like flatterytha-thats not what Im trying.to do

Hearing Lauras jumbled words, Ferzen grinned.

Your logic is indeed strange. Why would you consider both the victim and the cursed mans sides as the cornerstone of your understanding?.. Have you ever killed someone under such urges?

AhN-no. Thats!

Theres nothing to be embarrassed about. Although youre young, you possess quite a mature mind.

But you certainly dont have the talent to speak properly.

Since Ferzen couldnt talk about his obsession, he used the life of Isabel, who seemed to suffer from a curse similar to his own problem, as an example.

Lauras logic in answering his question was like a child trying to act like an adult but failing miserably. Ferzen chuckled at his own analogy because it was precisely that.

And as the rain continued to fall, Ferzen, who had turned his back on her, gradually faded away in the distance.

Y-You brat..

Laura frowned and cursed at him as soon as his figure disappeared completely from her view.

Combining both of her lives, shes a little over forty now, and from Lauras point of view, the only child here was Ferzen.

Being treated like a child by him was more unpleasant than Id imagined.

Oh, and so you guys wont get confused, know that Both Laura and Ferzen have red-colored eyes, and the author uses both Blood red, crimson, deep red, dark red for Ferzen eyes, But on Laura is just red.

Oh, and Lizzy and Yuriel both have purple eyes, too. IDK why.