144 – Protecting Yuria -1-
Yuria cried in my arms for a long time.
“How did you know?”
“Why did you know?”
Despite not wanting to show this side of herself, she repeated shedding tears while expressing her discontent of truly not wanting to show it.
Yuria’s tears, seemingly endless, came to a halt with the words “Thank you for finding me” as the final drop.
Taking a deep breath, Yuria gazed beyond the curtains at the ballroom.
It was time to slowly return to the ball.
Staying in the open veranda like this would surely draw attention from the cult. Moreover, if they continued to leave their seats empty, it would become awkward for both parties.
I held Yuria’s trembling hand, contemplating a comforting phrase. It seemed a word of encouragement might be necessary to return to the ball.
“Miss Yuria.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t be too afraid.”
“Do you… sense it?”
“Yes.”
“…”
From Noble mtl dot com
Yuria took a deep breath and patted her cheeks.
“Sigh. Will it be okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Ricardo being with me. Strange rumors might spread.”
“It’s fine. If anyone says anything, we’ll just have to kill them.”
“What?”
“Just kidding.”
Yuria seemed unaware that her original face had returned. With no mirror on the veranda, she couldn’t notice.
‘How do I say this?’
Suddenly blurting out “The spell is broken” might be too strange. Hmm.
I pointed to the faintly visible mirror between the curtains and tapped Yuria’s cheek.
Startled by the sudden touch, Yuria shuddered and looked at me.
“Eek…! Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“Would you like to see the mirror?”
“What?”
“The mirror in the corner of the ballroom over there.”
Yuria turned her head along the extended finger. The mirror faintly visible between the curtains reflected our images.
A boy with red hair and a girl with a beautiful face.
The criticized face had disappeared, and the beautiful face of the heroine was reflected in the mirror.
“Uh…?”
Surprised, Yuria touched her face. Thinking it might be a dream, she pinched her cheek, alternated between looking at the mirror and her face, and screamed upon realizing it wasn’t a dream.
“Wha-what?!”
“Even if you look like that, I have no idea. I don’t know why Yuria’s face changed.”
To ease the tension, I played a clumsy prank on Yuria.
“Well, have you received the prince’s kiss?”
“Excuse me…?”
“Just kidding.”
“I don’t know.”
Yuria blushed, hitting my shoulder with her fist. Yuria, who was grumbling about not making such jokes, looked much better than before.
“Now you seem more like Yuria.”
Yuria, the female protagonist in the novel with a bright energy, was gradually regaining her innocent smile and cheerful appearance that had stolen the hearts of many men. I sighed with relief.
I subtly reached out my hand towards Yuria.
“Shall we go back now? The main character of the ball shouldn’t be huddled in a corner, right?”
Like a scene often seen in romance novels, I reached out my hand towards Yuria.
Looking at Ricardo smiling faintly as he gazed at the softly lit ballroom, Yuria stood still, dazed.
“Why are you standing still? It’s unsettling.”
Yuria, staring at me blankly as if she had been hit on the head with a hammer, awkwardly smiled.
‘Oh, this isn’t right.’
Thinking that I had done something too cringeworthy under the influence of the atmosphere, I awkwardly withdrew my outstretched hand.
And then.
-Thunk.
Yuria’s soft fingers tickled my calloused palm as she embraced it.
“Yes…! Let’s go!”
With her eyes slightly swollen, Yuria smiled broadly as I looked at her. I returned the same smile, mirroring the cloudless autumn sky-like smile Yuria directed at me.
“From now on, you just need to trust me.”
“I’ve always trusted you…”
“Yes?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Today, Yuria was holding my hand tightly.
As if she would never let go.
*
-Knock.
Seeing two men and women revealing themselves in the ballroom, Ruin lowered the wine glass in his hand and spoke.
“What’s this?”
“Don’t be nervous, just look at my handsome face.”
“What’s that supposed to mean…”
“That’s not entirely untrue, is it?”
“Well, it’s true…”
“What did you say?”
“Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself.”
Yuria was holding Ricardo’s hand.
Seeing the freckled woman walking shyly towards them from the balcony where she had fled, Ruin felt a pang in his heart.
‘Why is Yuria coming from there?’
Wearing the dress he had given her, Yuria walked slowly towards them, making Ruin clench his fist and glare at Ricardo.
Unexpected things happened.
Beside Lune, who was lost in deep thoughts, the voice of the student council president was heard.
“What’s up, Yuria. When did you arrive?”
“…”
“Lune?”
“…”
Without hesitation, Lune walked towards Yuria.
While walking with heavy steps, a gust of wind caused by bumping into a girl who had been mocking Yuria made a short scream of surprise, but Lune ignored it and kept walking, only looking straight ahead.
“Why is she hanging out with that guy?”
“If she came, she should have said something.”
Lune was boiling with anger. Yuria was with the guy she disliked the most, even though she was wearing the dress he had given her.
Although he felt good seeing her wearing the dress he gave her, Lune found Yuria’s behavior of showing off to Ricardo first quite unpleasant.
With a shy gesture, Lune shouted towards Yuria, who was holding hands with Ricardo with her head bowed.
“Yuria!”
Lune’s voice echoed loudly in the hall.
Despite being a loud voice that everyone in the hall could hear, Yuria was holding Ricardo’s hand tightly, ignoring Lune.
“…”
She was being ignored. Lune, who had never experienced such cold indifference from Yuria before, felt a chilling coldness from his shoulders down.
As the question ‘Why…?’ passed through his mind, murmuring voices began to reach Lune’s ears.
-It’s Yuria.
-When did she arrive… Oh. But wait, why is Yuria so pretty?
-Right? But who’s the guy next to senior Yuria? Totally my type.
-Oh… damn. But why are those two together?
Envious gazes from students were directed at Yuria and Ricardo. Comments about how well they matched and how good-looking they were all seemed to be aimed at the guy Lune disliked the most.
Seeing Ricardo stealing the attention he should be receiving, Lune felt his sanity slipping away, and when he came to his senses, he found himself holding Yuria’s wrist tightly.
Yuria was frowning from the strong grip.
“Ouch…”
Realizing too late that Yuria was in pain, Lune tried to quickly release her hand, but he couldn’t let go due to Ricardo’s chilling voice.
“Let go.”
“…Shut up.”
“If you don’t want to die, let go.”
With his eyes gleaming red, Ricardo glared at Lune.
Ricardo’s voice, now filled with a deep intensity, was different from before. Feeling like his wrist was about to be cut off by Ricardo’s intensity, Lune momentarily felt his legs weaken.
“Damn it…”
Overcoming the unsettling intensity, Lune spoke to Yuria.
“Why are you so late? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?”
“…”
“I was so worried because I couldn’t find you no matter how hard I looked.”
“…”
“However, Yuria looks really beautiful today.”
With a small smile, Ruin gazed at Ricardo.
“Thank you for wearing the dress I gave you.”
Feeling a sense of superiority from not being chosen, Ruin tried to feel his own superiority.
“Let go.”
As if vehemently denying it, the person began to roughly shake off the hand he held.
Yuria, looking at Ruin with trembling lips, spoke in a cold voice.
“I don’t want to associate with an ugly girl.”
“Uh…?”
“Why are you surprised?”
Ruin reached out to hold Yuria’s hand again, but Yuria nervously avoided him and spoke with a cold expression.
“You said that to me.”
Ruin gathered his hand hanging in the air and replied to Yuria. Despite searching his memory, Ruin, in a bewildered voice, said he had never done such a thing.
“What are you talking about? When did I say that to you?”
Ruin rambled awkwardly, gesturing with his hands, but as he saw the dagger firmly attached to Yuria’s fingertips, his words gradually faded.
‘Uh…?’
Yuria firmly answered Ruin’s question.
“Are you really pretending not to know?”
Countless puzzles tinged with unease began to piece together in Ruin’s mind.
“You said that. Why are you pretending not to know?”
As Yuria expressed her emotions, Ruin’s pupils wandered.
Because the puzzle was coming together.
– I am Yuria.
– Shut up. Yuria wasn’t as ugly as you. Don’t talk about others’ looks so lightly.
The pitiful sight of the girl with freckles quickly stirred Ruin’s heart.
*
‘Oh…’
Yuria held my hand and said.
“Let’s go. Leave that trash alone.”
I was honestly quite surprised by Yuria’s unexpectedly resolute demeanor.
I thought she would understand and forgive, but Yuria’s clear expression of emotions left me in awe.
“Well, even if it were me, I guess I’d do the same.”
Even though I was openly insulted, who would like it? No one.
I softly whispered to Ruin, who was gazing at Yuria’s back with an empty expression and had his shoulder bumped.
“What did I say?”
“…”
“Mr. Ruin, you don’t know anything.”
Ruin, looking at our passing figures with empty eyes, lowered his head.
– Kugugung…!
The light of the chandelier began to flicker.
“Hmm.”
Olivia was bored.
The butler who went on vacation didn’t entertain her. Though he was just a nagging butler, it seemed inevitable that she would feel a bit hurt since he was absent.
“I’m bored.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“What is Ricardo up to?”
Feeling bored, Olivia looked at her desk.
-If you’re bored, read it.
-No, thanks.
-Then don’t read it.
-No, thanks.
The book Ricardo had left behind.
A thick book without a title seemed uninteresting.
“I won’t read it.”
Yawning, Olivia gazed at the stars in the night sky.
“One star.”
“Two stars.”
“Three stars.”
As Olivia, feeling bored, counted stars beyond three,
-Rumble…!
Clouds began to cover the sky.
“Oh…”
-Flash!
A red lightning bolt started to strike towards the academy.
Red lightning? Hell yeah!