How To Live As An Academy Extra Villain

125 – Underwater (5)

“…”

Only the sound of a crackling fire echoed in the thick silence. Celen stared at Eli without saying a word. There were no words to return to Eli, who had pierced through her with a sharp comment.

It was a strange irritation that made her pay more attention to Eli for some reason. In the midst of this, Edwin’s question was an opportunity. Seizing the moment, she grabbed his arm and playfully acted a bit.

Even for herself, the tears that welled up reflexively were almost worthy of self-admiration. It was a moment when the experience of secretly reading sensual novels over and over again bore fruit.

And the intention behind it hit the mark. Celen could fully enjoy Edwin’s comforting touch, which she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Of course, Edwin seemed a bit off today. So, she meticulously checked the gazes of the spirits he had scattered around.

But even through the spirits, no threat could be found. So, it was certain that tired Edwin had misheard something. Seeing him fall asleep so early, it seemed even more likely.

Thinking back, it was more regrettable. If only Eli hadn’t been there, she could have enjoyed that touch more leisurely.

Perhaps Edwin felt tired because of Eli. She stuck to Edwin all day and made unnecessary fuss. Besides being incredibly lucky, she had not a single quality better than herself. That part couldn’t be denied. Well, she must be lucky to have met Edwin so early.

“…Your eyesight seems pretty good.”

After a long silence, Celen finally opened her mouth. The Celen from before would never have imagined such a quarrel. Edwin Reed, the one who changed her, was also the one who brought about such changes.

“But what does it matter to you…? Whatever Edwin and I do…”

“Do…”

Eli laughed mockingly as she looked at Celen. Celen continued calmly.

“How about you stop caring about other people’s men…? If you’re really lonely, find someone else…”

“Other people’s… men…?”

With the current words, Eli could clearly feel it. The woman in front of her was someone suffering from delusions of grandeur. She felt stupid for trying to convince herself for even a moment.

It had been a long time since Edwin had told her the whole story. She was very uncomfortable using someone else’s husband for such things, but the situation was somewhat desperate, so she granted some mercy.

But this woman, who knew nothing about the topic, boasted as if she had done something significant just because she was taken to a meaningless party once and received a small favor.

Elli secretly considered herself generous. Although her heart ached as if it were being torn apart, she had already resolved not to meddle in Ed’s relationships with women. So, a one-night escapade could easily be overlooked.

However, this woman had crossed the line of that generosity long ago. Before Elli stood a cunning fox, trying to seduce an innocent man.

“…Can you see this…?”

Celen loosened the strap teasingly entwined around her neck. It seemed necessary to make Elli face the reality.

The exposed skin between the loosened clothes gleamed in the moonlight, radiating a pure whiteness. Though the bruises had long faded, the scars with tooth marks were still vivid.

“…Edwin made this for me. As a mark of his ownership. Still, when I think about how he used to desire me, as if he would devour me…”

Celen caressed the scars as if handling a precious item. Only after hearing Celen’s explanation did Elli finally understand the significance of the scars. The traces of that night, whispered among the maids, blushing faces and all, were engraved on her body.

“This…vulgar…ugh…”

Elli struggled to comfort herself. She suppressed the anger that was about to burst forth.

No one in this world knew Ed better than Elli did. It was inconceivable and unacceptable for him to be entangled with another woman before her.

Those scars… well, they were like charity to a beggar. Taking a bite at her neck wouldn’t have been a difficult task for the kind Ed.

The real Elli smiled broadly at Celen.

“Who would be foolish enough? After all, would a naive man like Ed commit such an act?”

Seeing Celen’s discomfort, Elli’s smile widened. The title of “Ed” for him wasn’t entirely wrong; it just grated on her ears. It was time to correct that.

“…Can we not use that ‘Ed’ title? It’s quite unpleasant. Someone might misunderstand…”

“Misunderstand? In a loving relationship, nicknames are natural, aren’t they?”

“…Love? Who? Edwin? With you?”

“Yeah.”

Celen’s discomfort was beyond words. And in the next moment, Elli uttered a remark that went beyond boundaries.

“You. I’ll admit, during my absence, you managed to comfort my husband’s loneliness a bit.”

Celen felt her entire body freezing in an instant. Husband? Who in the world? While Celen had no medical knowledge, she could be sure of one thing at this moment.

The woman in front of her was undoubtedly insane.

“Husband… how dare you say such things recklessly…”

“But let’s not go that far. There are boundaries one must respect. Using an innocent man like Ed is enough; now go back to your place. I’ve helped you once; isn’t that sufficient?”

Communication was impossible. Elli felt a strong urge to remove the woman in front of her.

A single letter to Anje could easily crush this woman into dust, leaving no trace behind.

…But it couldn’t be done, could it? Despite her words, Elli knew deep down that Edwin was showing some care for Celen. Edwin, who wouldn’t casually discard anyone who entered his domain. The reason Elli couldn’t outright tell Celen to leave was also rooted there.

It probably wouldn’t happen, but if Edwin somehow found out that she had gotten rid of Celen, there was a high probability she would be abandoned as well. Just the thought of it sent a shiver down her spine—a dreadful future where her legs would lose all strength.

-Kkadeuk

“…You need to calm down. Edwin is already my man. He’s mine. It’s fate that brought us together. If you continue with empty husband-like nonsense…”

From Noble mtl dot com

Celen bit her lip. It had been a while since she had mastered the combination formula of multi-elemental magic. She was only hiding her skill while playing around with Edwin.

With that combination formula, she could have easily scattered that woman without a trace or sound. It was something she could do right here and now.

But she couldn’t think about the aftermath. Celen and Eli were facing the same kind of dilemma.

She regretted all the past training she had done just to prevent a rampage like this.

If it had been before, just this wavering feeling alone would have caused her to rampage.

Then, couldn’t she have effortlessly sculpted that woman in front of her?

“…I really don’t like you.”

“Is that so? What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing.”

Eli responded to Celen’s muttering with a calm voice. Neither of them easily backed down.

Coincidentally, they were both thinking the same thing.

That it would be a difficult task.

***

-Twitter!

The chirping sound of a bird suddenly woke her up. A faint ray of light seeped through the crack in the tent.

She turned her head when she felt a strange warmth behind her. Herti, who had fallen asleep leaning against her with their backs touching, came into view.

The tent wasn’t all that small, so when did they come over to this side? Herti might really have a bad habit of falling asleep easily, judging by their appearance. Based on looks alone, it seemed like they didn’t have any worries.

She noticed dark circles under Herti’s eyes as they lightly exhaled. Maybe they were tired from standing watch… Wait a minute. Standing watch?

-Spread wide!

“Ed, good morning! Did you sleep well?”

It was already a bright morning outside. Eli turned around, greeting me as they tidied up the surroundings.

“Good morning, Eli. But…”

“You looked so tired, so we let you sleep. It’s okay. We took turns standing watch…”

Eli casually waved their hand as if it wasn’t a big deal. I could sense movement from behind, so I turned around and saw Celen stifling a yawn with their hand over their mouth.

“Edwin… Did you sleep well…? Yawn…”

“Uh… Yeah…”

Even in the midst of it all, they both had a hint of sleepiness on their faces. Women were still a mysterious existence to me. Even in this forest where no one was watching, them wearing makeup was surprising.

But even with makeup, they couldn’t completely hide the dark circles under their eyes. Seeing that made me feel even guiltier. It was me who had ruined the faces of these people who cared so much about their appearance.

“Don’t do that again… I really mean it…”

“Yeah… I promise… I really do…”

Ellie and Selen saw my expression. It was needless to say that even from their tone, fatigue seeped out.

“Today, I’ll handle it alone. You two just rest deeply.”

“No… it’s really okay…”

“Ellie, listen to me.”

“…Yes…”

As Ellie firmly expressed her intentions, she no longer resisted. It was clear that Ellie had a vulnerable side when confronted forcefully. I thought I could use this aspect if problems arose later.

***

“Who… Ellie?”

Soon, Herty also stood up from her seat, and after quickly finishing breakfast, we moved our steps. And just before the swamp, we encountered another group.

“Bella!”

Ellie warmly shook hands with a fellow female student who called her name. They were a group of commoner students with faces, including Ellie.

“Ed… right now…”

“Right now, what…?”

“Acting… we should act friendly together! I said I would improve my reputation… Now is the time!”

Ellie, who was about to approach them, suddenly whispered something to me as if something had occurred to her. In her words, there was an urgency not usually found.