The Villain Bought the Heroine - The Villain Bought the Heroine chapter 62
Chapter 62
Liam, after finishing the morning class, was walking down the corridor.
Today is April 28th.
One day a year, this day is deeply connected to Vargan.
*Thud, thud.*
Liam’s footsteps resounded distinctly.
Vargan has two weaknesses.
Even though he had nearly achieved perfection in his swordsmanship, his downfall was due to these two weaknesses.
The first one is…
‘Barugan is secretly suffering from an incurable disease.’
Praised as a prodigy from a young age, he ironically harbored immense talent while also carrying a poison within him.
No great physician. No lofty mage.
Not even a saint capable of miracles.
It was impossible to cure Barugan’s illness.
The description of Barugan’s disease in the later part of the novel was as follows:
“This disease is a curse from the gods. It devours the soul, not the body. No matter what means or methods are used in this world, it will be incurable.”
A baffling nature of an incomprehensible illness.
A strange phenomenon that raises doubts whether, if there were gods, it was not created for the purpose of punishing Barugan.
With no other abnormalities, it was a peculiar disease that manifested suddenly on a specific day each year, worsening day by day, lasting exactly one day each year.
Upon discovering Barugan’s illness, the head of the Schugenharz family, in order to prevent the news from spreading, killed the examining physician.
It was written in the novel that every possible method was secretly sought to cure Barugan’s disease, but there was no success until his death.
An almost unsearchable incurable disease.
Beyond a mere name for an illness, referred to as “God’s Curse,” it was considered an omen of impending doom, marking the span of Barugan’s life. Even if he lived a long life, he would only reach his mid-twenties.
The incurable disease restricted Barugan’s actions once a year. I don’t understand the rationale behind it. Perhaps it is part of a setting.
Every year, on April 28th.
For 24 hours.
His magic was restricted.
If he used more than a certain amount of magical power, his lifespan would decrease with each drop of blood, as the remaining soul diminished.
The day Barugan learned of his illness was on April 28th, the day he overexerted himself with magic. Suddenly vomiting blood, Barugan collapsed, and his shocked attendants reported this fact to the head of the family.
The head, knowing this fact only about himself and Barugan, killed all related individuals who were aware of it. Only he and Barugan knew of this dreadful tragedy in the world.
Thoroughly concealing the truth about Barugan’s disease, he believed it was due to concerns about the surrounding gaze. Barugan’s reputation as a genius could not afford to plummet from grace to a discarded being by the gods in a moment.
For the great Schugenharz.
And for Barugan, his third son, with his short life.
…This is merely a story that goes beyond imagination, a speculation of ‘what if it wasn’t like that?’ However, if not, no plausible reason comes to mind.
Nevertheless, if Barugan were a possessor like himself, he would most certainly know about Barugan’s incurable disease.
Yet, he seemed unperturbed, always displaying a carefree demeanor as if freely unfolding events beyond the original Barugan’s control.
With what confidence?
Or perhaps he is prepared to accept death?
Considering his character, the latter is hardly convincing. Instead, he would likely show a tenacious spirit to survive….
“Ah.”
Turning the corner of the corridor, he came face to face with a dignified man.
Schugenharz Troa Barugan.
The figure Liam had been thinking about just a while ago.
Liam looked at him.
A face that seemed to have not a worry in the world.
Is there truly a solution?
No, such a thing was not written in the novel. If Schugenharz knew a way to cure him, the original Barugan would not have met his end.
Barugan.
Whether you are a possessor or something else.
It would be impossible to cure it completely, right? Can the explicitly stated passage be changed? Is that even possible?
…I really don’t know.
If we call it the ‘setting of the novel’ that can never be altered, what will you do?
“Step aside.”
At his casual remark, Liam snapped back to reality. Vargan, who lightly brushed past Liam, continued on his way.
For a moment, his eyes seemed to be those of a person facing imminent death or someone overly authoritative and disdainful of others, as if possessing a solution. …As if holding some kind of solution.
As he moved away, Liam realized that he had involuntarily made way for him. Though he hadn’t used any magic, he reflexively moved aside, feeling like he should yield peacefully.
Like yielding quietly when a high-end foreign car wants to pass.
“……”
Liam felt uneasy and resumed walking.
Then he thought.
Or, can even that be changed?
Do you really think that’s possible?
For us trapped in a novel?
If you truly believe that, what about you….
“Perhaps being overly arrogant.”
***
It became somewhat awkward.
According to the original schedule, I wasn’t supposed to activate any magic today.
There was a class, but it was all about learning theory and improving basic physical stamina, so it was easily dealt with by just moving your hands a bit or walking a little faster.
Things were flowing smoothly like that.
The class “Advanced Theory of Magical Rituals 1” taught by Paula.
Once again, this troublemaker made things difficult for me.
“It’s boring to just sit around all the time, so today we’ll do practical exercises!”
Yeah. Even though the subject is ‘advanced theory,’ let’s say there’s a need to use magic for practice a hundred times, but still.
“You just need to destroy or render useless all obstacles, and reach the finish line—it’s a simple rule! Don’t just pass by! I’ll be checking!”
Now, it wasn’t about ‘magical rituals’ or ‘advanced theory’ anymore. What’s left might just be the ‘1’ at the end.
Or maybe she doubled the negatives and wants to multiply them by two negatives make a positive kind of nonsense.
Other students were a bit puzzled, but it seems they think Paula has some deeper meaning behind planning this class. From my perspective, she just got bored of teaching and adjusted things as she pleased.
Well, let’s leave the whispers at that.
Now, how do I break through this?
“……”
While looking ahead at the course, I feel a persistent gaze on me.
It could be mistaken for Alicia, but Alicia isn’t attending the current class. Therefore, she’s ruled out. The answer is.
“Erica. Someone might mistake this for a confession. Have I suddenly become likable to you?”
“……”
Returning the words she said to me at the theater, Erica, with a gentle frown, retorted. I get hurt when she makes such a face.
Erica abruptly turned her head and muttered to herself.
“What’s good about this guy…?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Are you battling with your past self?”
Erica half-listened to my words and brushed them off vaguely. She didn’t even make eye contact.
“I’ve never liked you.”
“Oh, so all that cuteness in your early teens was just an act?”
“…I was pretending to allow you into my heart.”
“Wow, what a great actress you are.”
As I chuckled at her words, Erica’s eyes narrowed. Not only towards me but for a moment. Her widely spread nose was the starting point.
That’s it.
Ding-ding-ding?!
The signal announcing our start rang out.
While everyone rushed ahead, Erica and I leisurely strolled through the park.
Although there was a time limit, there was no need to hurry as we could pass easily. If we could finish early and get bonus points, the story might change, but that wasn’t the case.
“Are you popular?”
Out of the blue, Erica spoke again.
Well, after catching Caliculea, wouldn’t people gather around? I was about to answer, but seeing her indifferent reaction, I realized her intention was different.
“Th-th-th-there.”
Huge rocks shot up, blocking each lane. It was of such a massive size that it could be about 4 meters high.
Erica activated warp magic, piercing the center of the rock, and I summoned a shadow demon from within to devour the rock.
Sensing the rough outline, I said to Erica.
“It’s related to the saint, isn’t it?”
“….”
Erica froze the remaining debris of the rocks. Clearly rocks turned into majestic icebergs under her touch.
The speed was truly deadly. If hit properly, one would surely become a frozen human.
“I told you not to touch Diphyelia.”
Her voice grew deeper.
“At your request, I replied that I wouldn’t utter a word unless it was about business related to the saint.”
“It was not a request, it was a warning.”
“I accepted it as such.”
“….”
By now, Erica’s sharp voice could have pierced eardrums, but she remained silent.
Simply walking the course at the same speed as me.
She didn’t object to matching her pace with mine.
“Jealousy is an ugly emotion, Erica.”
“Even though you know it’s not, saying it is like admitting that the hypocrite is filthy. Shugenhardt.”
Ah, yes.
With the current conversation, I understood almost 90% of it.
So, the Diphyelia who played my organ had revealed the ‘fantasy’ she had kept, making me more confused. I needed to gather information about myself to make the right judgment.
Since I couldn’t confirm if the fantasy was true or false, I wanted to use any information to understand me a little bit better.
The source of that information was Erica.
She probably asked her, who holds the most information about me within the academia.
If I were to put it in dialogue form, it would probably go something like this.
Please tell me about Bargan!
I can’t tell others the reason. It’s a betrayal of faith in Yggdrasil, so I either made up something hastily or kept it hidden. That’s why it got twisted. As evidence, Erika misunderstands me and nags at me like this.
“It’s a huge misunderstanding to think that the saint has a liking for me.”
It’s actually distrust and caution.
“…Why does it have to be Difellia? If it were someone else, I wouldn’t have cared at all.”
“It seems like you have no intention of listening at all.”
Chiiieek?!!
This obstacle spewed high-temperature steam from both sides. I considered blowing up the rocks I had swallowed and shattering them, but chose a different method, taking into account the possibility of shards flying in all directions.
Sizzle.
My shadow stretched long, swelling my body, blocking the front of the structure emitting high-temperature steam. It transformed into a shape covering the entrance of the carbonated drink that was shaken vigorously.
Erika chose to temporarily block it by erecting two large ice pillars. The high heat quickly melted the icebergs.
“…Today, you’re only using the shadow guy? Originally, you would have been busy showing off by summoning various others.”
“Well, widening the range of use is a good thing, isn’t it?”
In reality, it’s not that I don’t use it, but it’s more accurate to say I can’t, yet I don’t bother mentioning it.
While other summoners consume magical power to summon, our “Darkling” only consumes a very small amount of magical power living within my shadow. There was no need to reveal the fact.
We continued our conversation, overcoming several obstacles.
The information gleaned from this conversation is:
Difellia has opened the organ.
She is trying to ascertain the truth.
It is predicted that she will approach me soon.
Additionally… Erica is showing interest in the business between me and Difellia, so I need to be a bit cautious?
I guess that’s about it.
***
Arvol Prutal’s research lab.
Today was a day without a regular meeting, but there were sixteen members of “Stem” and their supervisors Alicia and Serena here.
They were having a meeting, but the group’s conversation centered around Alicia was not going smoothly.
“Why should we follow the orders of a fourth-year like you?”
Leaning back in his chair, tapping his crossed legs on the desk, a first-year nobleman, Lavant Del Tigres.
With a disdainful look, he scanned Alicia.
His hands, filled with determination and specific desires, seemed to touch Alicia’s body.
Alicia shook off that discomfort and spoke.
“I am the supervisor of Stem. Before entering Arvol Prutal, there was a rule that members should follow the supervisor’s instructions unless they are unjust, right?”
Bang!
Tigres kicked the desk with one foot, ignoring her words.
The tea cups on top toppled over, liquid spilled, or were knocked off and shattered due to the recoil.
Tigres spoke angrily.
“Unjust instructions?! What nonsense.”
The atmosphere, which was barely holding together from the start, turned completely hostile at this point.
Tigres tapped his foot and pointed at Alicia.
“You, Alicia, right? Yes, your skills seem decent, but in the end, you’re a mere commoner with no name. Isn’t that so?”
His words were a question, yet he did not seek an answer. It was merely a stepping stone to chew on his anger and move on to the next stage.
“No. Since the tail of the Shugenhardt’s family has turned into a crawling dog, it would be more appropriate to call it not a commoner, but a ‘s*x slave.’”
“…!!”
“Wait a moment, Serena.”
The one who showed strong anger at his statement was not Alicia, who felt insulted, but Serena, who always maintained an expressionless demeanor. She now expressed emotions that were rare to see, and Alicia tried to prevent her from doing so.
Tigris chuckled.
“Why? Have I said something wrong? With that fairly ambiguous appearance, you are receiving the Baron’s favor every night. It’s already widely known in Academia that your body is leading that man into his room.”
He says.
To follow the words of the common Alicia, who is ignorant of etiquette and even stoops to a nobleman like himself, is a ‘shameful act’ close to disgrace.
“However, it was my choice to enter Arbol Fruttal, and it was clearly stated. Therefore…”
Despite showing anger, Tigris scrutinized Alicia’s body with his eyes. Alicia could sense some vile thoughts brewing deep within him.
Tigris’ eyes narrowed like a crescent moon.
“If you show me the same debauchery that captivates Baron, I will follow without a word.”
It was a contemptuous remark.
A malicious sentence that viewed Alicia solely as a tool for satisfying s*xual desires. Tears or anger might be the usual response from others.
However, what crossed Alicia’s mind was not a fleeting and awkward emotion but a part of the conversation they had shared the previous day.
“Today is already the 27th. Soon this month will pass, and isn’t it better for me to challenge Katia and lose within a short time?”
“No. Wait at least until the 30th. A ‘suitable position’ will soon be arranged. If there is still no proper response by then, I will permit it, and until I give the order, the challenge is forbidden.”
Ah.
I see.
So that’s why you told me to wait.
“….”
With calm eyes, Alicia slowly rose to her feet.
She faced his gaze, which made her nauseous just by looking at it. Her tone was clear.
“Alright. Let me show you what I do with the Baron every night.”
In response to her bold statement, Tigris let out a hollow laugh.
“Did my diplomatic expression cause a misunderstanding? I am talki—”
“No, I already understand what you mean. You want to experience what the Baron and I share every night, right?”
“…Then what does this mean now?”
Pointing towards the sword she held, Tigris said. Alicia’s practice sword emitted a sharp energy that seemed to cut Tigris straight down the middle.
On the other hand, her eyes were calm.
Whole and firm.
“Lavan del Tigris, I challenge you to a duel.”
Alicia understood the Baron’s intention.
What the ‘suitable position’ he mentioned was.
Why he prevented her from dueling.
Why he allowed such a person to pass the Research Council interview.
And.
What her mission from now on would be.