At that moment.

-Click. Clack.

Many people were walking down the academy hallway.

"Your Highness, I will take the lead."

"I told you to watch your mouth in the academy."

"Ahem.. I apologize."

The academy's professor.

Student council members.

And.

"Hoo... my dear brother. Why couldn't you have just behaved yourself? Why are you bothering your busy older brother?"

Truller was walking with a fearsome momentum to meet Shartia.

Truller, with his hands in his pockets, strode forward with a swagger and let out a low sigh.

"The documents?"

The professor of 'Magic and Ethics', who was standing next to

Truller, bowed with a subservient waist and handed over the documents he had tucked under his arm.

"Here they are."

-Rustle...

[Formal Protest Regarding the Unjust Dismissal of Academy Professors]

[Student Evaluation Report on the Temporary Professor of Economics]

[Petition for the Dismissal of Student Council President Shartia for Incompetence]

·

·

·

Truller, who had seen the contents of the documents, smiled and began to walk more forcefully towards the student council president's office.

[Student Council President's Office.]

-Out of Office

"Hoo..."

Truller, who had arrived at his destination, took his emotional hand out of his pocket and began to knock on the firmly closed door.

-Knock knock.

"..."

-Knock knock.

"...Hey."

-Grind.

"I know you're in there, so open up."

Truller frowned and pounded on the door roughly. He had placed someone to watch Shartia's movements since early in the morning.

-Shartia is.

-Inside her office.

-Is that so?

-Yes, I haven't seen her come out once.

-Good. She's in there.

He had secured the evidence.

And he had confirmed that she was inside, so Truller's patience was reaching its limit at Shartia's impudent act of ignoring him.

To him, Shartia was a being who could be treated carelessly, and was nothing more than a tool to make himself shine.

-Bang!

"Open up!!!"

The moment Truller's rough voice, who had kicked the door, echoed through the hallway, the firmly closed door of the student council president's office began to open with a soft sound.

-Creak.

"It's so damn hard to get in here once. I'm already busy as hell."

Truller looked at the servant standing in front of him, let out a hollow laugh, and waited for guidance.

But.

"I'm sorry, but the student council president is currently absent."

"Don't lie. I know she's in there."

"..."

"Do you think I would have come without knowing that?"

"...The student council president is currently in a conversation with a visitor. She said not to let anyone in until the conversation is over."

The impudent servant was refusing to let in the prince of the empire.

How dare he.

"Hey..."

The one who would become the emperor of this country.

"Are you playing with me now?"

Truller, who had placed his hand on the doorframe, opened his sharp eyes as he looked down at the servant, with the feeling of 'is the visitor more important than me?'

"Who am I?"

"...You are His Highness, Prince Leogard Truller."

"You know well, don't you?"

"..."

"You know, so why are you doing this?"

"I apologize. When the conversation with the previous visitor is over, I will immediately deliver your message to the student council president."

"Ha... really."

Truller let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded and frowned.

"Isn't it only natural that you should make way for me when I've arrived, regardless of who's inside?"

"..."

"It's not enough for her to run out barefoot when her older brother has come, but what...? She's with a visitor, so don't let anyone in? It's not like our father is here... why are you being so stubborn?"

"The student council president said not to let anyone in until the conversation with the guest is over."

"That's not what I want to hear."

"..."

"Should I tell you?"

"..."

"Since the prince has arrived, tell her to kick out the guest and see me right away... right now!!!"

"I apologize."

"Move."

The guild master, disguised as a maid, once again blocked Truller's path and shook her head.

"You can't."

"You're not going to make it."

The moment Truller's hostile hand was about to strike the guild master's cheek.

-Let him in.

At Shartia's calm voice, Truller smiled and patted the maid's cheek.

"Do a good job."

"..."

"I'm letting it go today because I'm in a good mood. If you do it again, you're dead."

Truller gestured to the people following him to 'follow' and began to enter.

"Let's go."

The reason Truller had gathered people was one thing.

"It's so damn hard to see my sister's face once. Isn't it?"

To oust Shartia and become the new de facto ruler of the academy.

The reason Truller wanted to become the de facto ruler of the academy was simple.

He thought that if he created his own small country and showed his excellence to his father, there would surely be a good result.

If he also brought the next family heads to his side, his imperial authority would become stronger, so it was a position that was not lacking as a first step to becoming emperor.

Freedom to the dissatisfied professors.

Bonus points to the students who flattered him.

Truller, who was only thinking of enjoying power after rising to a position of absolute power, smiled at Shartia sitting in her chair, but.

"What..."

His expression began to harden at the sight of a man sitting with his back turned.

"Please sit, older brother."

The man sitting in the chair turned around and said.

"I thought I told you not to let anyone in."

Truller said in a trembling voice.

"Brother...?"

Shartia was smiling.

"Why aren't you sitting?"

3 days ago.

Theo had asked Shartia for a favor.

-Shartia, I need your power.

-Pardon...?

-To protect Yuria, I have to at least keep my position as a member of the imperial family, but my situation is not very good right now.

-...Is there a reason you're telling me this? Not too long ago, you were acting as if you would kill me.

-...I know. I know, but you know too. What will happen to me, and of course you, if Truller becomes king.

Theo had said.

-I'll support you, so if you become queen, give me the power to maintain my status as a member of the imperial family.

A request to give him power in exchange for going under Shartia.

It was an unexpected statement.

It was not in Shartia's plan for the proud Theo to bow his head.

Considering Theo's actions so far, she thought he would have asked her to support him as king rather than Truller, but Theo had bent his proud pride and bowed his head.

Of course.

-Do not accept him.

The former prime minister of the empire had objected.

-He is a pawn with nothing to gain.

-You are ruthless, grandfather.

-A staff exists to say such things. Thinking of the prince who used to toddle, I would like to say to forgive and accept him, but since public and private matters must be strictly separated, I have given you advice.

-...

-If you accept him, Desmunt will not stand still. Discarding a reliable backer is the worst move.

Shartia had dragged on the time.

-Older brother, let's take some time to talk about this.

And she had set a trap for him.

A trap to make it look as if she and Theo were in the same boat, no matter who looked at them.

-Brother...?

And so, the two who had fallen into that trap.

"Why are you here, brother?"

"Why did you come to see Shartia?"

"I came to oust Shartia..."

"You didn't come to borrow her power...?"

They began to open their cold eyes, coveting each other's ribs.

'It seems he hasn't given up on the throne yet.'

'I have to protect Yuria.'

*

My conversation with Kaila began to deepen.

After finishing my story, Kaila held onto me and wouldn't let me go, even though I wanted to go and check on Yuria's condition.

"Why are you always picking a fight with me? Am I asking for a big favor?"

Her words continued to spew hostility towards me.

This should be enough.

I had even given her a chance to show her some affection, so why was she so hell-bent on getting me...

"Haa..."

I let out a lazy sigh, shook my head, and moved to avoid a conversation with her, but.

"Why are you running away?"

It seemed she wanted to completely pull out the stake that was me this time.

"I'm not running away, I'm avoiding you."

"Why are you avoiding me? I'm warning you right now."

"I've heard enough of your nagging, so I'll be going now."

"No? We still have something to talk about."

Kaila looked at me and opened her lips with a cold gaze.

"You said I used black magic, right?"

"..."

"Who did you hear it from?"

"...Haa."

"I asked who you heard it from."

At her words, filled with killing intent, I shook my head and frowned.

"I haven't heard it from anyone, and no one has said such a thing."

"Then why did you say such a thing?"

"..."

"It's not like you're trying to mess with me, but who told you to suddenly come and say such a thing? Did they teach you to say that at Desmunt?"

"...Kaila-ssi."

"Why? I'm not wrong, am I?"

With a complicated heart, I shook my head, took a step closer to Kaila, and opened my lips.

"What if I told you I heard it from someone?"

"...Ha?"

"Are you planning to kill and silence them, just like you left Yuria in the dungeon?"

"...Don't talk so carelessly."

"I'm not wrong, am I? Do you think that's all I know? 'The academy arson incident,' 'The appearance of an elite monster during a practical training.'"

"You..."

"Should I say more?"

"You'll die if you run your mouth."

"I'm not someone who can be easily killed."

Since I was already caught, I was curious about one thing.

"I'll just ask one thing."

What kind of black magic did you use?

"What kind of black magic did you use?"

I thought it was wrong to expect a change from her. Because I thought I was a fool for giving her the benefit of the doubt, thinking that she might change a little.

"Shut up. Just answer the question I asked."

"Uhm... no. That's not the answer I was looking for."

"..."

"If you wish, I can take you to the church and test you. Then the unjust misunderstanding can be resolved."

"Why should I follow you? I don't want to. I won't go, even if I die."

"Then please tell me."

I looked straight into Kaila's trembling eyes and said.

"What kind of black magic did you use to lose your magic?"

"..."

"From the looks of it, that's not the only thing that was sacrificed."

"I said shut up!!"

I continued to speak before Kaila's rebuttal could continue, with a curse that said the black magic you were thinking of was not beautiful at all.

"Do you know why black magicians focus on military power?"

"...I don't want to know?"

"Because doing it yourself puts less strain on the body. If you have power, you can get revenge for sure, but cursing and killing a target with only black magic is actually not efficient."

As the nagging continued, Kaila frowned as if she was getting tired of it and spat out her words.

"Shut up."

"..."

"If you knew so well, you should have told your precious master."

"..."

"Why did you just stand by? If you were so great, you should have stopped your master before she became a cripple. Why are you talking as if you're so great!!!"

"Kaila-ssi."

"I said I didn't do it! I said I didn't do it!!!!!"

"You've crossed the line."

At the chilling atmosphere, Kaila spat out a smirk as if she had found a weakness and continued to spew insults.

"Don't try to poke me, I'm not a cripple like your master."

"..."

"No matter how much you bitch, I won't bend. Even if I used black magic, I won't become a fool like your master."

"You're really just picking things to regret."

"I'm not scared at all."

Kaila did not bend.

She just insulted me.

"You're also very shortsighted."

".."

"Your master must be like that because she's like you."

It's okay to insult me, but.

"I told you."

"..."

"You've crossed the line."

I couldn't stand her insulting the young lady.

-Uuuuung.

Caliburn stirs, whispering killing intent.

The moment I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed my deep anger.

"What are you doing?"

The cold voice of the villainess began to graze my ears and echo.

"I asked what you were doing."

I turned my head and looked at the familiar face of the woman holding a crutch.

A sharp gaze filled with ill temper.

A sullen face that said everything in this world was displeasing.

"Aren't you going to answer?"

The king of villainesses has appeared.

"You bitch."

*

Yuria, drenched in sweat, opened the dormitory door and began to run.

But.

"Uh...?"

Yuria, who saw a familiar woman standing in the dormitory.

-Creak.

Closed the door again.

Desire is something everyone has.

A villainess who was madly in love with one person had the desire to possess his heart.

A father who wanted to protect his daughter with a twisted sense of protection had the desire to make her let go of her sword.

Desire is also called 'hope' by another name. Because it contained a desperation to achieve something.

-Right...! This is it...! If I just use this magic, I too...!

-You have no talent. If you wield a sword with that kind of skill, you won't even be able to find your corpse on the battlefield someday.

'Hope' and 'desire'.

The two words, in their essential meaning, have different directions, but ironically, both words contain the emotion of greed and tend to mess with a person's heart.

"Haa... haa..."

Then what is Ricardo's hope?

It's not easy for one person to change the world, but for one person to change someone's life was more easily attainable than changing the world.

"Please stop...."

Ricardo's hopes were diverse.

-My dream is a harem.

-Pervert.

-I can't help it. If you're born a man in this land, a harem is a given.

-...

Having a harem with beautiful women and a peaceful life as a bum was Ricardo's greatest hope.

Because that was the dream of the man named 'Lee Min-hyuk,' who had lived a busier life than anyone in his previous life.

However, if this hope is embellished, the end of the story will flow in a complicated way.

As a reader of the novel.

And as a person who knew the unhappiness of the novel, Ricardo wanted to create peace in this world.

To achieve a peaceful life as a bum, unhappiness could not befall Yuria and the main characters, and to stop the cultists who would bring unhappiness to the world, his hope had to be included.

As peacefully as possible.

With as few deaths as possible.

His hope of wanting to protect everyone as much as possible might have been holding a bigger vessel than he thought.

What Kaila overlooked was the weight of Ricardo's hope.

The weight of the knowledge he possessed.

And the destination of his hope. She saw it as a passing stone and took it lightly. In the first place, she probably didn't even know who Yuria liked.

Therefore.

"..."

The hatred that blossomed in Yuria's heart became a small dot and began to dye the other colors.

To go against the hope Ricardo wanted, it slowly dyed her heart.

[Q. Time of Choice.]

In a story no one knows.

You fell for the scheme of someone who hated you and became the 'Bloody Saintess' who destroys the world.

A small flower of hatred began to bloom in your heart that loves good, and your eyes, which formed a bud in that flower, gradually began to be covered in darkness.

At first, you thought you could overcome it.

It'll be fine.

It'll be fine if I just sleep for a day.

The voice that whispered hatred began to grow louder, and your body and mind were swallowed by an emotion you did not want and began to invade the world.

You killed many people.

You hurt the princess of the Empire.

You killed your close friends.

How hateful of a time it must have been.

It would have been better if you could have died.

Your aimless steps reached the den of villains, and they sweet-talked you with the devil's words.

'I'll turn everything back to the beginning.'

Death if you don't follow.

A life as a dog if you follow.

On that day, you were given a choice.

You didn't want to die.

You didn't want to kill either.

Therefore, you took their hand.

Pushing away the hand of the one who had been with you until the end.

(!) Find the one who cast black magic on you in the story no one knows and 'negotiate' with them. [Remaining time: 7 days.]

[Reward]

1. Lifts the curse of disillusionment.

2. Begins the awakening of the Saintess.

3. You can choose one of the following as a reward: The opportunity to ask the 'Glutton's Secret' or the 'Coordinator' three questions from the 2nd Side Story.

───────────

Yuria, who was covering her ears with both hands, looked at the blue window that appeared in front of her with trembling eyes as soon as the whispering voice disappeared.

[Q. Time of Choice.]

The voices that were tormenting her head dizzily.

And the voices that were whispering corruption with sweet words stopped at the same time as the blue window appeared.

"Hooah..."

Yuria let out a quiet sigh and opened her cold eyes.

'Black magic...'

She clenched her fists.

Because she wondered why there were so many people who hated her like this.

She's just living quietly.

She's making friends at the academy and happily preparing for the future just like everyone else, but why were they pointing a sharp blade at her? Yuria bit her lip and swallowed her tears.

The words written on the blue window.

And the task that the blue window was giving her.

It was all caused by the 'will of others'.

As an unfair emotion pressed down on her chest, Yuria swallowed a deep breath and hardened her resolve.

"...Kaila."

Because she had a guess as to who had cast the black magic on her.

Yuria, who had been cooped up in her room, opened the door with trembling eyes, along with the outer garment that was hanging on the chair.

Because she had no intention of missing the one chance she had.

At the same time.

-The quest is canceled due to a change in the surrounding characters.

I, who was standing in front of the girls' dormitory, stood there blankly at the sight of the status window that disappeared after saying its piece.

'Hmm?'

I had worked my ass off to the point of almost clearing the quest, but I was quite angry at the reversal of the status window, which was canceling it as it pleased.

'God?'

I tilted my head towards the god who might be watching from somewhere and let out a curse with a pious heart.

'If you were going to do this, you shouldn't have given me a quest in the first place. Why do you bother people like this?'

It was a status window that I couldn't understand no matter how much I thought about it.

I thought I could finally try a new ability after successfully completing the quest, but I was sighing at the tyranny of the status window, which had ended the quest for a reason like, 'You're too good at finding it, so it's not fun.'

-The quest has been canceled.

-'Shartia's danger' has been resolved due to a change in the surrounding characters.

-The reward will disappear.

-The quest is canceled.

"Oh, come on..."

I thought I had almost caught them...

'This is too much...'

There were a total of 3 villains.

Kaila, Truller, and... Yuria.

I had come to the conclusion that these three were the villains who were threatening Shartia.

If it wasn't them, I didn't think there was anyone else at the academy who would threaten Shartia's life.

As for Truller, he was such a free-spirited person that I thought he would cause an incident, and I was able to catch Kaila thanks to Veilin.

Finally, I had put Yuria on the list of candidates because I thought that 'some' change might occur due to Kaila's black magic.

"This is troublesome, God."

Thanks to the god who was surprised by my competence, I had worked in vain.

"I'm a person who works without a down payment, but if you come out like this, I.... might go on strike."

Well, isn't it a relief?

It's better for my mental health to be at ease rather than worrying about Yuria and Shartia's deaths, which is better than getting a reward. I also had no desire to see a sad side story.

But.

"Why... do you keep coming?"

As a cold voice was heard, I erased my sense of relief.

"Haa... are you still suspicious?"

Because the villainess who had come out for a walk was sending me a sharp gaze.

"Ahaha..."

I came to see Yuria, but why did Kaila appear?

"No."

"What do you mean, no?"

"I just came because Yuria-ssi wasn't in class. I swear on my conscience."

I left a '1-star' bad review for the god who might be watching somewhere for today's surprisingly bad luck, and I gave an awkward smile.

"Don't lie."

"No. I really didn't come to see Kaila-ssi for any business. I thought we had finished our conversation that day..."

"Are you a pervert?"

Why is the conversation going that way?

I let out a deep sigh and walked towards Kaila with calm steps.

"Don't come. I'll report you if you come."

Really, this is frustrating.

I glanced at the delusional villainess, put a hand to my forehead, and shook my head.

"I'm not a pervert, nor did I come to see Kaila-ssi on business. I don't know why you're so eager to eat me alive.... And I'm a professor, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak informally."

"Then you should have hired a female professor."

"Because I'm being bullied."

"...That's not my business, is it?"

Kaila's complexion looked good.

How should I put it... her physical condition seemed bad, but her mood seemed good.

Like a man with a cold who received a call from a woman he has a crush on, at the sight of Kaila's good-looking complexion, I let out a quiet sigh and decided to give up hope for her.

"Don't get in my sight."

"..."

"If you get in my sight one more time, I won't let you be."

"Really..."

My head hurt.

*

Meanwhile.

"Daddy!"

"Yes, Olivia."

"Are we going home now?"

"Hmm..."

The Desmunt family, who had entrusted their bodies to the carriage returning to the capital, were talking, imagining the newly changed mansion in their minds.

"We are going home, that's right."

"Then?"

Darvav, who had lost his home, answered, thinking of the empty Desmunt grounds in the capital.

"I think we'll have to sleep under a tent instead of a house."

"Are we beggars?"

"We're not beggars, we just don't have a house."

"We can just sleep at an inn."

"I'm a noble, I don't like inns."

"Daddy..."

"I think sleeping rough would be better."

At Darvav's reasonable words, Olivia nodded her head and smiled. Because she thought that sleeping rough wouldn't be a bad experience either.

"What about a bed?"

"There isn't one."

"What about a blanket?"

"There is one."

"Then what about Ricardo...?"

At Olivia's question, her nostrils flaring, Darvav, who recalled the letter he had received from Ricardo, stroked his chin and answered carefully.

"I heard he's at the academy."

"...The academy?"

"I heard he's earning money. He said he has to earn money to buy chocolate."

"Oh..."

Olivia, who was relieved that Ricardo hadn't abandoned her, looked at Darvav with a tearful face.

"So Ricardo isn't here?"

"Hmm..."

"I'm going to buy him a present."

"Hmm..."

Darvav, who had finished thinking, nodded his head and answered.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to visit. They might let us in if we use the excuse of checking if the donation is being used well."

"Oh..."

"Instead...."

"I know. I won't get out of the carriage."

"Alright."

The Desmunt family began to head towards the academy.

"Heehee... a present...!!"

With the villainess that even her blood relatives acknowledged.