22 - How to Escape the Reverse Harem Cliché
Chapter 22
“I learned there’s no such thing as a ‘loving spank,’ so to think a day would come when I’d have to use this.”
Muttering like that, I adjusted my grip on the stick and left the lecture hall.
Naturally, if we were to clash, the odds of me losing were high. Evan was a fully grown, robust man, while I, inhabiting Laila’s body, was a frail minor.
However, it wasn't as if I had merely watched from the sidelines when the young Aiden was put through his paces in the training grounds. I had endured the same grueling exercises and built up my basic stamina.
And I, too, intended to leverage the considerable backing of someone named Pascianne to some extent.
〔Laila. Never bow your head. No matter what trouble you cause, I, and the family, will resolve it all.〕
These were the postscript words from Adrian’s letter, which arrived from the capital a few days ago.
Contrary to how I felt then, wondering what he thought of me, I now felt like applauding Adrian’s foresight.
Come to think of it, Aiden had also caused trouble here, leading to a Berserk episode that revealed he was an Esper. It seemed Aiden was aware of the situation here as well.
Of course, I had no intention of causing the kind of trouble Adrian was referring to.
Even so, they were the Olivite family, the very family that produced an Imperial Consort. If such a family dispute arose, our side would be at a disadvantage.
They say the first strike wins. I just hope Evan strikes first. If I take one hit and then beat him with this, he might come to his senses. Then it would be self-defense, and perhaps I’d get a reduced sentence.
After that, let’s extort a settlement fee.
The Academy wouldn't let it slide if I hit a junior student, so some form of punishment would be handed down, and I intended to extract as much as I could from it.
The Olivites aren't the only family. I have Pascianne too. It’s helpful to have a strong constitution in times like these, I thought, an utterly useless thought as I flung open the storage room on the first floor.
“Olivite. I told you not to touch Rowen… Olivite?”
I had shouted and entered with gusto, but the intense heat emanating from within made it hard to breathe.
What is this? Why do I feel so uneasy? My heart, filled with a premonition like being caught in a trap, urged me forward as I walked deeper inside.
“Olivite?”
In movies, they’d lock you in places like this and bolt the door from the outside. I glanced back at the still-open door. I wanted to believe they wouldn’t pull such a childish prank.
Gripping the stick in my hand, I ventured further inside. I didn’t forget to look back every three steps, wondering if an attack might come from behind.
Then, from around a corner behind a bookshelf, I heard a sound of hollow laughter.
“You… you really see me as trash.”
Evan, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily, stared at me with disbelief.
As his gaze shifted from my face to the stick in my hand, I felt a pang of awkwardness and instinctively hid the stick behind my back.
At my reaction, Evan let out a dry chuckle and muttered,
“You actually came…”
“I didn’t ‘come.’ You threatened me into coming.”
“You never listen to my threats anyway.”
“Enough. What’s with your state? Are you hurt?”
“Yes.”
Is this guy really committed to this extreme concept? If he’s hurt, why isn’t he in the infirmary, but collapsed pathetically in this dusty storage room?
I tossed the stick onto the floor, now too embarrassing to hold, and crouched in front of Evan. I reached out to place my hand on his forehead, but it was so hot that I instinctively pulled my hand away.
“When did this start? Did you take medicine? No, why aren’t you in the infirmary?”
“It’s no use.”
“What?”
“I’m an Esper.”
“……”
“I’m suffering from a lack of Guiding.”
I involuntarily jumped up and took a couple of steps back from Evan.
A lack of Guiding meant he was at risk of Berserk. Depending on his rank, it could range from minor to severe, potentially leveling the entire building.
Evan, seeing my reaction, let out a faint smile and asked,
“Are you going to abandon me and leave?”
“Are you kidding me? You’re at risk of Berserk, and you want me to leave you here? I should inform the professors immediately and…”
“My rank is low anyway. I’m only D, so it won’t be a big deal.”
“Hey!”
“Don’t worry. I just wanted to see you before I died.”
I didn’t understand what he was saying.
As I stood there, flustered, unable to do anything, Evan struggled to lift his heavy body and prepared to climb out the window.
“Evan! Do you even know what you’re doing right now?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you going in that state!”
“Why? Should I not leave? Should I just die here with you?”
His tone, as if testing me, offended me, but I didn’t have the energy to express it.
In a fleeting moment, I considered many options, but it was no use. If I released my Guiding to save him, both he and I would be implicated.
We would both be expelled, and my hidden efforts would be in vain as I’d be dragged straight to the Imperial Academy.
Regardless of my rank, Guides are always taken.
“Fine, go.”
“……”
“Go as far as you can, take your medicine, or die quietly.”
“Pascianne. How cruel.”
“……”
“If you were going to be like this, you should have just ignored me that day.”
A hint of disappointment flickered in Evan’s dark eyes.
Indeed. I regretted it immensely. Why hadn’t I just ignored him that day and left him be?
I couldn’t turn away from Evan, who was battered and bruised, rolling around in front of the trash cans. Of course, at the time, I hadn’t even been at the Academy for a month, and I had no idea who Evan Olivite was.
I simply thought he was a victim of school violence. No one else was helping Evan.
It sent a shiver down my spine to see him bleeding and writhing on the ground, yet everyone looked at him as if he were insignificant trash.
Later, I heard from Rowen that everyone secretly wished Evan would die. It was natural to feel a slight distance from Rowen, who spoke of such things so casually.
But aren’t I doing the same thing as them right now?
“…There’s no way for me to save you, Olivite. I’m not a Guide, so the only thing I can do is call the professors and have them take you away.”
“I see.”
“So, my fault… I….”
My mouth felt dry, and I couldn’t continue. Whatever I said would just sound like an excuse.
I was a Guide, and my meager Guiding could have extended Evan’s lifespan a little. There was no way to save him, but I could buy him time to be saved.
However, to do that, I might have to sacrifice my own life.
“Don’t worry. I’ll die quietly.”
Perhaps sensing my predicament, Evan, facing his end, leaned halfway out the window again, his words grating on my nerves.
I felt so wronged and angry. Evan Olivite knew he was an Esper.
Why did you hide it? Why did you come to a regular academy instead of an Esper-specialized one? Did you not think you would Berserk?
Why did you try to live dangerously among ordinary people? Why did you make me feel guilt that I didn’t have to carry, why?
Because of you, I… I…
Then, I suddenly realized. I wasn’t ordinary either. I was also someone hiding in a regular academy, not a specialized one.
“Come here.”
At my voice, which had lost its edge, Evan, who was about to jump, turned to look at me.
“Come over here.”
“What is it, suddenly? Are you feeling pity for me now?”
“Let’s die together.”
“……”
“Don’t do it alone. Come here.”
A prince with an attachment disorder, raised apart from his parents and abandoned at the academy since childhood.
A burden, a failure, whose death everyone wishes for due to past crimes that tarnish his family’s name.
Annoyingly, I couldn’t turn away from Evan Olivite this time either.
“Take my hand, Evan.”
At my voice, calling his name for the first time, Evan’s eyes widened slightly. He looked once at the hand I held out before him, then back at my eyes.
“You want to die together?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t lie. You plan to report me to the Dean and get me expelled.”
“You called me here knowing I wouldn’t do that.”
“……”
“You’re the one who revealed you were an Esper without me asking, Evan.”
The next moment, I slowly began to release the Guiding I had been suppressing all along.
Evan, who had been about to protest, flinched. His eyes gradually softened, and he took my hand, stepping down from the window.
“Pascianne. You…”
“Be quiet. Don’t speak, just stay close.”
At my annoyed words, Evan shut his mouth.
Then, as if I were a lifeline, he intertwined his fingers with mine and pulled me closer into his embrace.
He said his rank was low, but my subtle Guiding seemed to be working. Evan bit his lower lip, spat out a curse, and then, unable to hold back, pulled me into a hug.
I didn’t push him away. Being held like this felt better than dying together in a Berserk state.
Evan, taking it as a sign of acceptance, buried his face in my neck and breathed heavily.
“…I feel like I’m going to melt and die from your Guiding.”
Annoyed by Evan, who, after I saved him, was talking about dying, I sighed. He pulled me closer, holding me so tightly there was no space between us.
Fortunately, Evan’s fever was gradually subsiding.
It seemed it wasn’t a full Berserk. I wondered if I should have just given him medicine, but knowing that stubborn man, he probably would have just endured it until he died. So, I just quietly stayed in his embrace.
