26 - How to Escape the Reverse Harem Cliché
Chapter 26
“Don’t you have questions about my family too? Let’s ask them one by one and get it over with.”
Evan, who let out a sigh as I struggled to get away, put me down on the floor and said that out of the blue.
But he seems to have guessed wrong. What I'm interested in isn't the Olivite Marquisate, but the youngest prince in the royal family.
I thought Evan, who had lived confined here since childhood, wouldn't know much about the world, but he knew more than I did, who had been confined to the mansion after transmigrating. So, I eventually accepted his offer.
“What do you want to know?”
I replied reluctantly, emitting Guiding non-contact.
He rubbed his stiff neck with his hand, staring intently at me, and after a long pause, he spoke.
“You hate Espers. Do you hate your brother too?”
“Why would I hate my brother?”
“Then what about me?”
“……”
“I keep all the promises you made. You told me not to be presumptuous, so I don't. You told me not to bully the kids, so I don't. Lately, I've even been attending lectures diligently.”
We call that the natural attitude of a student.
However, at some point, Evan began to show an attitude of watching for opportunities to intrude into my life.
Laila’s Guiding, though low in rank, was highly addictive. That’s why I had deliberately decided to only provide Guiding three times a week.
Fortunately, Evan hasn't become obsessed with my Guiding yet, but it's troublesome if he keeps trying to squeeze into my gaps like this.
“I’m not interested.”
“……”
“I’m not interested in you, Evan. So stop asking about yourself in every conversation. I’m tired of being entangled with you like this.”
“That kind of talk hurts me too.”
“It’s meant to hurt you. Don’t expect anything from me. When we graduate, we’ll be strangers, like we never knew each other. Can’t your family find a Guide for you? Don’t complain to me.”
Despite deliberately speaking harsh words, I couldn’t meet Evan’s eyes.
Sensing that, he reached out and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. The texture of Evan’s glove against my chin sent shivers down my spine.
“Don’t break the contract, Laila. Look me in the eye and speak.”
“……”
“Can you guarantee we’ll be strangers? What if I wait until your graduation and then take you?”
“Evan!”
“There are many relationships we can be entangled in besides Esper and Guide.”
“……”
“Like marriage, for instance.”
Evan paid no mind to my scowling expression.
His pitch-black eyes, which looked terribly lonely, felt murky today, making it impossible for me to even get angry. I simply slapped his hand away and pulled free.
“Meet someone better. I have no intention of marriage.”
“Laila. Do you think your parents will feel the same just because you have no intention? You are Pascianne.”
“……”
“If your son is manifesting as an Esper and fighting on the battlefield, what will you do with your daughter? You’ll send her to a good family.”
“……”
“Olivite is the perfect family that best fits that condition.”
I steeled myself, telling myself I would escape before that happened.
Evan let out a short laugh as if amused by my glare, which seemed like it could kill him. He then shook his head and sighed.
“I must have been crazy after going Berserk. What I said just now was a slip of the tongue. I’m sorry.”
“You’re not the only one who’s hurt.”
“……”
“I told you I wouldn’t know how you feel, clinging to a Guide? You don’t know how I feel either.”
“Laila.”
“You don’t know how a Guide feels, not knowing when they might be dragged away, and you don’t know how I feel, having to be sold off for marriage just because I was born a woman.”
“I’m sorry. I spoke too harshly.”
“I’ll give you Guiding during lunch tomorrow, so come here. And follow the contract terms properly.”
I slammed the door of the storage room shut and left.
Despite glaring at him as if I wanted to kill him, I wasn’t that angry. Instead, I felt numb. Everything Evan had said was something I had anticipated since transmigrating here.
Perhaps it was an act to whip myself into shape, as I had become complacent and forgotten my situation while living comfortably here.
No matter what happens, I will not live according to the flow of the original story.
\ \ *
It was quiet for about a month after that.
I provided Guiding to Evan in the storage room at the scheduled times, but we maintained a proper distance, so we didn't even converse.
Unlike me, who acted as if nothing was wrong, Evan lingered around me the entire time.
Due to the contract terms, he couldn't approach me, but he stared at me intently even from afar, making my cheeks burn. To the point where Rowen even stepped forward to confront Evan.
“Senior Olivite. Laila dislikes it, so why do you keep loitering around her?”
Actually, I was surprised. Rowen always trembled in front of Evan, so she seemed like a newborn deer to me.
But Evan must have been incredibly persistent, because that day Rowen mustered her courage, hid me behind her, and got angry.
Of course, I was truly unfazed. I didn't care whether Evan looked at me or not, and I was even prepared to respond willingly if he tried to initiate a conversation. Rather, I felt sorry for Rowen for getting angry and worried about her.
What was unexpected, however, was that Evan didn't act selfishly but hoped I would approach him first, and he even nodded and agreed to Rowen’s protest.
“I’m sorry, Pascianne. And Derman, I apologize for my rude words and actions towards you as well. I’m sorry.”
The children who had been glancing at us with furtive looks all widened their eyes in surprise.
Evan Olivite, who lived like an outlaw, was actually apologizing. Everyone praised Rowen Derman, but she only worried about my well-being.
Anyway, those relatively peaceful days continued.
As I entered the dormitory, one of the servants approached me and handed me some letters. I assumed they were from my family, but among the numerous envelopes, a red one caught my eye.
It was Lena. She had kept her promise to send letters in red envelopes if there was an urgent matter. Lest anyone see, I quickly entered my dorm room, locked the door, and opened the letter.
〔My Lady. Are you well? The matter is urgent, so I will get straight to the point. Count Pauline is dead, and his Concubine has left for the neighboring Kingdom of Flandina. We have arranged to be in contact periodically and have secured her residence. The merchant guild is also gradually expanding its territory. Most of the incoming revenue has been invested in the goods you mentioned, and significant profits are expected starting this winter.〕
The news that Count Pauline and the merchant guild matters were being handled well was a small relief to the tension that had tightened within me after my argument with Evan.
〔And we are continuing to investigate the pills, and they seem to be Guiding suppressants. Comparing them to the testimonies of illegal Guides we've met and the suppressants sold on the black market, your conjecture seems correct. We will investigate this further. The Master and Madam are still at peace. However, they have been leaving the mansion frequently lately, which I could not investigate without your permission. I will look into it if you instruct me to.〕
Leaving the mansion? While a Count might, a Countess rarely left the mansion.
She wasn't the type to dote on me and Aiden, but she was so attentive and concerned about even our smallest lessons that she never had time to leave the mansion.
Perhaps now that both of us are at the academy, she no longer needs to stay, but it feels like a suspicious action. The intelligent Lena seemed to share my thoughts.
I decided to write back instructing her to investigate the Count and Countess’s movements and finished reading the last few lines of the letter.
〔Lately, the movements of Monsters have been unusual. Especially those that were concentrated in the north are increasingly heading south. I heard that a few infiltrated the capital the other day, but the Espers there dealt with them quickly, so it seems to have been alright. Because of this, the movements of Espers in the capital are unusual. The Royal Family has also stated they will increase security levels, and a few days ago, I overheard the Master saying that Young Master Adrian has been dispatched to the battlefield for several months. It was mentioned that there is a high probability of him being conscripted not only to the north but also to the south.〕
The South? The Verdeinin region, where this academy is located, was also in the southern part. It was borderland, just a little further out from here.
Fear suddenly gripped me. What if Espers are conscripted here? Will I be trapped in the academy indefinitely? With trembling hands, I finished reading Lena’s letter.
〔My Lady. Please take care of yourself, and I will write again next time.〕
As soon as I finished Lena’s letter, I searched for Aiden’s letter among the bundle of letters I had brought, just in case.
I hadn't heard from Aiden for over a month, and I was planning to inquire through the Count and Countess, but he had been fighting on the battlefield for months…
If there wasn't a letter from Aiden this time either, I was going to hire someone to find out his whereabouts, but fortunately, his letter was among the many. Orion’s, whose news had also been cut off, was with it.
I hurriedly tore open Aiden’s letter and unfolded it.
〔My lovely Laila. Are you well? …(omitted)… Verdeinin has been designated a dangerous area. I will likely be heading south within a few days. I will come to see you when I get to Verdeinin, Laila. Please stay healthy until then.〕
I felt like my pupils were literally shaking. Espers coming to Verdeinin, could there be anything more dreadful than this?
Suddenly, I remembered what had happened at the capital’s checkpoint. It was presumed that my suppressed Guiding had erupted then because my aura had fluctuated along with the auras of the many Espers and Guides present.
That’s why I didn’t want to clash with a large number of Espers.
〔Don’t worry about Valerian. He’s only scheduled to be in the border regions, so he won’t be going to the inner regions where you are.〕
How could I not worry about that? Just seeing Valerian’s name makes my vision go dark…
The inevitable time was steadily approaching.
