42 - How to Escape the Reverse Harem Cliché
Chapter 42
“Don’t look for her. Give up.”
Adrian, looking at Orion’s gaunt face, finally opened his mouth and spat out the words he had been holding back.
Orion rubbed his face as if performing a dry wash, then frowned at Adrian’s words and looked at him.
“What nonsense is that?”
“Stop looking for Laila.”
“……Are you crazy? You’re saying this, of all people? Can you even call yourself Laila’s brother after that?”
“That’s why I’m saying it.”
“…….”
“Laila is hiding of her own will. We have no right to find her.”
Adrian took out a cigar he had brought from somewhere, cut the cap with a cutter, and put it in his mouth, puffing on it. He leaned against the entrance of the tent, gazing out at the drizzling rain.
Orion didn’t say anything about Adrian’s rude behavior, barging into his tent and smoking a cigar. He was merely replaying Adrian’s words from a moment ago.
Laila is hiding of her own will. We have no right to find her.
“Orion. The Marquis Olivite’s estate is looking for Laila. Our priority is to stop them.”
“Why is the Marquis Olivite’s estate looking for her?”
“Because of Andreas, of course.”
“…….”
“He’s acting so self-willed, they’re trying to control him somehow.”
Someone had informed the Marquis Olivite’s estate about Laila’s existence. Andreas, Evan Olivite, had a female student who followed him around diligently when he attended the Academy.
Many were searching for the Guide who had Guiding Evan during his time at the National Academy.
The Imperial Family, the Imperial Academy, the National Academy, and the Marquis Olivite’s estate. All of them were trying to find the Guide who had Guiding him, in order to manipulate the High-Class Evan to their own will.
It was natural, then, for the focus to shift to Evan’s past. They speculated that the female student who was said to have been inseparable from Evan during his National Academy days would somehow know about the Guide’s existence.
“I miss Laila too. Don’t you think I miss her? How much I cherished her……”
“…….”
“Hah, enough about that. Anyway, Orion. Think rationally. How will our situation change if Laila appears now?”
Guides are significantly fewer in number compared to Espers. Even a Guide of the lowest rank, once their Manifestation is confirmed, the Imperial Family would try to capture them no matter what.
What if she was Evan’s Guide? In this situation, if Laila’s rank turned out to be low, it would be even more serious.
If Laila’s rank was low yet she was able to Guide Evan without issue, it meant that Evan and Laila had a high matching rate.
It was a more dangerous situation, in fact.
“It’s not just the Olivites. Mother’s obsession is also at a serious level, making her the more troublesome one to deal with.”
“Countess Pascianne?”
“Yes. I felt from a young age that she was strict with Laila and had high expectations… but this is a bit excessive, even for that. When Laila disappeared, I thought Mother would simply fall ill and Father would send people to search for her, but it’s completely different. Mother is actively searching for Laila. It’s excessively so.”
Adrian had lacked trust in his parents since childhood.
Their gaze towards Laila, whom they had adopted, was always sharp and chilling. It was less like watching over a child as parents and more like a gaze that monitored what the child was doing. No matter where she was, her mother’s cold eyes were always fixed on Laila.
The first time he felt something strange was when Adrian turned five.
The day before, Laila, who had a terrible cold, dragged herself to Adrian’s birthday tea party. Her mother, with a look of surprise, grabbed Laila by the collar in front of everyone.
Then, covering Laila’s mouth with her palm, she lifted her and quickly ran out of the garden where the tea party was held, as if no one could catch her.
Adrian, startled by his mother’s sudden action, ignored the friends invited to the tea party who were calling him and chased after his mother.
Adrian, who had run all the way to Laila’s bedroom, found his mother putting something into Laila’s mouth as she struggled on the bed. At that moment, Adrian thought his mother was trying to kill Laila and almost rushed in without a second thought.
The Countess, holding the sobbing Laila in her arms, comforted her with the expression of the most affectionate mother in the world.
Laila, like a child starved of affection, burrowed into her embrace and found comfort, so Adrian could only stare blankly, unable to do anything.
“I had forgotten for a moment. My mother’s strange behavior.”
“What are you talking about, Adrian? Speak clearly. Is Laila in danger?”
“I’ll handle the family matters myself, so you focus on blocking the Marquis Olivite’s estate for now. Once the situation stabilizes, Laila will find us on her own, so stop looking for her.”
“Wouldn’t it be better the other way around? For me to investigate your family matters and you to block the Olivites? It would be better for you.”
Orion asked if it was okay, considering there might be trouble within the family, but Adrian shrugged and extinguished his cigar.
He stretched, did some neck exercises, and replied nonchalantly.
“Laila is more important than the family.”
“…….”
“I can’t live without her. No matter what happens, I will create a stable situation and bring her back to my side.”
Adrian felt his fingertips tremble.
Even with the Guiding from Rose filling his body, his body had, from some point on, malfunctioned and failed to perform its functions.
He knew the reason. This is…
“Laila and I are not just siblings.”
It was due to Laila’s lack of Guiding.
Around the age of five. Laila hadn’t had a cold; she had been suffering from Manifestation Pain. The medicine his mother put in her mouth must have been to suppress the Manifestation.
If not. Laila’s Manifestation might have occurred much earlier. In that case, the medicine his mother gave Laila would have been to suppress outward Guiding.
Whatever the case, one thing was certain. He had been exposed to Laila’s subtle Guiding even before he manifested as an Esper.
…I’m already addicted to Laila.
Therefore, he had to focus on stabilizing this place so that Laila could return. Having made up his mind, Adrian left Orion’s tent, ran a hand through his hair, and let out a long sigh.
“You’re going to collapse the ground like that.”
At someone’s voice, which sounded like a sharp taunt, Adrian frowned and looked up. His mood was already bad, and why was this person picking a fight again…!
“Are you crazy?!”
However, as soon as Adrian saw Rose’s appearance, he screamed in astonishment of a different kind.
He quickly grabbed Rose’s arm, making sure no one else could see, and dragged Rose into his tent nearby.
“Hey. I told you not to grab me like that, it hurts. Do you think I’m an Esper like you? When you grab me like this, I get bruises!”
Rose, who had yelled, pushed Adrian’s hand away with all her might and broke free.
Regardless, Adrian, his face pale, firmly blocked the entrance of the tent, preventing anyone from entering. Then, with a frown, he scanned Rose from head to toe and began to nag.
“How many people are out there, and you’re walking around like this? Are you crazy?”
“I checked, and there was no one around. Besides, no one can enter this tent except you guys anyway.”
“Even so, what are you doing walking around undressed? Do you not care if people find out you’re a man? Why, why don’t you just say it out loud? That I’m a man!”
Despite Adrian’s words, Rose showed no particular rebuttal and maintained a nonchalant expression. That reaction was giving Adrian a headache.
Even though she had disguised herself as a woman by choice, her actions at times were utterly incomprehensible.
The only people who knew Rose was a man were himself, Valerian, Orion, and Evan, who received Guiding from her. Furthermore, the higher authorities, including the Imperial Family and the Council of Elders, did not know that Rose was a man.
Therefore, if the day came when her gender was revealed, not only Rose but they themselves could be in mortal danger. That’s why they were desperately trying to keep the secret, yet the person herself was causing major accidents.
Even now. Even if it was just them around, was it sane to take off her top and expose her bare upper body like this? What if someone saw and found out she was a man?
Just as Aiden, whose anger had reached its peak, was about to scold her severely, he heard her speak.
“Then what else could I do? I just caught a guy who was going Berserk and Guiding him, so my clothes became rags.”
“What?”
“He tore my clothes to shreds, so they were useless.”
Rose, casually putting on Adrian’s discarded outer clothes scattered around, said with annoyance.
If he wasn’t an ally, she would have ripped that bastard’s head off. Whether he died from Berserk or not. Looking at Rose muttering like that, Adrian had to shut his mouth.
He hadn’t known it was because of the Guiding. Rose, who had manifested as High-Class, was officially only Guiding them, but in reality, Espers on the verge of Berserk were all her responsibility.
“……Did you do it with touch Guiding?”
“Yeah. But I was only trying to hold hands, and that bastard’s eyes went wild and he lunged at me, so our lips bumped and it was a whole mess.”
