27 - I Healed the Male Lead's Trauma
Episode 27
5. The Heroine Didn't Need a Hero (3)
Akteon, whom I met after four days, looked surprisingly well, considering my worries.
He must have been subjected to all sorts of tests and examinations during his isolation, which couldn't even compare to what I went through, yet his complexion was better than on the day of the entrance ceremony.
"How's your body?"
Still, it would be better to ask him directly if he was okay rather than just observing him internally and moving on.
However, he not only froze upon encountering me but also failed to utter a single word.
"Are you still not feeling well?"
I hope nothing happened to him during his isolation.
I risked my life to stabilize him so well. I might get angry if he came back with something wrong.
As I took a step closer, wondering if he was really unwell, contrary to his appearance, he widened the distance by exactly that much.
"......"
"......"
And another step.
"......"
He widened the distance again and said, "...I'm really okay."
I'm not convinced.
He doesn't seem to want to tell me even if he's really sick, so should I just move on?
Or maybe it's not a problem with his physical condition but for some other reason.
'Well, we kissed just a few days ago. Even if it was Guiding, it must be uncomfortable.'
Especially since Akteon is only 20 years old.
It's understandable that he's not immune to such skinship. It would be stranger if he wasn't awkward.
"Is the isolation over now?"
"Unless I cause another accident, I guess so. Probably."
Akteon replied jokingly on purpose.
He's aware that he's acting distant.
But he fell silent again, and even after realizing it himself, he smiled faintly.
His attitude, which was clearly different from before the Guiding, felt unfamiliar, making me feel awkward as well, as I didn't know how to treat him.
He must be confused about how to treat me, too.
'I know he's had feelings for me since the mansion, but I wonder if he's having a hard time on his own?'
Transcendent Beings and Guiders must come into contact with many Evolved Beings, depending on their abilities.
'This time, it was an exceptional situation where we had to attempt even intimate skinship.'
Even though it's usually just holding hands, if he thinks that's the case in every situation... I should correct him.
"I hope you're not expecting the same thing to happen again."
"No. I'm fine now."
"How can you be so sure? You felt it too, but..."
I trailed off mid-sentence.
On the day of the entrance ceremony, the magic in the Great Hall was definitely someone trying to ruin Akteon's Second Manifestation on purpose.
We haven't figured out who did it, for what purpose, or what they were aiming for, so we should be careful to prevent the same thing from happening, but Akteon was rather calm.
"And I think I know who did it. They won't try the same thing again."
"...You know?"
I couldn't help but ask, surprised by the story that contrasted with his calm demeanor.
The hallway after class, where the students had left, was so deserted that it felt like only the two of us were there.
The reason I ran into Akteon was trivial.
The first-year students started their first class of the day right upstairs.
Naturally, I ran into him as he was coming down the stairs, and after exchanging greetings and starting a conversation, we arrived at this point.
Anyway, Akteon, who was overly calm despite the content of his words, stared intently at me, who had widened my eyes in contrast to him.
"You seem surprised that I know."
I see. It might seem suspicious.
I understood why he was looking at me like that.
Until just a year ago, I was just an academy student who had undergone First Manifestation without any special qualities and became affiliated with the country.
Moreover, I was from a commoner background, not a noble.
The information and environment I could access were limited.
Perhaps if Akteon was pointing to someone like me as the cause of the recent incident, it would be questionable that I could suspect that person.
I am a war advocate who has gained support under the pretext of the Magic Stone War, a key figure in establishing the Evolved Being Management Act, and the starting point.
I had Crown Prince Sibelin in mind.
'It's difficult for an Evolved Being with limited information like me to have animosity towards the Crown Prince.'
But I've already seen it, haven't I?
How this world will unfold, through the story in my head.
Akteon and Milia clearly reached a happy ending.
However, in that ending, the war did not end, and in fact, circumstances made it clear that it had worsened.
In the story I know, the Crown Prince eventually abandoned Hiakin, whom he had adopted as his son.
Instead, he actively supported Akteon, and Akteon joined hands with the Crown Prince to become the new head of Brondearne.
It was obvious to everyone that the Crown Prince intended to use Akteon from the beginning.
Akteon saw through this and met his death at Akteon's hands, and it seemed that all problems would be solved with his disappearance.
But the problem was that it wasn't like that at all.
'Even though the linchpin, the Crown Prince, disappeared, the nobles he had gathered were not a force that could easily scatter.'
And for some reason...
'The most unsettling thing was that Prince Isidor, who was subtly opposed to the Crown Prince, disappeared.'
A sick King and two children.
The heads of the two largest forces disappeared, and the country's political situation became unstable and greatly shaken.
It was obvious what would happen to a country that was already precarious in the midst of war.
So, at this point in time, when this flow is still in progress, there is only one person who would do such a thing to Akteon.
Someone who needs a high-ranking Transcendent Being to become their henchman.
Crown Prince Sibelin.
The reason he pushed Akteon's Second Manifestation into a frenzy was obvious.
To further highlight the danger of Transcendent Beings and strengthen control.
Afterward, he would have taken Akteon, the person involved in the dangerous situation, out himself and placed him under his control under the guise of control.
But when this plan failed, he turned his attention to Hiakin, who had manifested as another S-class.
'How awful.'
But it's difficult to explain all of this to Akteon.
'Even though I'm preemptively feeling guilty, I need a suitable excuse...'
Should I say that I have a good insight into political trends?
I can make it fit.
But Akteon spoke before I could even open my mouth.
"It's not strange. If you calculate the position that Brondearne holds in this country and discard some prejudice, it narrows down to one person."
"Some prejudice?"
"Superficially, this family is on the Crown Prince's side, but..."
Akteon gave his usual eye smile.
I was familiar with that smile.
"The Crown Prince might be reluctant to have Brondearne in his faction."
It was the smile he had after talking to the Duke at the mansion.
It contained the composure of someone who patiently waits for an opportunity.
'I didn't know until a few days ago, but now I understand.'
I superficially speculated on all the actions that the Akteon of the original story took as the head of the family.
But the Akteon I actually met had no choice but to hate the Duke and the Crown Prince from the moment he came to Brondearne.
'...It was revenge for his mother and himself.'
The meeting with the Duke that I saw through his memories still makes me sick.
He must have lived with the Duke's whims since he came to the family with his mother, so it was difficult to even guess how terrible the size of his hidden emotions was.
What kind of expression was I making?
He suddenly lowered his head and met my eyes.
"Aren't you curious why I think that way?"
I swallowed a bit of embarrassment and said.
"No, actually, I know."
He was the one who was awkward earlier, but it seems like it's the opposite now.
Afraid of being caught acting unnaturally just because we made eye contact, I raised my hand and covered his eyes.
"You felt it before, right? When I underwent First Manifestation, I empathized with your emotions."
"...That means."
"This time, I didn't just feel it, I saw it."
What you were suffering from.
Unexpectedly, Akteon was not shaken.
He was still, as if he expected it, leaving his face in my hand. His Adam's apple bobbed.
"I thought so. When my consciousness was being raised, I felt like someone was looking into me. But it wasn't unpleasant."
"You were testing me."
"I thought you would keep it a secret from the Management Bureau and the Academy, but if you wanted to hide it from me too, I was going to pretend I didn't know."
"Well, it's not a good thing for other people to look into your past without permission."
"I like it, though."
His eyelashes touched my skin, tickling me.
I flinched at the subtle sensation and looked through the gaps between my fingers, where a faint silver-gray eye was watching me.
"Because it's you, Senior."
After saying that, Akteon didn't seem to want to take his face away for a long time, as if he felt comfortable with the contact with me.
Even though I was the one who made the first move, I felt a little sorry for taking my hand away.
I could hear other students coming this way.
I hurriedly pushed Akteon away and unknowingly grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the spot.
