“Of course you’re supposed to hate him. It’s only natural to hate him, to be sickened to your core, right? But...”

But here’s the thing.

“Even that bastard had his circumstances.”

That never means murder is excusable.

“I get the circumstances, and it’s not that I can’t understand them... but that doesn’t erase what you suffered.”

Hatred doesn’t just ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) evaporate that easily.

“So guess what I told myself to do?”

At some point Arsian’s gaze had come a little more into focus.

“Leave it alone.”

“...Leave it alone?”

“Your feelings. Just let them be.”

Yeah. That was the advice I gave myself.

Don’t force yourself to understand or forgive your father. Just leave your heart to go where it goes, do what it wants to do.

“Won’t there be a point where you get tired?”

If you keep hating, keep hating... and keep hating, there’ll come a day you just wear out and stop.

“If not, then not.”

So what if you hate and resent him all your life? Who’s going to blame the victim for that?

Finishing, Camilla let out a short sigh inside.

Even if you’ve been through something similar, the intensity of pain each person received is different—how could you fully understand every piece of another’s heart?

‘Only...’

It pisses me off. We’re the ones with wounds that last a lifetime—so why do we have to wrestle with thoughts like this, too!

Camilla glanced at Arsian.

His eyes had definitely settled, far calmer than a moment ago.

Seeing his fists, Camilla clicked her tongue again. She’d thought they were just smeared with the other boy’s blood, but looking closely, Arsian’s own hands were split open.

Camilla took out a handkerchief and tied his wounds off for now.

“Stop making Sier cry. He cries when you get hurt.”

With that, Camilla turned away from him.

Arsian watched her receding back for a long time. The end of the handkerchief fluttered in the breeze over his hand.

****

“Right, he can use magic.”

If he healed with mana it would be quick. I shouldn’t have given that away. It’s expensive.

Realizing too late, Camilla sighed. Well, he can return it later.

She had things from just now to sort out, and even the time it would take to go retrieve the handkerchief felt like a waste.

‘Was this about when the Duke of Sephra died?’

He had no chronic illness, and there was no special accident. The Duke of Sephra’s death was far too sudden.

I remember the school atmosphere being unsettled for a while because Arsian quit when he received the title. Arsian, who inherited the headship, kept his mouth clamped shut, and all sorts of talk went around.

[Father always said it. Hurry and grow stronger and kill me.]

Considering what Sier had said before, it seemed likely Arsian had killed the Duke.

‘Told you it’s a deranged family.’

A father who begs his son every day to kill him.

In any case, after the Duke of Sephra died, there was only one person who could restrain and rein in Arsian when he raged out of his mind.

‘Laila.’

Fitting for someone who monopolized the love of all men, Arsian, too, became oddly mild in front of her.

“I should probably take out some insurance.”

****

“Hey, did you hear? That bastard Juid dropped out.”

“I heard his family went bust.”

“For real? All of a sudden why?”

“No clue. The business partners they were working with all pulled out at once.”

“What on earth?”

“Good riddance.”

“Seriously. That jerk was insufferable.”

Sitting alone under the shade of a tree reading, Laila lifted her head. The chatter of the students gathered nearby drifted into her ears.

‘Juid, then...’

That man. The one who’d tried to drag her off in the forest!

Her hurt ankle still throbbed a little, but not everything that happened had been bad.

Thinking of the one person who had stood in Juid’s way, Laila’s mouth softened. Her eyes sparkled.

She’d been hearing news of that person fairly often recently. She’d wanted to go see her once, but worried she’d be a nuisance, she couldn’t readily bring herself to go.

“I want to thank her properly.”

It would be nice to give a present. What would be good? What would she like?

“Laila, here you are!”

“We’ve been looking everywhere.”

Her classmates came rushing over then. Spotting Laila, they ringed around her with bright smiles.

Laila smiled back. Since transferring, these were the friends she’d grown closest to.

“What are you doing here?”

“Reading.”

“Really? Must be nice to have free time.”

“What about the assignment?”

“Assignment?”

“Yeah. We have to turn in the history assignment this afternoon.”

“Ah. I finished that yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Wow... I’m jealous. We haven’t done a thing.”

“Same.”

“Something suddenly came up at home yesterday.”

“Me too.”

“We had no time to do it at all.”

“What do we do?”

“Guess we just get scolded. If I fail this time, my father said he won’t let it slide... ugh.”

Seeing their long faces, Laila’s expression turned worried as well.

“I’ll help.”

“Huh?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You can use mine as a reference, right?”

“Laila!”

“Thank you so much!”

“You’re the best!”

Beaming, the three girls hugged Laila.

Happy at their joy, Laila smiled and pulled her assignment from the bag beside her.

“Don’t copy it verbatim like last time. We’ll all get scolded.”

“Okay!”

“We won’t, this time.”

“Don’t worry.”

At her words, the three nodded in unison. Their eyes were already fixed on the assignment in Laila’s hands.

Laila held it out with a smile.

“Thank you so mu—huh?!”

But the moment they reached for it, the assignment suddenly lifted into the air. Their heads jerked up, eyes going wide.

“Are you a pushover?”

“Ah!”

Laila lifted her head too, her mouth falling open—then called the newcomer’s name with a smile full of gladness.

“Lady Camilla!”

What the—why is she so happy to see me? Camilla looked at Laila a moment, then turned her gaze.

Under that look, the three young ladies who’d been staring blankly at her hurried to arrange their expressions.

“L-Lady Camilla, it’s been a while.”

“Do we know each other?”

Sorry, I don’t remember.

Without a second thought, Camilla’s reply made the one who’d first spoken—Lady Grace—flush red. Naturally, her words came out sharp.

“Please return that.”

“It’s yours?”

“Pardon?”

“How do you demand it back so boldly when it isn’t even yours?”

“N-no! We were supposed to receive that...”

“Why were you busy?”

Camilla cut her off at once.

“You said you were so busy you couldn’t even do the assignment. Why were you busy?”

When she referenced the conversation from moments ago, Grace faltered even more.

“W-why should I have to tell you that?”

“By any chance.”

Camilla paused, then flicked Laila’s assignment teasingly at them.

“Haven’t you heard the rumors about me?”

She took a step closer. Lowering her head a little, she met Lady Grace’s eyes and smiled.

“That the Sorpel young lady can tell a fortune.”

“......!”

“Oh. Has that one not made the rounds?”

Camilla’s smile deepened.

“Sometimes I even hit details about past behavior.”

“W-what nonsense!”

“After class yesterday, didn’t you party all night with a few young lords?”

“Gasp!”

“You were so wrapped up in having fun you didn’t get home until dawn, right? Which is probably why you didn’t do the assignment.”

As she continued, Lady Grace and the other young ladies went white. They couldn’t even manage an excuse.

Hearing Camilla recite their movements exactly made their bodies tremble. They’d heard rumors of her strange ability—but was it real?

“Want me to keep going? What you did for fun last night. With whom, and what you did.”

“E-excuse us.”

All three bolted to their feet and fled without waiting for who would move first.

‘Good.’

I didn’t know any more than that, anyway.

Camilla slid a sidelong glance at the girl-ghost Amy, who was giggling at her side.

Amy was the one who’d provided this information. Trailing after her and spotting the three, Amy had told her what they’d gossiped about that morning.

That the three had drunk and played with men all night and hadn’t done the assignment at all, and then laughed that with Laila around what was there to worry about—if they talked nice, she’d let them copy it word for word like last time.

‘Disgusting.’

People like that make me sick. They sidle up with flowery words, pretending to be close, and then cherry-pick only what they need.

When you refuse, they play the victim—how hurt they are, when the favor came from thinking of you as such a close friend.

‘As if there weren’t swarms of people like that in the entertainment industry.’

I’d had my fill, so driving such types off was child’s play now.

“How is it you’re getting taken advantage of every time I see you?”

“Every time I see you, Lady Camilla, you help me.”

“Apparently.”

This is so not my character.

I’d thought she was bright, capable at everything, and good with people, but it turns out she’s a huge pushover.

‘Secretly the type who gets used, huh?’

Only she didn’t seem to know it at all. Just moments ago she’d been happily handing over her assignment.

Laila looked like she didn’t know the first thing about the way the world works, and it made me uneasy.

No—maybe it’s exactly that soft cluelessness men are falling for?

“But do you really have foresight?”

Sparkle, sparkle. Those eyes, even brighter than before, fixed on me—it was honestly a lot.

“...Want a candy?”

“Yes!”

...This doesn’t feel like insurance. It feels like I picked up another pet.