My heart nearly dropped at Professor Bardi’s roar in geometric calculation class. No, that professor is drawing shapes with a triangle ruler on the chalkboard—how does he know I’m passing notes? I wonder if he has eyes on the back of his head too.
I heard Cesare let out a small sigh next to me with a “Whew.” I stuck out my lower lip to make a tearful face, then walked forward with heavy steps. As I passed by, I heard Cain snickering from the side.
Bad bastard. If we passed notes together, we should share the responsibility! Professor Bardi is bad too! That’s why you only have a few hairs left, being so petty!
“Astol, you too, come forward.”
As expected, the equal Imperial Academy. The best faculty. I recommend it.
I applauded Professor Bardi’s upright character, whom I had just insulted for only having a few hairs, and apologized.
Fortunately, Professor Bardi didn’t confiscate the note and just made us stand in front of the chalkboard to solve geometry problems. I’ve been a math dropout since elementary school because I hated calculating the surface area of shapes, and now I’m studying this again here. Life is really unpredictable.
The elderly Professor Bardi went back and forth behind Cain and me as we struggled with the problem, and just laughed, “Haha.”
“Well, I’d understand a hundred times if men and women were passing notes with homecoming approaching. But two dark-haired guys passing notes is a bit much, isn’t it? During class too. Mellans, Astol? Yes?”
“Yes sir! We’re sorry!”
“We’re sorry!”
Homecoming was a big event at the Imperial Academy held in late spring. It’s a networking festival period where parents gather for observation classes, dance parties, and banquets, and professors and parents interact.
‘During homecoming there’ll be shortened classes, right? Hehe.’
Not only was it a shortened class period where classes ended early, but female students especially looked forward to homecoming because it was one of the few occasions at the academy where civilian clothes were allowed for the dance party.
But suddenly a big question came to my mind.
‘Why isn’t the female lead transferring?’
She should definitely have transferred by now and be starting to get cozy with Cedric, choosing dresses, but it was too quiet.
* * *
Afternoon free activity time.
Stuck right next to Cesare who came to the library to do assignments, I watched his quill pen moving diligently.
Swish swish swish swish. At that speed, it means he’s concentrating intensely. Naturally saying, “I’ll go find a book,” he just nodded without answering.
Going to the periodical bookshelf near the library entrance, I skimmed through all the newspapers and quarterly magazines published by media organizations within the empire. However, the more I skimmed the newsletters, the bigger my doubts grew.
‘This is strange. There’s no news about the female lead, let alone someone manifesting healing abilities.’
If things were going as they should, a strong healing ability should have manifested in the dirt-poor model student female lead attending Roswell Academy, and using that as an opportunity, she should normally have transferred to the Imperial Academy. And Cedric, completely smitten with her cleverness, should have been following her around annoyingly.
No matter how much the addiction was gone, this was a development unrelated to the addiction, so it should proceed, but there was no news at all.
‘Ah, I can’t even search properly because I don’t remember the female lead’s name!’
I really missed my part-time job colleague who kept shoving her phone at me while I was diligently frying french fries before transmigration, promoting the romance fantasy novel. She would remember everything…
Of course, since I like men, I remembered the names of handsome and exceptional male leads well, but the female lead honestly… there were too many similar names in romance fantasy.
Rose-something, Something-ria, Er-something, etc. They’re really cool names when you hear them, but my bad head had its limits in remembering them.
Anyway, while tearing at my hair worrying, I thought of one strange hypothesis.
‘What if this world doesn’t have a female lead?’
My rational goal was ultimately to break the addiction and travel around enjoying gourmet food luxuriously while spending money lavishly.
Of course, this damn ancient magic keeps arbitrarily changing my goal to walking down the aisle with Cesare shouting, ‘We’ll be happy! All you guests, sign the guestbook and get your meal tickets!’ at any time.
Anyway, the important thing is that if there’s no female lead, number 2 of the Escape Cesare Project is impossible.
In the storyline, because of the female lead under the addiction spell, Cedric risks his life to obtain a divine artifact from somewhere. Right now, Cedric doesn’t have an artifact to break the addiction either.
Even if I recklessly go find Cedric right now and cry and beg saying ‘I’m under an addiction spell so please get me a divine artifact,’ whether he’d actually get it for me is uncertain.
‘Then do I have to keep having a one-sided love for Cesare like this and reluctantly participate in the rebellion?!’
Is that it, mini Cesare?
Mini Cesare, stuck firmly in a corner of my heart, looked at me and smiled.
Why is Cesare so unnecessarily cool that he manipulates me like this? That sly eye-smile resembling Cesare was so pretty that I got annoyed for no reason.
‘Mini Cesare. You, get out. If you’re not paying rent, get out! You freeloader!’
I firmly issued an eviction order, smacking the back of mini Cesare who had already set up house without permission in my heart. The sight of mini Cesare’s back as he left with drooping shoulders was somehow too… pitiful.
I quickly grabbed mini Cesare’s shoulder and pulled him back.
‘Just come in and live. *Sob sob*. It’s cold outside, where are you trying to go, pretty one? You don’t need rent, just pay the maintenance fee…’
At mini Cesare’s face walking toward me with a bright smile, all the walls of my heart eventually crumbled.
‘Aah. Don’t even pay the maintenance fee! Live in the penthouse of my heart! Just live while receiving allowance, pretty one!’
I tightly hugged mini Cesare in my brain and kissed his white cheeks, then bit and sucked them while throwing a fit. Then suddenly I got angry again.
‘Why the hell do I, who lived so kindly in the world, have to like this bastard…?!’
I threw mini Cesare away again. They say love is self-harm, but isn’t this a bit too much?
- It’s a one-sided love that will never be fulfilled.
- He knows about my one-sided love and only recognizes me as a tool.
And the most important numbers 3 and 4.
- This love didn’t start because I wanted it.
- Unless the magic is broken, the love cannot be broken.
No way. Anyone can see this love is doomed.
It wasn’t a button fastened wrong from the start, but rather the button had completely disappeared saying, ‘Goodbye, everyone! I’m casting off all the bonds and shackles of this world and going somewhere else!’
The only advantage of this love was Cesare Yanox’s devastatingly handsome face.
‘Not anymore. I really can’t be swept up and fall for that guy any more!’
While despairing in my heart at that moment, a female student shyly approached me.
Seeing her wearing the dark green academy uniform, she was a freshman in the high school division, but not a particularly close junior.
“Senior Lionel!”
“Ah. Was it Junior Jaina? We’re on the same team in seasonal farmland management class, right?”
She was some Lady Jaina something, a noble I think, but I didn’t remember well.
“Yes! You remember! Ah, it’s, it’s nothing much. I…”
Seeing her hand me an envelope with a somewhat ticklish atmosphere and a group of female students hiding around watching us, I understood the situation at once.
“It’s, it’s my birthday soon, and I’m renting the campus community hall to throw a party. I wanted to invite Senior Lionel there…!”
She said it was a birthday party invitation, but seeing Jaina’s reddened face and the female students clenching their fists somehow, this was obviously school romance to anyone.
Separate from my feelings about Jaina, the voice in my heart crying ‘You’re doing pretty well, Lionel!’ echoed as I was about to coolly refuse, but I made eye contact with her.
Eyes full of excitement and fear that she might be rejected. And at her fingertips trembling from pressing down and containing her sincerity so much it overflowed, I hesitated and missed the timing to refuse.
“Uh…”
That was my future self. As the addiction’s influence grew stronger, someday I too would change to such ardent, sweet eyes whenever I stood in front of Cesare.
Hoping to touch him. Hoping he would please accept my heart.
Just being by his side is enough. I want him by my side even if I offer everything. I would stand by his side with anxious feelings while showing an expression pouring out such emotions.
Having thought that, I couldn’t easily refuse her heart.
“I really hope you’ll come, senior!”
Jaina said that and quickly ran away. While flustered and looking around not knowing what to do, William’s group coming out of the reading room was approaching with loud jeers.
I quickly turned my head, but their expressions already resembled those of predators spotting prey.
“Yo~ho. Li~o~nel.”
“This guy is secretly popular because he’s handsome, you know?”
“Ah, you’re the ugly one. Get lost.”
When I waved my hands, that guy Samuel quickly snatched the letter.
“Jaina Fellox, that’s the Fellox Count family, right?”
“Lionel, you’re awesome!”
At the mischievous male students’ jeers, I protested with a reddened face.
“I-it’s not like that! It’s just a birthday party invitation!”
“You believe that? Already got a homecoming partner~.”
Samuel started reading aloud the beginning of the letter he snatched.
“Ahem. To the always kind and sweet Senior Lionel Mellans. Kyaaa, embarrassing!”
“Ooh! The kind and sweet Mr. Hell’s Mouth~?”
Usually they’re pretty close guys, but as expected, they have villain experience so the degree of mischief was excessive. And today seemed worse since Cain, who usually monopolized me, wasn’t here.
“Ugh. You annoying bastards. Give it back! Give it back!”
With a completely reddened face, I hopped around and barely got the invitation back in my hands. Samuel ruffled my hair while apologizing.
“Sorry. It’s fun to tease you. I didn’t even open it, see.”
“It’s because we’re envious! We need to find partners too! If you do well, hook us up with some freshmen, okay?”
“Ugh, you guys. With faces like that, of course you’re not popular. Even if you can’t reach Cesare’s level, at least have basic qualities like Cain’s or my face. Just because you have two eyes, one nose, and one mouth doesn’t make it a face.”
“Ugh, that mouth of his! Really can’t even hit him because he’s handsome.”
William giggled while pounding my back.
“We’re going to eat dinner now.”
“Oh, go ahead! Cesare’s still here, so I’ll organize my bag and join you!”
“Okay. We decided to play card games in Samuel’s room later, so come before we start.”
The guys noisily left the library, bumping fists with me or ruffling my hair.
As I was about to enter the reading room again, I felt a cold gaze from the side. When I turned my head, Cesare was looking this way holding my crossbody bag, having arrived at some point.
“Cesare! Huk, you brought my bag because I didn’t come. It must have been heavy! Give it here quickly!”
Since there were several textbooks inside that might be heavy, I received the bag from his hand with the proper lackey attitude.
“I shouldn’t give you any openings, should I?”
“Huh?”
“You seem to be in a good mood receiving a love letter from a girl, Lionel?”
“You saw? Hehe. Not as much as you, but I’m pretty popular too.”
“You were grinning like an idiot because the kids were hyping you up—do you like her?”
Huh? Why is Cesare so low-pressure like this? Didn’t he finish his assignment? At the suddenly coldly sunken voice, I kept glancing at Cesare rapidly from the corner of my eye.
‘Huk. He must be hurt in his pride because he hasn’t found a homecoming partner yet but it looks like I’ll get one first!’
I desperately spoke to not hurt his feelings.
“No! I don’t like her at all! She’s just a junior I take seasonal farmland management class with. I-it’s not even a love letter, just a birthday invitation…!”
Suddenly Cesare strode right up to me and made his dark red eyes shine fiercely. My vision also instantly turned dark red.
“Lionel. Then tear that up right now.”
