At Cain’s whispered answer, I backed away in surprise.
“What? The Dark Guild?”
“Lower your voice!”
“How do you know that?”
For a moment, Cain’s eyes sharpened sideways.
The Dark Guild was an organization whose very existence was shrouded in mystery. Of course, there were brief rumors in the original work that the Count Astol family was connected to the Dark Guild, but it wasn’t certain. Still, if Cain, who’s from the Astol family, said that much, it didn’t seem like complete nonsense.
“Seeing that woman came here… anyway, it doesn’t seem like something to overlook lightly.”
That woman? Who?
When I looked at him with worried eyes, Cain smiled brightly again and clung to my back. Then I remembered someone wearing a purple cloak fleeing when Cesare and I were in the garden on the night of the ball.
‘Cain too… was wearing purple formal wear on the night of the ball, right?’
“So you be careful too, puppy. Stay right by my side.”
“……”
Was Cain involved? Or someone else?
“Now. Omelet time has returned after a long while!”
While I was pondering, Cain dragged me to the omelet line. As expected, the morning passed entirely while I struggled hard with the guy trying to sacrifice other students to make me eat more than two omelets.
* * *
Due to the sudden terrorist attack, for Crown Prince Cedric’s safety, the VIP guests left the academy earlier than scheduled. I hugged Aunt again at the fountain in front of the courtyard and said goodbye.
“Even if I can’t go for spring break, I’ll come home for summer break, so don’t worry.”
<Please stop doing reckless things.>
I hung my head dejectedly at the nagging written in Aunt’s notebook. Reckless things—I don’t want to do them either. I have no choice if I want to protect our family and the trading company.
<Why do you have no energy, my nephew.>
As I puffed out my lips and stayed still, Aunt pulled my finger and gently placed it on the notebook.
<I confessed to someone I like and got rejected.>
“Aaaaah! What is this! Don’t look! Aaaaah!”
When I was startled by the letters suddenly written in the notebook, Aunt laughed silently. I vaguely remembered hearing that this notebook manifests the voice of the heart, so it’s difficult to write lies.
Still, to suddenly thrust it at me like this to extract my true feelings. Even the gentle-looking Aunt must have the blood of the reckless Mellans after all.
<So that’s why you looked so haggard lately. Our nephew has grown up.>
“Aunt!”
<So that’s why you tore up Jaina Fellox’s letter. Because you have someone you like?>
“It’s not like that…! Sigh. Fine. Yes. I have someone I like.”
I didn’t have the energy to respond anymore, so I vaguely agreed that was right. At least my relief was that Cesare’s name wasn’t written in the notebook.
<Why does he dislike you?>
Aunt tilted her head and touched my eyes, cheeks, and shoulders. It meant ‘Who would dare reject our nephew when he’s this handsome?’
“I just feel like I was rejected. Like 200% rejected.”
He’s not gay, not a 21st-century Earthling, so if a weak feudal society guy gets kissed by another man, it would be hard to maintain his sanity. He surely either thinks it’s dirty or disgusting—one of the two.
‘But thanks to that, he must have recognized the danger of the Addiction, right? He must have been horrified by my kiss.’
“Anyway, I’ll handle that myself, so Aunt, go back safely. Send my regards to Uncle too.”
Aunt thought about something, then ripped off a few pages from the notebook and handed them to me.
<It’s a gift. It will help organize each other’s true feelings. My cute puppy. Take care.>
True feelings. Speaking of which, are there even true feelings between Cesare and me? As I stood there blankly holding the paper in our twisted and tangled relationship, Aunt finished preparing to leave and stood in front of the carriage.
<And about your friend, the Young Duke of Yanox. He’s kind but it seems he’s at odds with the imperial family. Wouldn’t it be better to keep your distance? You know how much nobles like to take sides, right?>
Wait. Taking sides? At Aunt’s advice, it felt like a puzzle piece was fitting together.
‘If Cesare had inevitably become the assassination suspect, the Yanox ducal family would have become even more isolated, right?’
The assassination was really sloppy. Then there was no intention to succeed from the beginning. If what Cain said this morning was right, someone might have commissioned the Dark Guild to orchestrate a false flag terrorist attack. That meant there was some faction that wanted the Yanox ducal family to be isolated quickly.
While I was confused, the carriage carrying Aunt departed. I briefly recalled Cesare’s characteristics.
Usually gloomy -1.
(Handsome but) looks somehow evil -1.
Friends he hangs out with are bad quality -1.
Suspected of attempted regicide -1.
Seems to have fallen out of favor with the imperial family -1.
Even talks back to Cedric -1, etc.
Who exactly would stick by Cesare’s side with so much karma accumulated now?
‘Yanox is a rotten branch.’
I felt a chill down my spine as I remembered what Cedric said recently.
‘Cesare will gradually become isolated now. If I distance myself too, people will look down on him even more.’
But I have no choice if I want to be safe.
As I returned listlessly, even Mitche was crying sadly while clinging to me. Even though he’s imaginary. I got annoyed and kicked him away with my foot.
* * *
The day the lockdown was finally lifted and classes resumed. I hid in a corner of the hallway, taking deep breaths while waiting for Professor Hugo to arrive. Then I entered the classroom at the same time Professor Hugo’s footsteps arrived.
As soon as I entered, I saw Cain gesturing from the back corner for me to sit next to him. Cesare was also sitting beside him.
I quickly sat in the front corner seat before making eye contact with him. It was the furthest diagonal distance from him. I heard Cain calling “Hey, Rye!” but Professor Hugo immediately started class, so he had to shut his mouth.
“Which bastard is chattering. Is that Private Astol? Open your book. I’m already dying from the delayed progress, did you enjoy resting for a few days? Ugh, what’s that smell! Let’s get some ventilation too!”
Thanks to Professor Hugo organizing the situation, class ended safely. I quickly followed Professor behind the professor to escape the classroom. I just need to avoid the morning required classes I take with Cesare like this. I can skip the afternoon elective classes.
For several days like that, I avoided Cesare by only following behind the professors. Fortunately, Cesare himself only occasionally stared at me from a distance but didn’t approach or talk to me first.
Still, thinking I might run into him, I spent afternoons passing time in the dorm common room or just stayed in my room. I didn’t want to study for the traveling troupe exam either, so I mostly spent time in a daze.
Cain annoyingly kept asking why I was avoiding Cesare, but when I made up that “Cesare is very angry because I went as his partner in cross-dress,” he seemed to roughly accept it.
‘Honestly, it’s comfortable not having to do chores.’
The small chores I’d been doing for Cesare until now came to mind. Carrying his bag, bringing reference books, holding library seats, going shopping together and paying, preparing drinks, buying lunch boxes, etc.
Come to think of it, isn’t he really a bad bastard? I’d get angry and call Mitche to pinch his cheeks, but then I’d remember my kiss with him again and feel drained of energy.
‘But the kiss with Cesare… felt good.’
As I killed time lying face down at a table in the sunny dorm common room, everything was peaceful. The sounds of other students turning pages, fountain pens and quill pens scratching, small conversations, and even the clinking sounds of the refreshment dishes.
A killer natural ASMR that makes me yawn automatically.
‘See, Mitche. If Cesare isn’t in my life, it’s this peaceful.’
I wished days like this would continue until graduation. A world without him. A world where I eat well and live well. If he’s not here, I’ll travel around the world on a gourmet journey. Spending money lavishly.
Just thinking about it brings a smile to my lips… or not. For some reason, without him, I’m more gloomy than expected. His image kept flickering before my eyes.
‘This is all because of the Addiction. Or my Hell Joseon slave genes engraved inside me are nagging me to do servant work.’
I kept mind-controlling myself that all this was because of the Addiction. But that act was brief, and soon I banged my head on the table with great irritation. My eyelids were burning for no reason.
‘Despicable bastard. Still, I served as his lackey for years, but he falls away immediately after one kiss…? Even though he’s the one who cast the love magic.’
Even though he cast love magic, do lips wear out if you give them a little? Huh?
I have a contradictory self that wants him never to come near me for the rest of my life, but on the other hand hopes he’ll speak to me first. Damn Addiction. When will sunshine enter my life?
Sigh. This possession sucks. Someone in another genre possessed a chaebol family son and is thriving. Even on such a nice spring day like this, I wonder when there will be sunshine in my life.
* * *
“Look. Mellans also fell out of Cesare’s line. My father told me to be careful of him at the last Homecoming.”
“Then is something really happening to the ducal family?”
“We don’t really know either. But I did a group project with Yanox last time—the imperial family won’t find fault with that, right?”
Students murmured behind me as I passed by. Even though the last terrorist attack wasn’t Cesare’s fault, students implicitly avoided Cesare. The occasional Cesare I saw was with Cain, but even Cain wasn’t an exemplary student, so he was often alone too.
William’s gang seemed to be carefully looking for angles to distance themselves from Cesare.
Ironically, in my case, as rumors spread that I’d distanced myself from Cesare, guys who wanted to get close to the Mellans Trading Company subtly stuck to me.
It wasn’t bad. After always seeing rough guys with fierce expressions like Cain or William, seeing docile students was so peaceful it felt like this was what normal school life was.
Today too, during leftover discussion time, surrounding students stuck close and talked to me.
“Wow, so how many villas does Mellans own?”
“Grandfather has them stocked at every major business location, so just the ones I know are over ten. If you add the resorts affiliated with nobles, there are even more.”
“Then you must invite us during break!”
“I hope you invite our viscounty too! I’ll formally invite you to our territory later!”
After always voluntarily groveling to Cesare, receiving this kind of treatment made me feel a bit dazed and floating.
“I heard you’re called the Hell’s Mouth, but you really talk interestingly. What do you do for extracurricular activities?”
A somewhat tall junior next to me put his arm on my shoulder and pressed his body close.
