### Chapter: 178
“If you’re scared to stand alone, I’ll help you.”
“…Y-you’ll help me? Someone like me?”
Before she knew it, Mary’s way of speaking had changed.
Having recognized Kraush as a superior, she knelt politely, listening intently to his words.
“Of course, Mary. We’re just classmates, right? Helping a fellow classmate is only natural.”
It wasn’t just an order; he was offering help.
The unfamiliar words shook her once again.
“What’s so good about friends?”
Kraush’s smile seemed dazzlingly brilliant to Mary.
Gulp!
As Mary absentmindedly swallowed, Kraush’s hand tapped her shoulder.
The moment his touch brushed against her robe, she shivered.
Well, it made sense—underneath that robe, she was wearing nothing but her underwear!
Was it the intoxicating scent that was making her so steamy?
Just his hand on her triggered a reaction in her core, causing Mary to bite her lip.
“Right?”
Seeing her flustered, Kraush smiled again, and Mary nodded in a daze.
“Y-yes…”
She answered like a four-year-old child, utterly weakened.
Watching this, Kraush slowly walked over to the window and opened it.
The evening breeze swept in, carrying away some of the mesmerizing scent, cooling Mary’s sweaty hair.
Only then did she begin to regain her senses.
“Seems like we’ve said everything there is to say.”
Kraush pointed outside with his thumb.
“I think it’s about time to go back and get some rest?”
“Y-yes, yes, that’s right.”
Mary stood up, wavering as she approached the window.
The warmth in her body made her steps heavy, but she held on.
Then, she glanced back at Kraush.
His face wore a friendly smile.
In that moment, a warm feeling washed over her.
As she tilted her head up, there was Kraush’s hand.
His hand, gently ruffling her hair, felt so warm it reminded her of when her father used to praise her.
But even that father had turned his back on her.
Because she was the princess killer.
Mary almost crumbled to her knees.
But looking up at Kraush’s face, she barely managed to hold herself together.
“Don’t belittle your efforts.”
Upon hearing his final words, Mary felt a lump in her throat and lowered her head.
“…Y-yes, Kraush. Thank you for today.”
Now addressing him with respect, her ears turning red, she wrapped her robe around herself and stepped out the window.
“I’ll keep my spirits up.”
With those final words, she quickly left Kraush’s room.
Ever since her reincarnation, her heart had felt empty.
Chiseled away, she was now like a candle flickering before the wind, almost extinguished.
But today, after meeting Kraush, she felt the first bit of filling in that emptiness.
Kraush had genuinely cared for her as a classmate and a friend, cheering her on.
She wanted to repay that kindness.
She wanted to earn his acknowledgment one more time, someone stronger and more impressive than herself.
Before she knew it, the shadows of Sigrid and Arthur that had always loomed over her faded away.
Under the cold night sky, Mary ran.
Tonight, for some reason, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to sleep easily.
—
＊ ＊ ＊
Sunlight poured through the window.
A pleasant breeze wafted in.
“Ughhh!”
The girl with sea-blue hair stretched lazily in her pajamas.
Her name was Sigrid Ephania.
When she woke up that morning, a bright smile spread across her face.
For some reason, she had a feeling that something good would happen today.
That too, because she had a pretty nice dream last night.
‘Arthur appeared!’
Although she only saw him in a dream, it brought her so much joy.
She had been feeling really down lately due to various incidents.
But today, she hummed a little tune as she got out of bed.
‘Ah, maybe the things I set in motion turned out well.’
Just yesterday, she had used a worthless dog to get it to mate.
Surely that had gone well, and that’s why she felt so good!
With a giggle, Sigrid stepped out of her room.
Thinking of Mary, who would soon be pregnant, and Kraush, who would be by her side, filled her with exhilaration.
Charlotte, who had been snatched away from Kraush, would surely be in despair.
And thinking of the cursed one who would have to follow his wife, who was Mary, it was hard not to feel elated.
As Sigrid stepped out with a big smile on her face.
“Lady Sigrid, a letter has arrived.”
“A letter?”
At her maid’s words, Sigrid tilted her head.
Could there be a problem with something she had arranged at the palace recently?
‘Sigrid, that guy seems to have returned to the palace.’
She felt a slight drop in her good mood and extended her hand.
“Let me see it.”
“Here it is.”
As the maid handed her the letter, Sigrid flipped it over and checked both sides.
After all, there was no name written anywhere.
‘Don’t tell me someone did something magical?’
Although she thought maybe someone had used magic, it didn’t seem like it.
There was no way a letter from the palace would be this sloppy.
Sigrid tore open the envelope to check the contents.
And after reading for a while…
“That crazy girl!”
She swore as she crumpled the letter in frustration.
Because the one who sent the letter was none other than Mary.
—
[To Lady Sigrid]
Thank you for everything up until now.
I want to try standing on my own now without burdening you anymore.
– Mary Diana
—
The moment she saw the contents of the letter, Sigrid couldn’t believe her eyes.
And it took her reading it three more times to grasp what it meant.
Before she could discard Mary, Mary had left her first.
In this ridiculous situation, Sigrid felt her breath hitch.
She was furious.
She told Mary to bear Kraush’s child, and now she was declaring independence?
Even disregarding that dog’s command!
“Aaaaargh!”
The mix of irritation and rage burst out from Sigrid.
All the good vibes from earlier evaporated in an instant.
Now, she could care less.
She had to drag Kraush back by hook or by crook.
“That foolish girl, how could she not realize she won’t be able to help anymore?”
Sigrid tore the letter into pieces and scattered it across the floor.
The emotions in her eyes were dark and dangerous.
Clap clap!
Just then, as if in response to her, a man knelt before her.
He was one of the members of the Black Dragon Knights, a specialist in covert operations.
“Where is that man, Kraush?”
Sigrid asked as he remained knelt down.
“This morning, he used a magic circle and left for his family’s estate.”
Hearing those words, Sigrid’s eyes widened.
“W-what?!”
During the brief time given to students after the mid-term evaluations.
During that time, Kraush had actually run home!
How utterly infuriating!
Sigrid’s rage was far from over today.
—
At that moment, Kraush was getting on a carriage bound for Green Pine Hall.
The reason was straightforward.
Because there was someone he wanted to meet during the few days off for the mid-term evaluations.
‘I wonder if she’ll like it.’
Kraush fiddled with a ring in his hand.
At the same time, a brooch he had never seen before was pinned to his chest.
The brooch was the work of Bioloren, a fellow second-generation student and a barrier mage.
“Take this. It’s now or never.”
With dark circles under her eyes, Bioloren presented the brooch to Kraush.
From her trembling hands, it seemed she had reached her breaking point this time.
Kraush fastened the brooch to his chest.
[…It’s not visible.]
The moment he heard that response, Kraush turned to Bioloren.
When their eyes met, Bioloren gazed at him eagerly.
And slowly, a smile crept across Kraush’s face.
“Success!”
“Gahhhhh!”
Bioloren let out a strange scream and began jumping up and down in excitement.
Then she clenched her fists and exclaimed at Kraush.
“Now tell me how I can maintain this state!”
Hearing that, Kraush calmly replied.
It wasn’t her ability, but the potion she possessed that was causing the issue.
Upon realizing that, Bioloren blinked in disbelief.
“…That was it?”
However, perhaps she had already been suspicious, as she slowly ran her fingers through her hair.
“…Yeah, the potion my mother made wasn’t finished.”
Muttering to herself, Bioloren staggered away.
“I want to sleep.”
She was physically drained and only wanted to lie down immediately.
[Man, just when I was feeling comfortable, now I have to go back to being a crow, huh?]
Kraush looked at the Crimson Garden, where the crows were grooming their feathers.
Bioloren’s barrier magic had even blocked the eyes of the Crimson Garden.
That was why he had no choice but to revert to being a crow once again.
[What if that girl, Mary, finds out?]
Mary had seen the crows from the Crimson Garden.
So when Kraush wondered if that would be okay, he rested his elbow on his knee and leaned back.
“Yeah, this will actually work in our favor.”
The boy who had stopped her from killing the princess.
The moment she realizes that boy was Kraush, Mary would once again feel a deep sense of defeat.
And that defeat would transform into idolization directed at Kraush.
Because in her heart, Sigrid and Arthur were already crumbling into nothingness.
“She’ll twist it to suit her own narrative. She’s probably thinking that I saved her from being executed for killing the princess.”
While other people surely changed with reincarnation, the reincarnator still lived on in the extended line of their previous life.
So Kraush felt certain that regarding Mary, she would undoubtedly interpret things that way, trying her best to elevate herself.
Because if she lowered Kraush, it would only mean lowering her own worth.
[What a hopeless case.]
“Though her abilities are undeniable.”
As Kraush let out a short laugh, he felt a twitch in his pocket.
When he opened it, a corpse rat appeared, sitting right on his shoulder.
“Ready.”
And the voice emanating from the corpse rat was none other than Ebelasque’s.
It was all set.
At that moment, Kraush’s blue eyes glinted ominously.
She had finally completed the corpse transformation of the Luminary!
In fact, the reason Kraush decided to show up during the mid-term evaluations was precisely that Ebelasque had informed him about the completion of the Luminary’s corpse transformation.
There was no way he could bring Ebelasque and the Luminary’s corpse into Rahern Academy.
He needed a proper environment where they wouldn’t be spotted.
“Well then, it’s all set.”
He could avoid the Black Witch’s gaze.
With the Luminary’s corpse ready, he could interrogate and even hold meetings utilizing that body.
Now that everything was coming together…
Kraush slowly smiled.
“Time to smash those Ixion punks.”
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