I Became The Academy’s Narrow-Eyes - Chapter 84: The Innocent Lady and the Unscrupulous Man (1)

Right after the newcomer competition had concluded, a new student was running across the academy grounds.

-Whooosh~

Her hair, tied up like a horse’s tail, fluttered in the wind.

Naturally, the skirt billowing in the breeze concealed shorts beneath.

As she passed by, the wind left a trail like footprints.

“Wow~”

Female upperclassmen from the swordsmanship department expressed their astonishment at her form.

“Wow, that magic department freshman’s running – no joke, right? Seems like she should’ve joined swordsmanship instead of magic, huh?”

“Really. Look at her form, so tidy. She would have made it big in swordsmanship, too. Watching her makes me want to run as well.”

“So true. And what about her expression—”

“Uh? Expression? What was so special about it?”

“You know, like when the instructors run us ragged to the point of death. You feel like you’ll die any moment, but your heart and brain just won’t let you— like, that tingling sensation?”

“Ah~ I get that feeling. But she had that expression while running? How far did she run to look like that?”

A new student was running across the grounds.

Her figure in motion, to others, appeared uncomfortable, yet somewhere, also seemed invigorated.

***

Phibian Leolalian.

Right after the newcomer competition ended, she hurriedly deployed wind magic and dashed towards some destination.

She soon arrived at the first-year female dormitory, going through the magic department’s building and into her own room.

-Bam!

As Phibian closed her room door, the following winds ceased.

-Click

She locked the door behind her and made her way to a corner of the room.

There lay Phibian’s luggage which she had sent ahead.

Phibian began fervently rummaging through her things, searching for something.

“…!”

It was a book.

A premium leather-bound cover.

And its elegant and sophisticated design.

Along with Phibian’s careful handling of it, it would have appeared to be an invaluable reference book or grimoire just by itself –

But it was different.

A romantic novel.

It was a book of a genre that was popular among young women of Phibian’s age, primarily focusing on the relationships between men and women.

Vulgar.

Shoddy.

Nobles usually distanced themselves, considering the genre of romantic novels lowly and vulgar.

But what all women knew was that most of their peers, during their prime years, couldn’t stay away from romantic novels even if they wanted to.

In a continent where art – dominated by stories of warriors who sweat for honor and mages who bleed for dignity – romantic novels were like an oasis in the desert to those tired of the art scene.

While noble women outwardly scorned romantic novels, they indulged in them in private.

Among noble women, it was an open secret.

From famous romantic novels that were all the rage to those known only by a select few experts (?).

Phibian was an expert (?) who had read every imaginable romantic novel out there.

Flip.

Flip.

Flip.

Several books Phibian pulled from her bag.

Among the countless romantic novels she had read, these were the ones she frequented most.

[Twisted Ones]

Phibian was just like the other young ladies of her age.

When meeting other young ladies, they often shared deep discussions about romantic novels.

However, she had never once shared conversations about the romantic novel, Twisted Ones.

Because Twisted Ones was not easily mentioned even among the secret talks which were based on respecting each other’s tastes –

It was one of the particularly intense romantic novels.

It was the profound (?) domain reached by experts (?) who digested most of the mainstream romantic novels.

Even within the profound world of romantic (important) sensual novels, Twisted Ones was especially nestled deep.

The content was notably bold and sensational.

As a young lady from a distinguished family, Phibian would never bring up Twisted Ones in front of others.

“…”

For that reason, Phibian’s handling of Twisted Ones was extremely cautious.

Even the book’s title had been altered to ‘History of a Great Family.’

Phibian, holding ‘History of a Great Family,’ unnecessarily looked around.

Naturally, there was no one there.

It was her room, and she had locked the door upon entering.

Yet, Phibian approached the door and checked again to make sure it was properly locked.

She stepped out onto the balcony to make sure no one was around, then drew the curtains.

Not feeling satisfied, she quickly changed out of her dirty outdoor clothes, climbed into bed, and covered herself with a blanket.

Now, a large bulge appeared on top of the bed.

Phibian, lying under the blanket, infused mana into a spherical magical device she had prepared earlier.

As the sphere levitated and glowed with light, she created a secretive environment suitable for reading.

Within that setting, Phibian finally began to delve into ‘History of a Great Family.’

-Rustle

-Rustle

-Rustle

Phibian’s hand boldly flipped through pages.

Before long – rather than turning the page, her fingertips began to wander over it.

She found it.

There was the scene she was looking for.

The innocent heroine Pien, born to a wealthy family, not quite nobility but close enough to be treated like one, falls into the trap of the cunning male protagonist, Ron, and gets toyed within his grasp –

It was the pivotal scene driving the story’s plot in ‘History of a Great Family.’

Phibian liked this part of the novel least of all.

No, she disliked the novel as a whole.

Whenever she read it, she was revolted.

Trash.

The worst.

Low-quality.

Disgusting.

She felt disgust and aversion to the male protagonist who entraps the innocent heroine to toy with her.

And pity for the heroine who falls for the male protagonist’s ploys.

She felt displeasure at their story.

And yet.

‘The History of a Great Family’ was undoubtedly the romantic sensual novel Phibian read the most.

If she hated it, why didn’t she just not read it?

Phibian never asked herself that question.

Just reading and reading again, she felt nothing but loathing and displeasure.

It was no different now.

“It’s the worst…”

As she visualized the scene in her mind, Phibian frowned, her face filled with intense revulsion.

Yet, within that revulsion, a different expression started to emerge.

Thump.

Thump.

Her heart was racing for some reason.

Phibian thought this emotional turmoil was due to the anger caused by her disgust.

It wasn’t some sudden desire to feel rage that made Phibian pull out ‘History of a Great Family’ and begin poring over ‘that scene.’

That annoying man.

The representative of the swordsmanship department’s freshmen.

Ceylon.

That man resembled Ron, the male protagonist of the novel.

First, presenting as a well-mannered gentleman on the surface, but beneath that façade was an utterly sinister wolf.

Just like Ron pretended not to care about women while having numerous ladies around him providing clear evidence.

Moreover.

Like Ron, this man looked handsome if you really looked and possessed incredible talent despite his outward appearance—

“What…!”

Phibian hastily halted her thoughts.

What did she mean by thinking he’s handsome if you really looked at him?

She didn’t acknowledge his supposed remarkable talent either.

The defeat she suffered today was due to his cowardly, hidden ace in the hole.

Phibian was sure that if they faced off again, she would certainly win this time.

On the other hand, Ron was acknowledged by all characters in the book as a handsome man.

He rose from the bottom, an able man who accomplished much through his own strength.

To consider that foolish man akin to Ron was an insult to Ron.

But then again, if it’s insulting to Ron, perhaps she should keep thinking that way?

You despise Ron, after all.

Ignoring that inner voice.

Phibian admitted that the man was only ‘somewhat’ similar to Ron.

She continued her train of thought.

The man was like Ron.

And now, the situation in which that man had just won the representative contest and made demands on her.

It perfectly matched this scene right now.

Ron incited the female protagonist’s pride, pulling her into a wager loaded with conditions, a trap he had set.

Having failed in that wager, the female protagonist succumbs to Ron’s demands and finds herself arriving at a place he designated at a very late hour.

And there—

“Disgusting…”

And just like that, without realizing, Phibian added one more to her count of reading ‘that scene.’

She was certain of it.

Sure enough, the same.

Just as Ron did to the female protagonist.

That man had called her to the secluded grounds of the Academy at an ambitious hour – midnight.

To trap her.

“No.”

Perhaps she was already in the trap.

-Flap!

Phibian violently threw off the covers and stood up.

“What should I do…?”

How could she escape from the man’s trap—

From the vile touch of that man?

If he makes an odd request, can’t she just refuse it?

No matter his authority as the winner of the representative contest, he had no right to make such impure demands.

If he did make such a demand, should she report it to the Academy?

Then he would be expelled right away, wouldn’t he?

Phibian’s reason offered these suggestions.

“No…!”

Phibian shook her head resolutely.

She shouldn’t reject that man’s vile request.

Because—

“…”

Because—

Because—

Unlike her immediate head shaking, Phibian couldn’t promptly verbalize the reason.

Lost in contemplation, Phibian began to earnestly come up with the reasons.