Louis Goldsun.
The second son born into the Goldsun Marquis family, he was considered exceptionally talented among his peers.
With the powerful backing of the marquis family and the natural talent that allowed him to get ahead without much effort, he was always above others.
Of course, when he came to the Academy, he met people from more influential families and with greater talents than himself, but Louis could accept this.
He understood that the blessings he possessed were something others could have as well.
But there was one person he simply couldn’t tolerate.
Someone who couldn’t use magic, who was merely a burden holding others back, and was even an orphaned commoner.
“Did you hear? A commoner scored full marks on the written exam.”
How dare…? Someone beat me?
—
“Hey, troll. What are you doing here?”
“I came out for a walk.”
“Oh, really? Where’s your leash?”
“…What?”
“You shouldn’t be wandering alone like a wild animal. Where’s your master?”
“…”
Damn it.
Of all places, of all times, why now?
Why did I have to run into Louis?
Normally, I could just brush him off with a quick retort and take a few hits if needed. But today, at my side…
“Arthur, who is ‘this’?”
Lily was there.
Lily’s disguise was perfect. Louis didn’t even spare a glance at Lily standing next to me.
But maybe because he thought it was just the two of us, Louis pushed me even harder.
“So, are you a stray? If so, I might as well pick you up and use you.”
Louis raised his hand.
“Hold on, Louis!”
I tried to stop him, but it was too late—the magic was already complete.
-CLANG
A chain flew out and tightly wrapped around my neck.
“Ugh!”
My vision blurred as breathing became difficult.
“Arthur! That bastard dares to—!!”
Lily moved to rush Louis immediately.
“Stop!!”
“Huh? Why are you suddenly being polite? You’re usually just glaring at me rudely.”
Not to you, idiot.
Lily froze with her hand still on Louis’s neck.
“Arthur. Right now, can you give me a reason why we shouldn’t just crush ‘this’? I can’t think of any.”
“Murder isn’t allowed.”
Louis, misunderstanding that I was talking to him, raised an eyebrow with a look of disbelief.
“Who said anything about murder? I was just going to play with it a bit—”
“Shut your mouth!”
Both Louis and Lily turned to stare at me wide-eyed.
“Arthur…?”
For the first time in front of Lily, I’d yelled loudly.
I was a little startled myself at how far I went but quickly regained my composure and locked eyes with Louis’ red gaze.
“I don’t want to see you kill anyone.”
“But ‘this’—”
“Stop calling him that!”
‘This’
Lily was not treating Louis as a human… No, from Lily’s perspective as an outsider, humans were no different from insects.
I felt this way of addressing each other highlighted the distance between humans and outsiders, or between me and Lily.
“…”
Lily looked confused by my outburst, repeatedly opening and closing her mouth without understanding why I was angry.
“Ah, let’s see about this!”
Louis yanked on the chain, tightening it around my throat.
“Hey, are you crazy? Don’t do stupid things in front of me. You’ll see what I—”
-PUNCH!
“—thought I’d overlook, huh?”
Louis’ fist slammed into my stomach, knocking the air out of my lungs.
“Arthur!”
“Uhgh…gggh…gh…”
The chain made breathing hard. The sudden loss of breath induced dizziness as the world started to blur.
“Arthur! Stay awake!”
Lily released Louis and rushed to me, trying to untie the chains.
“No…no…stop…”
I grabbed her hand. If she untied the chain here, Louis could retaliate harshly, and I feared her reaction in that case. Better to let it end here.
After a while without air, my eyelids grew heavy, signaling I was about to pass out.
“Hmph, carrying someone who’s going to get expelled soon anyway. What am I even doing here?”
The chain loosened, and air returned to my lungs.
“Haaa! Guh…ugh….hhhhh! Cough…cough…”
“Hey, troll. You know the practical evaluation is coming up soon, right? Be prepared. I’ll make sure you fail and leave the academy disabled.”
Louis stepped on my hand forcefully and walked back toward his dorm building.
“Cough…cough!”
‘Air…I need air…’
I sat alone, gasping and coughing from the sudden intake of air.
But I wasn’t alone.
“Arthur, open your mouth.”
My body reacted instinctively to Lily’s command, opening my mouth.
“Haa…uh!”
Lily leaned in and pressed our lips together. She gripped me tightly, providing controlled sips of air.
The carefully measured flow of air gradually calmed my coughing fit.
“Ha…ha…ha…”
Once the coughing subsided, Lily pulled away.
“Are you okay, Arthur?”
Lily’s demeanor was careful and gentle, something I’d never seen in her. She clearly had my earlier outburst on her mind.
As oxygen returned to my brain, I felt a new kind of despair.
It’s the worst.
Right before everything went black, I caught one last look of concern on Lily’s face.
—
When I opened my eyes, I was in the dorm restroom.
Staring blankly at the sink, I opened the faucet and washed my face with cold water.
Looking into the mirror during the wash, I saw a pitiful reflection of myself.
“Damn.”
The cold water seemed to revive me a little. Even though the dizziness remained, I felt better.
Reflecting on the situation, it was a combination of unfortunate factors that led to the worst scenario.
I was already uneasy about the gap between me and Lily. When I saw how she treated Louis, I felt it reflected the reality I feared.
Combined with the lack of oxygen clouding my thoughts, I lashed out without thinking.
“Stupid idiot.”
I stared at my pitiful reflection in the mirror.
Lily, who cared so much about me, just moments ago performed CPR on me, trying to save my life when I was nearly suffocated.
And yet, I shouted at her.
‘Yeah, I’m pathetic…really…’
Even after washing my face, I couldn’t settle my thoughts, so I decided to take a full shower. Toweling off afterward, I made a resolution.
‘Lily, I’ll apologize.’
My fault was significant; I avoided asking her questions because I feared her answers.
This time, I would ask seriously for her true intentions, praying they wouldn’t confirm my fears.
Leaving the restroom, I called out for Lily immediately.
“Hey, Lily. There’s something I—”
I froze.
Due to the dorm layout, stepping out of the restroom revealed the entirety of the room at once.
But there was no sign of Lily.
“Lily?”
My stomach dropped as I frantically scanned the area.
Wait… Was the chain tightening again?
Instinctively, I scratched my neck, but there was nothing there.
…Then why does my chest feel so heavy?
-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG
Breathing’s difficult. No, it’s my… heart. It hurts.
Scanning the room again with blurred vision, there was still no Lily.
Did she lose faith in me?
Does she hate me now?
Is that why…she left me?
Right when the thought crossed my mind,
“Huh…!”
An involuntary sound of suffering escaped me.
My heart… No, it was my heart… but more fundamentally, it was my emotions.
It ached intensely.
‘Bastard, idiot, fool!’
I despised myself.
I thought I’d thrown away the only person who mattered to me.
Overcome with the thought that I’d driven her away, I scratched my neck violently.
“Ah…aaah… aaahh!”
‘Sorry.’
‘I was wrong.’
‘I’ll do better.’
‘Please… please give me another chance.’
‘I won’t let it slip again. Please!’
And just when the despair reached its peak…
“… Really?”
‘!!!’
My crying and scratching halted in response to the chilling voice that pierced through my thoughts.
“Really? Can I help?”
It was an eerie, grotesque voice like nails scraping against a chalkboard.
The tone was filled with an overwhelming darkness, encompassing every negative emotion in the world.
“Ugh!”
Just hearing it made me feel sick to my stomach.
‘Who… who are you…?’
-Me? I am ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
The bizarre voice listed indecipherable words, driving me toward madness.
‘Help… please… anyone…’
“…Arthur!”
“Let’s go together.”
‘Lily!’
“Arthur!!”
“Arthur! Snap out of it!”
The sudden slap to my cheek jolted me awake.
“Arthur?”
“Huff… Huff… Huff…”
I focused on the blurry silhouette in front of me as I gasped for breath.
As my vision cleared, I recognized the figure.
“Are you okay, Arthur?”
It was Lily.
“Coffee maybe… or maybe honey water— Aah!”
I immediately threw myself at Lily, who pulled back the blanket.
Immediately, I embraced her warmth.
“I’m sorry I yelled.”
“I was…wrong.”
“I won’t do it again…”
“Please… please…”
I pleaded in her embrace.
“Don’t leave me…”
Not only emotions were streaming from me.
I realized Lily’s dress was getting damp.
“!!!”
I felt her soft hand gently stroking the back of my head.
“I will never, under any circumstance, abandon you.”
Lily’s voice was gentle yet firm with resolve.
“You don’t believe me?”
“…Huh… No, I believe you… I’ll believe you no matter what.”
Her strong hug that followed was enough to make me break down in loud tears.
‘Thank you.’
‘Thank you for giving me a second chance.’
“I won’t do it again.”
“Never!”
“…”
Whispering softly, almost too quietly to even hear myself, I murmured truthfully from the bottom of my heart,
“I love you, Lily.”
