Chapter 178
"If you're afraid of independence, I will help you."
"......Help me? Someone like me?"
At some point, Mary's tone had changed.
Having acknowledged Kraush as her superior, she politely clasped her knees together and attentively listened to his words.
"Yes, Mary, you're my classmate. Helping a fellow classmate is only natural."
It was not a one-sided command, but an offer of help.
Words she had never heard before shook her once again.
"What good is a friend?"
Kraush's smile seemed dazzling in Mary's eyes.
Gulp-
While Mary accidentally swallowed saliva in a daze, Kraush's hand lightly touched her shoulder.
The moment his hand reached through the robe, Mary's body shuddered.
It was understandable since beneath the robe, she wore only a single piece of underwear.
Was it because of the charm scent, which made her body so heated?
Just the touch of Kraush's hand made Mary bite her lips tightly, feeling a shock surging from her lower abdomen.
"Right?"
Seeing Mary like that, as Kraush smiled again, she absentmindedly nodded her head.
"Yes......."
Rendered endlessly weak, she answered like a four-year-old child.
Seeing this, Kraush slowly walked to the window and opened it.
Then, as the night breeze entered, it partially carried away the charm scent, cooling Mary's sweat-soaked hair.
At last, Mary began to regain some of her composure.
"It seems like our conversation is over."
Kraush pointed outside with his thumb.
"Now, why don't you go back and get ready for bedtime?"
"Yes, yes, that's right."
Mary stood up, hesitantly approaching the window.
Due to her heated body, her steps felt heavy, but she endured it.
Then Mary looked at Kraush.
Meeting his gaze, Kraush's face wore a very kind smile.
At that moment, she felt something warm on her head.
When she raised her head to follow the sensation, she saw Kraush's hand there.
His hand, stroking her head, was so warm it felt like her father had praised her during her childhood.
However, even that father had become cold towards her now.
Because she was the Princess Assassin.
Mary's legs nearly collapsed without her realizing it.
But when she saw Kraush's face as she looked up, she barely managed to hold herself together.
"Don't undervalue your efforts."
When she heard those final words, Mary bowed her head, overwhelmed with emotion.
"......Yes, Mr. Kraush, thank you for today."
Now, without hesitation, she used an honorific for Kraush as she donned her robe once more with flushed ears and stepped out of the window.
"I'll do my best."
Leaving those last words behind, she quickly left Kraush's room.
Ever since her regression, her heart had felt perpetually empty.
Shaved and worn down to the point where she was like a candle about to be extinguished by the wind.
Yet today, when she met Kraush, she felt for the first time as if those worn-down parts were being filled.
Kraush had genuinely cared for her as a classmate and friend, encouraging her.
She wanted to reciprocate that sincerity.
She wanted to earn the recognition of someone stronger and greater than herself once again.
Before she knew it, the constant presence of Sigrid and Arthur in her mind had vanished.
Under the cold night sky.
Mary ran like that.
Somehow, she felt she wouldn't be able to fall asleep easily tonight.
* * *
Sunlight streaming through the window.
A pleasant breeze.
"Mmmm!"
A girl with sea-colored hair stretched in her pajamas.
Her name was Sigrid Ephania.
As she woke up in the morning, she flashed a bright smile.
She didn't know why, but for some reason, she had a feeling something good was going to happen today.
That was probably because she'd had a very good dream last night.
'Arthur appeared.'
Although it was only in a dream, the memory of seeing Arthur left her feeling delighted.
Recently, she'd been feeling extremely upset due to several incidents.
But at least for today, she hummed a different tune than usual as she got out of bed.
'Ah, I wonder if the task I set in motion turned out well.'
Yesterday, she had used a now completely worthless dog to breed with another dog.
Surely, it must have gone well, which is why she felt so good.
Sigrid chuckled as she stepped out of her room.
Just imagining Mary with her growing belly standing alongside Kraush made her spirits soar.
It was certain that Charlotte, who had lost Kraush, would be devastated.
And thinking of the Cursed One who would dutifully follow his wife Mary, adhering to her orders, made her feel even better.
With a broad smile on her face, Sigrid opened the door and stepped out.
"Ms. Sigrid, a letter has arrived for you."
"A letter?"
Sigrid tilted her head at the words of her personal maid.
Could there have been an issue with the task she recently ordered at the Imperial Palace?
'Sizelry, that girl went back to the Imperial Palace.'
Feeling her previously good mood slightly dampen, Sigrid extended her hand.
"Let me see."
"Here it is."
When the maid handed her the letter, Sigrid examined it back and forth.
Because there was no name written anywhere on it.
'It doesn't seem like anything magical has been done.'
She wondered if magic had been used, but that didn't seem to be the case.
A letter from the Imperial Palace couldn't possibly be this careless.
Sigrid opened the envelope and checked its contents.
And after reading for quite some time.
"This crazy woman!"
Uncharacteristically, she spat out a curse and crumpled the letter in her hand.
Because the sender of the letter was none other than Mary.
[To Ms. Sigrid]
Ms. Sigrid, thank you for everything until now.
I now wish to try standing on my own without causing you any trouble.
- Mary Diana
The moment she read the letter's contents, Sigrid doubted her eyes.
And only after reading it three more times did she grasp the meaning.
Before she could discard Mary, Mary had left on her own.
At this absurd situation, Sigrid was left breathless.
The anger surged to the very top of her head.
She was told to conceive Kraush's child, but instead, she suddenly declared her independence.
And that dog even disobeyed her orders in doing so.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Sigrid expressed her irritation-laden fury out loud.
The good mood she had earlier was blown away in an instant.
It didn't matter anymore.
She decided to bring Kraush in herself, by any means necessary.
"You useless wench, as if someone like you could ever be of help in the end."
Sigrid tore the letter into pieces, scattering them on the floor before turning around.
The emotions contained in her eyes were overwhelmingly menacing.
Clap clap!
At that moment, along with the sound of applause, a man appeared in a prostrated posture before her.
He was one of the members of the Black Dragon Knights, specializing in operating from behind the scenes.
"Where is Kraush, that man, right now?"
When Sigrid asked, he responded from his prostrated position.
"In the morning, he used a magic circle to depart for his main house."
The moment she heard those words, Sigrid hesitated.
"Th-this!"
The few days of rest given to students after the midterm evaluation.
During that time, Kraush had promptly gone to his main house.
It was truly infuriating beyond words.
Sigrid's anger did not subside today, either.
* * *
At that time, Kraush was riding in a carriage headed to Green Pine Mansion.
The reason was simple.
During the days of rest after the midterm evaluation, there was someone he needed to meet.
'I wonder if she'll like it.'
Kraush fiddled with the ring in his hand.
At the same time, an unfamiliar brooch was hanging on his chest.
The brooch was none other than the work of Violen, a fellow second-year student and a Barrier Master.
[Take it. If not this, then it's over.]
Violen, who had appeared with noticeable dark circles under her eyes, handed Kraush the brooch.
Judging by her trembling hands, it seemed she had truly reached her limit this time.
Kraush attached the brooch he received from her to his chest.
[ ...I can't see it.]
The moment Kraush heard the response, he turned to look at Violen.
Violen, who locked eyes with Kraush, gazed at him desperately.
And soon, Kraush slowly smiled.
[It's a success.]
[Gaaaaaaaaah!]
Violen let out a strange scream and jumped up and down on the spot.
Then, clenching both fists tightly, she spoke to Kraush.
[Alright, you—tell me now how I can maintain this state!]
Hearing those words, Kraush calmly explained it to her.
That the issue was not her skills but the reagent she possessed.
Realizing this truth, Violen blinked blankly as if in disbelief.
[...So that's all it was?]
However, as if sensing something, she slowly brushed back her hair.
[...Right, it wasn't a finished product just because it was made by my mother.]
Muttering to herself, Violen staggered as she walked away.
[I'm going to sleep.]
Having reached her physical limit, all she wanted to do was lie down.
[I thought things got comfortable, but now I have to return to being a crow again.]
Kraush looked at Crimson Garden, who was grooming its feathers in front of him.
Violen's barrier technique even blocked Crimson Garden's sight.
Because of that, there was no choice but to stick close as a crow once more.
[Wouldn't that Mary figure realize?]
Mary had seen Crimson Garden as a crow before.
When asked if it would be okay, Kraush leaned his elbow on his knee and slowly rested against it.
"Yes, because it will work to our advantage."
The boy who had stopped him when he tried to assassinate the princess back then.
The moment Mary realized that boy was Kraush, she would feel a deep sense of defeat once again.
And that defeat would transform into worship toward Kraush.
In Mary's heart, Sigrid and Arthur were already crumbling into nothingness.
"Since she's someone who interprets things to suit herself, she'll likely think that back then I stopped her from being executed for assassinating the princess."
In regression, others undoubtedly change.
But regressors only live on an extended line.
So, when it came to Mary, Kraush was absolutely certain.
That woman would interpret things in such a way and try to elevate him in any way possible.
After all, lowering Kraush was now equivalent to lowering herself.
[What a pathetic creature.]
"Her abilities are undeniable, though."
The moment Kraush let out a short chuckle, his pouch twitched.
When he opened the pouch, a Corpse Rat suddenly leaped out and perched on his shoulder.
"It's ready."
And soon, the voice that flowed out from the Corpse Rat was none other than Ebelasque's.
It was ready.
Knowing what those words meant, Kraush's blue eyes gleamed ominously.
She had finally completed the corpse transformation of the Mad Blade Emperor.
In fact, the reason Kraush had come out during the midterm evaluation was because Ebelasque had conveyed that the corpse transformation of the Mad Blade Emperor was nearly complete.
It was impossible to bring Ebelasque and the corpse of the Mad Blade Emperor into Rahelrn Academy.
A suitable place to avoid attention was necessary.
"Then everything is ready."
The Black Witch's gaze could be evaded.
The corpse of the Mad Blade Emperor was ready, and the situation allowed for interrogation and even participation in the meeting using the corpse.
With everything coming together now.
Kraush slowly smiled.
"Ixion bastards."
The operation to crush their skulls begins.