I like her.

Yoon Si-woo, who had become aware of an emotion he had never experienced before, could no longer glance at Scarlet’s face as naturally as he used to.

It was the first time he understood that he could be so acutely aware of someone.

Just being close to her made his heart race, and merely thinking about her caused his face to redden.

Conversing while making eye contact, like they used to, would probably be a bit difficult for a while.

Until he got accustomed to this heart-pounding emotion, he figured he should avoid her for a bit.

“Today’s training is fear overcoming training! This time, you will experience the teacher’s special unconscious stimulation magic! It’s a magic spell that shows you the things you subconsciously dislike or fear the most!”

Eve, his homeroom teacher, was literally the world’s greatest illusionist.

Even this time, she would probably cast such a high-level illusion magic that even the Radiant Holy Sword wouldn’t be able to distinguish if it was an illusion or not if he wasn’t aware of it.

However, even though he didn’t know what his greatest fear was, considering he had the Radiant Holy Sword and Lucy by his side, he felt confident he could easily overcome it.

Snap—the sound of Eve’s fingers snapping rang out.

In the classroom, the children were chatting away.

Yoon Si-woo looked around.

Though it was an ordinary classroom scene, he felt a peculiar emptiness.

[Hmm, an illusion that distorts perception itself, impressive.]

The feeling of emptiness disappeared at the sound of a familiar voice.

Ah, it was because he couldn’t perceive Lucy, after all.

Fortunately, it seemed that the connection created by their contract couldn’t be severed, allowing him to hear Lucy’s voice.

As it turned out, what he feared most was the thought of Lucy disappearing.

Now that he had confirmed their connection was intact, this was merely a meaningless illusion.

Just as he thought that and attempted to break free from the illusion, a flash of red hair caught his eye.

She, who made his heart race merely by facing him in the illusion, was smiling brightly with a face he had never seen before.

Not at him, but at another boy.

The heart that had been racing suddenly felt as if it stopped cold.

As the boy approached, she lightly flushed.

When the boy exited the classroom, she shyly followed him.

The two enjoyed their time alone in a secluded spot behind the school.

In the quiet atmosphere, the moment their eyes met, they gradually drew closer, united by a feeling only they could understand.

At their fleeting kiss, Yoon Si-woo felt like his heart might explode.

Before he realized it, she had transformed into a mature woman.

The boy who had once been a male student knelt before her and proposed.

She accepted the ring he offered, smiling as if she possessed the entire world.

She embraced the boy.

The kiss that followed was significantly longer than the one they had shared as students.

He saw her in a wedding dress.

She threw her bouquet energetically towards the guests behind her.

As someone caught it, she cheerfully smiled and gently kissed the man in formal wear.

After the wedding ceremony, they went on their honeymoon.

During the day, they wandered around sightseeing, and after having dinner at a lovely restaurant, they returned to their hotel.

Perhaps because of the wine they drank at dinner, or for some other reason, her face was flushed as she exchanged heated kisses with the man on the bed.

The man’s hand brushed against her body, revealing that while some parts of her had grown since he last saw her, her skin remained as pale as ever.

And then,

And then,

[Si-woo, get a grip. It’s just an illusion.]

The timely voice pulled him back to reality.

Once he regained his senses, he realized he was dripping with cold sweat.

After all, it was just an illusion.

Clenching his teeth and focusing his mind, he managed to escape the illusion.

The moment his eyes met Scarlet’s, who was looking at him, he felt his face heat up.

Overwhelmed by the rising shame, he couldn’t raise his head.

How could he be tormented by such an illusion when they had barely known each other?

It was utterly embarrassing to harbor such feelings for someone he wasn’t even close to.

It seemed he would have to avoid looking her way for a while.

*

After that, every time Yoon Si-woo looked at Scarlet, his heart wouldn’t settle, and he consciously began to avoid her.

Yesterday, he couldn’t even ask her if she was okay when she was resting in the infirmary after lunch, as meeting her gaze felt too challenging.

Every time he saw her face, the vision he had witnessed would probably resurface.

…In fact, it wasn’t just when looking at her face.

He felt that if he stayed still, he would inadvertently recall that scene, so he began to wander outside more than before.

That evening, while taking a walk to clear his head after dinner, he spotted her in the distance.

Even before he realized it, his heart was racing, and just when he was about to leave for somewhere else, he noticed a man standing next to her.

The man appeared too old compared to her for it to be hunting.

At that moment, he overheard their conversation.

“If you don’t want to, you can refuse, but there’s no way it won’t work out?”

“Um, I’m not really into things entering my body…”

“Well, if you don’t want that, I can’t help it. But what if I just touch you or take some pictures?”

She nodded her head.

His heart began to race ominously.

Every drop of blood in his body felt as though it turned cold, and that coldness was seeping into him through his heart.

Their conversation felt deeply unsettling.

With a sinking feeling, he decided to follow them.

The place they arrived at was a building that seemed completely inappropriate for students.

At this hour, sounds of raucous laughter from groups of men and women occasionally echoed from within, suggesting activities that were likely unwholesome.

It seemed that she was about to participate in something dodgy, and he debated whether he should rush in and stop her. However, he thought, what right did he have to interfere in what she wanted to do?

As he hesitated, she and the man disappeared inside.

Feeling weak, he sank down onto a bench near the building.

The image of her from the vision resurfaced in his mind.

Was she doing something similar inside?

His extraordinarily keen hearing pierced through the walls, and the strange sounds coming from within disrupted his rational thoughts.

And amidst those sounds, he thought he heard a familiar voice.

“It feels so good$#@$@#%!”

I must have misheard……

He murmured as he covered his ears.

After a considerable time, she emerged from the building, drenched in sweat from whatever she had done inside.

Upon realizing he was there, her expression stiffened, and she attempted to pass by him.

Without meaning to, he blocked her path.

“What were you doing in there?” he asked, his voice trembling.

She replied that she didn’t have to tell him, and he noticed the envelope of cash in her hand.

No way, was it because of the money?

“Are you doing this…for the money?”

She nodded.

The Sword of Truth confirmed that it was indeed the truth.

It likely wasn’t just about the money, though.

He wanted to believe it wasn’t just that.

He wondered if she was being blackmailed or threatened, and asked her if that was the case.

“I did it because I wanted to. It wasn’t particularly hard; in fact, it was quite enjoyable.”

He wished Lucy’s voice, which he thought he had faintly heard moments ago, was just a trick of his mind.

Yet, the Sword of Truth answered him.

It’s the truth.

His stomach churned.

For the first time, he wished the Sword of Truth didn’t exist.

Hearing an unwanted truth was a painful ordeal.

When he asked her if she would do it again, she replied.

“Well, if the chance arises. There’s no other way to earn money so easily.”

The Sword of Truth spoke calmly once more.

It’s the truth.

Please, stop…

He felt like imploring, and it truly felt like he was doing just that.

He moaned, asking her to stop it. If she was short on cash, he would help her—just please…

But her response was cold.

“Help? What are you going to help me with? Do you think you mean anything to me? I don’t need that.”

Her words pierced his heart like a dagger.

He was nothing to her.

Every word reminded him painfully of that truth.

[Si-woo…]

Lucy’s voice, which seemed to be trying to comfort him, helped him regain some composure.

It felt incredibly embarrassing to feel disappointed in her for being a bit different from what he had imagined.

No matter what, the fact that he liked her remained unchanged.

He rushed after her as she walked away.

She shot him a glance, but as a man, he couldn’t allow the woman he liked to go off alone at night.

Following her, he arrived at a building that looked terribly run-down.

He couldn’t believe how easily she climbed the stairs, which looked ready to collapse at any moment. Unconsciously, he followed her.

When she opened the door, the sight of the room shocked him.

He knew his home was quite spacious, but this place was unbelievably cramped.

It made the orphanage he had spent his childhood in look like a hotel.

He couldn’t believe a student from Aegis Academy lived in such a place.

Was she living here just to handle those high tuition fees?

Had she been forced to do such things because of that?

For him—who had never truly felt material lack, all thanks to Lucy—this realization broke his heart.

While he was momentarily stunned, she called him and said she would briefly go inside.

There was no excitement akin to the thrill of stepping into the home of someone he liked for the first time.

She unfolded a small table and gestured for him to sit down.

Sitting at the table, he looked around the room.

There was a small bathroom right beside the entrance, a bed and a small wardrobe to the left of the table, and a cooking area with a small fridge on the right.

That was all.

It felt like a space equipped only with the bare minimum needed for survival.

When he glanced inside the opened fridge, he saw it was completely empty.

She fetched tap water from the sink and handed it to him, apologizing that this was all she could offer.

She seemed accustomed to this kind of living.

Drinking the unfiltered tap water, he looked at her as she stared back.

The water had a gritty taste.

She must consider this taste normal.

His eyes began to well up with tears.

As she told him to go now, he wanted to offer her some words of comfort.

Many words floated into his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to say any of them.

He felt that no matter what he said, it would just hurt her more than comfort her.

So, quietly, he rose from his seat and, right before leaving, exchanged what felt like the least significant greeting.

“See you tomorrow.”

She nodded in response.

*

The next day, for some reason, she arrived late.

Yoon Si-woo began to worry that she might have been shocked for getting caught in what she did.

“Scarlet, you’re late.”

The girl sitting next to him, Sylvia, remarked.

She was the student who received macarons from Scarlet every day.

Yoon Si-woo recalled the scene he had seen in Scarlet’s house the day before.

She must also be making an effort to buy them for Sylvia, too.

“Sylvia, can I talk to you for a second?”

As he said that and called Sylvia outside, she blushed and followed him out.

He then said to Sylvia, who had come out with him.

“I’d like you to stop receiving anything from Scarlet anymore.”

Sylvia, still blushing, seemed a bit taken aback before she responded.

“Um… could you tell me why I should do that?”

“The reason, I can’t disclose, but please, just do it.”

Since he couldn’t explain what Scarlet did to earn that money, Yoon Si-woo could only stammer.

However, it seemed Sylvia was not satisfied with his answer, as she rejected him.

“It feels a little odd to ask me not to receive something without any reason. Scarlet is simply being nice to me as a friend by giving me macarons.”

At her words, Yoon Si-woo felt some irritation and replied sharply.

“That’s a lie.”

“Huh?”

“That’s a lie. You don’t see her as a friend.”

Every time Scarlet brought her macarons, Sylvia had replied that she would gratefully accept them as they were friends.

But the Sword of Truth had signaled each time that Sylvia was lying.

In other words, Yoon Si-woo understood that Sylvia had never considered Scarlet a friend, even once.

“…I don’t know why you think that. Even amid such absurdity—”

“Stop pretending.”

Cutting her off as she spoke boldly, Yoon Si-woo shot back.

Scarlet considered her a friend and did all this for her, and he couldn’t look kindly on Sylvia, who took advantage of Scarlet’s feelings.

“What’s your issue? Why are you always so focused on her? I care about you so much more than she does…!”

Yoon Si-woo glared at Sylvia coldly, while she reacted defiantly.

Sylvia showed a briefly hurt expression at his gaze, but soon wiped that look from her face and spoke in a neutral tone.

“…Fine. I’ll stop accepting macarons from Scarlet. After all, we weren’t really friends anyway.”

Yoon Si-woo nodded.

He thought that this was settled.