NoveLight ™
"Something’s annoying..."
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Lying on the bed in the dark dorm room, Yuri kicked her feet, clutching her pillow tightly.
She was going to seduce Aslan Vermont and become the Countess.
The plan was going smoothly, no doubt about it.
But the smoothness of it all made her uneasy, even anxious.
Lately, she had felt a significant change in Aslan Vermont’s attitude.
When they first met at the Imperial Academy of Magic, he had been indifferent, acting like he didn’t care. But now, he was inviting her to take baths in the mansion, asking her to go for walks with him...
The clear affection coming from him, continuously, was making her feel complicated.
She had expected to be disgusted. A man who was arrogant, sinister, with a grotesque hobby of feeding Charlotte and Yulia from the same bowl—surely receiving affection from such a man would only make her irritated.
But oddly enough, she wasn’t as repelled by it as she thought she would be.
Of course, I definitely don’t like it...
The more she learned about Aslan Vermont, the more she realized he wasn’t the garbage villain she had initially thought.
But that didn’t mean she was actually ready to open her heart to him.
She was still only focused on the dark, mysterious man.
She decided to endure and wait for the day she would finally face him.
How old could he be?
Suddenly, she was curious about the age of her mysterious benefactor.
From the glimpses of him she’d seen, he didn’t seem that old. But the old-fashioned atmosphere, the simple but traditional design of his suit, and the dull carriage made him look like an elderly person from a noble family.
Completely different from Aslan Vermont. Yeah.
That guy always wears drab clothes for no reason.
Aslan, compared to the dark man, had a rare ability to make any outfit look absolutely menacing.
What if he’s an older man with a beard?
Suddenly, an unexpected worry popped into her head.
But after thinking about it a little more, she realized it might not be so bad after all.
Given his body type, at least he wasn’t a fat old man. Even if he was a bit older, she still imagined him to have a dignified and attractive presence.
"Ugh! I sent him a letter yesterday, but I can’t stand it anymore!"
Suddenly, Yuri couldn’t hold back and jumped out of bed. She lit the candle on the desk and pulled out a piece of paper, dipping her pen in ink.
She started writing again to her mysterious benefactor. After all, there was something she still wanted to say.
It was strange.
She had thought after sending that letter yesterday, she would have no more words for a while.
Yet here she was, with so much to write about the very next day.
"I miss you..."
I want to see him soon.
Honestly, I don’t really want to be the Countess. I wonder if he could save me, the dark man. Couldn’t he? If Charlotte and Yulia are going to end up marrying Aslan Vermont...
Sniff...
While writing the letter, Yuri sniffled softly.
"Two letters this time."
Today, two letters arrived from Yuri.
At first, Aslan thought it might have been a misdelivery, but when he looked closely, he saw that the dates were different.
He had received a barrage of letters from her when he had been ignoring her for a while, but he had never received two in a single day before. Smiling to himself, he tore open the envelopes.
The first letter seemed like a normal update.
Aslan couldn't hide his smile as he read on.
"I was about to lie down to sleep but suddenly thought of you, so I decided to write."
"You’re such a cheat. I always share my stories with you, but your replies mainly focus on my stories, and you rarely tell me anything about yourself. I want to know more about you..."
This was it. The question about Aslan’s preferences had come up again.
It seemed like Yuri’s interest in him was growing.
Every time she talked about him, her face turned red, and she became much more bashful.
Could it be that she really had feelings for someone she hadn’t even met?
Her mood lifted, and her cheeks flushed with excitement.
The letter went on endlessly with a lot of gossip about Aslan, from how he had a strange hobby of feeding his servants from the same bowl to how he invited people for baths and made them wear his clothes.
Yuri had apparently been waiting to share these thoughts.
"Anyway, it seems like he’s been more interested in me recently. He’s been much friendlier than when we first met. Do you think he likes me?"
"Should I accept the Count’s advances? What would you want me to do? I’ll follow your advice."
This was it...
Her intention was crystal clear.
Yuri wanted to make Aslan jealous and was determined to do so, sending a message that was so direct it transcended time and space.
What did she expect from Aslan’s response?
He thought she probably wanted a reply where he would tell her not to accept the Count’s advances, that he was jealous.
Ah. What should I do? Should I write the reply she wants?
Would he show the reaction she wanted, or would he continue with his usual cool, mysterious approach?
Either way, he thought it would be amusing, and he struggled with the decision.
There was no greater joy than this, really.
"Why are you smiling like that? What letter is it...?"
Yulia frowned and peered over at the letter.
Aslan smiled and tucked the letter back into his pocket.
"I received a thank-you letter from a student I’m personally sponsoring."
"Huh. You’re smiling so happily over a thank-you letter? Are they someone special to you? I’ve never seen you smile like that over a letter before."
"Well, a thank-you letter is always something special and heartwarming, isn’t it? If it’s a sincere thank-you, written in a handwritten letter, it’s even more special. It’s not because they’re special, though."
"Hmmm..."
Yulia gave him a suspicious look.
Sharp as ever...
He had nearly stumbled over his words, but he managed to come up with a plausible response.
"I didn’t know you were sponsoring someone. Why don’t you talk about it more? People around here think you’re a stingy, self-serving noble who only cares about himself."
"Well... I can’t stand seeing a talented and promising student struggle because of a lack of money. Thanks to my sponsorship, they’re making great strides at the Imperial Academy of Magic, so I think it’s well worth it."
"Wow! The Imperial Academy of Magic? That place you said you’d send me to? If one of your sponsored students is going there, I kind of want to go now..."
Yulia reacted passionately at the mention of the Imperial Academy.
When he had asked her before if she wanted to visit, she had been indifferent, but now, hearing that someone else was attending, she seemed interested.
Aslan thought, See? Kids get motivated by competition.
He should’ve told her this earlier.
"Are you finally interested? If you and Charlotte want to take the entrance exam next year, maybe..."
"Yes! Yes! That’s perfect!"
Yulia, unable to contain her excitement, shouted before Aslan could even finish his sentence.
Yulia was incredibly knowledgeable and intelligent, far beyond her peers.
She would likely pass the entrance exam without issue. The real problem was Charlotte...
No. If I just show off the power of the Sword of the Strongest Sword, she won’t be able to fail the exam.
He suddenly realized the entrance exam wasn’t just a written test.
With the strength to cut through mountains, he could easily pass any practical exam.
The professors wouldn’t be crazy enough to fail someone like that.
If Charlotte and Yulia both applied, it was almost guaranteed they would pass.
"Still, even after a couple of days of rest, I have no idea how to continue the research..."
"..."
Yulia slumped onto the desk, groaning in frustration.
They had both rested for two days, but her research on dark magic was still stuck at the stage of acquiring neodymium.
What would happen if they found out that neodymium was absorbed into her body?
She still had no idea how to get it out.
At that moment, a new idea suddenly struck her.
"By the way, Aslan. You have that ability to kill spirits, right? How did you get that power?"
"This...?"
He was about to answer, but then stopped, unsure of how to explain.
Now that he thought about it, what exactly was the origin of the "Touch of Death" ability? It wasn’t magic, nor was it physical force—it was a strange power.
At first, he had thought it was a special power granted by possession. But the other abilities, like "Evil Laugh" or "Villainous Constitution," seemed like traits specific to Aslan, not unique gifts given to him.
But the "Touch of Death" didn’t fit with the laws of this world, which felt very odd.
To explain it naturally, he could also say that his immunity to mosquitoes was just another physical characteristic of his body...
The moment that thought hit him, a hypothesis flashed in his mind, and his eyes widened.
"Wait... come to think of it, one of the common characteristics of neodymium in the literature is that it repels mana."
"Huh? So what?"
"What if the reason spirits die is because I inadvertently eliminate the surrounding mana?"
"Huh?!"
Yulia, seemingly catching on, clapped her hands and jumped up.
"So, you mean! Neodymium has been absorbed into Aslan’s body, and it's maintaining that property!?"
"Most likely."
"Wow! Wow! Wow!!!"
Yulia was jumping for joy, excited by the breakthrough. Neodymium hadn’t disappeared; its immense quantity had simply remained inside Aslan’s body, retaining its properties.
So, in a sense, Aslan's body had become a vessel full of neodymium.
"Let’s test it out! Experiment! Aslan, lie down here on the bed!"
"Wait, wait..."
"I’ll tie your hands and feet! We can’t have the results messed up if you move by mistake! First, we’ll test it in the same position to see where the effects of neodymium show up the most in your body, and then... if you can control how the property manifests, we’ll check how much you can control it!"
"Y-Yulia?"
As Yulia excitedly pulled out her notebook and started making notes, she eagerly began tying his limbs with rope.
For a moment, Aslan was at a loss for words. Was this really happening? Was she going to conduct a real-life human experiment?