Yuria dislikes me.

Ever since the day we first met at the Royal Academy, Yuria has disliked me.

– Ricardo.
– Yes?
– There’s a pervert staring at you.
– A pervert?
– That pink-haired girl over there has been watching you for a while now.
– Ah… Really now?

The moment our eyes meet, the pink-haired girl quickly turns her head away.

– It’s actually true.

The ‘pervert’ the lady was talking about was none other than Yuria, the protagonist of this novel.

Perhaps she found it curious that I came dressed as a butler to the entrance ceremony, or maybe she didn’t like the way I looked, but Yuria kept stealing glances at me until the chancellor’s lengthy speech ended.

With a flushed face.
Muttering ‘crazy, crazy’.

I was afraid she had seen through my madness.

Who wouldn’t be nervous when the female lead, who becomes one of the strongest in the universe by the second half of the story, calls you crazy?

But I’m not actually mad.

Indeed, I do have hobbies like eating poisonous mushroom soup to build immunity or diving into Salamander’s breath to gain fire resistance, but I’m not mad.

I thought that I had started off on the wrong foot with the female lead.

The female lead who has a romance with the strongest characters.
And to be targeted by the heroine who could wipe out undead with a simple gesture at the end of the story, I sensed doom on the day of the entrance ceremony.

After that, strangely, Yuria began to follow me secretly. Some days, she even left mysterious letters in my  shoe cabinet.

[Today at 6 PM. Meet at the fountain.]

Expecting to be lynched, I wore thick clothes despite the summer heat and went to the meeting spot, but no one ever showed up – a memory that still lingers.

It happened around three times.

The fountain.
The girls’ dormitory.
The rooftop of the school.

I never once arrived late to these rendezvous points, but all I got in return were fruitless journeys. Despite the unwelcome feeling from the wasted effort, I was relieved not to have been lynched.

A fourth letter did arrive, but due to some circumstances, I could not make it to the meeting spot that day.

Regardless, during my time at the Academy, I followed the lady’s commands to harass Yuria.

– Oh dear, I am so sorry. I meant to water the flowers, but I accidentally spilled wine on your dress.
– Are you calling me a flower…?
– Oh my! The flower is talking!

I committed these acts ensuring Yuria was least hurt.

– It’s okay. After all, I am a flower!
– I’m truly sorry. I have a particular fondness for cosmos.
– Do I resemble a cosmos to you?
– Yes~ If you would be so kind as to give me your name, I would like to offer compensation…
– Instead of that, may I ask you for a dance later? I don’t have a partner.

Yuria would accept with a happy smile, like a person without a care in the world.

Indeed, Yuria had the kind nature as was described in the novel.

Even if she faced unbearable harassment, she just smiled at me. She was a good person who would even share a meal.

Perhaps because she was the protagonist of the novel?
She had a lot of virtues and was very considerate.

Still, I pushed Yuria away.

Although initially we had a good relationship,

Cracks started to form in our rapport after the lady was rejected by Michail.

– Ricardo. Do you see that vulgar wench?
– No, I don’t see her.
– Just shut up and look properly.
– …
– Lock her up in the wardrobe until the party is over.
– Is that really necessary?
– It’s better than killing her, isn’t it?
– I will do as you say.

Back then, the lady was a villainess.

I knew the lady couldn’t harm an ant, so she wouldn’t actually do it, but there are always unforeseen events. So, I took the role of a mediator between the lady and Yuria.

When the lady came back after hearing strange rumors from other ladies, I would assure her it’s a misunderstanding. If other ladies provoked her into plotting something reckless, I intervened.

I hoped to make Yuria hate the lady even a little less.

Possibly knowing what I was thinking, the lady would secretly inform me about the other ladies’ schemes.

– May 12th.
– Yes?
– Check out the dungeon.

In the novel, Yuria was subjected to many life-threatening dangers.

Not just from our lady,

But also because of the young ladies who fancied Michail,
The young ladies who fancied Ruin,
And due to the jealousy of high-ranking nobles secretly enamored with the crown prince.

She was poisoned with tea.
Kidnapped in alleys. And left behind in the dungeon by bribed students.

I saved Yuria without letting matters escalate, but she misunderstood me.

– How long will this continue? Just tell me to die. Tea with poison, failure in the dungeon, and now confinement?
– That’s not it…
– Not it? But you were present whenever something happened. You expect me to believe that? Are you saying you came to my rescue again this time?
– Listen to me, Yuria.
– No. I can’t trust you anymore. I must be insane for thinking well of you.

I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, but Yuria refused to listen to me. She had experienced numerous threats, and they all seemed to involve me somehow.

I could understand why Yuria disliked me.

Nevertheless, we continued to harass Yuria.

If it was not our lady, then other young ladies seemed genuinely intent on killing Yuria.

Without endangering her life, we kept harassing Yuria continuously.

In the end, Yuria, true to her role as the tragic heroine, energetically overcame all adversities, and the lady and I ended with the same fate as in the original work.

And Yuria,
She hated us.
And never again did she smile at me.

After being expelled, a letter arrived at the manor proclaiming ‘I no longer like you.’
‘It’s the first time I’ve ever met someone as evil as you.’ that’s what it said.

She was right, and so I couldn’t reply.

***

Yuria is looking at me.

Seems like a multitude of emotions are crossing her face.

Yuria is gazing at me with a rigid face. The beaming smiles that she once offered so generously at the Academy were nowhere to be seen, only a cold expression remained.

“Did you say it’s been a long time?”

Yuria’s voice is sharp.
I chuckled awkwardly in response.

“Haha… It’s good to see you.”

Perpetrator and victim.
I couldn’t grasp what to say. No matter what I would say, it didn’t seem like Yuria would take it the right way.

All I wanted right now was to get out of this place as quickly as possible.

‘Should I run away?’

It would just be a moment of being the bad guy and then it would be over. Perhaps leaving without a fuss would be the best thing for Ruin, Yuria, and me.

I was thinking of waking up an elite orc to create a distraction to escape.

Just when Yuria, who had been clenching and unclenching her fists, finally said to me,

“I’m not pleased to see you at all. We’re not exactly in a position to exchange pleasantries with a smile.”
“I’m sorry. Perhaps the long time apart made me misunderstood.”
Yuria sighed.
She seemed to have built up a lot of frustration.

“It’s the first time we’ve met since Olivia was expelled, isn’t it?”

Expulsion.
That’s not a pleasant memory.

– What did I do wrong that I have to leave? Is liking someone a crime? You cling to her because you like her too, so why can’t I do the same?

The lady, clenching her fists, shouted these words. The faculty, who ignored such a lady, and the supporting male lead along with the Royal Academy students hurled insults at us as we were being dragged away.

The Crown Prince, who immediately silenced the lady’s outburst with his gaze as if looking at bugs, said to her disparagingly,
– Shut up, Olivia.

Ruin, delighted to have secured the top spot, said with a look as refreshed as if a deep thorn had been extracted,
– Moron, serves you right.

Michail, speaking proudly of his own purity, declared,
– I will never forgive you.

I didn’t like the bastard talking about forgiveness, but I held back because Yuria was next to me.

To Yuria, we were indeed in the wrong. I didn’t want to show our ugliest side to the very end.
– Let’s never see each other again.

The scene of us leaving, sent off without any affection or friendship from them, played in my mind.

The Crown Prince. Michail. Ruin. Yuria.

A connection that could never be bridged. A malevolent fate filled with mutual hatred and repulsion.

Yuria, standing in the center of this adverse fate, said to me,
“Why, did you run away?”
“Run away?”
“Yes. You should have at least explained before you left.”

Yuria looked at me straight on.

Despite Ruin standing beside her, she gazed directly at me. I didn’t understand what she meant by running away.

Why was she, who said we should not see each other again, using the word ‘run away’? I asked her.
“What are you talking about…”
“Why didn’t you come back to the Academy? You have no idea how much…”

Yuria halted her words.

“Huh… What am I even saying now.”

Shaking her head slightly, she continued,
“Ricardo, you weren’t expelled. You should have come back.”
“Wasn’t the lady expelled?”
“What’s that got to do with you?”
“No.”

I said to Yuria.
With a hint of firmness.
“In my homeland, there’s this culture called collective responsibility. If one person errs, the entire group pays the price…”

“That culture isn’t something I should care about. You should have resolved it and left. You ruined my school life. You’re supposed to take responsibility and make it right.”

Yuria scoffed with a hollow laugh.
As if astounded.
As if she found the utterance of responsibility from me reprehensible.

“Didn’t you read the letters?”
“I read all of them.”
“Then shouldn’t you have come back to say something? If you have any conscience… The collective responsibility you speak of. It’s just a nice phrase you tidied up. To me, it looks like you both ran away.”

She was calm, suggesting that I should take responsibility.

I had nothing to say.

Yuria shouted at me with a voice even more emotionally charged than before.

Initially feigning indifference, her emotions were now surfacing.

“Why? You’re saying you did nothing wrong? That Olivia told you to do it, and you’re blameless?

“No.”

Yuria fundamentally misunderstood from the beginning.

“Yuria, why would I not be at fault?”

Personally, I don’t like hiding my wrongdoing.

Already branded as the bad guy, I knew she wouldn’t listen to anything I’d say.

If I couldn’t fabricate a perfect lie, it was better to come clean outright – at least my conscience would be clear.

I was ready to be honest.

“Remember when you were left behind in the dungeon? I was there too.”
“…What?”
“I was secretly watching.”

Yuria’s expression progressively hardened.

“And the inscriptions scrawled on your desk every morning. The one that said ‘Get lost from the Academy.'”
“…”
“I did that too.”

Yuria asked me,
“Why did you do that?”
“Well…”

Because the lady told me to?
No.

I resorted to the excuse all school bullies use.

“Because it was amusing.”

However, in truth, it was all done for the sake of Yuria.

Seeing Yuria’s level of favor, I figured I should say it like this.

[Yuria Lv. 29]
[Occupation: Academy Student/Saint Candidate]
[Favorability: -81]
[Likes: Friendship/Service/Justice/Handsome Men/First Love/Life Saviors/Father]
[Dislikes: Olivia/Selfish People/Two-Faced People/Liars/Ended First Love/Financial Struggles/Red Hair]

If I’m going to be the bad guy, I should do it with conviction.

I wanted to return to the lady quickly.