It was a meaningless victory, considering this was supposed to be the final showdown.
*Swoosh-*
I bent down to get a closer look at her.
Her eyes were glistening with tears.
Her usually pristine blue hair was now disheveled.
Vomit stained the floor beneath her.
She was a far cry from the composed and confident Fron we were used to seeing.
But this was just a competition.
There was no reason for me to feel guilty.
Besides, everyone who entered Sytan did so prepared to face death.
Several students from Class A had already met their demise.
However, Fron, despite possessing considerable skill, relied solely on her charm ability.
The reason I chose to completely incapacitate her, rather than simply subdue her, was to reiterate the terms of our bet.
“Lady Fron, are you sure you won’t draw your sword?”
I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, directed at the sobbing Fron.
However, she remained silent, her body wracked with sobs.
Undeterred, I leaned in closer and whispered in her ear,
“If you’re not willing to fight even after being humiliated like this, then I suppose victory is mine.”
“…….”
Fron didn't respond.
She continued to weep silently.
Ignoring her silence, I continued,
“As per our agreement, I’ll be taking your invitation.”
*Swoosh-*
At my words, Fron finally looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot.
I spoke to Fron, who was staring at me with a fierce gaze.
"I'll kill your mother there."
"……!"
Like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, large ripples appeared on Fron's face.
The eyes seem to be asking, ‘What do you know?’
But I had no reason to answer her right now.
The less people knew about my plan, the better.
Especially Fron.
If she were to find out the specifics of my plan, it would significantly increase the chances of failure.
As I feigned indifference, Fron slowly rose from the ground and spat out,
“...You don’t know anything.”
“That may be true.”
I gave her a faint smile and shrugged.
Fron wasn't wrong.
Despite being the one who created this world, there were still countless things I didn't know.
The secrets held by the Six Noble families, the forgotten settings, all remained a mystery to me.
However.
Based on the information revealed in the original work and the fragments of my memory, I was certain of one thing.
Killing Fron’s mother.
That was the only way to both strengthen Sytan and force Fron to take up her sword again.
As Fron and I stared at each other in silence…
“The winner is…!”
Idea walked towards the center of the arena and raised my hand.
“The Class President!”
And so, I was chosen as the final representative of Class A for the inter-class competition.
This meant that Fron would lose her position as the top student.
But it wouldn't be a bad thing for her.
“…….”
*Smirk-*
I offered a faint smile to Fron, who still seemed clueless, her expression unreadable.
***
As we were heading back to Class A after the first practical exam…
[…You…]
Samuel's low voice reached my ears.
I already knew what he was going to say.
“Are you wondering why I went so far as to humiliate Lady Fron into submission? If I were you, I would have stopped at simply subduing her. If you're about to lecture me, I'd rather not hear it.”
[……….]
As expected, Samuel closed his mouth.
He might grumble and complain, but ultimately, Samuel was the type to look after his comrades.
However, I saw things differently.
As Samuel had pointed out, simply subduing Fron wouldn’t have been enough to convey the true meaning behind my actions.
By humiliating Fron and crushing her pride…
By claiming that she would never draw her sword…
By stating that I, a mere outsider, would kill the very person she feared the most, her own mother, the head of the Lust family…
I wanted to provoke a reaction from her.
I wanted to push her to her limit.
Her final expression, hidden beneath a mask of indifference, betrayed a flicker of fear.
Fron needed to understand that the only one who could change her situation was herself, not some outsider.
Only then would I be able to make my move.
[Haa…]
Samuel let out a deep sigh, as if reading my mind.
Perhaps he understood that my actions weren’t entirely without merit.
Just as I was about to say something to Samuel…
*Creak-*
The classroom door suddenly swung open.
I turned my gaze towards the entrance.
And my eyes widened in surprise.
The infamous student I had been avoiding all this time…
“Long time no see.”
…Baltan had made a surprise appearance in Class A.
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Thank for the chapter.
ReplyDeleteRun away Adel 😂
ReplyDeleteI fell like baltan should be the mc man
Deletehe stated he actually has a chance to win against him now tho with black rose and killing intent although it will injure thats why he is avoiding him.
DeleteI will say, I know a lot of people have been talking down Fron, but especially after this ch, I won't hear it. Yah she def allowed some comrades to be killed technically and yah she is holding back. But that's because she is basically a soldier with PTSD being forcefully sent to the front lines for family duty reasons. At the end of the day, she has a family obligation and duty that she can't live up to and a trauma and mental illness that is not being healed. She can't get it healed because of her position, she can't help others because of her trauma she would only make things worse, and she is tryinb her god damn hardest despite this and doing all she can. Honestly a goated character for this novel. I know it's slow to reveal and I won't pretend it's written the best way execution wise because of unreliable narrator missing pieces being put back together and the lack of pov changes, but imo from is a well developed character with just not enough explanation or screen time ATM. Despite being constantly on screen alot of it is irrelevant reaffirmations in a casual unreliable narrator setting/pov.
ReplyDeleteOverall I think her character is good, just the portrayal specifically in a unreliable narrator lack of pov change novel/setting is the only annoying issue. Idk I say this after coming back and sitting on it for a night but I think she really represents the age that they are supposed to be, the trauma that's engraved into her, and the conflicting morals with trauma getting in the way compared to ability to act and that she all is overwhelmed and incapable at the moment of doing her utmost in a proper execution even in a studious environment but also especially in the field. idk I think she's well done despite that, but it's just hard and awkward to display with the current format of the novel. Not complaining just saying it is a bit awkward here.