Chapter 41
It has already been two weeks since I entered the academy.
Contrary to my expectations that it would be difficult, life at the academy had been truly enjoyable.
These two weeks had made me realize what a good person ‘Deokbae Asil’ had been.
There wasn't a single person who failed to treat me kindly, and so many people were looking for me that visitors came every day, leaving me no time even to go see Cecilia.
Moreover, fitting for the romance-fantasy genre and for an academy for nobles, the students were quite accomplished, so I was enjoying all kinds of perks.
There were many beautiful noble ladies—not on Cecilia or Luina's level, but beautiful enough—and seeing them pant beneath my touch was incredibly thrilling.
I've been teasing the young ladies who come to see me under the pretext of therapy, and I plan to sleep with them one by one before the end of this month.
However, this fellow ‘Deokbae Asil’ seemed to have been something of a womanizer before he married, because women started making advances now that he was single.
They told me I had been their first love, that I'd taken their virginity, that they wanted to be happy with me like before, or that they were lonely; there were more than one or two of them.
One of them had been making advances on me almost every day. She was a fellow teacher, so she came looking for me whenever she had the chance.
She was Rain Arman, a high-ranking noble and a noble young lady who taught swordsmanship at the academy.
With her beautiful appearance and refreshing personality, she was one of the teachers loved by students regardless of gender. She was definitely in a different league from the other teachers when it came to beauty.
There's a saying that a true beauty looks beautiful even with a short haircut. She was exactly that.
The only slight disappointment was her breasts. Since she was a knight, she must have worn compression bandages or something, because they looked smaller than Cecilia's.
Was that why things hadn't worked out between them? Looking at the women who said they'd slept with him, they all had large breasts. ‘Deokbae Asil’ had been a breast man. Personally, I didn't care how large a woman's breasts were.
“Asil… I never thought I'd meet you here again…”
“It's really good to see you. I look forward to working with you. I'll help you a lot this time, so trust me.”
At first, I thought she was simply happy to reunite with an old friend.
“Can I sit beside you?”
“This brings back memories. We used to eat together like this often. At this restaurant.”
“Before Lintz enrolled, we had such a wonderful time…”
But little by little, I began to get a strange feeling.
“How about a drink?”
“Um… could you give me some advice?”
“Asil… No, I only called out to you.”
Recently, it had become obvious.
‘Deokbae Asil,’ what kind of life had you lived?
To be loved by women like these…
But I couldn't return that love.
There was nothing to gain from getting a lover in my current position.
For the sake of netori and for Cecilia's sake, I intended to remain single.
So I kept turning her down indirectly, but Rain Arman was stubbornly pursuing me like the knight she was, never once considering giving up.
If she had only wanted my body, I could have spent a night with her and parted ways, like I had with Miss Hannah the day before yesterday. But Rain Arman's love seemed far too heavy.
It was almost as though she were trying to release the emotions she had suppressed because of Elise. If I touched her even once, it felt like things would lead all the way to marriage.
That was why I needed to reject her decisively, but it wasn't easy.
Whew… I was completely drained from turning down her invitation to drink again today.
-Knock knock!
“I'm Luina Aubert. I'll come in.”
Just as I was letting out a sigh,
the protagonist came looking for me out of the blue.
***
Even seeing her again, I was struck by how beautiful she was. I never thought anyone could suit pink hair so well.
She was so girlish that she looked as if she might break if touched even slightly, yet she was so lovely that I instinctively wanted to cherish her.
And yet, those eyes. They were always wide open with an air of confidence, no matter where she was, and they were incredibly captivating. For some reason, whenever I looked at them, I couldn't tear my eyes away.
As I stared blankly at Luina Aubert, she asked me for some medicine.
“Medicine? I haven't heard anything about that.”
“But… I heard you had definitely completed the handover…”
“I'm sorry, but I really haven't heard anything. What should we do?”
It's true.
When I came to the academy, the previous teacher had already left the position, so I hadn't received a proper handover.
Naturally, this kind of situation was bound to happen.
But had Luina Aubert been ill? If she had come all the way to ask me for medicine, it must have been serious.
“Tell me what medicine you need. I can make it for you.”
“It's… medicine that Teacher Metti compounded herself, so I don't know the details either.”
No, Teacher Metti! If it was this important, you should have asked for a separate handover.
If the protagonist dies, ‘Heroine Netori’ is over!
“Then can you at least tell me your symptoms? It's not as though I don't know how to compound medicine.”
“That's what I mean…”
Huh? As Luina started listing her symptoms, some of them sounded familiar. What were they?
A terrible pain in her head, voices that constantly tormented her, and a deep revulsion rising from her stomach into her throat…
This was…?
Just to be sure, I used ‘Observation,’ and sure enough.
So this disease was called ‘God’s Jealousy.’
What an incredibly fitting name.
“Every morning, do your arms and legs hurt as though they'd been severed, and before bed, are you tormented to the point that you can't breathe?”
“…What? H-How did you know?”
“After eating, do you always feel as though you're going to vomit, does drinking anything other than water feel like drinking blood, and when you look in the mirror, do you see yourself dead?”
“Th-That's right! I never told anyone about that…?!”
“Luina… brace yourself. The disease you have is…”
It was the incurable disease that had afflicted Elise Lintz.
***
When she heard that it was an incurable disease, Luina Aubert wore an unexpectedly calm expression.
As though she had known beforehand…
Ah, that's right.
Come to think of it, the protagonist of this ‘Heroine Netori’ was a transmigrated character, wasn't she? If so, it was only natural that she already knew.
But she didn't seem to know that it was the disease Elise Lintz had suffered from. Had that detail not been revealed in the original story?
When I told her that I could cure the disease, she was greatly surprised and doubted what I said.
However, after Elise died, I told her I had awakened and demonstrated my healing ability. She soon seemed to accept it, nodding as if to say, Ah, so that's what happened…
Then, with an anguished expression, she asked me to treat her.
I didn't know exactly what had happened, but at any rate, it was all for the best.
Thanks to that, she agreed to let me treat her without much resistance, and I had my opening for netori.
A heroine afflicted with an incurable disease, and me, the only person capable of curing her.
Naturally, anything I did during the treatment could be passed off as necessary for her recovery, and even if she disliked it, Luina Aubert wouldn't be able to refuse.
She'd want to live.
After struggling in the despair of death, the flower of her desire to live that bloomed when she heard she could be cured was truly beautiful.
Even if it was sullied by my semen, that would be enjoyable in its own way.
I was looking forward to what lay ahead.
-Knock. Knock! Knock. Knock. Knock!
As I thought about the future and grew erect, someone knocked on the door.
That signal… It was Cecilia.
I hurriedly suppressed my erection and opened the door; as always, adorable Cecilia came running in and embraced me.
“Father! I missed you…”
“Ria… You came to see me yesterday too.”
That was right. I hadn't had time to go see her, but Cecilia had plenty of time to come see me.
Since I was shut up in the infirmary all day, she could see me whenever she wanted.
“Hieeng… Did Father not want to see me?”
“Of course not! I always want to see my adorable daughter. But if you come every day, I'll start to worry. What if your friends misunderstand and think Ria is sickly or a papa's girl?”
Surprisingly, Cecilia had gotten along with the students at the academy without any major problems.
I had been worried that what happened in the capital might cause her to be ostracized, but nothing of the sort happened. She quickly made friends and enjoyed her school life.
As expected, my daughter was cute and kind. There was no way anyone could dislike her. Of course, of course.
“Hehe, it doesn't matter. Spending this time with Father is more important. But… Father, did Miss Aubert come to see you?”
“Hm? How did you know? I treated her a little while ago. She said something was hurting.”
I wondered whether I should tell her that Luina Aubert had an incurable disease.
But there was no need to tell her. It might trigger Cecilia's trauma, and even if the disease could apparently be cured, she had still been diagnosed with an incurable illness.
“I see… I happened to meet her at the building entrance earlier. But… I heard a rumor that you've been getting close to Teacher Arman lately… Is it true?”
“Oh, that? She's an old friend. We were happy to see each other after such a long time, so we met separately a few times. But that's all, haha…”
What was I doing, talking as though I were making excuses to my girlfriend? But it wasn't an excuse. It was the truth, wasn't it?
I had wanted to fuck her at least once, but I had no intention of dating her. If I slept with her even once and she demanded that I marry her, I'd be screwed.
So I intended to put up an impenetrable wall between us from now on.
“Hmm… I see. Teacher Arman is very popular. But she was Father's friend.”
“That's right. Just a friend, a friend.”
To change the subject, I stroked Cecilia and asked about her daily life.
Cecilia began talking happily with a bright smile, but I flinched whenever stories about Aria came up.
I worried that she might accidentally mention something, but fortunately, it seemed Aria hadn't said anything, just as I had instructed.
Well, surely she wouldn't tell her friend's father about having her pussy fucked?
I could move on to the next step with peace of mind.
But why was I so sleepy…?
Strangely, I always felt sleepy whenever Cecilia came to visit…
Maybe it was because I relaxed around her…