Chapter 44
“Luina! Good morning!”
“Siwoo! Good morning to you too!”
“I told you, it’s Lucius…”
“If I say you’re Siwoo, then you’re Siwoo, hehe.”
Lately, Luina had changed.
The Luina who had always been cold and seemed as if she might break at the slightest touch was gone, replaced by a Luina brimming with warm, positive energy.
It was as though she had returned to her younger days—to the very version of her that Lucius had fallen for.
Her smile had once been something he could see only a few times a year…
Now, it never left her face all day long.
Though Lucius regretted that he had been unable to change Luina himself, he liked this changed Luina much more.
His feelings for Luina, which had been cooling, had been rekindled.
====
====
“First, could you undo the buttons and pull your clothes up? Just enough to expose your heart.”
“Yes…”
Luina was embarrassed to expose her skin, but she did not show it.
She had undergone examinations many times in her previous life.
Though this was the first time a man had seen her like this in her present life… it was not an indecent area, and she was doing it for an examination, so she followed his instructions.
“This is… The corruption has already spread this far… Miss Luina, just what…”
But the man examining her was reacting strangely.
He had clearly seen nothing but perfectly white skin, yet he put on a grave expression and soon began to shed tears.
“It must have been incredibly… painful and agonizing… You must have suffered terribly from a pain no one else could understand… How have you managed to endure it all this time?”
“Ah…”
It was empathy.
It was empathy of the sort only someone who had lost a loved one to the same disease could offer,
and it was the first empathy she had ever received in either her previous or present life.
Her eyes naturally grew moist.
She had tried to hold herself together and pretend she was fine, but when she saw a man crying on her behalf, she ultimately burst into tears herself.
“The curse called 'God's Jealousy' burrows into the heart and torments its victim. Then, feeding on the pain, it gradually spreads throughout the body until it eventually kills the person.
But the curse has already spread quite far in your case. At this point, you must have been in so much pain every day that you wanted to die… You’re truly remarkable to have endured this.”
His words were true.
Especially after entering the academy, there had not been a single day when she did not feel pain. She had to take medicine as often as she ate.
Even so, she had been able to endure because she had already suffered through this exact kind of pain over and over in her previous life.
But at last, she had been given a chance to escape that agony.
After finishing the diagnosis, the man began the treatment.
***
“I’ll start by treating the surrounding areas. At this stage, trying to treat the heart too forcefully could actually make things worse.”
“Yes… Please.”
The man placed his hand on Luina’s lower abdomen.
Then he began the treatment by using Heal.
At a glance, it looked like nothing—or rather, an act bordering on sexual harassment—but the green particles bursting from his hand made it clear that this was treatment.
And it really was effective.
The instant his warm hand touched her abdomen, the pain vanished. In place of the nausea that made her feel she was about to vomit, she felt heavenly comfort.
As he slowly moved his hand clockwise, that comfort spread throughout her entire body.
‘Amazing… This feels so good. It’s warm and cozy… It doesn’t… It doesn’t hurt at all…’
She closed her eyes and let herself fully feel his touch.
Entrusting her body and mind to him, she smiled faintly at the warmth he gave her.
She spent a long time like that, unaware that she was letting out tiny moans.
“Ah…”
When he eventually withdrew his hand, she unknowingly let out a sigh of disappointment.
“How was it? Did you like it?”
“Yes… Very much…”
***
And so Luina’s first treatment came to an end.
Contrary to her expectations, the treatment had been so satisfying that Luina felt refreshed.
She was happy, as if only a hopeful future awaited her.
‘I’ll cure my incurable disease, stop being a forever single, and live happily ever after!’
But that happiness did not last long.
On her way back to the dormitory, she happened to see the prince hitting on Aria.
‘Ah… Why did I hide? I decided I wasn’t going to worry about the prince anymore… Yes, I can just keep walking.’
She quickly hid behind a tree, finding her own behavior absurd, yet unable to bring herself to leave.
She, too, was curious whether the rumor that the prince had abandoned Luina and was courting Aria was true.
“Aria, are you free this Friday?”
“Y-yes, yesyesyes? Uh… I am, I guess?”
“Then let’s go somewhere together.”
“Uh… yeeeah? This, um… uh…”
‘Ha! Of course! He’s a womanizer! Look at him hitting on another woman already!’
Seeing the prince hit on Aria with the exact same words he had used when asking Luina out soured Luina’s mood.
She quietly backed away and fled so they would not notice her.
====
====
After the prince secured a date with Aria and parted from her, he gave a signal, and one of his subordinates sprang out of the bushes.
“Your Highness… The operation was a success, wasn’t it?”
“I told you it would work. Women are creatures of jealousy, after all.”
“But what if she goes to Lucius or Jin instead?”
“That’s why we’re buying a gift in case that happens. It’s more effective to disappoint her first and then surprise her with a gift than to simply give her one.”
“Huh? So you really did set up a date with Miss Aria?”
“Is there any reason not to?”
“Your Highness, what on earth…”
====
====
“You want me to come with you?”
“Uu… Going alone with the two of you would be too intimidating, and it’s somewhere I’ve never been before… Please, Miss Cecilia!”
What am I supposed to do? That fly has latched onto Miss Melts again.
But he’s suggesting that we go together to buy a gift for Miss Aubert…
Hmm… Is the prince making advances on Miss Aubert too?
Disgusting trash. He isn’t even my father, yet he has no idea of his place.
The escort knight tagging along must be just the same. Should I give both of them a little ‘education’?
“I suppose it can’t be helped. I was planning to meet the two of them at least once to confirm things, so I’ll go with you. …But you’re still detestable. Why do you keep lowering your own value?”
“Uh… yeeeah?”
“I told you to think only of Father, Miss Melts. Do you want to be punished again?”
“Huh? Huh…? Wait? N-no…”
“All other men are merely disgusting creatures to you. You’re only interested in Father’s cock. Isn’t that right?”
“That… disgusting? Like that? Uh… right! That’s it! You’re right, Miss Cecilia! All I need is Teacher’s cock!”
“Hehe, yes. That’s all you need to be, Miss Melts. Because that is the reason for your existence.”
***
"Wow, I never would have guessed Cecilia Asil was such a beauty!"
What a truly repulsive person.
I didn’t take care of my appearance to show myself to you.
“I was so worried because of that rumor, but it turns out it was a rumor born from blind jealousy!”
…What is he talking about?
Those are not events you have any right to speak about so casually…
“Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Miss Cecilia. You know who I am, right? Aria didn’t recognize me for over a week, can you believe it? Hahaha.”
“Your Highness, please lower your voice.”
“Jin! What do I have to worry about when you’re by my side!”
Hah… I’m glad I came to check.
A hopeless piece of trash with no value whatsoever.
A degenerate who would be better off disappearing from the world for everyone’s sake.
And you, who merely stand by and watch, are no different.
Honestly… what a hassle.
“Ugh? Urk… mmph…”
“What…? Suddenly—urgh… Who? Hey, contact…”
-Thud!
“Aaaah! W-what, wh-wh-what happened? You two suddenly collapsed!”
“It has nothing to do with us. Right?”
“Uh… yes. That’s right.”
“So nothing happened today. Go straight back to the dormitory, Miss Melts.”
“Yes, understood!”
Then… how should I deal with these two pieces of trash?
Erasing them from the world just like this would be simple, but cleaning up afterward would be a hassle.
But if I leave them as they are, they’ll keep bothering Miss Melts and Miss Aubert…
Should I turn them into what I was thinking of back then, after all?
Hehe, even I thought it was too cruel, so I had been planning not to go this far… but it can’t be helped.
Then, Your Highness and Sir Knight… I hope the two of you enjoy a beautiful love together!