CW/TW: Depiction of suicide, suicide attempt (TL;DR on bottom)
I observed Cory's situation and saw my own experiences reflected within it. I could see the similarities between the two of us. We lost our families in a single moment, and we had to bear the weight as the eldest of our families.
I said that my situation was similar to his, but my parents' deaths were an accident instead of a premeditated murder while Cory's parents were murdered. That meant that Cory had a target for his rage.
If I had the ability to look after and take care of my younger siblings in that situation, then Cory didn't have that kind of ability or the possibility to do so.
He didn't have the time to look around him. It would've been nice if there had been someone around Cory to tell him how to take care of his younger sibling, but he had nobody around him.
I left messages again and again telling him to take care of his sister before he regretted it, but none of them reached him. Knowing his detail-oriented, sensitive personality, I knew that he would regret this over and over again. It would lead to something worse.
I watched as Cory slowly lost his mind in his frenzy for revenge and bit my lip. Watching an old friend be so miserable was hard.
He refused to attend classes for the past few days as he continued digging into what had happened.
The more he learned, the more time passed, he grew more and more anxious.
"There's no way...…."
Cory, who had been researching the incident for the past few days now, laughed hollowly as he muttered to himself. His empty eyes seemed to have zero focus now. Just like the others. His eyes grew hazy as he grew more and more insane. Cory was the same.
With disbelief lining his voice, Cory opened his mouth to speak once again.
"I...I was...….."
He covered his face with his hands and clenched his blond hair in his fists. He seemed to despair for a moment before standing up from where he sat, murder in his eyes.
Thud!
Cory shoved all of the documents and research on top of his desk onto the floor and burned it in the room. He threw his ink and all of the books that he had held onto. Then, he smashed all of the mirrors in the room. He smashed all of the shattered pieces of glass until he couldn't see his own reflection in them anymore. He yelled as loud as he could.
After going mad for a while, Cory ran out of the room and began searching for someone. I stood there, stunned for a moment as he threw things around, before rushing to follow after him.
"Yvnes!"
The person Cory was looking for was none other than Yvnes.
Yves put on a smug grin as soon as he saw Cory come near him.
"You knew everything from the start, didn't you?"
Cory grabbed Yves' collar as he glared, his eyes full of murderous rage. Yves let himself get dragged by Cory by his collar.
"You knew everything and you still tried to make me help you with the principal's plan?"
His voice was hoarse. He seemed to be trying to lower his voice as much as he could as it shook from rage, but Cory was too emotional at the moment to be able to control himself.
At Cory's words, Yves rolled his eyes in thought for a moment.
"Oh, didn't the Dubois marquis pass away recently? The reason was... Hmm."
He glanced at Cory as he continued speaking. Yves donned his characteristic dangerous, fake smile of his. His eyes were brimming with excitement.
"It was you, who participated with the principal's plan."
Yves watched as Cory fell apart with a vicious smile. He conveniently wrote himself out of the reason, but it didn't seem like Cory, who was so deep in his self-flagellation, didn't notice it.
"Oh, sir Cory, it looks like you actually had a hand in the murder of your family, right? Oh, my."
You son of a bitch. My blood felt like it was going burst at Yves' words. I couldn't help but cuss at the situation. Yves, you asshole, what'd you just…..
Yves had made Cory participate in the killing of the DuBois marquis on purpose. I watched as Yves enjoyed ruining a person's life and wondered if he was actually human. He had done this on Cory's birthday, to boot.
At Yves' words, Cory's magic exploded all at once. Cory's grip on Yves' shirt grew tighter and what next to his hand were spears as sharp as lightning threatening to stab Yves' throat.
And at the same time, those sharp spears were aimed towards Cory's own throat as well. Cory and Yves' necks were slowly impaled by those spears as blood started to spill slightly. Because of the explosion of magic, Cory's ears and mouth began to spill blood.
"Keugh. E-even if you k-kill me. The facts. Don't change. Haha. Nothing changes even if you die as well."
Yves was nonchalant even as his own life was threatened.
"But even if the marquis couple died like that, it looks like there's one more person that's about to be sent to their next life because of you?"
"…."
"Oh, maybe you're already late. I just passed by the junior building, but it looked like some kids were watching something in a large group. I was interested so I took a peek, but I think you might be interested too."
"...Viedielle!"
Cory's eyes grew wide as if he had just remembered his younger sibling.
Until now, he had been afraid of facing Viedielle. I gathered that it was probably because of his guilt. Cory tried to visit her again and again, but everything turned to dust. In the end, this Cory didn't take care of Viedielle at all. He didn't even know how she was doing.
Then, when Yves threw him some bait, Cory reigned in his rage and looked uneasy. No way, Cory muttered to himself as he diffused the magic around him.
He began to run towards the junior building.
Just as Yves had said, a large group of students were gathered in the front of the junior building and making a ruckus. It was more like they were watching something in a group instead of making a ruckus.
When Cory grew closer to the group, the students suddenly became solemn. Cory ran as fast as he could before looking at one spot and slowing down.
With a blank stare, Cory slowly approached something. He laughed hollowly before collapsing on the floor right then and there.
"Ha, haha...….."
Cory was looking at Viedielle, who was laid down on the ground. The crutch that she had been using was shattered into pieces by her side.
Viedielle looked like she had fallen from somewhere high up. Her bones had been broken. Her joints were twisted and weren't bent properly. It looked like she had passed moments ago–her blood looked like it was still warm, and her face looked like it still had some warmth.
Viedielle's body was missing a leg. It had been taken away from the recent accident.
Cory seemed like he was unfamiliar with his younger sister after not seeing her since his birthday. He just kept staring at her.
He stood back up and slowly walked towards her before collapsing next to her.
With shaking hands, Cory hugged her as if she was a baby. Viedielle's joints were bent backwards so he carefully, carefully turned them to their original directions so she wouldn't hurt.
He carefully, continuously stroked Viedielle's face. He stroked her face slowly, carefully, as more blood covered her face. His hands were dyed red from her warm blood. Cory placed his forehead next to Viedielle's.
"I'm sorry. I barely...…. I'm sorry...…."
He apologized to Viedielle, who had long stopped breathing, again and again as he hugged her. The students who had been watching slowly left, one by one. When Yves arrived next to Cory, all of them had gone.
Cory vacantly stroked her face and seared the memory of her cold face in his mind. He tried to stem the flow of her blood, which was still pouring out, with his hands, but the more he tried to stop the blood the more blood spilled out.
He held Viedielle in his arms for a long, long time. Cory, still looking out of it, placed a small kiss on the cold forehead of the body. Then, he began drawing a magic circle in the air. It was a forbidden spell, one that was supposed to kill the caster in the most painful, gruesome way possible.
Each magic branch had their own forbidden spells. Cory was trying to kill himself using a normal branch magic spell.
[Atmalzia, ledasecum. Atmalzia, otkosnia.]
Cory's voice was wet with tears but still calm.
[Atmalzia....., Ledasecum. Atmalzia, o…..tkosnia.]
He repeated the chant again and again. I could taste the blood in his voice. Cory's eyes were already dead as he blankly drew the dangerous, fearsome circle.
[Atmalzia..., Le…..dasecum. At...]
Desperate but calm. His voice sounded like it was scratching, pleading at something.
[So that not even a speck of me remains…..]
When Cory tried to kill himself with magic, Yves had been watching on, amused. He stopped Cory's hand from drawing the spell.
When Cory snatched his hand out of Yves' grasp and continued to draw the circle, Yves block him again.
Cory raised his head when Yves caught his wrist. He stared at him. His eyes looked calm but held a deep sense of desperation behind them. He was looking at Yves, but his eyes were hazy and it was hard to tell what he was really seeing. His eyes reminded me of the eyes of a porcelain doll that I had seen at a stall one day.
"Let go."
Cory murmured, exhausted.
Just let me die painfully like this. Tears trailed down Cory's cheeks. Tears continued to make their way down from Cory's empty eyes as he stayed quiet.
"You have to help me with the remainder of the plan."
Yves didn't seem to have a single care to Cory's current state. Yves mockingly smiled at Cory, who seemed seconds away from crumbling apart.
"…..you really are nuts."
Cory barked out a laugh as he muttered to himself.
"That plan was the reason my entire family is dead, and you want me to help?"
"Yes. Actually, I think you might want to follow through with it now. Especially now."
Yves continued speaking calmly.
"The marquis couple were close friends with the ex-royal magician, Caradil. You know that the reason why the marquis and marquess dug around the Augran mountain and the academy was because of her, right?"
Yves said, still smiling. He questioned Cory before a surprised expression flashed on his face. He fixed his statement.
"Oh. That's my mistake. You wouldn't know. And that was why you helped me so easily. But you must've known that the marquis couple had some negative feelings towards the royal family."
"..."
"They supported this plan at first, too. Even if they changed their minds in the middle."
There was no response ,but Yves continued to speak.
Yves took out a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and approached Cory's side to wipe Viedielle's face. Yves' white handkerchief was stained red with Viedielle's blood.
Yves frowned in distaste as he looked at his stained handkerchief, but I was the only one that caught that look on his face. Yves smiles gently at Cory.
"This is all spilled milk. We can't take it back. If even a fraction of this plan was something that your family might have wanted, then shouldn't we grant their wish?"
And as an added bonus, I know the kids who hurt your sister emotionally and physically when she lost her leg. If you participate with the plan, you can have your revenge. Yves spoke quietly, persuading Cory.
TL;DR: Cory's parents are dead, and it's because Cory was involved in the plan that the principal is brewing with Yves. Enraged, Cory goes out in search of Yves and is moments away from killing him. Yves, still calm and evil as ever (in this alternate world), baits Cory with Viedielle, his younger sister, and how there was a crowd of students near the junior building.
Viedielle had killed herself by falling from somewhere high (not described). Cory cradles her body and tries to kill himself with a forbidden spell that kills the caster in the most painful, brutal way possible. Yves stops him and tells Cory that he needs to help with the rest of their plan, which was what his parents, who didn't completely support the royal family, would've wanted.