The Villain Who Robbed the Heroines Chapter 21
༺ Professor Ferzen (5) ༻
It looks like I can't escape from these headaches.
As I tried my hardest to find a way out of this situation, the sound of rushed steps echoed through the hallway, so I hurriedly took off my suit jacket and covered Lizzy's lower body.
"Ah….Ha….Hm!"
I didn't even say anything, but she continued to have her brief panic attack.
There's not even a speck of the proud and defiant girl who faced me in the classroom. All I see here is a broken child.
In order to avoid unpleasant rumors from spreading. I overrode Lizzy's control of the corpse and made it push her wheelchair as I went down the ramp.
"Oh..."
Then a woman ran into me.
"..."
Yuriel Wayne Dayna Alfred.
Why is she here?
No….It shouldn't be weird for her to be here.
However, the timing couldn't be worse.
"Hey, do you have something to say? You're in my way….."
"..."
She looked at me strangely, perhaps bothered by my silence, and tried to walk past me.
For a moment, I thought I'd grab her wrist and stop her, but I restrained myself since, until now, I haven't done anything wrong…..
Yes, I didn't even touch Lizzy.
I wondered if it meant anything to her since I just tried to be kind in my own way, believing that it was beneath me to do nothing as my student found herself in a precarious situation.
But the results of my kindness weren't ideal….
"Ah, so you were here, Lizzy, I was waiting for you with your brother, but since you're a little late, I came to look for you….."
The marriage between the eldest daughter of the Alfred family with the eldest son of the Claudia family.
So it would make sense if Yuriel, the second daughter of Alfred, was waiting for Lizzy with her soon-to-be brother-in-law.
"Lizzy...?"
Yuriel quickly noticed something was amiss.
"Professor Yuriel."
"You...!"
"I didn't do anything."
Before she could misunderstand me, I interrupted her.
"You think I'm stupid, Ferzen?… If you didn't do anything, how come this child is….What did you… did you forget what you've done to her in the past too?!"
"... "
"I know what happened in your lecture, but would you make her suffer just for-"
"Don't be mistaken, Professor Yuriel. I'm not such a petty person."
In Yuriel's eyes, I must've been a bastard who seemed to have caught Lizzy, who was about to leave the Academy, and began harassing her.
Well, to be honest, anyone seeing this would have arrived at that same conclusion.
Besides, if it's Yuriel, she would jump to conclusions rather than try to understand what really happened.
"So you, the one who smashed a little girl's ankle for a goddam dancing mistake, is trying to tell me he's not a petty person!?"
"..."
The irrefutable evil deeds committed by Ferzen.
This must be some sort of curse.
One I will never be able to get rid of.
Of course, Ferzen, too, had his reason to commit such evil deeds.
But no one would ever accept such excuses.
Everyone has a certain degree of obsessions, but in Ferzen's case, his obsessions are severe enough to become a mental illness.
Ironically, there were rumors pointing out that Ferzen was indeed a lunatic, but Brutein used its influence to cover up such rumors.
And Ferzen, too, had his own pride.
Therefore, even if I did confess the reason for my actions, this would only cause even more damage to my image and pride.
It's too late for that anyway.
"Ask the child when she calms down. And she will tell you that I didn't do anything."
Since I, too, held some disregard for Lizzy, my words may be influenced by this, and besides, this woman would never believe me anyway.
"To be honest, since the oh-so-great Alfred family is backing this kid she shouldn't have anything even in front of Brutein, no?"
"... "
Hearing this, Yuriel frowned, wondering if her early deduction of the events was indeed incorrect, so she looked at Lizzy.
"Lizzy!"
At this point, I turned around, satisfied that the seed of doubt had been planted in Yuriel's mind, but I stopped when I heard a man's voice, followed by the sound of his urgent steps.
A unique black uniform with the Imperial crest engraved on it.
The classic red brooch is localized on the right side of the chest area.
The symbol was only granted to the members of the Imperial Templar Knights.
Yes, this man was Lizzy's older brother and a member of the Imperial Legion.
The eldest son of Claudia Household – Roer Poliana Claudia.
He was coming from the same way I intended to go.
"I…. Well….!"
The bewildered Yuriel looked at Roer's cold and impassive face as he tried to grab my wrist when he approached me.
Roer walks the path of Auror Knight.
Therefore, it was meaningless for me, a man who walks the path of magic, to resist him physically.
"Ferzen Von Schweig Brutein."
"….. It's Ferzen Von Schweig Louerg. And I'm sure we are not close enough for you to address me in such a familiar manner, Viscount Roer."
When I met his rare pale blue eyes, for a moment, it was as if the cold breeze of Louerg brushed my entire being.
Killing intent.
I'm sure I'd be dead a hundred times over if it was possible to kill me with his look.
'He's not even trying to restrain himself.'
My fists were clenched with such force that it wouldn't be strange if my tendons snapped.
I'm confident that my bones would crack with a little more strength.
Should he give me a reason to resort to violence–
"Wait here for a moment."
"... "
"Worry not, my fangs aren't sharp enough to bite you… for now."
After boldly declaring his intent for revenge, Roer stepped back.
The scared boy who kneeled before my father has grown enough to bare his fangs at me.
Truthfully speaking, his threats aren't even a concern for me.
However, I must be cautious since I don't know what could change if the variable known as Ciel Midford were to stand with him against me.
This, however, was something I feared.
No, that was an understatement.
My entire being was covered in a cold sweat.
But Ferzen's ego would never allow trivial emotions such as fear to ruin his aristocratic visage.
"Lizzy Poliana Claudia. There's no need to return this dirty jacket. Throw it away later…. I believe you can take care of this, Professor Yuriel."
After saying my piece, I took the opportunity to walk away.
For a moment, I almost stumbled because of my trembling legs, but fortunately, no one noticed.
"... "
As I left the academy building, the pouring rain greeted me.
Opening my umbrella, I walked slowly, accompanied by the constant downpour.
Ferzen Von Schweig Louerg.
The villain who can't and won't be understood by anyone.
Even Jeremiah, his own brother and someone who carried the same blood as him, doesn't fully understand the 'character' known as Ferzen.
He's just a good-natured brother who also happens to be the head of Brutein.
In this 'World,' can someone even understand Ferzen?….. Maybe such a person exists.
But in the 24 years of his life, no such person was found.
So he stopped trying.
He didn't want to be understood.
For that reason, Ferzen was always a solitary bird.
Perhaps such is the fate of a villain.
'If Isabel Ron-Pierre Genova was still alive, I'm certain we would have been close friends.'
The core memories of the woman who was called 'The Witch of Genova,' viewed through his talent, can only be invoked once the body is fully comprehended.
Knowing about the woman who suffered from the curse of the Genova bloodline and myself, who suffers from my severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, I felt a strange sense of…. companionship.
* * * * *
"My child, you have to remember to take care of yourself. Don't skip any mea-"
"Y-You're too much, father... I d-don't nneed….. I'm… n-not a…. k-kid anymore…."
"Hahaha, I know, my little princess… I know, but remember, daddy will always love you…. always you."
"I-I….Lo…you too…."
Despite being shy, Laura opened her arms and warmly hugged her dear father.
And after saying farewell and having finished their meal, Laura, who was satiated, moved to the dormitory on the opposite side of the Academy.
'Hmmm, let's see….'
For students pursuing black magic, the dormitory is also a place where they can make deals with the underworld. Because of this, the dormitory had strict regulations.
Therefore, it was prohibited for one who didn't meet certain conditions to enter the dormitory. Even professors and the other staff were required to follow this rule.
There is also a rule banning the students from leaving the dormitory once they enter it. They could only leave after 8 am on the following day.
Although there were exceptions to such rule….
'It's hard to remember all these rules….'
Laura, who tried to memorize the academy's rules while walking, gave up and neatly folded the memo in her arms.
"...?"
On the path between Dormitory A and the Academy Building A.
A man was standing in front of a beautiful flower garden.
Laura realized that this man's back was quite familiar, so she approached him slowly, trying to look at his face.
"Professor….. Ferzen?"
Despite the sound of the pouring rain muffling the sound of her voice, Ferzen turned his head to her.
Flinch!
When she met those red eyes, Laura instinctively flinched.
"So it's you, Laura…."
"W-What….. are y-you….doing….. here?"
He didn't seem to be the type who would become immersed in his thoughts while looking at flowers.
"I was just…. brooding over something."
"Oh…..That's….ok?"
Awkward.
It's so awkward...
Her stutter became a tool for Laura to avoid having social interactions.
Because she didn't have the talent to conduct a normal conversation…..
"Laura De Charles Rosenberg."
"Yes….?"
"Do you think you would be capable of understanding a man who is forced to murder people because he suffers from a curse that demanded him to commit such heinous acts?
She was only 17 years old.
Ferzen wondered what he was doing asking such a young child this kind of question.
Laura's scarlet eyes contained an unusual seriousness as she formulated her answer while gripping the umbrella.
"I…. Understand."
"You understand?! Are you trying to be nice?"
"That's….n-not it...most people….revenge…..To the person who is doing…..b-but, if you get revenge…you'll be just like him…..I wouldn't suggest….doing so…"
"That is a pretty disgusting way of looking at things."
"The man… w-what he is going through.... I didn't go through the same, so maybe I don't understand completely…. but still…..I can empathize….. I'm not trying to flatter….or trying to curry favor…..like flattery…tha-that's not what I'm trying….to do…"
Hearing Laura's jumbled words, Ferzen grinned.
"Your logic is indeed strange. Why would you consider both the victim and the cursed man's sides as the cornerstone of your understanding?….. Have you ever killed someone under such urges?"
"Ah...N-no…. That's!"
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Although you're young, you possess quite a mature mind."
"... "
"But you certainly don't have the talent to speak properly."
Since Ferzen couldn't talk about his obsession, he used the life of Isabel, who seemed to suffer from a curse similar to his own problem, as an example.
Laura's logic in answering his question was like a child trying to act like an adult but failing miserably. Ferzen chuckled at his own analogy because it was precisely that.
"... "
And as the rain continued to fall, Ferzen, who had turned his back on her, gradually faded away in the distance.
"Y-You brat….."
Laura frowned and cursed at him as soon as his figure disappeared completely from her view.
Combining both of her lives, she's a little over forty now, and from Laura's point of view, the only child here was Ferzen.
Being treated like a child by him was more unpleasant than I'd imagined.
Translator's Note:
Oh, and so you guys won't get confused, know that Both Laura and Ferzen have red-colored eyes, and the author uses both "Blood red, crimson, deep red, dark red" for Ferzen eyes, But on Laura is just "red."
Oh, and Lizzy and Yuriel both have purple eyes, too. IDK why.
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