I Became an Outcast in the Academy

1. Nightmare (2)

Although our blood wasn’t connected, I had always considered my stepsisters as my family.

A family that was closer than anyone else in the world, taking care of each other and loving each other.

But now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

It seemed that only I had thought of them as family, while they didn’t think of me as family at all.

Elli spoke.

“His Grace promised me. If I can master all of Orphega’s swordsmanship, he will take me in as his noble daughter. I want to become a noble, not a miserable mercenary’s sister, but the daughter of Orphega’s noble house, admired by all.”

Leticia said.

“My master told me that I am destined to become the master and leader of all magicians, the talent who can inherit his legacy. In that case, my past as the sister of a lowly mercenary is of no use to me at all.”

Seriya said.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t need a brother in my path. In fact, it’s rather bothersome. He’s vulgar, lacks manners, and even ignorant. It would have been better if he wasn’t my brother…”

Lobelia said.

“Do you know? These days, I have a very good relationship with His Highness the Crown Prince. But every time I’m with him, my brother fails to help me and even comes too close, making me feel embarrassed. I’m really ashamed of him.”

It was strange. The sisters I thought I knew better than anyone else, now felt so unfamiliar to me that I doubted if they were really the same girls I knew.

This couldn’t be. My sisters, the sisters I knew, would never say such things to me.

“Of course, I do feel some gratitude towards you. If it weren’t for you, we might have died of hunger on the streets or lived like trash, unaware of the talents we possess.”

“But the gratitude I feel for you stops there. We can’t help but regard you as our family, as our brother, but at least we have the freedom to not regard you as our family, don’t we?”

“If it weren’t for you, there would be nothing holding us back. That’s because right now, you’re nothing but an obstacle to us.”

“So, if you really consider us your family, please leave the academy. Just withdraw quietly and… disappear from our lives.”

Darkness filled my vision. This all felt like a nightmare. All the moments I thought we had cherished and loved each other now seemed nothing but false.

‘…There must be some misunderstanding.’

Yes, there must be a misunderstanding. Otherwise, there must be some scoundrel whispering evil words to my innocent sisters.

Because otherwise, there would be no reason for my sisters to say such cruel and horrifying words to me.

I instinctively turned my head to look at my sisters’ faces.

Ellie, Leticia, Seriya, and Lobelia’s faces were all dreadfully cold.

And then, at last, I realized it. My sisters were not joking or teasing… they were truly saying these words to me.

“…I see. You were really serious, all of you.”

When I clenched my teeth and said those words, Leticia let out a snicker and answered with a mocking smile.

“So, you thought we were just joking around?”

“I always thought that even though we’re not connected by blood, we were a real family.”

“We were a family. Once.”

“Then you’re saying now we’re no longer family?”

“We’ve just found something more valuable than playing this trivial family game. At least it’s a lot better than having a person like you as a family member.”

“Brother, we don’t want to say anything more unpleasant. Can you just please listen to us and do as we ask? Hmm?”

I was speechless. The most absurd part was that of all the words I heard in this place, those words felt the most genuine.

The words asking me to please leave the academy.

“…Sigh.”

In fact, it wasn’t difficult for me to leave the academy as my younger sisters wanted.

This was because I had no interest in academics and had no ambition to make connections with other nobles for my future success.

The reason I enrolled in the academy was solely to become a guardian for my younger sisters who were not yet adults, and to secretly protect them.

And also… Although it was a secret externally, I had a reason to maintain a close distance with these kids.

No matter what happened to me, it wasn’t important at all.

So, I couldn’t quit the academy for these kids in front of me.

Even if these kids didn’t consider me as family… I was still their family and older brother.

“Sorry, but I have to refuse. I will never leave this academy. Never.”

Upon hearing my firm statement, Reticia, Celia, Ellie, and Lobelia quietly looked at me.

As if they expected me to say that from the beginning.

“…I see. That’s how it’s going to be, right? You really can’t help yourself, Brother. Pretending to be independent, but you’ve become comfortable tasting the sweet and bitter moments of mingling with the nobles in the academy, haven’t you?”

“Brother, we’ve given you plenty of advice in good faith. And we also tried our best to persuade you. So, whatever happens from now on… Is not our responsibility.”

“Feel free to reach out if you ever change your mind. After all, we were once family, so we’d like to help you and make things work in your favor.”

With that, the sisters quickly stood up and left the room without looking back.

“…Sigh.”

I couldn’t stop them even as I watched their retreating figures.

I was too scared of how they would look at me if I stopped them.

I was a coward.

****

After refusing the sisters’ proposal to leave the academy, I thought they would somehow come up with a plan to force me out of it.

If their true goal was to kick me out of the academy, there were countless ways to do so even without me leaving on my own.

But the sisters didn’t directly come up with a scheme against me.

However… They started using a much more indirect and clever method.

“Isn’t that him? The one who shamelessly used his sisters to get enrolled in Luttra Academy?”

“Yes, I heard that during the entrance exam, he threatened the admissions officer that he would never send his sisters to the academy unless he was also admitted.”

“Wow. If that’s true, then he wasn’t originally someone who could be admitted in Luttra, right?”

“Besides, aren’t his sisters not even his real family? They don’t share a single drop of blood between them, you know.”

“Really? If I were him, I’d just withdraw out of embarrassment. Who would want to get into the academy by selling their own sisters? Is he even human?”

While walking down the hallway to attend a class, I hear people whispering all sorts of things about me.

Without further ado, a rumor had begun circulating throughout the academy since I had rejected my younger sisters’ proposal.

The rumor had spread rapidly before I could take any action or respond, and by the time I became aware of it, it was already too late.

I had become a pariah, admitted to the academy by selling out my younger sister, and there was no one who believed in me.

I had become a public enemy.

“…Darn.”

But the most wicked part of it all was that, despite knowing who had spread this rumor and what their motives were, I had no recourse.

To clarify the rumor would mean disclosing the conversation that day to others, which I had no intention of doing, no matter what.

Because, regardless of how things had turned out, my younger sister and I were still family.

There was no way I would sell out my younger sister in this world.

But… for now, we had a minor conflict between us.

I firmly believed that eventually, any misunderstandings between us would be resolved, and we would return to our previous amicable relationship.

Moreover, there were still people within the academy who believed in and trusted me, so I could endure until the end.

“Ah, Cyan. Come on in. Why are you so late for our lunch plans?”

I met a young lady who greeted me warmly as if she hadn’t heard the rumors that were causing a commotion throughout the academy.

With long, golden hair that reached her back and eyes that seemed to have sapphires embedded in them, she was a beautiful young lady with no shortage of admirers.

Her name was Cartesia von Kyres.

She was both the empire’s princess and one of the very few friends I had left.