I Became the Dark Wizard Who Rules Over the Heroines

21 – Joint Lessons-10

The glances hurt.

Olivia, who was eating in the restaurant, felt the scorching gazes poured over her.

‘That woman…’

The young ladies from a noble family, who always hung out with her, now looked at her with cold eyes.

It didn’t take much time for the fake report to spread. Plenty of young ladies who were with her knew well that she had been discarded by the princess.

Of course, they were not acting on the princess’s behalf. As much as they had the will, the princess didn’t want their help.

But fundamentally, they were the ones who followed the princess and came to the academy. Be it loyalty to the royal family or longing for its power.

What bound them together was the princess, and Olivia, who was not trusted by the princess, naturally distanced herself from this group.

‘They say it’s not just one or two people being investigated because of the incident…Does Olivia have nothing?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe she got off because of her family’s influence…Well, even if there was involvement, wouldn’t it be anything major?’

Rumors kindled rumours. Those who didn’t like her or those who just wanted to badmouth someone already considered her as a terrorist colluding with an attempted murderer.

That the princess didn’t think so was not an important fact.

The princess didn’t actively advocate for Olivia either. Even if she did, people would still berate Olivia.

The incident too was massive. A terror using the behemoth.

Parents who sent their children to the academy sent letters rich with rage, and the students eyed each other, or their teachers with suspicion.

It could’ve ended very wrong. The princess could’ve died. No, it was a crisis that could’ve ended anyone’s life.

But no one was punished.

The beast who brought the behemoth wasn’t revealed. Naturally, suspicion fell on Katarin but there wasn’t much willingness to doubt a girl with such power, without evidence.

Even with more explicit evidence, people would not have been able to openly condemn the dark mage. If she caught Katarin’s eye, she could become the target of Katarin’s new plot, or the victim of the curse cast by the dark magic. The people needed a more readily understandable sacrificial lamb.

“Listen, before that incident, there was a moment where Olivia was alone… during that time-“

The past is being picked apart. Everyone has made her time, which no one would care about, the topic of their discussions and handled it as they pleased.

“Come to think of it, what was Olivia’s family… it was part of the empire, but seemed somewhat close to the Erst Count’s realm…”

“Close you say?”

“It wasn’t exactly adjacent, so there’s less chances of violent clashes, right?”

The rumors gradually flesh out, giving those who despise her a plausible reason.

“That time, when Erst Count invaded the empire, the request for salvation came unusually late-“

It could be heard. The knight’s developed senses cruelly brought them their voices. Malice overlapped malice. Rumor added to rumor. This… she didn’t want any of these.

Closing her eyes, Olivia contemplated her judgment once again. It was what she should have done. If, in the midst of the pouring storm, she didn’t assure them that everyone was safe, the princess would have climbed the mountain without hesitation.

It was something that should not have occurred. No matter what, Olivia had no choice but to stop the princess. As a person who respected the princess, and as a knight loyal to the empire.

And it worked. She might not understand how Claire became the dark priest, but certainly, there must have been a considerable incident. Neither Wade or Claire were normal… Perhaps, as Katarin initially told, they were individuals that held potential from the beginning.

Right. She made the correct decision. With significant information, she acted in line with her beliefs. But what revolved back to her were glares that were piercingly cold and painful.

Olivia’s meal was over, yet she sat at the table for a long time. The stares and words from countless people gradually tore apart her heart, piece by piece.

/////

“There’s doesn’t need to always be the fear of creating a deal with the devil.”

As Leila moved the stick, numerous characters were engraved on the magic board.

“Consider yourself as a merchant meeting an important client. Would you try to bargain with a trustable party, one that could yield more benefits?”

It was an unusual theory lesson in the dark magic class. But if it’s not about learning serious magic, it’s all meaningless information to me.

I sat at the back of the classroom, imagining Katarin and calmly plotted my plans.

She had pulled interesting stunt…

Even if it’s Katarin, she would hardly have the luxury to use Behemoth at this point.

If she really had the ability to mobilize the Behemoth near the academy, she would have used it for something more critical than dealing with the likes of me.

Most likely, it’s Kazot’s stuff.

If the original story is considered, a terror exploiting Behemoth would appear after at least half a year.

– The soon-to-be-born Behemoth can cut off magical communication instantaneously.-

Using this loophole is a one-time strategy. It’s not only difficult to procure the necessary setup but the Academy would likely prepare countermeasures too.

It’s fine for now…

Without the Behemoth, there are limitations on the crimes that Kazot could commit. The plans for terrorism, the grand strategy to arouse confusion needs to be established again from scratch.

And that’s the problem.

No matter how threatening the attack, if I have the information beforehand, it’s easier to resist and block it.

In the process, I could control how I built my fame and easily manage those who must never die to safely survive.

However, that information is no longer available now.

I have to choose.

I am learning magic smoothly. Even if there are some shortcomings, I can fight against a moderate level of opponents by forcibly summoning magic.

Besides, I acquired Claire, a priestess serving me.

She could not use anything beyond the strength her body could handle, but she could demonstrate an ability stronger than most priests with that alone.

There’s no need to get strong right now…

There are many secrets in this school. There are hidden pieces and hidden treasures.

But most of the hidden pieces were items that made the player stronger.

They were hiding artifacts that increase magic, increase devil compatibility allowing more magic use, or enhancing stamina. At least for now.

But I already had nearly infinite power.

I could have given the hidden pieces to my peers without using them myself, but that too was meaningless to me now.

The cards I can use are… me, Claire. Depending on the situation, Kelrin and the princess.

There’s no need to worry about the princess. The artifacts she can find around the school at night cannot be stronger than the royal artifacts.

Making Kelrin stronger could be a double-edged sword. Regardless of what she thinks now, the object of her loyalty ultimately was Katarin.

For now, I need to find a way to contact Kajot.

For safety, I had to have some idea about their plan.

However, there weren’t many organization members I could contact without suspicion as a student.

Except one person.

Katarin…

A woman with the ability to spoil Kajot’s plans by making use of them. Since she and I were in the same class, there were plenty of opportunities to contact her.

Of course, Katarin would not accept me now, even if I approached her with a smiling face.

I have to use Kelrin.

/////

Ah, seed…

Kelrin couldn’t help but notice that she was being suspected.

Katarin had always enjoyed torturing others without reason. It was a routine that could be considered a personal hobby or a way to relieve desires.

However, her most loyal subordinate, Kelrin, had not been the object of Katarin’s sadism for quite some time.

Severe pain was felt all over her body. Katarin’s magic, sharp as a knife, stared daggers at Kelrin.

Even so, the magic didn’t break Kelrin’s will. She saw firsthand that there was something even more terrifying.

I have…

Kelrin served Katarin for a long time. She could infer why she was behaving like this.

Reasserting her loosened dominance over Kelrin through overwhelming pain and oppression would likely be the first intention.

In case that failed, she wished Kelrin couldn’t endure it any longer and turned to the master she is now afraid of as her second intention.

Katarin must have thought she could counter once she confirmed the existence. With her black magic and the authority of the Erst family, she would have thought she could suppress it.

Therefore, Kelrin had no choice but to endure.

It shouldn’t happen. I can’t antagonize him…

Her will was steadfast.

Even to this day, Kelrin couldn’t abandon her loyalty to Katarin.