The girl was an ordinary person with no magical training, and her frame was as slender as a stalk of sorghum.
To Luke Rousseau, a mage of 5th-class caliber, she was someone he could easily take down, like twisting the wrist of a child.
But that girl isn’t Professor Winslet. She hasn’t done anything wrong.
If he harmed an innocent person for the sake of revenge, how would he be any different from a murderer like Professor Winslet?
Luke Rousseau decided to try persuading the girl.
“There’s a reason for this.”
The girl frowned.
“A reason for killing someone?”
“Yes. Professor Winslet is a man who must die. Your master played with and took the lives of many people in the name of experimentation. What I’m trying to do is both revenge and a fight to prevent further victims. So… won’t you help me? Help me kill that demon.”
The girl shook her head.
“No. Master isn’t like that. You’re the liar.”
“You don’t understand. Just how vile he truly is.”
“Master is a merciful man. If he weren’t, I would’ve died five years ago.”
Clenching her gloved hands, the girl continued.
“He gave a new life to an orphan who was dying of the plague. Someone like that couldn’t possibly treat human lives as toys, like you claim. On the contrary, Master will go on to save many more lives.”
She defended Professor Winslet with resolute conviction.
Her attitude was reminiscent of a devout believer, and it sent a chill down Luke Rousseau’s spine.
At the same time, one powerful question crossed his mind.
“Professor Winslet saved you?”
That couldn’t be.
He was a man who used the very students he taught for human experimentation.
Unless he was possessed by a ghost or had some other hidden agenda.
Some other hidden agenda…
Luke Rousseau looked at Dahlia.
He extended his mana field to probe the girl.
She wasn’t a mage, and of course, she possessed no mana field.
Yet Luke could sense a faint magical aura emanating from her.
A grim possibility flashed through his mind.
“What did Professor Winslet do to you?”
“I told you…he saved my life.”
“Listen to me. You’re being deceived. When Professor Winslet saved you… could you tell me more about what happened, in detail?”
The girl drew in a breath.
It seemed she was recalling a painful memory.
“…I don’t want to talk about it.”
“It’s for your own good. You deserve to know the truth. It’s clear that Professor Winslet saved you just to use you.”
“Enough! Now you’re using my pain to manipulate me too? Someone like you has no right to call anyone else a monster.”
The girl glared at Luke as if he were her mortal enemy.
The attempt to persuade her had failed.
Luke could feel his patience wearing thinner by the second.
“I won’t ask you to harm your master. But at least return the poison to me. And forget everything that happened today.”
The girl answered with anger in her voice.
“No. You tried to hurt my master. And I have no intention of forgiving you. I’m going to take this to him and report you.”
Luke’s breathing grew ragged.
“No… don’t do that.”
Before I decide to hurt you.
Swallowing the words, Luke fought the growing urge inside him.
The urge was fanning the flames within him—
Telling him to silence the witness.
That this girl was a follower of the vile Professor Winslet, a servant of the man who had killed the woman he loved.
No… she’s only trying to protect the one she trusts. She doesn’t know she’s being deceived. She doesn’t realize she’s another one of Winslet’s victims.
The voice of reason was fading, as if it could vanish with just one more breath.
The moment his attempted crime was exposed to the world, only ruin would await him.
If he couldn’t silence the girl, he at least had to take back the evidence.
Cornered at the edge of a cliff, Luke made one last plea.
“Please. Give me the medicine.”
“No!”
“I said give it to me!”
Luke shouted and lunged forward.
He tackled the girl, grabbing her with enough force to break her arm.
A struggle erupted over the vial.
But the girl didn’t just endure it.
“Ah!”
A cry burst from Luke’s mouth.
The girl had bitten his hand.
His skin tore, and blood trickled down.
Luke growled.
“What are you doing?!”
“What are you doing?! You’re a murderer who tried to kill my master!”
The girl screamed, nearly shrieking.
Murderer.
That word snapped Luke Rousseau’s final thread of reason.
“Who’s the real murderer? And who is it that’s protecting that murderer right now?!”
Luke Rousseau’s eyes gleamed with madness.
Feeling the murderous intent in them, the girl recoiled in fear.
“This is your last warning. Give me the vial.”
Blood dripped steadily from Luke’s right hand.
Time was not on his side.
Leaving traces is bad. How do I clean up the blood? A wet cloth? Where do I find one? Right…the towels she gave me. If someone asks about the wound, what excuse do I make? What should I say…?
Would he be able to conceal the murder he was about to commit?
Luckily, the girl hadn’t run.
If she had, things would have gotten troublesome.
“If that becomes evidence, I’ll be forced to leave the academy. And I can’t do that….not before I get my revenge. So this is… something I can’t avoid. Do you understand?”
He was looking at the girl but speaking to himself.
Luke raised his right hand, blood pouring from it.
Then, he aimed it at the girl.
What magic should he use?
The deliberation was brief.
Yeah. Ice magic should do.
If things went south, he could pin it on Professor Winslet.
The girl’s pupils trembled.
“Wh-What are you trying to do?”
“You brought this on yourself.”
“No, don’t. Please don’t.”
To avoid facing the emotion rising on the girl’s face, Luke turned his gaze away.
“I’ll try to lessen the pain. That’s the only thing I can do for you. I won’t even say I’m sorry. Don’t forgive me.”
“Mr. Luke!”
Shutting his ears to the voice calling his name, Luke pulled the trigger of his magic.
Fwhoosh.
With a light sound, the deadly spell fired.
The magic, imbued with the chill of ice, shot toward the girl’s head.
But—
Crash!
Suddenly, Luke’s magic scattered like a cloud struck by a gust of wind.
The ice spell vanished before it could even reach the girl.
“What?”
Shock overtook Luke’s face.
A powerful mana field had burst forth from the direction of the girl.
The hostile force instantly swallowed the mansion,
As if heralding the arrival of its true master.
Clack, clack.
From behind the staircase leading to the second floor of the mansion’s lobby came the sound of footsteps.
As the tall figure finally appeared, Luke Rousseau muttered in a groan,
“…Winter Winslet!”
***
The very day Dean Jonathan Kingfisher brought me the suspect list, I began investigating Luke Rousseau.
I mobilized academy connections and even the eyes of vampires and uncovered everything about him.
That Luke Rousseau was the president of the “Winter Winslet Victims Club”.
He had been waiting for a chance to kill me for some time now, and he was also the one who sent the explosion scroll.
And now, he even went as far as to create poison to kill me.
And today—
From the moment Luke Rousseau entered this house until now, I have been watching everything unfold from the shadows.
Luke Rousseau.
A character who does not appear in the original game Candela of Judgment.
What does that mean?
It means that even in the original story, Luke Rousseau must have attempted something like this but failed to poison his target and paid for it with his life.
And anything related to him was likely erased so thoroughly that not even a seasoned player like me ever saw any trace of it.
Will it be the same this time?
“Luke Rousseau, I know why you’re trying to kill me. And I acknowledge the hatred you carry.”
That’s why, even knowing his plan, I allowed him to come to my home.
When Dahlia discovered the poison, I hoped he would accept his failure and leave quietly.
Had he done that, I would have let him go.
“But… you shouldn’t have crossed that line.”
I stepped forward as if shielding Dahlia from his murderous gaze.
At that, Luke Rousseau let out a crazed laugh.
“Ha… Hahaha. Don’t tell me this was all your plan, Professor? You pushed me to hurt a powerless child so you could drag me down to your level….a murderer? If that was your intention, then it would’ve been better to just let that child die.”
“Silence.”
Spilled water cannot be put back into the cup.
An arrow once loosed must fall.
Will it strike and draw blood, or be stopped and protect someone?
Only the choice remains.
And I chose to protect.
Even if it’s a selfish choice.
“You won’t lay a single finger on what I hold dear.”
“No! Even if it kills me, I’ll take your life, Winter Winslet!”
“Come. I’ll face you.”
Luke Rousseau’s body began to swell.
It was due to the magic power that had started to gather beneath his clothes.
Soon, a reddish glow surged out from under his garments.
“So, he drew the magic circle directly onto his skin.”
There’s no time for leisurely incantations in a fight against me.
He knew that and had come well-prepared.
The magic he activated was likely his trump card.
“See you in hell.”
Luke Rousseau gave a demonic smile.
As if those words were a trigger, the energy gathered over his body erupted like an explosion.
And just before that moment—
I softly blew a breath.
A simple act, like blowing out candles on a birthday cake.
But that act made everything equally simple.
“Huh?”
It was no surprise that he let out a dumbfounded sound.
The magic that had just formed into a complete structure under his will was now unraveling, particle by particle, like glitter scattering into the air.
Luke Rousseau screamed in despair, almost like a sob.
“Dispel magic!”
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