Chapter 2
A beautiful and elegant noble lady.
The quiet and well-mannered third daughter of the Marquis Kysier family.
Those were the words used to describe Olivia until three years ago.
But in truth, there was another nickname that stood out even more—
“The Mad Dog of Laurentia.”
It was a nickname that didn’t seem to suit Olivia at all. She wasn’t large, and she looked gentle enough.
But now Panya felt she understood it perfectly.
That nickname described Olivia better than anything else.
Resting her chin on the table, Panya casually spoke to Olivia, who was sitting across from her.
“By the way, Olivia, is that rumor true?”
“Which one?”
“The one saying that after you catch your runaway fiancé, you’re planning to make him go through a week of deadly sparring, and when he loses consciousness, you’ll bury him upside down and send him to meet the gods.”
Olivia tilted her head.
Her expression was full of confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
“No, wait. More importantly, do you actually have a fiancé?”
“I do.”
“Then how did I never hear about it? You’re Lady Kysier, after all.”
She had never heard of an engagement ceremony held by the Kysier family.
Olivia replied as if it were nothing important.
“You wouldn’t have known.”
“Why?”
“…Because my fiancé ran away three days after our engagement.”
Oh dear.
Panya immediately understood one thing.
Don’t touch that subject carelessly.
“I-I see. Anyway, Olivia, about our practical training—”
“That’s why I transferred departments. I finally thought I was going to marry him, but then my fiancé declared the engagement broken and ran away after only three days.”
“Uh…?”
“I wanted to talk to him, but he never showed himself. Honestly, it made me feel violent at times… Then later I heard he’d run away to a knight order stationed elsewhere.”
Too late.
Cold sweat ran down Panya’s neck.
At least one thing was clear now.
The rumor spreading around Veritas Academy—
It was probably true.
“So you really came here to kill your traitorous fiancé…”
Olivia tilted her head again.
“For now.”
“Huh? For now?”
“You shouldn’t kill people carelessly, Panya.”
No, you look like you could casually kill one or two people right now.
Wisely, Panya swallowed those words before they could leave her mouth.
But there was one question she couldn’t hold back.
“Can I ask just one thing?”
“What is it?”
“Why go through all this trouble for a fiancé like that? Why transfer departments just to find him? Couldn’t you just forget about him?”
In other words—
Why would someone transfer departments just to find a fiancé she had only been engaged to for three days?
Olivia had been an outstanding student in Monster Taxonomy before transferring.
A noble lady with arms as thin as sticks, who had never trained before, suddenly choosing the path of a knight just to chase a fiancé of three days?
It sounded absurd.
Panya thought her question was completely reasonable.
Which was why she never imagined she had touched a dangerous nerve.
Something felt wrong when Olivia, who had been answering casually until now, remained silent for several moments.
“W-Wait a second.”
“You’re right. Everything would’ve been over if I had simply let him go.”
“No, forget it. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Bang.
Unlike her usual self, Olivia slammed her hand onto the table.
Her lips were curved into a smile.
But her eyes weren’t smiling at all.
“But listen carefully, Panya.”
Should I run?
Instinctively, Panya glanced around and searched for an escape route.
Leaning forward slightly, Olivia continued.
“I’ve never failed to get something I wanted.”
“Uh… I see.”
“If someone is going to throw something away, it should be me.”
“Right. Of course.”
“But someone threw me away first?”
After saying that, Olivia paused.
Then she slowly smiled again.
It was a beautiful smile.
Yet there was something strangely cold about it.
“W-What are you thinking right now?”
“…Something that would be troublesome if other people knew.”
Panya gave up asking questions.
She had a feeling learning the truth would lead to disaster.
After a brief silence, Olivia let out a long sigh and straightened her posture.
She had already returned to her usual calm self.
“And besides, he can’t live without me either. It sounds unbelievable, but it’s true.”
No, it isn’t.
The more I think about it, the more that sounds like your own delusion, Olivia…
“So please correct those rumors about me wanting to kill my fiancé. I can’t have him getting scared and running away again, can I?”
A strange gleam appeared in Olivia’s emerald eyes as she spoke.
“O-Olivia.”
“Yes?”
“You know… that’s kind of obses—”
Crack.
At that exact moment, Olivia neatly broke the cookie she was holding into two pieces.
Panya swallowed hard.
“N-Never mind.”
“That’s what I thought.”
It’s not “never mind.” That’s obsession.
The words never made it out of Panya’s mouth.
They faded away before she could say them.
Ignoring Panya completely, Olivia smiled once more.
“Panya.”
“What now?”
Panya was honestly starting to feel scared.
Who knew what kind of thing Olivia would say next?
As if unaware of Panya’s feelings, Olivia took another bite of her cookie and said,
“This isn’t obsession.”
Then she smiled.
“It’s love.”
She’s completely insane.
Panya quietly shook her head.
Veritas Academy was unusually busy that morning.
It was the day the senior students’ practical training expedition would begin.
Olivia had finished preparing early and was already standing in the Grand Training Hall where the event would take place.
Both of her hands were wrapped in thin bandages.
“You got hurt again?”
“Mm. There was someone who wouldn’t listen to reason.”
“Olivia, persuasion is usually done with words. Not by beating someone up…”
Olivia simply smiled in response.
What else was she supposed to do if words didn’t work?
Her thoughts drifted to her weapon, Defensor, which she had left in her room.
She wasn’t its true master yet.
But she would be soon.
“Why do you seem so happy today? Did something happen?”
“Today is the day I’ve been waiting for.”
“The day you’ve been waiting for…? Well, I guess you don’t have much to worry about. Every knight order is desperate to recruit you.”
Again, Olivia only smiled.
Every knight order?
She didn’t need all of them.
There was only one knight order she wanted.
And today, after three years of waiting, her wish would finally come true.
“Students, please return to your assigned places. The ceremony will begin shortly!”
As announced, the stage quickly became busy.
Soon afterward, the principal’s voice echoed through the hall.
“Students of Veritas Academy, welcome. Starting today, you will undergo three months of training before participating in your final field exercise. After that, the knight orders you will join will be decided.”
The speech wasn’t important.
Olivia only had one goal.
To find the fiancé who had run away three years ago.
As her eyes swept across the stage, they suddenly froze.
A man with golden hair was walking onto the platform.
“Now, let us introduce the assistants specially invited to train you.”
See?
Transferring departments was the right choice after all.
Olivia’s lips curled upward.
The man seemed to feel her gaze and slowly turned his head in her direction.
A burning stare.
A calm gaze filled with tired annoyance.
Their eyes met in midair, each carrying completely opposite emotions.
The man’s eyes widened.
Olivia smiled brightly and silently moved her lips.
‘It’s been a long time.’
“Sir Aiden Oblivion of the Lux Knights.”
‘After three years, I finally get to see your face again, Brother.’
It was their first reunion in three years.
