Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Dream’s Boundary (5)

“…Why, why is this happening… It was fine… Why… Why is this happening again…”

“…Senior?”

“Hick… Who, who is it…”

Yeon Minha trembled and lifted her head.

Her tear-streaked eyes met mine.

All traces of the vitality that had filled her face just a few days ago were gone.

Her usual haughty expression, which had once slightly irritated me, was nowhere to be seen. Somewhere deep inside, I felt a small sense of pride for her recovery.
T h i s w a s co p ied fr om k i n g m tl. o r g

But now… what on earth is going on?

“You… you…”

Yeon Minha muttered with a blank expression, her lips moving slightly. Her fingernails, bitten and ragged, were still being chewed.

“…Wait…”

She seemed to realize something and her pupils widened, her tearful eyes turning back to me.
T h is w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m tl . o r g

“You… could it be…”

There was a madness in her gaze that I hadn’t seen before.

“Could it be… you…?”

…An uneasy feeling crept up on me.

“Yes… it’s you. It was you…”

“What are you talking about…”

“I’m sure. It can only be you. It must have been you…!”

Still sobbing, Yeon Minha staggered to her feet.

“Please… give it back… please…”

Her face, already unfocused, showed no sign of rationality.

“Please… give me back my dreams… please…!”

“What are you talking about? How could I possibly…”

“Don’t lie!!!!”

-Kwaang!

-Crash!

With her desperate scream, the dormitory was filled with the sound of things being thrown and breaking.

“You… the nightmares returned the day you left! Hick… How, how did you do it… What did you do…!”

Yeon Minha slowly turned counterclockwise, gradually closing the distance between us.

Her strange gait backed me into a corner.

“Please… give it back…!”

Still crying, she approached as if she were about to cling to me, pleading with her whole body.

The thought that her outstretched hands would grab me made me react strangely.

My body heated up and my breathing grew rapid. It felt like bugs were crawling on my skin. The narrow field of vision through the mask grew even narrower.

“Hick… please…”

Despite my efforts, she continued to close the distance with her unsteady steps.

“Senpai, stop…”

“Give it back…!”

Just as she was about to grab my arm.

Before I even realized it, my fist had already landed in her abdomen.

-Thunk!

“…Keuh.”

Apparently exhausted, Yeon Minha collapsed sideways from just one hit.

“Haa… haa… ha…”

I checked the mask to make sure it was still securely fastened. Only then did I feel relieved.

It took considerable effort to calm the heat coursing through my body. After regaining my breath and sight, I looked at Yeon Minha.

I approached her cautiously and placed a finger under her nose.
T h i s w a s c o p ied f r o m k i ng mt l. o rg

Feeling the intermittent warmth of her breaths, I finally relaxed and sighed.

“…Haa.”

Her tear-stained eyes still held traces of her anguish.

No matter how I handled this, I couldn’t just leave her on the floor.

Looking around, I noticed her bedroom door at the top of the stairs.

I had refrained from entering her bedroom out of courtesy, but today, I had no choice.

I turned my gaze back to Yeon Minha lying on the floor.

She looked as light as a feather, so weight wouldn’t be an issue.

But… how should I carry her?

“…”

After a long consideration, I couldn’t think of a better way. Why did her bedroom have to be on the second floor…

Finally, I slipped my hands under her shoulders and calves and lifted her carefully.

“…Ugh.”

As soon as I felt her faint warmth, an unpleasant sensation traveled up my arms.

My face reflexively twisted.

The last time I had been this close to a girl was when I hugged my sisters before leaving the northeastern base.
This w a s c op i ed f r o m ki n g m t l .o rg

Back then, I tried hard not to show my discomfort, but at least now there was no one to see it.

I slowly climbed the stairs with Yeon Minha in my arms.

At the top, her bedroom door came into view.

“…”

Standing in front of it, I hesitated for a moment, but the decision had already been made.

I carefully turned the doorknob and opened the door. A sophisticated and sweet fragrance filled the air, almost giving me a headache. Since it was where Yeon Minha spent most of her time, her scent had permeated every corner of the room.

I turned to the final destination of the day.

A large, soft bed in the center of the room, illuminated by the gentle moonlight through a big window.

I set Yeon Minha down on the bed and straightened the pillow. After lightly shaking the blanket, I covered her up to her neck.

“…?”

The fluidity of my actions surprised even me. The obvious reason that came to mind made me sigh with regret.

Taking care of someone’s sleeping arrangements… was something I had done countless times before.

“Haa…”

As I caught my breath, the room’s scenery naturally came into view.

The setup seemed fairly ordinary, except for the enormous bookshelf occupying an entire wall, which stood out.

The various books crammed there were all well-thumbed.

It was just a small glimpse, but it was enough to infer her past life.

Th is w a s co pi ed fr om ki n g m tl . o r g
“Hick… no…”

Hearing her muttering again, I checked the bed. Yeon Minha shook her head, tears falling.

Was she having another bad dream that others couldn’t see?

I sighed and let the accumulated wave near my heart dissipate.

Being so close, just a small release was enough.

“Snooze…”

“…”

It seemed I had made a significant miscalculation.

I had only used the barrier for three days and had been gone for just two nights.

But even a brief taste of sweet peace had rendered her unable to endure her old life.

“…”

When I accepted the principal’s request, I never expected to face a situation like this.

In any case, the decision to return to the dormitory by any means necessary didn’t seem so bad.

If I had only seen her well-crafted exterior, I would never have known these vulnerable sides that could only be felt up close.

These defenseless and fragile facets were the essence of her current problems.

Now, confronting her raw reality, I felt less hatred and more human sympathy and pity for her.

But then, the deep-rooted sense of inferiority I had hidden behind my mask resurfaced.

“…”

When I was young, I learned in school that our country was a republic without class discrimination.

But how many people truly believe that?

We divided ourselves by various standards, with the most important being magic.

People above people, mages.

And mages above mages, the Magocracy Twenty-Seven and the First Five Families.

I belonged to the bottom of this hierarchically structured food chain.

Caught in an unjust storm that had struck like a bolt from the blue, I had barely survived by meeting good people by chance.

Now, I was pretending to be a recommended student from a prestigious family, but my essence remained unchanged.

Behind the mask, I was still a penniless, unremarkable orphan. I was merely clinging to life with a mysterious power I had stumbled upon by luck.

On the other hand, Yeon Minha.

A mage above mages, a young lady from the prestigious Jeokhwa Yeon family, one of the First Five Families among the Magocracy Twenty-Seven.

If I’m at the bottom, she’s at the top.

Had I not been shoved into the Cradle by the captain, we would never have met at such close quarters.

Is it right for a mere orphan like me to pity and empathize with someone like her?

“Haa.”

I let out a sigh, feeling a dull, aching sensation in my chest.

The reason was undoubtedly because I had experienced a very similar situation before.
T h i s w a s c opi e d f r o m kin g m tl. o r g

They say humans learn from their mistakes. But why was I making the same mistake again?

Why was a struggling orphan, barely managing his own future, needlessly meddling in someone else’s business?

“Snooze…”

Her peaceful breathing deepened my contemplation.

“Snore…”

Yet, she still seemed pitiful and unfortunate.

***

Yeon Minha was dreaming. She was sinking into a pit filled with sticky black mud. Dozens of skeletal arms reached out from the sides, pushing her back into the abyss as she struggled.

She screamed and cried, but no one came to help. Only the clattering laugh of the skeletal arms surrounded her.

Just as she was about to give up and be swallowed by the depths.

A ray of bright light shone on her, melting away the black walls and skeletons.

And as she instinctively reached out to the one who saved her.

-Chirp chirp!

“Uh…?”

What she saw instead was the familiar ceiling of her bedroom.

And her delicate right arm reaching toward the ceiling.

Her vision felt blurry, so she wiped her wet eyes with her fingers.

Then, a dull, aching pain began to radiate from her lower abdomen.

“Haa… what is this…”

She frowned at the unexplained pain.

As she rubbed her aching belly and tried to get up.

A low, quiet voice from the doorway roused her from her slumber.

“Are you awake?”

“Hick.”

The jolt down her spine made her force her head around to find the source of the voice.

What she saw was the grotesque, masked figure leaning against the doorframe.

“You, you, you, you…”

She was so shocked she couldn’t even speak properly. In the middle of it, she bit her tongue.
T hi s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k in g mt l . o r g

Instinctively, Yeon Minha checked her body. Her thin camisole made her feel incredibly vulnerable, and for a moment, she felt faint.
Th i s wa s c o p ie d f r om k in g m t l. o r g

The guy got up and started walking toward her.

“Get away…”

Finally showing his true colors.

Doing something so shameless in broad daylight rather than at night confirmed he was indeed a perverted deviant.

Her tear-filled eyes instinctively searched for something to defend herself with.

And what her instinct, not her reason, chose was not a spirit, but the large, fluffy pillow she had been holding.

She tried to fend him off with the pillow, but the masked student was already right in front of her.

It was all over. Yeon Minha shut her eyes tightly.

-Swish

But the next moment, she felt the warm touch of a shawl covering her bare shoulders.

-Thud.

And the sound of something sitting down.

The unexpected turn of events left her bewildered. She cautiously opened her eyes.

First, she saw the familiar checkered shawl draped over her shoulders, and then she looked ahead.

“Hick.”

There, sitting on a stool next to her bed, was the masked student, staring at her.

Th i s w a s c o pi e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g
“Haa.”
T h i s w a s co p i e d f r o m k i n g m tl . org

“Hic.”

When the masked student sighed deeply, she reflexively swallowed a light hiccup.

“Let’s talk.”

End of Chapter