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That night, sleep wouldn’t claim her like every other night. She turned left and right on the bed. Despite the fatigue, she really can’t induce that feeling of sleepiness. So she left her bed - leaving Cath who slept like a log. Aediva looked at the small creature, at times feeling jealousy for the sentient monster.
“... I wouldn’t say your life is any better than me since we shared almost everything now. Honestly, I wish that I could just stop thinking altogether. Or be someone mundane” Aediva sighed.
She ended up sitting on the chair by her desk, looking at the dark view outside the room through the large window.
“... I really hate thinking…” she murmured to herself. She breathed in, her mind kept looping various thoughts in her head from whatever hectic events that had happened the past few days. Her body leaned against the back of the chair as she looked at the dull ceiling of the room.
“... So this is who you truly are? You’re cold. Just like your powers” Hanzel said to her.
“Are you seriously starting off with that sentence, senior?” Aediva replied, her silver orbs glancing sharply at the young man who is sitting at the couch a few steps away from where she’s sitting. Hanzel fixes his glasses, looking at the girl who looked tired. No doubt wanting him out of the place.
“I’ll cut to the chase then. Firstly, I wish to apologize on behalf of Fay. She lacked tact, but she meant no harm” the dark-haired boy said. Aediva only let out a sigh.
“And now you’re going to tell me to help you with your event preparation?” Aediva said.
“Yes” Hanzel simply answered. The scowl on Aediva’s face didn’t go amiss as she didn’t bother to even hide it in the first place.
“People really like to have it easy, huh? Using me because of my strength to complete tasks for you - expecting me to do it for free. At least present me some greens on the damn table. I told you earlier, I’m not doing charity. I have 5 billion Fels debt to pay, you know” Aediva said, starting to feel tired from repeating the same thing for two, almost three days straight. Hanzel only looked at her, clasping his hands together.
“I see… So nothing would change your mind but money? Then, if we pay--” before Hanzel could say more, Aediva interjects.
“Oh please, you’re not really going to pay me for shit. If you’re just going to say something like that to guilt-trip me then, don’t even start. Senior Fay did that before. For your information, I never wanted to go back to that dorm. I could care less about your predicament and certainly not worried if any of those two die or anything like that” Aediva said.
In the end, it was clear both Hanzel and Fay were only seeking her help to do hard labor for them in order to save their hides. Aediva let out a sigh as she played with the pen in her hand - twirling it around her fingers.
Her own memories…
As long as she recovers her memories she might be able to use magic anymore. Yet she felt no need to even try to despite hearing what “Blackhorns” had told her.
“... My own magic… What exactly does he mean the reason I can’t use my magic is because I don’t believe it? Is the memory of using magic really that important? Huh…” she let out a long sigh.
“... “That time when I was controlled by that human”, he said…” Aediva murmured. He knows to that point of what had happened that day with Marie. Or was it just a wild guess? Although, it wouldn’t be weird if he knows. Especially when he was the one who told her that she accidentally cursed the old hag.
It was during their first lesson too. Despite everything, she still couldn’t truly forget about what happened that day. Stress and fatigue weighed heavy on her back. And the additions to her series of consistent failures, right in front of her newly-appointed mentor is not helping either.
“... Blackhorns” she called him. The golden-haired giant looked at her, tilting his head.
“... Can’t I do anything to lift the curse off that hag?” she asked. “Blackhorns” stared at her in silence and closed the book in his hand.
“You’re just asking just for the sake of it, are you?” instead of a definite answer to her question, he replied to her with a question that Aediva couldn’t truly refute. She bit her lip, looking at the battered broom that surprisingly still holds its form after she touched it.
“... Am I really a murderer…?” she asked, her eyes turning glassy again.
She is not dumb. “Blackhorns” never answered her and she foolishly even looked up on magic laws about curses. By law, she is supposedly stuffed to the gaol under the crime of “cursing with magic”. Her one victim suffered a fate worse than death as she slowly froze over. Even if her frozen limbs were to be cut off, the curse will still persist until her very life force turns into ice.
Yet there she is, still living a life like a normal student albeit lacking in some department of magic. She pushed the thought of that brunet boy who claims to be Marie’s grandson, to the back of her head as she proceeds through her life. His words however, stick to her everyday thoughts.
“... You’re a murderer”
It still stings her heart to even think about it so clearly. Her hands trembled as she cupped her face and she hid behind her hands. From what? She really doesn't know.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
She’s a freak. She’s a danger. She’s… in pain.
“Ah… This is why I don’t like thinking too much…” she said into her palms.
Ever since that day, she felt a lot of her had literally crumbled into pieces. Maybe it’s her heart. Maybe it’s half of her mind. Maybe it’s the feeling of freedom she had been thinking she owns.
Arthur and Eden are not there to keep things noisy for her everyday till school is over. Cath couldn’t understand someone like her. She can’t exactly depend on “Blackhorns” every time she…
So she cried in silence.
When she felt the soft pads on her side of her face, she was startled. A pair of round silver eyes the same color and hue of silver stared at her.
“Oi… Is everything alright? I know I’ve been going out with those girls a lot. Are you lonely?” Cath asked Aediva who looked at him still surprised. Cath’s ears flicked when Aediva straightened her back and gazed at him as he stood on the table.
“... I thought you’re fast asleep” she said, her tone impassive as she dried her tears - then quickly realizing it was with the very same handkerchief “Blackhorns” had used to dry her tears before.
“... I have to wash this again…” she murmured to herself, looking at Cath sitting at the edge of the desk.
“The bed is cold but it’s oddly colder without you. Are you hungry? Let’s go eat some food! I had a few secret stash” Cath chirped with a mischievous smile. Aediva felt her lips being tugged at a side as she let out a sigh.
“You mean the ones in the cupboard at the foyer? Or do you mean underneath the couches? Or the one you taped underneath the coffee table downstairs?” Aediva replied, quickly turning amused when Cath panicked.
“Ugya?! Y-You! Did you---”
“Not my fault when you hide it in the most obvious of places” Aediva quickly quipped, standing up from her seat when she noticed a familiar golden glow outside the window. Upon realizing its the familiar golden orbs that surrounds “Blackhorns”, she found him.
Merely standing at the road on the road beside the mansion, looking up at her window and at her when she was clearly seen at the window. She held the handle to the window, turning frustrated when remembering it was stuck. It was then when she saw “Blackhorns” turning seemingly in response to someone calling for him.
Those argent orbs opened wide when seeing an unfamiliar white shadow that approached her mentor. For some reason, there’s faint pain in the depth of her chest when seeing a beautiful person who looked a bit too gorgeous, with long pure white mane and eyes as brilliant as rubies the colour of blood.
“... Who’s that…?” she mumbled, unknowingly pouted.
“Hm? Oi, Aediva. You know those guys?” suddenly Cath asked.
“Not really. I call the one with the black horns, “Blackhorns” since he never shared me his real name. I don’t know who the other person is though” Aediva answered the monster who seemed to be thinking for once. Cath hummed.
“I think I saw that one before. He’s always with Sleepy Boy when I see him” Cath said.
“He? That’s a guy?” Aediva said. Cath shrugged.
“How would I know? Sleepy Boy called him “father”. do you call a woman “father”?” hearing Cath’s answer, Aediva grabbed his head, annoyed.
“Then I’m glad that’s a guy. Let’s go to the kitchen. I feel like eating roasted cat all over the sudden” she said with a dark smile on her face before dragging the monster downstairs - noticing that the two figures were gone from where she last saw them.
That night when they went down for some late-night snacks, the last thing they expected was someone knocking at their door so frantically like they were chased by some monster or something. Aediva growled but walked towards the doors anyway.
The moment she opened the door, she instantly stepped back in an impulsive reflex to the incoming boy who immediately fell to the floor right away.
“Whoa, what’s with this dude?” Cath asked.
“Is he dead?” he asked again - jumping off Aediva arms and poking at the boy who was murmuring something along the lines of,
“Please help me…”
“I can’t continue on like this…”
“The Gallows…”
“They 're... trying to kill us…”
Cath looked at Aediva as she simply stared at the helpless soul. Eventually, she let out a sigh, stepped over the boy towards the door and closed it. Cath dropped his jaw when seeing Aediva picking up the boy by the back of his shirt’s collar.
“Oh? You’re really going to help him?” Cath asked, responded with Aediva’s glare at him. She practically dragged the boy who’s seemingly stuck in a delirious state to the couch, throwing him like a rag onto the couch. He groaned yet pretty unresponsive to her rough treatment.
“He looked pretty beaten up,” Cath said, peering over Aediva’s shoulder as the young woman shoved her hand into the pocket of her sweater that she was using over her nightdress. Her eyes staring at the boy who is still half-awake, observing like a predatory bird.
“.…This guy’s completely depleted of mana. What the hell happened to you?” she asked but the stranger boy didn’t seem to comprehend her question as he kept muttering about some “Gallows” and whatever else.
“He couldn’t be from Efren Dorm, right?” Cath asked. Aediva clicked her tongue.
“If I have to go back to that cursed place because of this…” she growled but then she silenced herself when seeing the boy on the couch. Lethargic and pretty much looking like someone had beat the life out of him.
“There’s no warden in this place. You’re just gonna have to hang on til tomorrow. Oi, ghosts. Are there any usable blankets around?” Aediva asked, looking up to the ceiling when one of the balloon-like faces of the casper appeared.
“Oya~ We’ve got a guest~?” they asked, floating down to their new uninvited guest - examining his condition.
“He looks like he’s one step away from our world~~ Hihihihihi~~~”
“Maybe we should claim him on behalf of the Grim Reapers~~~”
Aediva slammed her fist to the table nearby, immediately breaking the rickety old thing and alarming the four ghosts in front of her.
“I’ll warn you guys once. If someone dies by the time I wake up tomorrow, I’ll make sure you’re ripped to pieces. Find this guy a blanket and stay away from him” Aediva said, her voice low as her eyes glowering at the ghosts haunting the dorm. They cackled but fear was obvious in their ethereal forms.
“Okay~~~”
“You’re surprisingly nice tonight, miss~~~”
“A change of heart maybe~~~?”
Aediva narrowed her eyes and the ghost scram without anymore witty remarks. Before she went upstairs back to her room with Cath, she spared the boy one final glance - noting the red lesion around his neck.
“... What on earth are those disgusting people doing to their own dorm residents?” she wondered.
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