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The Unyielding Azure Flame.

Eve.

She was the one I had humiliated in the international singles tournament.

She had tried to put an end to the remnants of my ancient dragon's power in that tournament.

But after my fiery battle with Isabel in the round of 64, I was captured.

For her, it was an utterly absurd situation.

‘If I recall the image I’ve shown Eve so far…’

It was an undeniable provocation.

A deception implying that no matter what she did, I would slip away effortlessly.

She was furious at my provocation and fought fiercely throughout the tournament.

In the end, she climbed all the way to second place.

Then came the awards ceremony.

There, she announced her decision to transfer to Zerion Academy.

Her declaration sparked a rumor.

During the singles tournament, the commotion Eve had caused—

People concluded that it was all because of a love confession from Eve.

And just when things had escalated, I was taken away to the imperial palace.

Throughout the tournament, Eve had been visibly angry.

Her demeanor made it seem as if she was furious over a loved one being taken away.

To top it all off, she declared her transfer to Zerion Academy at the awards ceremony.

People didn’t know the truth.

So, they all interpreted it however they wanted.

They believed that Eve had fallen so deeply in love that she was willing to study abroad just to chase after it.

‘I wonder if she’s regretting it by now.’

Maybe she was blaming herself for making a rash decision in the heat of the moment.

Maybe she was fuming, wondering how things had come to this.

Of course, everything had gone exactly as I had planned.

‘But it wasn’t just because of me.’

Her Azure Flame is extremely sensitive to evil.

And in this tournament’s final match, she had faced none other than Iris.

In the original storyline, Eve wouldn’t have been able to sense the tainted power within Iris.

After Nikita’s incident in Act 3,

Lucas realized he could suppress Iris’s nightmares with the Flame of Resolve and stayed by her side.

The Flame of Resolve melted away her nightmares, gradually diminishing the power of the Demon Sovereign.

As a result, Eve never noticed anything unusual when she fought Iris.

But this international tournament was different from the original storyline.

In the finals, as she clashed with Iris, Eve must have realized it—

The power of the Demon Sovereign dwelling inside her.

That power was leaking out without her even realizing it.

‘She must have sensed that something was wrong with Iris.’

Her instincts likely told her that her Azure Flame could suppress it.

And that’s why, after the finals, Eve made her declaration.

Since Iris, the Third Imperial Princess, couldn’t come to the fallen kingdom of Frelliz,

Eve decided that she would go instead.

‘Honestly…’

Charging forward to help without hesitation.

Even in this side story, she’s acting exactly like a protagonist.

As someone desperately trying to steer the story back on track, I could never do something like that.

Zerion Academy would welcome Eve’s transfer more than anyone else.

Frelliz’s academy, Ordo, would strongly protest, but Eve is just a commoner.

Ironically, the fact that she’s a commoner makes it harder to restrict her with regulations.

She has no obligation to stay at Ordo Academy.

‘Besides, the students at Ordo don’t even like Eve.’

They would be more than happy to see her leave.

They must have felt that their own achievements had always been overshadowed by hers.

So, of course, they wouldn’t mind her departure.

In the end, once Eve made up her mind, her transfer became inevitable.

‘With this, Lucas’s role is somewhat covered.’

Even if the story was twisted, it was now progressing as a proper narrative.

‘The real problem now is…’

It would have to be the Vinesha situation.

She was involved with Grantoni from the Special Arts.

And she was also the mid-boss of Act 4.

‘But the real issue with Vinesha lies elsewhere.’

The fact that she belonged to the Mysticism Faction.

Vinesha serves as a bridge to the storyline that unfolds after Act 4.

‘Lucas infiltrates the Mysticism Faction by obtaining the Veil Bandages from Vinesha.’

During the winter break after Act 4,

Lucas infiltrates the Mysticism Faction and gathers vital information.

Through that process, Act 5 officially begins.

And as a consequence of abusing the Veil Bandages, Lucas loses his ability to love.

So, from the moment I planned to steal the Veil Bandages from her, I knew things would take a turn.

But I never expected the relationships around me to become such a burden.

‘Even if I managed to handle the relationship with Hania…’

I never imagined I would end up engaged to Sharin.

Why is this all escalating?

Did I really bring this upon myself?

As someone struggling to keep the story on track, I felt a complicated mix of emotions.

“Hannon.”

Just then, a voice called out to me.

I turned toward the familiar voice, and there she was, her black hair swaying.

Her black hair was strikingly beautiful,

though it would have been even more so if not for her emotionless ruby-red eyes.

“Why did you proceed with the engagement without telling me?”

The Third Imperial Princess.

Iris Hysirion.

Now that the afternoon classes were over,

I was being questioned by her about my engagement.

Behind Iris, Hania let out a quiet sigh.

She had expected this to happen.

Seron, who had been trying to talk to me, saw Iris’s expression and immediately fled.

I would make sure to flick his forehead later.

“Iris, I never intended for this engagement to happen.”

I told her the truth.

This engagement was never my decision.

The Blue Tower Master had arranged it as a temporary measure to keep me under control.

Even I hadn’t seen it coming.

“Was it forced on you?”

“Not exactly, but I had no choice but to accept it under the circumstances.”

Iris’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

A habit of hers when she encountered something displeasing.

“It’s because of the ancient dragon’s magic, isn’t it?”

So that’s why she was upset.

I had once fought against Nikita, who wielded the magic of an ancient dragon.

Though I had joined her team by my own request,

from Iris’s perspective, she must have thought I had fought Nikita because of her.

After the Nikita incident, I had brushed things off, but—

To Iris, it must have looked like I had been marked by the ancient dragon’s magic,

struggling to suppress it ever since.

And I had never told her about any of this.

Iris was someone with a strong sense of responsibility.

Even though she resented the imperial throne, she was still ascending it.

Not just because of Duke Robliage,

but for those who believed in her and wished for her to rule.

Given her nature, it wasn’t hard to imagine what she must have thought when she realized I had fought using the ancient dragon’s magic.

“Hannon.”

Before I knew it, Iris had stepped closer.

She raised her hand and firmly grabbed my cheeks.

“I don’t dislike people who care about me.”

A deep warning flickered in her crimson eyes.

"But I don’t like it when you keep things a secret for my sake."

Iris began to press and knead my cheeks as if she were working dough.

I could feel her firm determination—if I tried this again, she would make sure to burst me like this.

"Got it?"

"Yes, Lady Iris."

It was something I had brought upon myself rather than done for her sake, but at this moment, I had no choice but to answer this way.

Satisfied, Iris withdrew her hands from my cheeks.

"Sleep with me tonight."

Another night as a cuddle doll, huh?

Leaving those words behind, Iris swiftly turned around and walked away.

As I rubbed my cheeks, Hania quietly approached me.

"She may not show it, but she was really worried. Please don’t make Lady Iris worry again."

"Yeah, I won’t."

"It’d be a shame for me as your ex-girlfriend if you got scolded too harshly."

"Thanks for the advice, ex-girlfriend."

With that, Hania followed after Iris.

All this trouble over an unexpected engagement.

It had been a mentally exhausting day.

* * *

Time always flows quickly.

After reassuring my acquaintances and responding to their concerns about being captured by the ancient dragon’s magic, a week had already passed in the blink of an eye.

It suddenly hit me—I had built quite a few relationships.

Enough to become deeply embedded in their daily lives.

Separate from that, a rumor was spreading rapidly within the academy.

And that rumor was none other than my engagement to Sharin.

Up until recently, I had been dating Hania.

Now, with my sudden engagement to Sharin,

Zerion Academy was in complete chaos.

I was already infamous in the school.

Yet, now I was involved in relationships with some of the most beautiful women in the district.

It would have been strange if the academy didn’t go into an uproar.

Amidst all these rumors—

"I broke up with him first."

Hania made a clean getaway.

My bad reputation had already reached its peak.

So, everyone readily accepted that she had dumped me.

The real problem was the rumors that followed.

"That guy is always surrounded by women."

"Yeah, I’ve never seen him without one."

"Just how much of a playboy is he?"

"He’s living that kind of life, yet the girls never stop coming? What the hell does he have? Don’t tell me…"

"I heard Card calling him the 'King of Romance.'"

"Fuck, I’m jealous."

In an instant, I had become someone with a scandalously promiscuous reputation.

‘Are they idiots?’

Think about the women I’ve been involved with.

Who among them would allow me to live a life of debauchery?

Each one had a status and personality that made such a thing impossible.

At this point, it felt like people were just looking for reasons to badmouth me.

‘It’s all my fault, though.’

If I were actually living up to the rumors, I’d feel a little less wronged.

The wildest thing I’d ever experienced was Seron’s surprise cheek kiss.

"By the way, are you okay?"

"With what?"

I asked Seron, who was enthusiastically eating lunch in front of me.

There was tomato sauce smeared at the corner of her lips, as if she planned to save it for later in the dorm.

"You’ve got sauce on you."

"Oh, thanks."

Seron casually wiped the sauce in front of me.

She got embarrassed about other things, but not about this, apparently.

"My engagement with Sharin."

"That?"

Seron took a bite of her meat and smiled contentedly.

"It’s just an engagement, after all."

I tilted my head.

What was that supposed to mean?

"The one who’s going to marry Prince Sweet Potato is me."

What the hell.

Seron, realizing what she had just blurted out, turned bright red.

Yet, she sucked on her fork and hummed as if nothing had happened.

She was becoming more outrageous by the day.

"You, you got engaged to Lin, right?"

Later that morning, during training, Isabel brought up my engagement.

Worried that she might react like Hania did, I hesitated, but Isabel just let out a short laugh.

"It’s just like with Hania. I get it."

Isabel didn’t believe for a second that I was seriously engaged to Sharin.

"Well, you did say it yourself. That you wouldn’t date anyone."

"Engagement is a bit different, though."

"Yeah, it is. But still, it’s you."

With that, Isabel ran ahead of me.

"If you ever truly fall for someone, I feel like it’d be obvious."

I had no idea where she got that idea from.

She had never even seen me in love.

Not that it mattered—thanks to the Veil Bandages, love was something I had already lost long ago.

‘Why is everyone so quick to understand my engagement in such a weird way?’

It was amusing.

On top of that, a new rumor had begun to spread.

And it was about the newly appointed assistant professor of magic arts, Vinesha.

With her outstanding looks, she became an instant sensation among the students.

Her lively personality only added to her popularity.

And then, the problem arose.

"Dear husband, I packed you lunch!"

"Dear husband, you’ve worked so hard today!"

"Dear husband, I bought some snacks for you!"

Vinesha started appearing everywhere.

And every time she did, the way students looked at me became increasingly suspicious.

She was an assistant professor in the Magic Arts department.

An assistant professor clinging to a student was bound to be scandalous.

Normally, such a professor would be harshly criticized.

However, the issue was that the student she was clinging to… was me.

The most notorious troublemaker of Zerion Academy.

And so, my "legendary" reputation was cemented:

Rival: Isabel Luna

Unrequited Love: Seron Parmia

Cuddle Doll: Iris Hysirion

Ex-Girlfriend: Hania Rapidedia

Fiancée: Sharin Sazaris

Fake Crush: Eve

Affair Partner: Assistant Professor Vinesha

It was an absolutely ridiculous track record.

"Hannon Irey."

And because of all this—

"I hear you’ve been corrupting the morals of the academy lately. What do you have to say for yourself?"

I ended up getting called in for a private meeting with Professor Vega.

I think I might actually cry from sheer injustice.

At this point, I’d rather just do something scandalous and earn the scolding properly.