Page 88

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Chapter 87: Scars and Ointment

Act 4, Scene 2.

International Solo Exhibition.

Before that time arrived, a new task was added to my schedule:

Helping Iris overcome her nightmares through training.

Iris followed my instructions and trained diligently every day.

As a result, the frequency of her nightmares had recently decreased significantly.

"...I didn’t have one again."

Early in the morning, after completing her training, Iris looked at me with a dazed expression, surprised she hadn’t had a nightmare that night either.

"How did you do it?"

"It’s simply because Iris worked hard during training and managed to dissipate the energy of her nightmares."

In truth, it was all thanks to her efforts.

I didn’t do much.

Iris faithfully followed my advice, using her aura actively to exhaust the power fueling her nightmares.

This was by no means an easy task.

It was entirely her hard work.

"...So, it’s like exercising a lot helps you sleep better?"

"It’s similar. Many cases of insomnia are due to having too much energy left in the body to fall asleep."

But this was only a temporary solution.

The more Iris used her aura, the stronger she would become.

Eventually, she’d reach a point where even using up all her aura in one day would be impossible.

‘Iris is a genius, after all.’

Her growth rate was far beyond that of ordinary people.

I knew I’d only be able to delay the inevitable.

But for now, this method worked well enough as a stopgap.

Above all, I planned to resolve her nightmares completely before she reached that point.

"Do you regret listening to me?"

"No."

Iris didn’t deny it, but a trace of curiosity lingered in her eyes.

"How does Hannon know I’m having nightmares?"

Iris’s nightmares originated from Demon Sovereign.

She was vaguely aware of this herself.

However, it wasn’t something she could share with anyone.

Iris had no intention of risking her life by revealing such a truth.

She had lived her life desperately, feeling selfish but surviving nonetheless.

In the midst of this, someone appeared who knew about the nightmares she’d been hiding.

Iris had never once mentioned that her insomnia was caused by nightmares.

Yet here I was, already aware of the cause, so it was only natural for her to be suspicious.

I looked at her and smiled faintly.

"Is that the only thing you’re curious about?"

"..."

Of course not.

My actions so far must have left Iris utterly baffled.

Even the intelligence network of the Third Princess couldn’t figure me out.

That was who I was to her: an enigma.

"I recall you once said that the things I do aren’t just for my sake."

Iris’s gaze locked onto me.

That day, she’d seemed particularly despondent.

She nodded slightly, as if she remembered.

"You were right. I don’t act solely for your benefit, Iris."

Upon hearing this, a hint of disappointment appeared in Iris’s eyes.

"However, helping you is still one of my reasons for acting."

I wanted Iris’s nightmares to fade away.

She’d spent her life as a pawn of Demon Sovereign, unable to sleep properly, tormented endlessly.

In the end, she was destined to become the ultimate villainess, nothing more than Demon Sovereign’s puppet.

I didn’t want her life to end like that.

I hoped she could live like others her age, enjoying the things she desired.

If she wished, she didn’t need to cling to her status as a princess.

I wanted her to savor life on her terms.

"Iris, I want you to live a peaceful life, free from nightmares."

Before I knew it, a gentle smile had formed on my lips.

"You deserve such a life, Iris."

Iris stared at me blankly.

One thing was certain: she understood my sincerity.

I loved all the heroines and characters in Flame Butterfly Arc.

Even though Lucas, the protagonist, wasn’t present, I’d do whatever it took to guide them all to a happy ending.

"Iris, helping you achieve that kind of life is one of my goals as well."

That was both my purpose and my objective.

"...I haven’t done anything for you. I don’t even know if I can give you anything in the future."

She was the Third Princess.

The youngest, who eventually climbed to the throne as the ultimate villainess.

For someone like her, receiving one-sided help was unheard of.

Everyone wanted something from her, expecting a return for what they gave.

"That doesn’t matter to me."

But I wanted none of that.

"As long as you can escape your nightmares, that’s more than enough."

I held Iris’s hand, which bore scars from today’s training.

They were the result of her excessive use of aura.

Noticing this, I took out some ointment and carefully applied it to her wounds.

It was something I’d specifically prepared from the Zerion Academy infirmary, so its effectiveness was exceptional.

"So, if someday..."

I meticulously applied the ointment to her injured hand.

"If you don’t want to become the emperor, just tell me."

A confident smile spread across my face.

"I’ll help you with that too."

It might have been a blasphemous remark, but as long as she didn’t mind, it didn’t matter.

"..."

Iris remained silent, staring at me.

Her eyes reflected a mixture of emotions, including confusion and something else I couldn’t quite discern.

I couldn’t read all her feelings, but I knew this much: these were words she’d longed to hear at least once.

Iris had risen to where she was only through the schemes of the Duke of Robliage.

She herself had never truly desired the throne.

That was why she made that choice in the end.

Lucas couldn’t say these words to Iris.

He, too, was a citizen of the empire within the Flame Butterfly Arc.

Someone raised with its norms and expectations couldn’t possibly utter such words.

But I was different.

I was merely a player of the Flame Butterfly Arc.

Modern people knew well that the throne wasn’t as blissful as it seemed to others.

The immense weight of responsibility was enough to drive anyone mad.

So, I said to Iris what only I could say.

"Having one mysterious classmate can be pretty entertaining, don’t you think?"

As I ended with a joke, Iris quietly looked at me and shook her head slowly.

"It’s not entertaining."

Not her taste, huh?

As I clicked my tongue, Iris carefully held the hand I’d treated with the ointment.

"Still, I think I understand something now, thanks to you, Hannon."

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A soft smile appeared on Iris’s lips.

A crimson rose seemed to bloom.

Perhaps it was because she had been sleeping so well lately, but her smile was the most beautiful I’d ever seen it.

“The reason I can sleep so soundly when you’re by my side.”

At some point, Iris reached out her hand and lightly touched my chest.

“It’s because you’re a warm person, Hannon.”

Physically speaking, I am warm, as I harbor the Flames of Fury.

[TL/N: I forgot to explain in prev chap but flames of fury are the flames mc acquired from spirit lor- i mean spirit king’s remains.]

But Iris’s words touched on something more fundamental.

“Thank you. Maybe I’ve been wanting to hear something like that from someone all along.”

Leaving those words behind, Iris departed for the dormitory.

She seemed a little more at ease now.

* * *

Training, class, training, class, training, class.

Every day was a cycle of honing my skills for the increasing power I would need in the future.

Before I knew it, the international individual competition was just around the corner.

The competition was a goodwill event where each nation’s pride was on the line.

The faces of the students preparing for it were filled with tension.

And then there were others whose faces were wrecked for entirely different reasons.

Those were the members of the student council.

“Kill me. Just kill me already!”

One member, overwhelmed by work, screamed and collapsed in frustration.

The others silently continued their tasks, unaffected by his outburst.

After the recent boycott incident, even the student council couldn’t escape scrutiny.

Fortunately, under Nikita’s leadership, this year’s student council hadn’t engaged in any corruption.

They managed to avoid punishment.

Instead, the inspectors went as far as tracking down graduates to hold them accountable.

Zerion Academy was one of the Empire’s symbols of prestige.

Having been tainted by corruption, the authorities were determined to root it out completely.

It was also revealed that Sylvester, the former president, had covertly used the backing of the Drapen family to shield the council from corruption scandals.

Although Sylvester resigned as president, taking full responsibility, his reputation within the council soared to new heights.

One only realizes the value of a flower after it has withered.

With the departure of the two flowers, Nikita and Sylvester, only darkness remained for the student council.

The vacant seats of the president and vice president.

The workload that had piled up due to the absence of assistants.

The looming international individual competition.

The student council was drowning under a tsunami of responsibilities.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Next to me, Foara was mumbling incoherently as he scanned through documents.

“Hm.”

Beside him, the second-ranked martial arts student from the first year, Midra, calmly sorted the paperwork.

He seemed to have a hidden knack for administrative tasks.

But among them, one individual was clearly in the worst state.

While everyone else was busy, the secretary was staring blankly out the window, mentally exhausted.

Nivolance Panima, the top literature student in the third year.

In the student council, the secretary traditionally held the third-in-command position.

But with both the president and vice president absent, he was forced to fill their roles as well.

The first-ever student council member in Zerion Academy’s history to serve as president, vice president, and secretary at once!

It was an illustrious position, but his eyes held nothing but despair.

“...I can’t take this anymore.”

Suddenly, Nivolance clenched his fist tightly.

He adjusted his glasses and looked around at everyone.

“At this rate, we’ll be so buried in student council work that we won’t even be able to function properly in the academy. This is too much, no matter how you look at it!”

No one responded to his outburst, but their expressions showed agreement.

“We need reinforcements—support troops to prepare for the international competition. The meeting is tomorrow, for heaven’s sake!”

Grinding his teeth, he covered his face with his hands.

Tomorrow was the preliminary meeting between academy student councils.

Nivolance couldn’t imagine attending as just the secretary.

What’s more, if he left, the student council would drown in its own workload.

As the top literature student, Nivolance was responsible for handling one-third of the council’s duties.

“Hannon Irey.”

“Yes, Secretary.”

I stopped writing and looked up when I heard my name called out of nowhere.

He gazed at me with desperate eyes.

“I heard you often accompany the Third Princess.”

He has sharp ears.

I quickly understood where this was going.

“The Third Princess is expected to be inaugurated as Zerion Academy’s president next year.”

Not expected—guaranteed.

Iris, with her martial prowess, grace, and status, lacked nothing.

It would be more surprising if she didn’t become president.

“She wouldn’t have any issues acting as interim president, would she?”

In other words, he was asking me to persuade Iris to take the role temporarily.

Iris, being well-qualified and already intending to become president, would likely agree.

“And the vice president position is vacant as well.”

They had planned to hold an interim vice president election, but the series of boycott incidents delayed it indefinitely.

“You’re also close with Sharin Sazaris, the top-ranked second-year magic student, aren’t you? The daughter of the Blue Tower Master.”

Uh-oh.

This wasn’t heading in a good direction.

While Iris might agree, there was no way Sharin would cooperate with something like this.

“Make the Third Princess the interim president, Sharin Sazaris the interim vice president, and take them to the international academy conference tomorrow! No matter what!”

Our secretary had officially lost his mind.

[PR/N: Lmao, who does bro think he’s talking to? The main character who can do anything?]

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