The Valden Mansion lay silent beneath the dark night sky.
Most of the servants had already gone to bed, and the lights throughout the mansion had long gone out.
Only one room remained lit.
________________________________________
Vyom let out a long sigh before looking at Aarav.
He wanted to scold him, but seeing the emptiness in Aarav's lifeless eyes, he decided to change the topic for now.
"Aarav... I know Lucian and Selena survived."
"Those two were personally healed by Saint Lisa. Later, they took the final examination and even got into the Special Class while you were arrested."
He looked at Aarav with a forced smile.
"What about you? Did you pass?"
Aarav nodded quietly.
"...Yeah."
"Dad spoke to Principal Aldron after everything that happened. He had me retake the examination separately during the holidays."
Aarav let out a long sigh as he looked at the ring.
"And... I passed. So... I was promoted to the second year."
Vyom nodded.
"Good. At least you didn't completely fuck up your future."
Aarav continued.
"After the incident, all the students called me a murderer. Selena hasn't spoken to me since."
"I was kept in remand for a day until my father came to bail me out."
"It felt so humiliating..."lI wanted to end everything...You know how."
He lowered his head.
"And then I found you.I still don't know how you ended up inside my ring."
"This ring was a birthday presen—"
Aarav stopped as he noticed Vyom trying to hold himself back from scolding him .
"Vyom... it's okay. You are not the first persoon to scold me okay . I just am used to it now ."
Vyom looked at Aarav. His quiet demeanor instantly changed into an agitated one. His eyes narrowed into a sharp glare, hardening with disgust.
"WHAT THE FUCK, AARAV!?"
Aarav looked down at the ring, his eyes red and watery.
Vyom continued after letting out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
He folded his arms as he floated around Aarav.
"Now... Aarav."
"That is so fucked up, man."
"I mean, why the hell would you associate with a dark guild?"
"Those guys have no morals."
"You should be grateful they didn't kill you while you were handing over the money."
He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in disappointment.
"Also... why the hell do rich families give kids that much pocket money?"
"You rich brats are so fucking spoiled."
"I mean... ten thousand gold?"
"A middle-class family could feed themselves for a decade with that much money."
He turned away from Aarav, letting out another disappointed sigh.
"You were such a coward that you couldn't face Lucian directly, so you planned to kidnap him."
Aarav's lips pressed into a thin line as he slowly exhaled.
"...I know."
"It was my fault."
"And I know I fucked it up."
"But I regret every decision I made back then."
"But now..."
He looked at Vyom with tears pooling in his eyes, yet his gaze remained firm.
"I want to make it right."
"I want to apologize properly."
He took a deep breath.
A shadow of remorse settled over him as the memories flashed before his eyes.
"The sight of Lucian and Selena covered in blood still flashes before my eyes."
"What hurt me even more was my own helplessness..."
"I'm a healing mage."
"I could have healed them..."
"But I didn't."
"I couldn't move."
"It was as if my body already knew..."
"If I stepped forward..."
"...I would die."
"So I just stood there..."
"...and watched them suffer."
Silence filled the room.
Vyom quietly listened.
After several moments, Aarav finally spoke again.
"Also, Vyom..."
"I didn't tell you that whole story to defend myself."
"I wanted to tell you about me."
"About my life."
Aarav let out another long sigh.
"The best thing that ever happened to me..."
A gentle smile briefly appeared on his face.
"...was Selena."
"And now..."
The smile disappeared, replaced by a hollow expression.
"...even she despises me."
A bitter laugh escaped his lips.
He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on them.
"Before I met her...I was just a disappointment born with Healing Magic."
"I lived in my father's shadow...and then in my younger brother's."
"Nobles insulted my mom, saying I inherited her useless magic.Every time they insulted my magic, I felt like they were insulting her."
"I wanted to prove them wrong...I tried ,but I just couldn't."
"Most of the lower nobles don't even know Duke Valden has two heirs."
"According to them..."
"...only Arin is the real heir."
"But Selena pulled me out of it."
"People finally started noticing me. She approved my healingg magic . She almost never called it useless ."
"But now...I'm back in that shadow again."
He smiled weakly.
Then he looked at Vyom with a questioning gaze.
"Besides..."
"You already know my whole story, right?"
"You said it yourself..."
"I'm just a side villain whose only role is to power up the hero."
"So...Why did you ask me to tell you everything again?"
Vyom lowered his gaze to the mattress. "Well...I wanted to hear your side of the story."
" And honestly..."He looked into Aarav's reddened eyes."It's just as fucked up as it was in the novel."
"Aarav...your mistake was thinking that because your world revolved around her...hers revolved around you too."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"But there's one good thing."
"In the novel...You wanted to run awayYou wanted to kill yourself."
He looked into Aarav's teary eyes.
"But now...You've been given a chance to make things right. To protect your family and trust me. If anyone can do it , it's you."
After a brief silence, Vyom's eyes suddenly widened as a memory from the novel resurfaced.
"You said Hugh, right?....You meant Hugh Rockwell?"
Aarav narrowed his eyes."Yeah.Why?"
Vyom added immediatedly "First of all...Stay away from Hugh Rockwell."
Aarav frowned."What ?why?"
Vyom fixes him throat , he looked into Aarav's confused and questioning eyes . "Because Aarav his principles are wrong ,The moment you start believing you're above other people...is the moment you stop improving."
"And once you stop improving.....you start getting weaker."
Aarav nodded his head.I wasn't planning to. He manipulated me."
"But..." his expression hardened with quiet suspicion "Why are you specifically mentioning Hugh? It feels like you're diverting the topic."
He continued to look at Vyom suspiciously.
"And i may not know you for long but You defintely are not the type to lecture about this."
Aarav suddenly froze. Vyom's words rang in his brain
"...Wait. Don't tell me..."
"The four nobles who die during the Blood Pool Arc are..."
Vyom immediately shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about , It is not Hugh okay , it is some other noble."
"Who ???" Aarav continued staring at him, clearly unconvinced.
After a few moments, Vyom finally nodded.
"Tch" he clicked his tongue"Yeah. Hugh.....and the three friends who always hang around him."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Aarav finally broke it.His voice cracked unexpectedly . He didnot know if it is of guilt or fear or both .
"But...Isn't that wrong?"
"I know Hugh is a bad guy..."
"But...He still doesn't deserve to die."
Vyom sighed.
"Aarav... ,I know you want to save him ,but we can't control everything."
"Besides, the Blood Pool Arc is still more than three months away."
"And I don't even know who the killer really is."
"According to the novel, everyone believed it was the serial killer."
"Whether that's actually true...I honestly don't know."
Aarav lowered his head.
"So...I should just let him and his friends die?"
Vyom shook his head."No.Time is our greatest weapon.We still have more than three months."
"Use that time.Grow stronger."
"Then...Before the Blood Pool Arc..."
"Warn Hugh."
"What he chooses after that.....will be his decision."
Aarav silently nodded, tears slowly gathered in his eyes.
Vyom sighed."...Don't cry.We'll figure something out."
That night, Aarav cried himself to sleep, the weight of both the past and the future resting heavily on his shoulders.
Inside the ring, Vyom closed his eyes.
"...This kid gets attached to people way too fast."
________________________________________
The next morning...
Even before the sun had risen...
Before the birds had begun chirping...
A deafening scream echoed inside Aarav's head.
"AAAAAAAAAA!"
Aarav shot upright.
"Ouch!"
"Fuck!"
"Stop it!"
"It hurts, Vyom! It hurts!"
He glared at the ring."What the hell is your problem? Just last night we had an emotional moment!"
Vyom scoffed."Just because you trauma-dumped on me doesn't excuse your ass from training."
"Now get your fat ass up and rush to the garden."
Aarav buried his face in the pillow, covering his ears. "Whaaat... nooo...Even the sun isn't up yet."
Vyom shouted with a smug grin.
"GET UP, BASTARD!"
The pillow didn't help. The shout echoed directly inside Aarav's mind.
Aarav groaned."Okay... fine."
He climbed out of bed, his eyelids drooping and his steps unsteady.
Another shout echoed inside his head, making him straighten up with a jolt.
"Twenty laps around the training ground."
"Then fifty push-ups."
Aarav groaned as he changed out of his pajamas.
"...I'm going to fucking die."