Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 20.2
Until the morning, Acteon’s condition had been normal.
Even if someone tried to provoke him, it didn’t seem like he would be easily shaken, and as usual, he was putting on a show for me, trying to look good.
‘Even if I add up all the moments he let his true feelings slip, it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes in total. It wasn’t much at all.’
During his first awakening, after the conversation with the Duke, and… I recalled the conversation I’d had with Acteon before coming to the academy.
“Senior, I heard you decided to take a leave of absence because of Hyacine.”
At first, I wondered if, as a prospective cadet, he was just curious about academy life, but it wasn’t that.
“I was just curious how you were doing. I wanted to see you before I lost the chance completely. I didn’t think you’d be living under such circumstances.”
“Hm, is that so?”
He gave a vague smile and brushed it off as he spoke.
“I thought you came to see me because you were convinced that was how I was living.”
I don’t think I’m the type to show my inner thoughts so plainly.
Unable to ignore the way he was probing, I had to keep a close watch on Acteon.
Even under my direct gaze, Acteon kept lowering himself and said,
“I’m good at keeping secrets. Why don’t you test how obedient I can be to you?”
From everything he’d done up until now, and from that statement, it was obvious he wanted to earn my approval no matter what.
Of course, I told him not to mess around and changed the subject, but I kept mulling over his words.
‘Acteon isn’t the type to rely on others easily by nature.’
For someone like that to say such things to me was honestly surprising.
And I became certain.
Acteon is the kind of person who, once he decides someone is trustworthy, is willing to lower his barriers first.
At the same time, it means he’s cautious and defensive, rarely showing his true self.
So for someone like him to suddenly undergo an anomalous second awakening… It did seem strange, even to me.
‘If something like that were really happening, he must’ve sensed it himself.’
As I entered the main auditorium, I scanned the gathered students and quickly picked out a particularly tense-looking face among them.
It was Cassiel.
‘I thought he’d hole up in the dorms and refuse to come out.’
Still, it looked like he couldn’t help but be concerned.
It probably wasn’t just because Acteon was his younger brother. Maybe it was because they’d both suffered a similar loss.
While I watched the two of them, the officer’s speech droned on.
No one could have imagined something would happen during such a boring moment.
If only things could end peacefully just like this.
But my hope was shattered in less than a few minutes.
‘Is this… mana?’
No, it’s not that.
It was different from natural mana.
A sharp, aggressive mana set all my senses on edge.
It was like the mana a Transcendent absorbs and then materializes to release.
Yet, no one seemed to notice it.
‘What is this…?’
All I knew was that, in the records, Acteon experienced his second awakening on the day of the entrance ceremony.
There was never any mention of this kind of mana.
Just then, I saw Acteon, perhaps sensing it himself, scan his surroundings with a tense expression.
He found me watching him.
‘I can’t see very well from this distance.’
But his condition now was clearly different from before.
He seemed uncomfortable, fiddling with his collar and eventually unbuttoning it.
Though I couldn’t see for certain, it looked like he was sweating coldly.
‘No. This is dangerous.’
I was just about to step forward, almost unconsciously, when—
“Ortis. You need to stay back.”
Cassiel, who had come near at some point, stopped me.
He must have sensed that this anomalous mana was getting stronger, too.
But Cassiel seemed to think this was just a sign of Acteon’s second awakening.
“This isn’t our estate, and there are plenty of preparations for a second awakening here. There’s no need for you to get involved.”
He cautioned me in a serious tone.
“Besides, that guy isn’t just broken because Claire’s Guide died. Whatever awakening happens now, it’s going to reflect his mental state directly. Someone like you, a B-Class, can’t handle it.”
Broken, he says.
The Acteon I’ve seen was, if anything, far too composed.
To be precise, it was probably just that I never tried to know him too deeply.
He seemed to have memories he didn’t want to recall, but he wasn’t overly fixated on them.
I was about to shake off Cassiel’s hand when a thought came to me.
‘…Or maybe he was just pretending to be okay.’
Cassiel tried to stop me again.
“I warned you. If a high-level Guide steps in, this’ll be resolved. This is Estra. There may not be many, but at least an A-Class should show up. Or at least a Guide with high match rate.”
Unfortunately, every rational, logical thing Cassiel was saying right now was completely wrong.
If things were as he said, I’d gladly step back too.
You, a Transcendent, are the one who should stay out of the way.
It was just then that Acteon, standing in the distance, brushed his sweat-soaked hair back and looked my way.
He froze, as if suddenly paralyzed, and tried to say something to me.
Thud.
He collapsed on the spot.
As the area erupted into chaos, I clearly heard the words he’d managed to say in my mind.
‘Stay away.’
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