The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 52.1
When he turned toward the sound, he saw Robin. Robin held out a glass of wine with a reddish hue to Leslun.
“Take it.”
“Thank you.”
Only after receiving it did he feel his thirst. Come to think of it, he had not properly drunk even a sip of water all day.
“Are you nervous?”
“No……. No, yes, I am nervous.”
“Since you’ve officially entered the Academy, that’s understandable.”
Robin nodded as if it were only natural.
When the Crown Prince had suggested it to the dean, Leslun had thought he would only be auditing. But when he saw his name officially listed, he had been left speechless. Robin was bringing that up now.
“We’ll be leaving now.”
“Already?”
“You know how quickly His Highness the Crown Prince’s time passes. Once we go, remember you will be alone—so be on guard.”
Before leaving, Robin gave him one last piece of advice.
“Especially, avoid drinking what strangers hand you if you can.”
With that, Robin disappeared into the crowd.
Before Leslun could dwell on the meaning of those words, he had to watch Robin’s figure sink into the sea of people.
Unable to look at Robin until the very end, he found himself instead facing three people who approached him. A man wearing a badge engraved with a family crest spoke first.
“Cal Byweiner.”
The eyes of Cal, as he said his name, gleamed with arrogance.
“You know who I am, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
The instant he answered, Cal’s expression softened.
“Of course, you couldn’t not know the Byweiner family.”
It was a house of long history, and at the same time a distant branch of the Empress’s kin. Moreover, he had seen Cal’s older brother, the young Count Brian, accompanying the Empress before.
“Yes, let’s see each other often.”
The slightly crooked smile was unpleasant, but he could not forgo returning the greeting.
Lifting the glass in his hand, Leslun lightly clinked it against Cal’s wine glass before bringing it to his lips. Since it was Robin’s gift, it should be safe.
And yet, why—he could not shake off the strange feeling.
He tilted the glass, and the wine flowed in. A faint fruit scent touched him, followed by a sharp sensation spreading across his tongue.
After a single sip, he pulled the glass away.
“I’ll see you in class.”
Without hesitation, Cal left. Only after the two students following him also departed did Leslun place his glass on the table.
Perhaps it was the uncomfortable mood, but the wine did not seem to go down properly.
Where had the other two been while he spoke with Cal? The thought flickered and vanished with a peculiar unease.
His body began to heat strangely. His breathing deepened, and his fingertips trembled.
Leslun exhaled. Even his eyes burned with an unknown heat.
Rather than dulling his vision, it sharpened his mind, making each sensation vividly clear.
***
Though the only thing he had drunk today was a sip of wine, cold sweat kept forming on his back. His insides burned, and his sight wavered.
The floor before his eyes warped deeply. With it, his steps faltered.
Leslun braced himself against the wall and walked slowly. At any moment he could lose his balance, it was a precarious state. Cold sweat clung to his forehead.
“It’s hot.”
His mouth was dry, his skin fevered.
Passersby cast him odd looks, but he had no strength to care. With what little reason he barely held on to, he forced himself to step forward.
“Haa……”
Dragging along a body that seemed ready to collapse with each breath, he leaned against a door.
“Hot… haa… please.”
With a heavy hand, Leslun knocked. From within, there was no reply.
He lifted his hand again, ready to knock, then froze.
Was anyone even inside?
The thought that no one might be there filled him with despair. At that very moment, the body he had been barely holding up lost all strength and nearly crumpled—
Click.
The door opened.
“As expected, the effect is good.”
A stranger’s voice rang out with delight. He showed no surprise at Leslun’s state.
There was no reason he would. After all, Leslun was like this precisely because of what he had done.
“From the first time I saw you, I thought you gave off a peculiar air. As I thought, my intuition was right.”
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