"..."
"..."
'Why is she here!....what should I do?'
[Basic pistol]
[A basic semi-automatic pistol using 9mm bullets.]
[Creation requires 1200 points]
'Create Create create!...'
A pistol appeared in his hand hidden behind his back. He also created 100 rounds of bullets.
He didn't show his panic on his face.
Adeline moved.
"!!"
She quickly threw the cigrette to the ground and stepped on it.
She quickly regained her calm and mature face.
"What are you doing here, Professor Lucien... It's already past your duty hours..."
"Ahem...I forgot something and came back for it."
"Here?.."
"..."
"I got curious and entered."
"Entered a restricted area, just out of curiosity...."
"What do you want?.."
"What?..."
"For keeping it a secret." She said in a calm tone.
'This... it's a bit different than what I expected. With how she was portrayed near endgame she should have killed me already?...But she's keeping her calm-'
'No..'
Lucien looked at her slightly trembling hands...so slightly that it was barely noticeable.
"Keep what secret...I slept early tonight."
Lucien said calmy, while shrugging.
"..."
"Right..."
Adeline said with a calm smile. But her shoulders visibly relaxed.
Lucien turned around and was about to leave until he heard the systems notification.
[+90 points]
"??"
'What..why did I gain points?... there's no main character in sight-...From Adeline?..but wasn't she a villain? Aren't I supposed to save the main cast and children that gathered here not some evil-...'
'But is she doesn't feel evil...fake yes but..not as evil as she was shown in the game..'
Lucien paused mid step..
Adeline stared at him as he turned around.
He walked towards her, he stopped a foot away.
"I changed my mind...I do want something.."
'Tch..I knew he wouldn't keep it a secret with nothing in return, even if he is exposed for entering the academy without permission with his background and current reputation...How could anyone let go of such an opportunity to hold my weakness.."
As her mind went rampant what Lucien asked stunned her.
"Give it.."
Lucien moved his hand near her.
"??what?"
Adeline was confused.
"Cigarettes..you must have some more with you, right?"
"Cigarettes?.."
"Do you want me to keep it a secret or not?.."
"Yes..."Adeline said regaining her calm act.
Adeline took out the pack of cigrettes from her coat and handed it to him.
Lucien took it and placed one in his mouth in a smooth manner as if he had done this for years.
'With how he was in past I guess he must have smoked a lot.'
Adeline thought to herself.
Lucien used a basic spell to lit the cigrette.
He inhaled it and..
"Cough, cough... cough"
"..."
He placed his hand on his mouth and coughed violently.
Exactly like someone who tried it for the first time.
"Pfftt-"
Adeline couldn't control her laughter that leaked out but she quickly put on her normal act, but her lips twitched slightly on her expressionless face.
Lucien straightened himself. Embarrassed he quickly spoke with a indifferent tone.
"Ahem... It's quite chilly tonight, I must have caught a cold."
Adeline looked at his serious face.
'How can he even say that with a straight face-?...'
Adeline noticed his slightly red ears.
"Pfft-"
A weak laughter leaked again before quickly dying but her expression briefly contorted as her lip twitched even more.
Lucien feeling even more embarrassed quickly turned and left as if escaping.
"Good night, Head Professor Adeline. I won't tell anyone about today, I hope you will do the same."
He said while leaving without turning.
"Good night to you too, P-professor Lucien.."
Adeline said while holding back laughter that threatened to leak, forgetting the nervousnees and fear she felt just moments ago.
*...*
Adeline stood alone in the greenhouse long after Lucien's footsteps faded.
Silence slowly returned, filling the space between the glass walls and hanging vines.
"…What an absurd man," she murmured.
She pressed a hand lightly against her forehead and exhaled.
The night air still carried faint traces of cigarette smoke.
Her gaze drifted toward the path where Lucien had disappeared.
"He didn't threaten me… didn't bargain… didn't even ask questions."
Her fingers curled slightly.
Anyone else would have used that moment. A noble's hidden habit, a professor alone at night, a breach of academy conduct, enough leverage for endless favors.
But he asked for… cigarettes.
And then embarrassed himself.
A faint laugh escaped her again before she could stop it.
"…is he an idiot?"
Yet her eyes softened.
Meanwhile...
Lucien walked briskly outside the Greenhouse, resisting the urge to run.
The moment he turned the corner and confirmed no one was nearby, his composed expression collapsed.
"…I thought I would really die."
He pressed a hand against his chest.
His heart was still racing.
The pistol dissolved into particles of light behind his back as he dismissed it.
'Why did I even create that? Was I planning to fight her? Against her..A Grade 3 mage? Am I insane?'
He rubbed his temples.
[+5 points]
[+10 points]
.
.
[+50 points]
"…So many points"
His eyes narrowed.
'That confirms it… the system recognizes her as an important character. But in the game she becomes one of the late antagonists… cold, ruthless, untouchable.'
He remembered the storyline.
Professor Adeline — the "Black Witch of destruction."
A woman who would later stand against the protagonists during the academy collapse arc.
Feared.
Calculating.
Unforgiving.
But tonight…
He saw trembling hands.
Exhaustion.
Someone hiding behind perfection rather than cruelty.
"…So the game was wrong," he muttered.
"Or rather her side of story hidden...after all the game showed only the protagonist's perspective."
Lucien resumed walking, slower now.
'If villains gain points too… then my role isn't just protecting protagonists.'
A realization settled heavily in his mind.
'It's changing outcomes.'
He stopped before a window overlooking the dark academy grounds.
Moonlight spilled across the stone courtyard.
"…But even so I know it's a fact that she... massacred her entire family...."
"Sigh...maybe there's a hidden backstory... similar to Seraphine's?"
"I guess I have to make contact with her moving forward...if I can prevent her from becoming a villain, with the absence of one of the major villain..It will be easier to get the perfect happy ending."
A small smile appeared.
Back in the greenhouse...
Adeline finally moved.
She reached into her coat out of habit and paused.
Empty.
Her cigarettes were gone.
"…He really took them all."
For a moment she looked annoyed.
Then her lips curved slightly upward.
"Sigh.."
She turned toward the exit, posture straightening, expression returning to flawless composure.
By the time she stepped into the corridor, the exhausted woman from moments ago no longer existed.
Only Head Professor Adeline remained.
But as she walked away, a quiet thought lingered.
Professor Lucien…
He was different from the rumours...
He didn't really seem to find my true self odd..or rather he accepted it without judgment, He treated it as if it were completely normal, as if my carefully hidden cracks were never something to fear or hide.
And somewhere deep inside her chest,
a tension she hadn't noticed for years had eased, just a little.
The academy night continued, Lucien returned to his bedroom unable to find the demonic orb..but perhaps discovering something even more significant.