Chapter 300: Interlude: Between a Lover and a Pet (6)

For several days, Elsie had to endure endless humiliation.

Never before had she bowed her head to a commoner.

There were several moments when she felt her anger nearly spill over,almost losing her composure, but Elsie grit her teeth before suppressing her temper.

It was both infuriating and draining.

Why on earth did she have to utter words of apology to mere commoners?

It was only natural for the weak to be trampled on.

Elsie, who crushed them to the point where they could never recover, did so to prepare for when they might become strong and try to crush her instead.

The world Elsie lived in had always been this way.

It had been like this for as long as she could remember.

The strong dominated, while the weak either submitted or became strong enough to dominate themselves.

To her, bullying was a form of self-defence.

Elsie simply didn’t want to be trampled on again.

She just didn’t want to return to the painful days of her childhood. Those were her honest true feelings.

Yes, that’s what she would have said until not long ago.

Now, whenever she felt sad or wronged, she thought of Ian.

He was a man who, instead of trampling the weak, supported and embraced them.

Although their first meeting was not pleasant, she couldn’t deny that meeting him had completely changed her life.

Elsie’s world was no longer confined to the Rinella family.

Ian was her new master, her new life, and had become the new world that she had chosen.

So, if her new world demanded a new set of ethics, she was more than willing to accept them.

With this resolve, she grit her teeth and continued down that humiliating path.

It was on one of those days that she encountered a figure from her dark past.

“Well, who do we have here? If it isn’t Rinella’s mutt... The one who’s been going around tarnishing the names of the high-ranking nobles lately?”

It was a woman who appeared with a lollipop in her mouth.

As expected, she wasn’t alone. After all, by their senior year, everyone either led or was part of a group.

Elsie cast a sharp glance at the woman.

What was her name again? Oh, right.

“...it seems like you haven’t forgotten the taste of that electric shock from last time, huh? Ludmilla.”

The woman called Ludmilla burst into a giggle.

She was a woman who had previously clashed with Elsie’s group and ended up getting thoroughly crushed.

Just like Elsie’s group, they weren’t exactly good people, but their status as high nobles meant that nobody interfered with them.

But when a conflict broke out, Elsie took advantage of the situation, found the perfect justification, and crushed them in one go.

It had been during Elsie’s prime, when she was at her peak in the academy.

In return, her right shoulder was shattered, but she could effectively silence Ludmilla’s family, so it wasn’t a bad trade.

Since that day, Ludmilla had always cowered when facing Elsie, but today, she seemed oddly confident.

Elsie found this so absurd that she let out a laugh in disbelief.

But Ludmilla remained brazenly bold.

“Rinella, I heard you’ve been busy bowing your head to commoners lately. Why don’t you bow that cheap head of yours to me as well?”

“Fuck off, you bitch.”

Zap!, electricity sparked from Elsie’s hand.

She was outnumbered.

Normally,being a mage, Elsie would be at a disadvantage. However, after her growth during the recent battle with the Corpse Giant, she felt she still stood a chance. ᚱ

Even if she was at a disadvantage, so what?

After all, in a fight, the last one standing is the one who wins.

Despite this, Ludmilla continued to mockingly smirk.

“Are you sure about that? If you lay a hand on me again, bad rumours will spread... about how you were involved in yet another act of bullying.”

“That sort of talk is for weak commoners. Do you really think a gangster like you is the same as them?”

“Yes, exactly.”

As Ludmilla spoke, she revealed her pale left arm, previously hidden by her uniform.

Across it ran a thin red line, resembling a scar.

It was a scar shaped like a bolt of lightning.

It was clear who had left that mark.

It was the scar left by Elsie during those days.

A scar that still lingered.

Ludmilla wasn’t one to miss Elsie’s hesitation.

She broke into a bright, mocking smile.

“I’d only heard it as a rumour, but it was true, huh? You crazy bitch... Not only did you fall for the guy who beat you with a hatchet, you even called yourself his pet, and now you’ve even sold out your dignity as a high-ranking noble?

Ludmilla grit her teeth.

Her long-suppressed inferiority complex toward Elsie was on the verge of exploding.

Ever since Elsie had defeated her, Ludmilla hadn’t even been able to meet her eyes.

But now, that once terrifying Elsie had fallen to the level of a mere pet.

That fact filled her with unbearable hatred.

It felt as if not just Elsie, but even Ludmilla herself, had been reduced to something laughable.

Ludmilla was almost delirious with the thought that she could finally unleash her pent-up rage.

Crunch. Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on Elsie’s shoulder.

Ultimately, Elsie couldn’t hold back anymore and cried out.

“UGH, AA... AAAAAAH!”

Even then, Elsie didn’t retaliate against Ludmilla.

That could only mean one thing.

Her eyes gleaming with a sick satisfaction, Ludmilla spoke.

“My bad, my bad. But just bear with it, okay? It was unintentional... Let’s just chat for a moment.”

This conversation with Elsie was only just beginning.

Yes, that’s exactly what Ludmilla thought.

Crack, until she heard a sickening sound like something breaking.

Wait, did I miscalculate my strength?

Ludmilla found it strange, but when the warm liquid began to wet her cheek, she couldn’t resist glancing over.

What she saw made her blood run cold.

Before her was a sight that everyone at the Academy feared.

A hatchet lodged firmly in her shoulder.

A shiver ran down Ludmilla’s spine.

As if driven by instinct, Ludmilla quickly grasped the situation.

Then came the searing pain that burned through her mind.

“AGH, AHHH... AAAAAAAAAHHHHCK!”

Blood soaked the clearing.

*

Huuuu, I let out a heated breath.

At first, I intended to just observe.

After all, it might just have been someone Senior Elsie had bullied before.

But the moment Senior Elsie screamed, my patience snapped.

By the time I came to my senses, I had already thrown the hatchet.

I loosened my wrist and began walking briskly.

The crowd’s gazes, fixed on me, were filled with fear.

Only Senior Elsie was looking at me with a bewildered expression.

A female student whose name I didn’t even know was groaning in pain, after being struck by my hatchet.

As soon as she saw me, she collapsed in terror.

And then, she started scooting backward, shaking her head desperately.

“D-Don’t come any closer! If you do, I’ll report you to the Disciplinary Committee...”

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

With a sharp tug, I yanked the hatchet from her shoulder, and it smoothly returned to my hand.

The moment I removed it, the bleeding that had previously been stemmed by the hatchet grew even worse.

The female student grit her teeth, trying to endure it. But in the end, she couldn’t withstand the pain and crumpled to the ground.

“Ugh, ah... Uuuuuugh...!”

With her groans in the background, I spoke in a nonchalant voice.

While tapping my palm with the blood-smeared hatchet.

“Go ahead, report me.”

I can just use the Dragonblood Script and be done with it.