Heroine Netori

On a warm weekend afternoon, three young ladies of fitting stature gathered in a space exclusive to the affluent, to hold a tea party.

"Hello, Luina Obeur? It's our first time meeting in such a setting, isn't it? I'm Cecilia Asil. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello? We've met before, haven't we? I'm Aria Meltz. Pleased to meet you!"

"Hello, everyone? I'm a bit... overwhelmed. Um, I'm Luina Obeur. Nice to meet you."

Luina Obeur was visibly flustered by the unexpected appearance of the other two, but Cecilia Asil and Aria Meltz greeted her with smiles as if it were the most natural thing.

"We heard that Teacher Lain was indisposed, so we decided to come in his stead."

"We really wanted to have this meeting with you, Luina! We were so sad to keep being rejected!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I've been very busy. I didn’t mean to keep rejecting the invitations."

"That's alright! Now that we're here, let's enjoy our time together."

Luina had been intentionally avoiding these two, so this situation was extremely uncomfortable for her. Aria Meltz, the protagonist who she thought had stolen her love, and Cecilia Asil, a notorious witch who was strangely quiet in this world narrative. Both were challenging individuals for her to deal with.

"But what brings you here today? I've heard your names, but we haven’t had enough interaction to warrant such a meeting... I'm curious."

"We just wanted to get closer! After all, Luina, you are the most famous at the academy!"

Luina wanted to retort, 'How dare a low noble come uninvited and insist on meeting like this? Where did you learn such manners?' But she couldn’t voice her thoughts as Cecilia's enigmatic smile, reminiscent of her murderous witch persona from the original story, made her hold back.

"It would have been less awkward if you had informed me in advance... I’m a bit disappointed."

Luina navigated the conversation carefully, trying not to arouse suspicion.

"Uh? Why is Obeur behaving like this…?"

But her avoidance raised Cecilia’s suspicions. In the original story, Luina was known for her cold, sharp demeanor, and any disrespectful behavior would typically provoke her.

"But she tried to gloss over it with a laugh, considering me... Could it be that Obeur has noticed something…?"

"Should I test the waters?"

"I wanted to, but I was worried about other rumors that might arise. I wanted to ask about the treatments from your father."

"Treatments?"

"It's no secret, right? Everyone knows that Luina has been receiving treatments from your father at the infirmary."

At the mention of Deokbae Asil’s treatments, Luina was visibly shaken. She was worried about how much Cecilia knew and what her questioning meant—if she was aware of her disgrace.

"Why? It’s not strange, right? It’s just a simple act of receiving treatment because I was ill."

"Oh? You seem so flustered; it makes me worry. I just wanted to make sure as his daughter that the treatments were appropriate... Is there something you’re not telling us?"

"That’s..."@@novelbin@@

But Luina’s evasion only fueled their suspicion. "I should have confronted them more boldly…" Luina regretted, but it was too late.

"Hehe, actually, we knew everything."

"What? But I promised not to tell anyone…"

"There are ways to know everything."

"Cecilia knows all!"

Faced with Cecilia's reply and Aria's confident support, Luina's face stiffened. Her hands trembled as she held her teacup, causing the tea to slosh about. She felt breathless, her vision blurred, overwhelmed by a deep sense of shame.

Seeing Luina’s state, Cecilia spoke up.

"Luina Obeur. Stop receiving treatments from your father. I’ll say it again. Stop receiving treatments from your father."

"Right! You should stop! For your own sake as well. My therapy sessions might be reduced... ah, anyway!"

"What...?"

Luina had imagined herself being toyed with and manipulated by a witch, with everything taken away by the protagonist. But contrary to her fears, they were advising her to stop for her own benefit, an entirely different attitude from their characters in the story.

"Why?"

She felt grateful, relieved, but also repulsed.

"Why me?"

Stopping the treatments was akin to a death sentence. She needed them to survive. Their words seemed almost like a suggestion for her to die.

"Me... die?"

Chills ran down Luina’s spine. She reflexively rejected their suggestion.

"No! I don't understand what you're worried about. The teacher gave me treatments, and I received them. Thanks to that, I’ve been healthy. I don’t understand why you two are telling me what to do."

It was an earnest resistance, perhaps rude in rejecting their goodwill. But she couldn't care less; from the moment they appeared, rational thought was impossible.

"You said no…?"

"Yes! I appreciate your concern, but please don't cross the line. If that’s all you wanted to talk about, I’ll be leaving now."

Luina's only option was to resist and escape the situation.

Aria couldn’t help but laugh at Luina’s flustered actions, contrary to the rumors; Luina was just as easy to manipulate as anyone else.

But Cecilia couldn’t smile.

"The suggestion… didn’t work?"

Her pride in her suggestive magic was shaken as it failed to affect Luina. She had planned to use this tea party to suggest preserving Luina’s virginity, but it had failed.

"Hehe, haha… Ahaha!"

"Who would have thought the suggestion wouldn't work! Truly, Luina Obeur! You really are meant for my father!"

For Cecilia, this was the first time someone hadn’t been susceptible to her suggestive magic. She felt challenged yet fated, as Luina’s resistance made her seem even more valuable.

"Just wait! I’m going to tell everything to Lucius Hess!"

"What?"

"If you’re so confident, there shouldn’t be a problem!"

"Uh…"

If the suggestion didn’t work, she had to accelerate her plans. She didn’t know when Deokbae Asil would take Luina’s virginity, so time was of the essence.

"I might have to force it a bit, but thankfully, Lain will buy us enough time."

"Meltz! Stop bothering Obeur."

"Yes!"

"What…!"

Overwhelmed by Aria’s pressure, Luina trembled, but was dumbfounded by Aria’s quick compliance to Cecilia’s command. Aria was truly Cecilia’s subordinate.

"Hehe, sorry for the trouble, Obeur. Indeed, we have no right to tell you what to do. But please, take care of yourself. We'll be leaving now."

"See you again, Luina!"

"…"

Luina felt as though she had been caught in a storm. It was agonizing, dizzying, nauseating.

They left her there, alone with her thoughts.

"The next full moon would be ideal. If we delay any further, it could be dangerous."

Cecilia pondered today's events and adjusted her plans. The original thought of waiting for a solar eclipse was too far off. She considered various variables to advance her plans.

"It’s definitely feasible… Keeping the prince and the knight away from Obeur was the right choice. Hess alone won't be able to stop it."

"Ah, the anticipation is thrilling. It's really coming soon."