Morning arrived, the soft breeze flowing through the open window carrying with it the scent of dew-kissed earth.
Rays of sunlight poured in, bathing the room in a golden glow.
A beautiful and refreshing morning... or at least, that's what it was supposed to be.
"Haah...!"
I gasped, clutching at my chest as I struggled to draw breath.
My body trembled as though pierced by a thousand invisible thorns, each one sinking into my heart and throat. It was as if I were bleeding, yet no wounds marred my skin.
The pain was overwhelming-foreign yet strangely familiar, like a distant mory clawing its way back into focus.
A nostalgic tornt of sothing I couldn't rember ever experiencing.
[Note: Skill: Pain Nullifier (A) unapplicable!]
"Tch." I gritted my teeth, my frustration mounting. "So Pain Nullifier really is useless for this kind of thing... figures."
Was this the sa as last ti?
My thoughts drifted to a similar incident, a ti when fragnted mories of an alternate world had invaded my mind.
Those mories had been vivid, like glimpses of a life that wasn't mine yet felt intrinsically tied to .
But why?
Why now?
Staggering to my feet, I ignored the searing pain in my chest and the dull pounding in my head.
I made my way to the sofa, collapsing onto it as I tilted my head back, trying to piece together the fragnts of what I had just experienced.
This ti was different.
Unlike before, I hadn't been an active participant in the vision. I was an observer, watching through the eyes of soone else an alternate version of myself, perhaps.
[Once the tutorial is over, don't choose our paths.]
His words echoed in my mind, cryptic and foreboding.
What did he an?
Why did his voice feel so heavy, so certain, as though he already knew the weight of the choice I had yet to face?
Just like last ti, I had been given pieces of a puzzle, but no clear answers.
I rubbed my temples, the headache refusing to subside.
The fragnts of the dream-no, the vision-refused to fade.
Too many things were already happening, piling on one after another, and now this.
The unexpected incident with the Primaris back at the White Bishop's dungeon.
The ss with the academy staff and professors.
My inevitable suspension that felt more like a formality than a punishnt.
The unsettling visit to the Emperor's throne room.
And now... this.
'Why does it feel like I'm tied to chaos itself?'
I exhaled heavily, the weight of it all pressing down on .
Drawing on my mana, I stabilized my erratic breathing, letting the flow calm the storm inside .
The searing pressure in my chest eased slightly as the familiar pulse of mana coursed through my veins, grounding .
One step at a ti. I needed to compartntalize. Ignore what was done and deal with what was ahead.
But that dream-mory-vision-whatever it was, refused to be ignored.
'Don't choose their paths.'
Was it a warning? It certainly felt like one.
The way he―Riley, or whoever he was-spoke, it carried an urgency that clawed at the edges of my thoughts.
A tutorial?
Was he implying that I was in one? That this entire reality was so kind of prelude?
How?
It didn't add up.
By any standard—whether from the ga or the fragnted mories I had-there was no "tutorial" stage that fit this.
The ga's tutorial was simply the early scenarios of Lucas, detailing his journey before the academy.
It was straightforward, with no hidden implications beyond what was already established.
This... this was sothing else entirely.
"Mommy!"
"Nooo!!!"
"Please, spare ! Please!!"
Ugh!
Painful mories resurfaced like a tide of tornt, crashing against my mind with rciless
force.
The screams, the pleading faces, the despair etched into every word—they were all burned
into my consciousness.
The people I tornted.
The souls I devoured.
Their cries echoed louder and louder, until I felt like I was drowning in their grief and my own
guilt.
'Fuck.'
I clenched my fists, trembling as I tried to push it all down. But the weight of it refused to
fade.
"When is this going to be over?"
Knock! Knock!
The sound of a soft knock echoed through the room before the door creaked open.
I barely turned my head, already expecting Yui's usual early-morning routine. Her visits were predictable, ticulous, and, quite honestly, comforting in their consistency.
But this ti, she wasn't alone.
A young figure stepped in behind her, their presence imdiately catching my attention.
Long, wavy brown hair frad a calm, composed face.
Yui glanced at briefly before bowing slightly, her voice as asured as always.
"Good morning, young master," she greeted politely. "Now, if you'll excuse ..."
And with that, she was gone, the door clicking shut behind her.
I shifted my focus to the young man or rather, the person pretending to be one. The brown-
haired visitor smiled gently, a look that didn't quite match their disguise.
"How are you doing?" they asked, the voice giving away their true identity.
"Snow," I replied dryly, leaning back into the sofa. "I thought you'd be too busy to personally
drop by."
As if in answer, a faint shimr of blue light danced around her form.
Within monts, the illusion faded, revealing her true self-a striking young woman with
flowing white hair and piercing blue eyes.
Snow's transformation never failed to give off an air of elegance, as if she were born to stand
out in any room.
She approached casually, her heels barely making a sound against the floor as she closed the
distance between us.
"I have my ways~" she said, her tone playful but with a tinge of purpose. "Besides, the
incident yesterday was nothing more than a byproduct of misunderstandings. It was resolved
quickly, thanks to the principal."
"Is that so?" Well, I guess it makes sense. She wouldn't want to overcomplicate things, not with the
benefits she's likely to gain from all this.
"So, how are you doing?"
Snow wasted no ti cutting to the heart of the matter. Her hands moved quickly, cupping my face with an unusual softness, her smile fading into a reflection of genuine worry. "The principal assured you weren't hard in any way after you personally put yourself in that cell," she said, her tone sharp with concern. "But... you're really not hurt, are you?" "I'm fine," I replied, brushing her hands off lightly. "Just a few headaches here and there." Her piercing blue eyes squinted at , a silent accusation hanging in the air. Clearly, she wasn't buying it. Was my face showing that much pain? And here I thought I was good at
acting.
She sighed heavily, the sound carrying a note of exasperation, as if she were already accustod to my tendency to brush things off.
"Although I'm really curious about what exactly happened during the incident you caused six
days ago," she said, her voice softening, "I suppose it's best to leave that matter alone for
now."
Without waiting for a reply, mana began to rise from her hands, faint tendrils of light shimring as she moved closer.
Before I could protest, she pulled into an embrace, pressing my head against her chest.
Normally, Snow's mana exuded a chilling cold, a natural byproduct of her affinity for ice
magic.
But this ti, it was different-surprisingly warm, like sunlight breaking through a winter
storm.
The sensation spread through , comforting and soothing, as if it were chasing away the haze, pain, and exhaustion.
"How is it?" she asked, her voice low and gentle. Her fingers moved to the back of my head,
rubbing in slow, deliberate circles.
"What... is this?"
"Just a simple healing spell I learned from my mother," she replied with a smile, one so soft it made her seem more human than the imperial figure she usually was.
The warmth continued to flow, lting away the lingering ache. For a brief mont, everything—the pain, the mories, the chaos-seed distant, like a fading nightmare. "You should really take better care of yourself, Riley," Snow repeated, her voice carrying a
mix of scolding and affection. "Master or not, you don't have to carry everything on your own, you know?" "Sorry..." I muttered, unable to et her eyes.
"Rest for now," she said with an air of authority, though her expression betrayed a hint of embarrassnt. "This sweet girlfriend of yours will take care of you for the ti being~" She puffed up her chest proudly, but the faint blush on her cheeks told a different story.
I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
It was rare to see her like this, and even rarer for her to openly refer to herself as my girlfriend openly despite how open she was of her love to .
"What's so funny?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"Nothing..." I said, smirking slightly.
Despite everything that had happened, it still felt surreal that Snow and I had co to this
point in our relationship. Just a few months ago, such a scene would have been unimaginable.
Her mana wrapped around , soft and comforting, lulling into a state of relaxation I hadn't felt in ages.
My body, still heavy from exhaustion and lingering pain, began to give in.
Sleep was quickly catching up to .
"Snow-" I started to say, knowing full well how busy her schedule was.
As the student council president, she had an endless list of duties and responsibilities. "Shh~" she interrupted, gently patting my head. Leaning down, she placed a light kiss on my
forehead, her lips warm and soothing, like a balm to my restless mind.
"Sleep tight, Riley~" she whispered.
Her words were like the final nudge I needed, a finishing blow to my fraying consciousness.
The warmth of her magic and the genuine care in her actions lted away the tension I'd been holding onto for far too long.
I briefly wondered what kind of spell this was-Snow hadn't possessed anything like it in the
ga.
It was unfamiliar, and yet, it felt like sothing only she could do, sothing unique to her
in this world.
But before I could linger on the thought, sleep claid , and I drifted into the most peaceful slumber I'd had in a long, long ti.
Gently tucking away the strands of hair that fell across Riley's sleeping face, Snow let out a
quiet sigh, her expression a mix of worry and exasperation. "He's hurt..." she murmured to herself, her voice laced with concern.
There were no visible injuries, nothing tangible to explain what she could sense. Yet Snow
knew. She knew.
Riley was hurting deeply. It wasn't just his physical state-it was sothing far more
profound.
After all, it was the first ti she had seen him wear that expression, tell that kind of lie to
her.
His face had been a twisted mask, a façade of composure barely holding together. Snow, who had faced countless liars and manipulators in her life as the daughter of the
Emperor, could detect deceit as easily as breathing.
And yet, Riley's lies struck differently-they weren't born out of malice but sothing else
entirely.
Riley was always a mystery to her, an enigma wrapped in layers she could only peel back piece by piece.
But ever since they had grown closer and secretly begun their relationship, she had started to understand him better. At least, she thought she had.
"It would be great if you could trust a bit more, you know?" Snow grumbled softly under
her breath, her fingertips brushing through his hair as she stroked his head. Her thoughts were heavy as she sighed again, rising carefully so as not to disturb him.
Wrapping him in a cocoon of her mana, she intended to lift him telekinetically and lay him properly in bed.
She planned to join him, keeping the healing spell active while ensuring he remained
undisturbed.
But then-
BZZTTT-!!!
A flash of red mana erupted in the room like a crackling storm, its sharpness cutting through
the serene atmosphere.
Snow froze, her mana instinctively reacting to the sudden intrusion.
Erging from the swirl of energy was a striking figure: a woman with pink hair cascading
down her back, her golden eyes gleaming with intensity.
Her presence was commanding, and the witch's hat atop her head swayed slightly as she
scanned the room with calculated surprise.
"Hm?" the woman mused, her tone calm yet curious. Her gaze settled on Snow, who was still
standing protectively near Riley. "You are... princess Snow?" "Senior Alice..."
Snow's deanor shifted in an instant.
The warmth and worry she had shown monts ago faded, replaced by an icy composure.
Her piercing blue eyes narrowed as she looked directly at the pink-haired woman. "What are you doing here?"
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