I Possessed a Character in an Academy Without a Protagonist – Chapter 53

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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What do you think about men’s makeup?

That only celebrities or actors do it.

That was the extent of my perception.

I thought I would never have any connection with makeup in my life.

“Don’t frown too much. The mascara will smudge.”

“I understand.”

“Keep your mouth still too.”

“…”

Until coming here.

When I said I was going to a social gathering, Emilia naturally led me to her room.

And this was the result.

Last time, she had to bring a portable pouch, so there were few types of cosmetics, but this time, she was all smiles, saying she could do it to her heart’s content.

It had been about 10 minutes since the makeup started.

When would it end?

I took a brief look around Emilia’s room.

Come to think of it, this was the first time I had entered Emilia’s room since moving.

The clean room without a single miscellaneous item explained Emilia’s almost obsessive personality.

With this personality, how did she manage to clean my pigsty of a room?

It must have been a bit painful.

“Have you found out anything about the ring?”

Emilia broke the awkward silence and spoke first.

“No. Unfortunately, nothing.”

“Is that so?”

I brazenly lied.

I did go to the informant, but I didn’t ask anything.

I just needed to show the Intelligence Agency an alibi that I tried to find out about the ring.

The Intelligence Agency must have also probed here and there in their own way but wouldn’t have found out anything.

Because no one except the Imperial Family and a few Majins knew about the Ring of Miracles.

“What do you think it means? Giving you that ring.”

“I chose it myself. There’s no deep meaning or anything.”

“In my view, it seemed like they touched your pride and led you to choose that…”

Emilia spoke in an uncertain voice.

Certainly, from the perspective of someone who knew nothing, it could look that way.

Deliberately tricking me into thinking there was something precious inside the safe and giving me a worthless ring.

“It could be thought of that way.”

“Then let me change the question. What do you think of Her Highness the Crown Princess?”

“She is a dignified person. Beautiful and virtuous, someone suitable for the position of Empress.”

“No. Not that kind of thing…”

Emilia sighed as if frustrated.

Somehow, I felt like I had been asked this question at the palace too.

I didn’t understand why Emilia was asking it again all of a sudden.

“Can I ask one more thing?”

“When did you ask for permission before asking?”

“Ah. Right. Then one last question. Let’s say, hypothetically. If you had to marry either someone you truly love or someone who would bring you benefits… Who would you choose?”

“The question is not valid. Because there is no one I truly love.”

The one I loved was no longer in this world.

“That’s why I said hypothetically.”

“If someone appears, I’ll let you know then.”

Emilia pouted her lips slightly as if a bit upset.

Was it not the answer she wanted?

I couldn’t understand at all why this question suddenly popped up.

“There, it’s done.”

I looked in the hand mirror Emilia handed me.

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

It didn’t particularly look like I was wearing makeup, but my eyes looked twice as big as usual.

I wondered if I might start enjoying makeup at this rate.

… No, I take that back.

“Then I’ll be going. You don’t have to see me off.”

“No, of course…”

Bam!

Ting…

The moment Emilia left the room, closing the door forcefully, a metallic sound echoed through the mansion.

To be precise, it was the sound of metal falling to the floor and bouncing.

A dagger… perhaps?

It seemed to have been hanging in the closet or somewhere and fell due to the impact of the door closing.

Judging by Emilia’s stiff expression, it was almost certain.

“Did something fall?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s fine.”

When I tried to go back to Emilia’s room, she blocked me, hesitating.

Even in the midst of that, her face showed no sign of embarrassment at all, proving she was indeed a pro.

A good idea suddenly came to mind.

I concentrated on the surrounding mana for a moment… and played a small prank using gravity magic.

I didn’t forget to conceal the spell so Emilia wouldn’t notice.

“Now I’ll really get going.”

“Okay.”

It was a pity that I couldn’t see Emilia’s expression when she discovered my little prank.

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“…?”

After seeing Schlus off and returning.

Emilia’s eyes widened as she opened the closet door.

Something that should be there wasn’t there.

Or more precisely, it wasn’t in the place it should be.

“How…”

The clear metallic sound she heard earlier was definitely the sound of a dagger falling.

The sound of the dagger hitting the bottom of the closet and rolling.

There was nothing else in Emilia’s room that could make such a sound, so it was certain.

But why. Why on earth-

“What happened?”

Was the dagger neatly hanging on the wall of the closet as if it had never fallen?

She heard the sound at the same time as Schlus, so it wasn’t an auditory hallucination.

Could they have been collectively hypnotized?

If not that, did the dagger fly up on its own and hang on the wall?

Anyway, it was enough to make a ghost cry.

“What the hell?”

Emilia came out of the room and slammed the door just like before.

Bam!

Ting…

Then a similar sound was heard as before.

When she quickly ran and opened the closet door, this time the dagger was on the floor.

“What the hell is this!”

Emilia, who became confused right away, clutched her head and lay face down on the bed.

There was no way to explain the phenomenon from earlier.

She began to think that there might be something else in this mansion.

Since it was such a large mansion, it wouldn’t be strange to have a ghost or two.

Just as she thought that-

“Eek!”

Emilia shuddered and shook her head.

That couldn’t be.

No, it shouldn’t be.

Emilia concluded that she had heard wrong and calmed her pounding heart.

A person could easily die if you stabbed their heart, lungs, or liver with a knife, but not a ghost.

The fact that Emilia, known as a ruthless assassin, feared ghosts was a secret even to the Intelligence Agency agents.

“By the way…”

Emilia, who had calmed down a bit, reflected on her conversation with Schlus.

That frustratingly unsatisfying conversation.

“It seems he still hasn’t noticed.”

She asked just in case.

Curious if he had caught on to the meaning of the ring.

But Schlus seemed completely clueless.

He clearly thought he had just been unlucky and ended up with a worthless ring.

But that wasn’t the case in reality.

It was a ring that was practically a confession from the Crown Princess…

“Ha. This blockhead.”

There was too much evidence to support it.

First of all, it was too out of the blue for the Emperor to ask about marriage with the Crown Princess.

At the time, Schlus brushed it off as a joke, not understanding it, but the Emperor’s gaze was sincere to anyone who saw it.

And that safe.

It was blatantly provoking Schlus, who was starting to be recognized as an expert in disabling spells.

Drawn to the safe as if possessed, Schlus unlocked the seal and ended up getting the ring in question.

Lastly, she heard rumors through the Intelligence Agency that the Crown Princess was wearing a ring identical to Schlus’.

At this point, it was certain.

The Crown Princess gave the ring to Schlus as an indirect confession, and Schlus took it even though he had the opportunity to exchange it.

The Crown Princess probably misunderstood this as acceptance and was happily wearing the ring as a couple’s ring.

But the person himself knew nothing about it…

“I wonder if it will cause trouble later.”

Schlus already had someone else he liked.

He was ardently in love with Iris, the Saintess of Flechette.

Judging by the obscene… prank he played in front of her earlier, it was obvious.

Iris also frequently visited Schlus to help him, so it seemed she had feelings for Schlus as well.

If the Crown Princess found out about this, she would be greatly enraged, thinking she had been deceived.

When that time came, Schlus would have to make a decision.

Would he choose Iris, whom he truly loved?

Or would he choose the Crown Princess, who would benefit him?

But that clueless guy avoided answering, so his decision on this remained unknown.

“If…”

There were only two choices.

What if one more was added to them?

Suddenly, such a thought occurred to her.

“If I interfered…”

Schlus was definitely a person favorable to the Intelligence Agency.

If she stole his heart and then revealed that she was actually an agent of the Intelligence Agency, couldn’t she also gain Schlus’ active cooperation?

“… What nonsense am I saying?”

Emilia, who realized it was a preposterous idea, covered her eyes with her arm.

Winning the competition for Schlus against the Saintess and the Crown Princess was already absurd.

And revealing that she was an Intelligence Agency agent?

It was nonsense if she thought about it with a cooler head.

Why did she even consider such a possibility in the first place?

It was incomprehensible even to herself.

Emilia felt a mysterious ache in the corner of her heart and abruptly sat up.

She had to check the mail she received in the morning.

The coded message from the Intelligence Agency that came from Walter Bank.

“It’s been a while. What could the content be?”

The Intelligence Agency didn’t often send information this way out of concern for decrypting the code.

Emilia applied the decryption key to compose the decoded message, feeling puzzled.

“Schlus. Agent personal information stolen. Danger. Flee…?”

At first, Emilia tilted her head, not understanding what it meant, but-

“Ha… Crazy…”

Soon she realized its meaning and her face turned deathly pale.

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It was already night when the sun had set.

I got off the carriage and tidied my clothes.

Was that Heinrich Castle?

It was a concept castle that was often used for banquets and such even though the owner had died.

“Tsk…”

Even before entering, the sound of fireworks exploding could be heard.

The sound of people noisily chattering also reminded me of a club in the real world.

I really hated places like that.

I would never attend a social gathering again after today.

“Please present your invitation.”

“I’m Schlus Hainkel.”

“Pardon?”

The guard at the entrance made a stupid sound and raised his head.

Then, seeing my face, his eyes widened.

“I’m sorry. Even if you’re the top student of the Imperial Academy, without an invitation…”

“I should have received an invitation from the Flechette family.”

“Pardon? Just a moment…”

The guard hurriedly flipped through the guest list, looking flustered.

Looking at the last page-

“Ah! Here it is! I’m sorry! You may go in!”

“…”

He bowed and apologized profusely.

I was a bit nervous that he might beat me up.

Fortunately, he had basic decency, so it was a relief.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sor-”

Leaving behind the guy who kept apologizing, I finally entered the castle.

“Oh, shi-”

And I had to ruin my mood right away.

Because Madam Lichtenburg, a beautiful woman whose age was difficult to guess from the outside, wearing a glamorous dress, was standing there.

“Ha.”

“…”

Madam made eye contact with me and turned away, ignoring me.

That damn bitch.

What should I do?

She should be begging for forgiveness, but she had the nerve to be so rude.

I was going to let it slide, but after seeing her face directly, my mind changed.

I had to warn her in some form.

So that she would never dare touch me again.

While I was thinking that-

“Let’s go.”

“… Yes.”

I froze at the sight of the wheelchair that appeared behind Madam.

It was Julia, who looked exactly like that person even at a second glance.

I didn’t want to meet her ever again.

My teeth clenched involuntarily.

A person who looked like a maid pulled Julia’s wheelchair and followed Madam.

It was then.

Julia slightly extended her hand behind her back.

‘… Huh?’

She spread three fingers, a gesture meaning three.

She waved her hand with that gesture.

It meant to come out and meet separately in 3 hours.

The problem was…

‘Fuck. What is it?’

It was a secret code that only Han Ah-reum and I knew.

The problem was that Julia, who was just a character in the novel, knew a signal that she had no way of knowing.

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