Chapter 129: The Weight of Guilt

Morris stood awkwardly in place.

Honestly, the current situation left him utterly speechless.

For years, he had served as the dean, a figure of immense prestige and renown across the continent. Even the King himself, when dispatching him or accepting an awarded emblem, would respectfully bow his noble head.

Yet, this young girl, barely a decade old, not only refused his award but also abandoned him here, bolting away on her own.

Truly, the longer one lived, the more novel experiences one encountered.

“Lord Morris, should we disqualify her?”

A woman, veiled in black and emanating an icy aura, approached Morris, her brow furrowed with concern.

She was Morris’s secretary, habitually tasked with managing intricate affairs. Her meticulous nature made Luminas’s disrespectful behavior utterly intolerable.

“Haha, it’s quite alright. The rules don’t state that the winner must attend the awards ceremony.”

“But…”

“Ah, young people. A little individuality is a good thing; there’s no need to blame her.”

Despite being disregarded by a student, Morris felt no anger. Instead, he chuckled, stroking his beard, his gaze distant as he watched Luminas disappear.

“Moreover, judging by her hasty departure, she must have something more important than the awards ceremony to attend to… If that’s the case, let her go.”

Luminas continued to run, ignoring the voices calling her name from behind. She stumbled out of the academy gates, her movements frantic.

Anxiously, she scanned her surroundings, desperate to find Yalin.

However, the effects of her future vision had not entirely faded. Her eyes were a hazy white, unable to discern anything clearly.

The faces of passersby seemed shrouded in a mist, making them utterly unrecognizable.

“Yalin… Yalin… where are you?”

Luminas rubbed her eyes repeatedly, yearning for a clearer view, but it was all in vain.

Unease, anxiety, regret… emotions she once thought had vanished now began to resurface and cling to her heart.

‘Could it really be you?’

‘Is it truly too late?’

Yalin had gone far away, just like her mother and father, disappearing to a place she could no longer see.

‘Could everything truly be beyond redemption?’

“No… don’t go…”

The surge of tears further blurred her vision. Luminas, like a lost child, ran blindly forward, guided only by instinct.

But just then, a sharp pain shot through her leg.

Although the injury had significantly healed under the influence of white magic, it was not yet fully mended.

The sudden, intense sprint had caused a fresh hairline fracture in the bone.

Luminas staggered, losing her balance, and tumbled forward.

The rough ground rapidly expanded in her vision. Luminas instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

However, the anticipated pain never came.

Just as she was about to hit the ground, someone pulled her upright.

“Hey, are you alright?”

The familiar voice made Luminas’s entire body stiffen.

She lifted her head, and into her sight came a young man with black hair and black eyes.

That familiar figure—there was no mistake.

“Yalin, is that you?”

“It’s me, alright…”

Yalin released her, scratching his head in confusion. “But why are you here? Isn’t it the awards ceremony right now?”

“W-w-w…”

Luminas remained silent, simply dissolving into sobs.

“Wait, wait a minute? Didn’t you win? Why are you suddenly crying?”

“I… I’m sorry…”

Luminas, still sniffling, seemed to utter something, but Yalin couldn’t understand a single word.

Conversely, the resentful murmurs of passersby reached his ears, clear and distinct.

“Hey, look at that guy, he made the girl cry…”

“Damn it, such a cute girl, and he doesn’t even cherish her properly! He’s practically scum!”

“He has the face of a pretty boy… you can tell he’s no good at first glance! That girl must have been deceived by him!”

“Tsk, should we go teach him a lesson?”

Yalin was speechless. He couldn’t comprehend why, every time he was with Luminas, he inexplicably suffered such prejudice and discrimination.

‘Being with this girl, my hard-earned reputation is going to plummet back to rock bottom!’

Helplessly, he poked Luminas’s shoulder. “Alright, stop crying. Can we find a more secluded spot first?”

They weren’t far from the Magic Academy. If they ran into anyone he knew, he would be the one crying.

The two walked side by side along the deserted riverbank.

The damp, cool breeze ruffled Luminas’s scattered hair and dried the lingering tear stains on her face.

However, despite ceasing her cries, she still kept her head lowered, nervously twisting the corner of her clothes.

“Um… I’m sorry…”

After a long silence, Luminas finally spoke in a soft voice.

“Why are you apologizing?”

Yalin countered.

“Because… I used you…”

Luminas pursed her lips, hesitating for a moment before continuing, “I know about your past with Celeste, and I know you don’t like to talk about those things… But to win the competition, I unilaterally dragged you into it, and said all those things in front of the whole school…”

As she spoke, her voice involuntarily caught with a sob.

“I… I’m disgusting, aren’t I? Ugly and despicable… In truth, I don’t deserve to be a champion at all… Though saying this now feels incredibly hypocritical…”

“Yalin… you must be very angry, right? You must hate me by now…”

Luminas kept her gaze fixed on the ground. Although she had prepared herself, she still lacked the courage to look directly into Yalin’s eyes.

Yalin glanced at the gloomy girl beside him, then scratched his head.

“To be honest, what you did back then certainly gave me a huge shock.”

Luminas’s small body trembled slightly.

“But to say I hate you? It’s not that serious.”

“Eh?”

Luminas looked up, like a child who had done wrong, her gaze flickering as she met Yalin’s eyes.

“But, after the competition, didn’t you leave?”

“You must know about my reputation at the Magic Academy, right?” Yalin said, spreading his hands with a hint of self-deprecation. “After being put on the spot like that by you, how could I possibly stay there?”

“Is that so… But that still doesn’t change the fact that I used you… Even though I said I trusted you, I ended up treating you like a tool…”

Hearing Yalin say directly that he didn’t hate her and didn’t leave out of anger brought a slight sense of relief to her anxious heart.

However, precisely because of this, the guilt in her eyes deepened even further.

Watching Luminas spiral into a self-loathing loop, Yalin couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

‘This isn’t the crucial moment. If Luminas just disappears like this and gives up entirely, choosing to withdraw from the Academy Festival, then that would be a huge problem.’

After all, Yalin was counting on borrowing her abilities that day; it was a critical step in his plan.

‘No, I have to say something to lift her spirits.’

Yalin thought for a moment, then pulled the gold coin from his pocket.

“Luminas, do you know what this is?”

“Is this… the money you won from a bet?”

“You actually know.” Yalin was a little surprised, then smiled, dangling the coin in front of Luminas. “I won’t judge whether your actions were right or wrong; that’s something only you can decide. But because you won the competition, thanks to you, I earned this gold coin, so I’m already very satisfied.”

“So, Luminas, what about you? How satisfied are you right now?”