Chapter 96: stealth operation on Playboy
Violet was doing a stealth operation with all the subtle grace of a frightened rabbit.
Hiding behind a massive wall, the innocent, purple-haired girl poked her head out to peek into the adjacent hallway. Several passing students were giving her thoroughly bewildered looks, wondering why she was hiding behind a wall like an assassin on a mission.
Her target? A certain dark-haired desk mate who was currently surrounded by a small swarm of female students right in the middle of the corridor.
Ever since Eren had abandoned his arrogant, villainous persona, his stock had skyrocketed across campus. Between his jaw-dropping performance in practical sword assessments, his flawless academic scores, and his new, dangerously charming personality, the guy was practically a magnet for the academy’s chicks.
Violet pouted, her cheeks puffing out as she watched him flash a smile at a giggling second-year.
’Playboy... absolute, unmitigated playboy!’ she grumbled, her purple eyes narrowing in quiet defiance.
Ever since he had pulled her out of her room four days ago, held her hand for an entire hour, and declared he was researching a cure for her curse, he had been spending less and less time with her over the last three days! How was she supposed to process her rising feelings when he kept disappearing to work on secret projects only to show up in the hallways surrounded by girls?!
She sighed, defeated.
Violet abandoned her terrible stealth operation and quietly made her way into the classroom.
She took her customary seat in the far back row which granted her a little peace and, more importantly, no crowd could be caught in her curse.
Resting her chin on her palm, she stared blankly out the window. "Why do I even care about his social life?’ she grumbled, trying to logic her way out of her own pouting. "He already has multiple girlfriends and an official fiancée... do I even compare to any of those incredible women?"
She shook her head quickly, attempting to flush the embarrassing thoughts from her mind. "No! It’s not like that at all! All I care about is curing this curse, and he’s the only person in this entire academy who actually understands how to handle it."
After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, Violet slumped onto her desk, burying her face into her folded arms as a new thought crept into her head. "Wait... what if curing this means I’m stuck with him forever? Would those other girls even accept me? Would... would HE even accept me first...?"
"Accept what?"
"Eek!" Violet bolted upright like she’d been struck by lightning, her purple eyes widened in panic as she found Eren standing right beside her desk.
"W-When did you get here?!" she stammered.
Eren pulled out his chair and sat down, resting his cheek against his fist with a smirk. "Just now. You were muttering something pretty intensely to your desk. Care to enlighten me on what we’re accepting?"
"N-Nothing! It’s completely nothing!" Violet grinned sheepishly, her hands flailing in a frantic attempt to play it cool.
Eren set a notebook on his desk, but she had literally never seen him take lecture notes in her life.
Eren leaned closer to her side. "Anyway, listen up, Violet. You need to hear this."
"W-What is it?"
Before Eren could answer, the strict history professor stepped up to the podium, clearing his throat loudly to call the class to order.
Eren let out a quiet huff, turning his head back toward her. "Guess the universe wants a delay. I’ll explain everything in the afternoon at the canteen."
Violet nodded eagerly, a sudden, unstoppable wave of joy bubbling up in her chest.
’A lunch meeting at the canteen... wait, is this a date?!’ her hopeless heart squeaked out in ecstatic triumph.
’No! Absolutely not! It’s a formal meeting, you idiot!’ her stubborn brain countered, suppressing the foolish, radiant smile that was already threatening to break across her face.
After surviving an agonizingly long, mind-numbing lecture on history ducal tax laws, and revolution, the duo finally secured a secluded table near the sunlit glass windows of the academy cafeteria.
True to his word, Eren went straight to the counter and bought lavish sweets and delicate pastries—all charged directly to his personal tab. A proper gentleman pays for the lady’s refreshments, especially when he’s about to drop a monumental reality check on her world.
Violet stared at the table, her purple eyes wide and practically glistening with drool. Because of her strict family allowance and her isolation, these confections were a rare luxury she usually only tasted once or twice a month.
Eren leaned back. "Well? Eat up before the cream melts. I bought them for you."
Violet hesitated for a fraction of a second, her aristocratic manners warring with her sweet tooth, before she eagerly picked up a fork and took a bite. A look of pure bliss instantly washed over her face.
Setting his teacup down, Eren’s playful demeanor subtly shifted into a calm, serious atmosphere. "Now then... onto official business. I’ve finally cracked the exact mechanics behind your condition."
Violet paused, swallowing her pastry as curiosity flared in her eyes. "W-What is it? Did you find out where the curse originated from?"
"First off," Eren said smoothly, resting his chin on his hands, "it’s not a curse at all. It’s actually a disease."
"A... disease?"
Clatter.
Violet’s fork slipped from her fingers, dropping the half-eaten pastry onto her plate. She froze, her purple eyes locked onto his face, searching for any sign that he was pulling a cruel joke. But Eren’s blue eyes were entirely steady, no mood to play with her.
Her voice shook, breaking as she struggled to form words. "W-What... what are you talking about, Eren? A disease? How could a curse be a disease...?"
Without a word, Eren slid the notebook he had brought with him across the table, opening it to a page filled with so much rough writing of his research and occasional diagrams of human anatomy.
"Do you remember three days ago when Professor Norelia and Vice Principal Carolynn ran a full-body check on you?" Eren asked softly.
Violet gave a stiff, terrified nod, her breathing shallow.
"They’ve been analyzing the core data alongside me ever since. Your condition isn’t an ancient curse, Violet. It’s a rare, internal disease since your birth—a severe variant of Mana Hyperaccumulation Syndrome."
A cold sweat instantly broke out across Violet’s forehead, her skin draining of all color.
She knew that name. Everyone on the continent knew that horrific, terrifying name.
Mana Hyperaccumulation Syndrome.
The infamous, incurable death sentence. The tragic affliction where a person’s body continuously produces huge mana resources, eventually forcing the patient into a coma until their organs shut down, causing them to die silently in their sleep.
The entire medical world considered it a terminal dead end. And now... she was going to die?