Chapter 70: Purple Haired Girl, Violet
Eren gave his trademark, positive smile, motioning towards the empty seat beside him.
"Please be my guest, lady," he murmured, his voice giving her a vibe of gentlemanly warmth that instantly dissolved her piled anxiety.
A radiant, genuinely relieved smile instantly formed on Violet’s face. She sat on the seat, sliding slightly closer to him. "Thank you so much," she whispered enthusiastically as she placed her heavy book on the desk.
Eren casually rested his hand on his palm, observing the purple-haired cutie sitting who graced the lonely seat beside him with her presence. She beamed with happiness just for offering a single seat. Her smile radiated pureness that he genuinely wondered how the fuck she became the boss of the Carnival Arc.
The game story developers were truly shitty towards the villains of this game, it seems.
Violet’s eyes flickered to him, clearly wanting to start a conversation, yet hovering in a state of delicate, flustered hesitation.
Sensing her hesitation, Eren took the initiative. "Since we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Eren Volsver, son of Duke Alfric Volsver. Although you might know me already through my great reputation across the campus."
The purple-haired gladly took the lifeline he threw. "Ah, it is a pleasure! I am Violet Lavenza, daughter of Viscount Lavenza."
"Aren’t you a friend of Saintess Alice? I usually see the two of you together."
Violet’s eyes lit up as she nodded, her excitement flaring up with mention of her best friend. " Yes, I am. Do you know me already?
"A little," Eren replied dryly.
However, the cheerful momentum of Violet’s demeanor slowly began to vanish. She looked around to see if anyone was watching them before turning to him again.
"Uhmm.. Eren?" She whispered, her voice barely audible even to him. "Are you... you completely fine right now?"
Eren raised a brow, cockily. "Fine with what? A breathtakingly beautiful girl choosing to grace my desk with her presence?"
The soft cheeks of Violet turned delicate red instantly, but she shook her head rapidly in panic. "No—I mean, yes, but... that’s not what I meant." Her voice trailed off, her fingers tightly clutching the edge of her skirt as her gaze flickered with anxiety. "I mean... is everything genuinely okay with your body? You don’t feel... strange?"
He knew what she meant. Even though his body prickled with a buzzing sensation, Eren sat there with absolute, flawless composure, looking as if he didn’t know anything in the world.
His blue gaze pierced her more and more so that she could not stand silent for one more second. She looked down, her hands slightly quivering as she decided to admit.
"I...have an unusual condition," Violet mumbled, her voice full of misery and sorrow. "It is... a curse. Only a select few people within my inner circle are aware of its existence, but... normally, whenever any person steps within a three-foot radius of me, they suffer from sudden dizziness, intense nausea, or end up completely losing consciousness within minutes."
She lifted her head slightly, looking at him with awe. "That is why I was so terrified when you sat beside me during the mana engineering lecture four days ago! I nearly screamed, expecting you to collapse straight off your chair! But... you sat there for an entire hour, completely fine."
Eren waved his hand in a comically dismissive gesture, reassuring her lingering fear for him. He leaned back in his chair. "Well, as you can see, I have nothing wrong with my body except exhaustion from the night out."
The smile on her face slowly returned; she clasped her hand in joy. "I have spent the last four days completely confused. I simply cannot fathom how you are the sole person in this entire academy who remains entirely unaffected by my curse besides Alice."
Before Eren could delve any deeper into the situation, the history lecturer entered, dropping a massive book of history onto the podium and immediately launching into a monotonous class about ancient territorial treaties.
The room fell into a mandatory silence.
While the rest of the students reluctantly opened their notebooks, Violet didn’t even pretend to pay attention to the lecture. Instead, she spent the entire hour staring directly at Eren with a wide, bright, almost disbelieving expression—a blend of happiness and lingering, panic-laced concern that he might suddenly get sick.
’She’s just like the old me,’ Eric realized with a quiet understanding. ’The old Eric who was always trapped in isolation, desperate for the barest shred of human warmth, needing nothing more than a simple, steady presence beside him to feel whole.’
She was deeply lonely like him. Her curse had isolated her from the world, and if Alice hadn’t stepped into her life, she likely would have lost her mind far sooner.
And now he knew the horrific truth behind her game lore.
In the original timeline, Violet had secretly become addicted to The Substance; it was an unknown alchemical compound—in a desperate attempt for temporary relief from her curse. It numbed her field, but at a devastating cost: it gradually erased her sanity until her memories vanished, even Alice’s, causing her suppressed curse to explode outwards and transform her into a terrifying monster.
’Once again. The shitty designers of this game had a personal, sadistic grudge against every single tragic Villain in this game.’
When the lecture finally concluded and the professor dismissed the class, Violet was still staring at him, her initial embarrassment entirely replaced by hopeful awe.
Eren offered her a comically reassuring hand wave once again, flashing his easygoing smirk. "I assure you once again, Miss Lavenza, my body has zero side effects."
Her face instantly lit up like a full moon in the darkest night sky.
Eren stood up. ’Step one,’ he began plotting for her happy future, ’make sure to keep this purple-haired cutie feeling better all the time and keep her entirely away from that sketchy alchemical market.’
He took precisely two steps toward the aisle before a loud, enthusiastic voice echoed from the front of the auditorium.
"Eren! Wait a moment!"
Eren tilted his head to see Theo, the game’s golden retriev— First male lead and prince of the kingdom running towards him.
Eren immediately stopped, offering a surprisingly polite noble bow that made the Crown Prince pause for a fraction of a second in genuine shock.
"Good day, Your Highness," Eren declared smoothly. "If this sudden encounter pertains to Miss Alice, I must humbly inform you that my past behavior has been completely changed. I am no longer engaged in any tracking or stalking activities regarding the Saintess candidate."
Theo rapidly waved his hands, snapping out of his surprise. "No, no! That isn’t it at all, Eren! I wanted to ask if you had a few minutes to—"
The Prince’s sentence cut off mid-air as his eyes noticed a purple-haired beauty still sitting at the desk near them. The royal heir froze dead in his tracks, cold sweat instantly breaking out across his forehead.