Chapter 350

Not many animals can perfectly adapt to the darkness unless they’re nocturnal.

Moreover, humans have endurance advantages, but their vision and sight are not that great.

So unless you’re trained, wandering around at night is super dangerous.

Even those who have been trained can only sense danger, it’s not like they can roam freely like in the morning.

“Hah… Hah… Hah…”

“Are you okay, Princess?”

I’m dying here, you little brat. Diana really wanted to answer that to the male student’s question.

Just a moment ago, the scream was the signal for the chase. Diana was running for her life.

It still echoes vividly. The screams of her twin brother Leo and the girl who followed him resonated through the forest.

And she could still picture the boy who was rubbing her shoulder, getting dragged away tied up with a rope. Just imagining it sent chills down her spine.

‘Who the heck is it? Who is fooling around like this…?’

As Diana tried to catch her breath, she struggled to understand the situation. There was absolutely no clue about who was pulling this prank.

Well, there is one person, but really? That thought crossed her mind. An attack at night isn’t a bad idea.

But was it necessary to instill fear like this? A simple ambush would have been enough.

‘Or is it? Is it efficient?’

Diana quickly scanned her surroundings. The only one left by her side was the male student.

The rest had scattered, and she had no idea where they were. At this rate, there would be no chance for teamwork.

The assistants would probably prefer to take out each freshman one by one rather than face them all together.

It’s not inefficient, it’s actually quite efficient. That’s what Diana concluded.

‘Could it be that my brother is behind this?’

After catching her breath, she began to guess the ringleader. First, she ruled out Kara, the Tartar.

He would fight bravely face to face, he wouldn’t create fear like this.

Though they had never spoken directly, that’s the judgment she drew based on rumors.

So the remaining suspects were the oddball Karas and the wild guy Sivar.

‘Considering the traps he set, it doesn’t seem like my brother’s style…’

Diana had a decent grasp of Karas’s skills.

Unlike her true slacker brother Leo, who was busy doing whatever, Karas genuinely tried to lead a meaningful life.

Because of that, she had a rough idea of Karas’s abilities, and realized that he was better at dirty tricks than brute strength.

Moreover, his tricks scared her way more than his physical power. She didn’t even want to think about standing up to him. That’s why Leo slacked off.

‘So, my brother devised the plan and the wild guy executed it?’

That was the only conclusion Diana could come to. Her perception of Sivar was literally that of a savage.

He was someone who preferred to move his body over using his head. In other words, he was a muscle-brain type.

Of course, he didn’t look like a muscle-brain in the typical sense, but first impressions can be deceiving.

Besides, didn’t he just smash her twin brother Leo’s head with a bottle?

If you’re not completely brainless, you wouldn’t do something so insane. It was just common sense.

“Princess. We should find a safe placefirst…”

“Where’s a safe place? Please tell me.”

“Well, that’s…”

“In this situation, there’s no such thing as safety. We just need to run.”

Diana responded sharply to the male student’s words. The male student had nothing to refute.

The practice would go on until morning, and they had to avoid the assistants in the meantime.

The problem was they had no idea where those assistants were. Let alone, with the night making visibility terrible.

In this situation, no one could claim a safe spot. They could either wander aimlessly or find other students to form an alliance.

“For now, we should prioritize finding the other students. Lead the way, quick.”

“Y-yes!”

Diana, who usually lived a life of excess, was someone who got serious when necessary. So unlike her total slacker twin brother, Leo.

If she had turned out to be just as irresponsible as Leo, Karas would have thrown them both out without a second thought. It was not a good look.

She was barely walking a tightrope. Even if the rumors were bad, Diana hadn’t crossed the line.

“I’ll protect you, Princess. Just trust me.”

“That sounds reassuring.”

Diana smiled back at the noticeably tense male student. But internally, she was anything but reassured.

‘Men.’

She snorted internally. Men were all the same.

Just with a little flattery, they’d do anything, acting as if they’d give their everything.

Especially with the ‘Princess’ title making the deal much sweeter. For Diana, it couldn’t get any better.

She had once lived in a time when she was tangled in the schemes of the deposed former Crown Prince, unable to live like a human. If it weren’t for Karas, she would have been long done for.

Through that incident, she learned: just because you’re born a princess doesn’t mean the world is safe. You have to make use of everything available.

“Let’s go this way. There should be houses scattered throughout the forest. It’s better if we find one first.”

“Sounds good.”

Diana’s choice was a human. A very simple creature at that, a male.

Just like Karas could read people’s hearts at will, Diana had a similar ability.

Of course, sometimes situations arise that she doesn’t like, but it doesn’t matter. She could just wear another mask.

If Karas was a madman who didn’t wear any mask, Diana had multiple masks prepared.

As for Leo… well, let’s just skip over the fact that he was just a total slacker. Diana knew she needed to use Leo thoroughly.

“I think I see a house over there.”

“Let’s hurry inside.”

Staying in a tight forest is much less safe than staying in a house. Diana followed the male student closely.

The male student cautiously checked inside. It seemed like there was no one around, given the lack of sound.

Finally, the two entered the house carefully. It was so dark without even a hint of light that lighting a lantern was the first challenge.

Fortunately, the lantern was near the door, so it wasn’t hard to light it, but…

-Whoosh!

“Whoa?!”

“Ahhh!”

Both of them couldn’t help but scream at the scene that greeted them as they turned on the lantern.

Though the light was dim, they could see clearly a body slumped against the wall, appearing lifeless.

Especially with bright red blood covering various parts of the body, including the head, it looked pretty grave.

“Wh-who did this…? Isn’t it supposed to be that the bracelet goes off when professors are in danger…?”

“…Uh, huh?”

While the male student muttered in a confused tone, Diana shifted from shock to panic.

At first, it was hard to distinguish in the weak light, but upon closer inspection, it resembled someone she knew.

Especially the striking gray hair smeared with blood. She thought it was her twin brother Leo but realized it wasn’t.

“Ka-Karas, bro?”

“Yes?”

“You’re okay, right? Wake up!”

While the male student panicked next to her, Diana checked on Karas’s condition.

He was covered in blood, and although she couldn’t tell where he was hurt, it looked serious.

“Ugh…”

“Oh, brother. Are you awake?”

“Diana… Ana…?”

“Yes. It’s me.”

Thank goodness, Karas was still conscious. He looked at Diana with a slightly raspy voice.

“Who… did this to me…? No, before that, why are you so hurt…?”

“That guy…”

“That guy? No way?”

When she said “that guy,” Diana immediately thought of someone. The wild man with blood-red eyes, Sivar.

Karas and Sivar seemed to get along well, at least on the surface, appearing friendly.

But why did it end up like this? Diana couldn’t understand.

“That guy… with a disease…”

“A disease? Like on the head?”

“Yeah. He did the same to me… because he didn’t agree with my opinions…”

After hearing that, Diana scanned the surroundings. A broken glass bottle lay callously nearby.

There were even shards embedded in his head. Given history, Diana had no choice but to believe it.

‘That crazy savage…!’

Diana’s face went pale. It seemed that the mad wild man had finally done something outrageous.

The bigger issue was that he was recklessly hunting down students. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise.

‘He must be doing this for some reason. He’s probably enjoying it.’

Diana was sure of that. And the realization frightened her even more.

The stupidity and brutality of not caring about the consequences. No amount of teamwork could guarantee victory.

They couldn’t stop it. The only thing they could do right now was to endure until morning.

“What about the professors? What are they doing?”

“They’re probably sleeping… Or else… I…”

“Sigh.”

That was a highly credible story. The current time was just right for that.

The professors were neglecting their duties, and one of the assistants was off hunting students.

“Do you know where the Tartar girl is?”

“I don’t know… I saw her fighting in the morning… ugh…”

Karas complained of dizziness. It seemed to stem from the blow to his head.

Diana was startled and looked around, but there was no suitable cloth to be found.

“Before anything else, this…”

“This is…?”

While Diana wandered around aimlessly, Karas handed her something. A special compass intended only for the assistants.

A compass that could pinpoint the location of other students. Diana took the compass with a puzzled expression.

“With this… I can know where others are?”

“So… does that mean… the crazy guy too…?”

“It means he knows where we are.”

Just then…

-Clang! Clang!

The firmly shut door rattled. Someone was trying to force it open.

All eyes turned toward the sound. Diana quickly checked the compass.

The compass only marked two points. Those two represented the male student and Diana herself.

In other words…

-Smash!!

Someone was busting down the door with an axe like a lunatic, and it could only mean Sivar.

“Run… quickly…”

“B-but…”

“I’ll pretend to be passed out… hurry…!”

“Princess! You need to go now!”

At the urging of Karas and the male student, Diana’s eyes shook violently.

Meanwhile, the door was being utterly demolished—a sight that fit the word “devastated.”

While she hesitated in making a decision, Diana could clearly see through the shattered door frame.

“Eeeek…!”

She was faced with bright, glowing red eyes even in the darkness. As soon as she locked eyes with those orbs, she rushed for the window.

Forget dignity as a princess; fear drove her to leap through the window. The male student followed right behind her.

As the two escaped the house, they heard…

-Aaaaaah!

A scream presumed to be Karas echoed from inside the house.

‘This is insane. Insane…!’

Tears welled in the corners of Diana’s eyes.

‘This practice is downright crazy. Someone, please…!’

******

“What are you doing?”

Staring down at Karas with a dumbfounded expression, Karas wore a satisfied smile.

After tracking the compass, not only had a totally irrelevant human been in the house, but he was also screaming.

And it wasn’t just the fact there was blood all over the place that made him look like a madman.

“Mm. Perfect. I was really satisfied.”

“Satisfied? What’s with your head? Ketchup?”

“I used a wild boar that was nearby for that.”

“No, that’s not it… Whatever. Forget it.”

I really can’t figure out what’s going on in this guy’s head. I shook my head in disbelief.

For now, I just need to chase after the people who just escaped. That’s my only job right now.

“I’m going to take a little nap here. Just let me know when it’s over.”

“Napping? Without washing up?”

“I’m tired, you see.”

“Useless idiot.”

I guess I need to find Kara now.

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