"What would you do if soone were trying to kill you? An assassin, to be precise..."
Nadia tilted her head, her gaze locking onto mine. "Suppose she stood before you completely bare—literally devoid of any clothing whatsoever—and offered you a chance to sleep with her. Would you?"
I gave her a side glance, responding with a dry, matter-of-fact tone. "You just said she’s an assassin. Of course not. I’d try to kill her before she could kill ."
I let out a short laugh, but my amusent died the mont I saw her expression. She didn’t blink.
"No," she said softly. "Your answer should be: ’It depends.’"
I frowned, the heat of the bath suddenly feeling a bit more oppressive. "Depends on what?"
"The urges."
"So... you’re saying I would actually do it? If the urges were present, I’d just sleep with a killer?"
I an, I knew the urges were supposed to be intense—maybe even craze-inducing—but this? Soone I clearly knew was out for my life suddenly wants to get intimate, and I just strip down? What if she has sothing... you know, sothing dangerously poisonous hidden? I’m no expert on assassins, but I know they’ll go to any length to finish a contract.
"Yes," Nadia confird. "If the urges are present, you would do it twice over."
My expression fell.
She shook her head slowly, her eyes reflecting a hint of pity. "It seems you still don’t understand just how vulnerable your bloodline makes you. It doesn’t just suggest desire; it practically forces you to submit to your carnal instincts. You haven’t experienced it yet, that’s the only reason you’re so calm right now."
I frowned, a cold sweat forming on my brow despite the hot water. That couldn’t be right. I couldn’t be that vulnerable, could I?
"The assassin thing... it’s just an exaggeration, right?"
I desperately hoped for a yes.
Nadia shook her head. "Well, it’s a slight exaggeration, but sothing very similar did happen to you. There was a very peculiar situation concerning a student nad... Angel."
My eyes widened. Angel?
"According to what you told back then, she was so weak that even you were stronger than she was," Nadia continued, her tone becoming serious. "She was your roommate and a classmate, so you beca friends and study partners. But then, one day, your bloodline acted up. You ended up molesting her." The arousal I had been feeling evaporated instantly.
"At first, she was enraged. She practically mauled you—sothing you let happen out of the guilt of what you had done. But the mont she realized what that encounter had done for her, the situation changed. She actually volunteered to help ease the urges whenever they ca. With ti, your intimacy beca a daily occurrence. Slowly but surely, the girl who was once far weaker than you grew in power to such a point that it beca... a problem."
"A problem?" I prompted, raising an eyebrow.
Nadia nodded. "For you, at least. Given her diocre talent, she grew in power at a staggering rate. It was so much easier than the years she spent suffering with barely any progress. She beca... addicted."
A picture of the situation began to form in my mind, and it wasn’t pretty.
"With ti, she beca disturbingly possessive, eventually utilizing force to control you. She no longer waited for the urges to kick in; she forced you every single ti you were both in the dorm. You barely got any rest. She even started forcing pills on you whenever they ’ca too late’. I have no idea how much the power she gained drove her, but it’s clear she went completely nuts. The problem was that you had made her so powerful that you were no longer a match for her. She could overwhelm you without effort, and she just kept overusing your bloodline until the exams."
Nadia paused, watching my reaction. "She perford so shockingly well that she was promoted straight to Class A as one of the top students. But I think she miscalculated. She was so caught up in showing off her power that she forgot what would follow."
I gave a dry, hollow laugh. Here I was, wondering why she would be trying to reach through Michael. ’I’ (STUPID ASS LEO) had literally built the monster she had beco.
"It was only then, because she had been promoted and moved to the elite dorms, that you finally escaped her clutches. That was how you survived; otherwise, you would have died from exhaustion." Nadia gave a small chuckle, but my mind was too far gone to find the humor in it.
"Look... I understand the issues that co with your bloodline. That’s why I’m doing this. It may look like I’m using you, but I am trying to build sothing in you—an iron will that can withstand the urges. We wouldn’t want you mistakenly stumbling across soone as powerful as and as crazy as Angel. I don’t need to spell out what would follow."
I exhaled quietly. Wasn’t this basically a curse? A power to help others grow stronger while I remained unremarkable and weak?
"What... what about the assassin scenario?" I asked.
Nadia pursed her lips. "Yes, there is also that. There is a girl nad Adriana, who sohow ca to know of your abilities. I think it would be better you don’t rember what she did... what she put your through could very well be the reason your old self got traumatized so much. But if you must know just think about it this way, a power hungry galomaniac found a way to grow stronger without any cost but pleasure," she said, and i had a feeling she wouldn’t say anymore than that.
She didn’t.
I let out a deep, weary sigh.
Seems I can’t transverse the academy grounds casually, given I don’t have my mories, I can’t tell who I slept or didn’t sleep with...
Well, there’s also the fact I should be a guardian from the next resumption and hence be moved to the main academy city.
In that place I should have a lot more freedom...
...Yeah, and... well...
...Wait, why can’t I see a single benefit in going to the main academy city?
I an aside from access to the bit of the outside world, which is the academy city itself, and being exposed to every other student within my class previously split into other sectors... which ans the the minor protagonist and a lot of other heroines as well as Villainess... There’s no damn benefit on my end; in fact it’s a death trap given my situation!
"There are worse situations as well," Nadia started again after a while of silence. "Too many, in fact. There are even those who actually wanted you dead. That is the main reason I didn’t allow you to go back. Without your mories, you are as good as dead."
I let my mind wander through the implications. "Don’t they... value their innocence at all?"
Nadia tilted her head. "Innocence? Please. When faced with the opportunity to grow more powerful than the geniuses among their peers, such a thing no longer matters."
I understood. The lure of power was too great. "But... you’re saying I told you all this myself?"
"How else would I know? Our eting was quite special. To be honest, I originally wanted to confirm your claims because they sounded ridiculous. But for so reason, your past self trusted completely. All it took was a hug and you just let yourself go. I guess I’m just that irresistible," she said.
I nodded. "Sure you are."
A sudden chill ran down my spine, and I quickly added, "I’m not being sarcastic this ti, I swear."
Nadia smiled, a smile I could see as clear as the say wasn’t a smile at all. "Learn to control that tongue of yours, dear disciple, or I will just have to help you do it."
"Yes, Master."
But a thought struck . Jenny clearly knew about my bloodline issue, yet she hadn’t said a word about it. Was she trying to take advantage of my mory loss?
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