NOVPUBAt Freuden’s bitter, rage-filled accusation—
Ludger quietly closed his eyes.
“So now you’re going to pretend you don’t know? Come on, say something—make an excuse if you must.”
With his eyes shut, Ludger recalled Rine.
Yes. He had certainly been shocked when he first ran into her at Seorn.
He hadn’t expected to see her in a place like this.
But that was all.
Since they were effectively strangers now, he hadn’t shown it—and had deliberately avoided acknowledging her.
More accurately, he was in a position where he couldn’t acknowledge her.
But maybe this was what people meant by the whims of fate.
It began when he stepped in during a patrol to resolve a dispute between Rine and a noble student.
After that, he’d saved her from being attacked by a werewolf.
Later, when she awakened to non-attributed mana, he’d handed her a book he had long kept.
Then, he’d saved her again during Quasimodo’s rampage at the banquet.
Somehow, their encounters continued, and before he realized it, they had grown close.
Just like in the old days.
However—
That past bond wasn’t just limited to Rine.
Another person closely tied to that incident—
Freuden Ulburk—was also at Seorn.
‘Is this also the work of the Judgment Eye?’
Ludger recalled Rine’s eyes.
The power she still hadn’t become aware of.
A force capable of stirring great upheaval once awakened.
From that day twelve years ago—until now.
The ties of that day, long buried by time, were now colliding again here at Seorn, likely drawn together by the force of the Judgment Eye.
This was a world where gods, magic, non-human races, and the supernatural coexisted.
So it wasn’t strange for anything to happen.
Still—
‘There’s no point dwelling on what’s already done.’
Right now, Freuden Ulburk was staring him down.
The once cocky, insolent brat from twelve years ago—now grown, and still clinging to that day.
“So what,” Ludger said at last.
And so, he responded with cold defiance.
“What do you expect me to do?”
“What?”
“In the end, it’s a thing of the past. What’s your purpose in digging it up now and throwing it in my face?”
“...You.”
Freuden’s gaze was filled with disgust.
“I thought you still carried guilt from that day. I thought you helped Rine because you felt sorry, burdened by what you’d done... because you were trying to atone.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
Ludger cut him off with a scornful laugh.
“You think I came to this academy because of what happened twelve years ago? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Then why are you here?”
“That’s...”
Ludger hesitated, suddenly struck by the question—Why had he come to Seorn?
“...You don’t need to know.”
“Just as I thought.”
Had something in his face given it away?
Freuden’s suspicion only deepened.
To his knowledge, Ludger had once been a nameless wanderer hiding his identity.
And now he’d suddenly appeared under the name of a fallen noble and become a teacher at Seorn?
And # Nоvеlight # it just so happened to be the same year Rine enrolled?
There was no way that was coincidence.
“You can pretend all you want, but I know why you came.”
“Delusions.”
“Even if you act shamelessly, it won’t erase your crime. No matter how kindly you treat Rine out of guilt, do you really think she would want that?”
“So what are you going to do, then? Run to her and spill the truth?”
Ludger challenged him.
Freuden fell silent.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought. You won’t say a word. Because you also know she’s lost her memories—and you haven’t told her either.”
“...I’m not like you.”
“Not like me? Are you really so different? Both of us have stayed silent, even knowing what happened that day. If you truly thought it was wrong, then you should’ve told her everything.”
“What do you know?! You don’t even understand how I feel...!”
“Hah. And why would I need to?”
“...!”
Freuden glared, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
His fists trembled violently.
But beyond that—he didn’t move, didn’t speak.
“If you want to report me, go ahead. I don’t care.”
Ludger’s provocation made Freuden grit his teeth.
He stared at Ludger one last time before turning his back and walking away.
If he stayed a moment longer, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold back.
‘Brat.’
Ludger let out a faint sigh as he watched Freuden disappear.
‘There really isn’t a single part of this world that isn’t exhausting.’
He’d heard of the name Freuden Ulburk.
But he had assumed the boy had long forgotten everything from back then.
After all, Freuden had always been the noble heir—while Rine was just the child of an unknown commoner woman.
But thinking back now—
It was foolish to believe he could forget such a day so easily.
Just as Freuden hadn’t forgotten—
Ludger hadn’t either.
“You can come out now, Hans.”
“...Damn.”
At Ludger’s words, Hans stepped out from behind a tree.
“Apologies, boss. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.”
“I know. He’s the one who barged in uninvited—this was originally our meeting.”
“...But are you all right? From the look of it, it seems your identity was exposed. If this keeps up, you’re gonna get arrested, and it’s just a matter of time.”
Hans recalled Freuden’s reaction from earlier.
Judging by that alone, there was a high chance Freuden would turn Ludger in.
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Huh? Wait, don’t tell me... you’ve already prepared for it?”
“There’s no need to.”
Ludger stared at the path Freuden had taken.
“He can’t say anything anyway.”
* * *
‘He called me the same kind of man as him?’
Ludger’s words still rang in Freuden’s head.
Rage simmered coldly in his chest.
‘If only he had said sorry the moment he saw me and Rine.’
But what had Ludger done?
He’d shamelessly enrolled at Seorn and pretended not to know anything.
Worse, he’d acted like nothing happened as he got close to Rine.
What Freuden truly wanted was to expose everything Ludger had done.
But something kept him from doing it.
Ludger had already made a name for himself as a teacher at Seorn.
And now, as a student, if Freuden were to claim that Ludger was using a false identity and had committed terrible acts in the past...
Would anyone even believe him?
‘None of what I say has any real evidence.’
There was no proof, no solid grounds to remove Ludger.
If anything, it could damage the Ulburk family name—accusing a respected professor without cause.
‘Maybe he built that fortress-like reputation precisely for this reason.’
And there was one more reason Freuden didn’t want to speak out.
His pride.
To attack someone by using their weaknesses and spreading rumors would be admitting he couldn’t win head-on.
He knew it was irrational.
But his life—his pride—wouldn’t allow him to stoop to that level.
‘Even so... Rine deserves to know the truth.’
She was the one directly affected by Ludger’s crime.
Not only had she lived through that horrific day—her memories had been erased, too.
More than anyone, Rine had the right to know the truth that had been hidden from her.
“Oh? Freuden senior? Are you done with your business?”
It was Rine.
She had run into him while walking alone—Erendir must have gone off on her own.
This moment—just the two of them—was a chance from heaven.
Freuden approached her.
“Rine.”
“Senior? Is something wrong? You don’t look well.”
“I have something I need to tell you...”
He opened his mouth.
To speak of that day.
To return the missing pieces of her life.
He had to tell her.
That’s what he thought as he tried to form the words—but...
“...”
It was like something blocked his throat. No sound came out.
“...Senior?”
Rine asked innocently, confused by the pause.
And Freuden was struck with fear.
If he told her everything—would she really be glad?
‘No. There’s no way.’
If she learned the truth, Rine would only be devastated.
To learn that the teacher she trusted—the one she relied on—was the very man who erased her memories and killed her mother.
What tragedy could be worse?
Would it truly be right to awaken such a painful memory in the name of truth?
That was what made Freuden hesitate.
‘Can Rine even bear this truth? Am I about to hurt her all over again?’
Sure, people could be hurt, feel sorrow—and still move forward.
But that was idealistic.
In truth, far more people were crushed by pain than overcame it.
Not everyone is a superhero.
Ordinary people cry and collapse over the smallest failures.
Telling someone to just "get over it" is one of the most irresponsible things you could ever say.
Especially when it’s not your life you’re talking about.
‘Do I really have the right to do that?’
If only he had never known.
If only...
Suddenly, Ludger’s words from earlier came back to him.
“You and I are the same.”
Freuden had been the one who got angry at that statement.
But now, in this moment of hesitation, he was unconsciously admitting that it might be true.
‘No. I’m not like him.’
He was not like that man—whose life was built on lies and deception.
He had to prove that he was different.
Which meant he couldn’t stay silent now.
So then—
“Senior?”
“...”
Rine’s clear, gentle eyes looked at him with quiet concern.
The glint in them—like starlight in the night sky—stole the strength from his entire body.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“...Yeah. I’m fine.”
“What was it you wanted to talk about?”
“...It’s nothing.”
In the end, Freuden said nothing.
No—he couldn’t.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just wasted your time for no reason.”
“Huh? No, not at all! It’s really fine!”
“You should go. I’ll head back as well.”
Freuden turned and slowly walked away.
‘I couldn’t say it.’
He knew.
He had just deceived Rine, too.
He also knew—
That he was no different from that man.
He was the one who hated that more than anything. Who despised it.
And yet, he said nothing.
‘I didn’t want to hurt her.’
He didn’t want to see her cry.
Didn’t want to see her saddened.
That was all it was.
Even if it meant falling to the same level as the man he loathed—
If it meant protecting that girl’s purity—
‘Rine... you probably don’t remember.’
The meeting that day. Those memories.
She would probably never recall them.
But that was okay.
‘Because I’ll remember them.’
At the same time, Ludger came to mind.
That man—whose entire existence was fake—
Who hadn’t even tried to stop Freuden, and had instead provoked him with full confidence—
‘He knew. From the beginning, he knew. He knew I’d never be able to say anything.’
Grit.
Freuden clenched his fists, pressure building in his knuckles.
The realization that he’d been played in the palm of that man’s hand left a foul taste in his mouth.
‘Fine. I’ll admit it. Right now, I don’t have the power to sink my teeth into you. For now, I have to hold back.’
But if an opportunity comes—
Then, without question—
‘The Wolf of Ulburk never misses his chance to tear into his prey.’
* * *
“It’s fine to let the Freuden matter go. He’s not a real wolf yet—just a brat. That might change someday, but for now, he’s nothing to worry about.”
“Huh? Uh, okay. If you say so, boss.”
Hans replied with a bit of reluctance, but Ludger spoke with such certainty that he didn’t press the matter further.
“Anyway, while you were gone, I did some digging and gathered information on my end. Luckily, yesterday’s warehouse fire incident is being brushed off as an accident due to mishandled fireworks.”
“If it’s the Headmaster, that’s within reason.”
“Barely anyone knows the full story. Other than a handful of insiders, people are just treating it like nothing.”
“Then that’s effectively a declaration to keep the incident under wraps.”
“Seems like it. I think they consider chasing it further to be a waste of time and manpower since a few remnants were already captured.”
“What happened to the captured Black Dawn remnants?”
“They’re being detained inside Seorn for now. But here’s the weird part...”
Hans scratched his cheek.
“Surprisingly, the interrogation’s being handled by that blue-haired lady.”
“You mean Casey Selmore.”
“I saw her enter the Headmaster’s office, but I don’t know what happened after that. Still, there was definitely some sort of deal struck there.”
“Just as planned. Probably thanks to the bait we laid that day.”
“Well, I figured you’d planned that from the start.”
Hans asked with a hint of concern in his tone.
“You sure that’s okay? That young lady didn’t look like someone who takes kindly to being used.”
“She doesn’t just look that way. She really is a handful.”
“And if she finds out she’s been used... won’t that be a major headache?”
“That’s true.”
Ludger could understand Hans’s worry.
Sure, it’d be easy to shrug it off with a “just don’t let her find out” attitude.
But was there really any guarantee that Casey Selmore wouldn’t eventually find out?
“If her tail’s too long, it’ll get stepped on. Once she follows the thread far enough, she’ll start noticing things.”
“...And then?”
“Well, what else can I do? I’ll deal with it then.”
“That’s a little too irresponsible, don’t you think?”
It was irresponsible.
“But who could’ve predicted she’d follow something from three years ago all the way here?”
“Wait, does that mean things are worse than I thought?”
“How so?”
“You used her three years ago too, didn’t you?”
Three years ago, in the Kingdom of Delica—
Ludger had operated under the alias James Moriarty and used Casey Selmore extensively.
She had been the perfect tool for digging into a deeply rooted national-level incident.
“...”
“If she finds out, won’t she come after you for the full three years’ worth all at once? Isn’t she in this city because she was following your trail?”
If someone like Casey Selmore discovered she’d been used twice by the same person...
“Hmph.”
“Boss?”
“Yeah, I definitely can’t let her find out.”
“...Obviously? But you just said she’ll eventually notice something.”
“I did.”
“So what will you do then?”
It wasn’t something Ludger had thought about deeply.
He had more than enough on his plate besides worrying about Casey Selmore right now.
But if it really came to that—
“I’ll just have to run again.”
“Good grief.”
Hans sighed as if he expected that answer.
“Hans. That’s not what matters right now.”
“Then what does?”
Hans had been ready to throw back another sarcastic remark, but when he saw Ludger’s expression, the words died in his throat.
‘Huh? Boss’s face... doesn’t look good.’
No matter what happened, Ludger never let his emotions show.
But right now, he was visibly shaken—tense.
“W-What happened? What’s got you looking like that?”
Ludger closed his eyes and sighed.
“Because of all this... my Master may have realized I’m here.”
