Chapter 23: Who Will Be Executed?

Am I… dead?

Lin Yue stared into the endless darkness before him, his heart utterly calm.

In this state, it felt as if all his emotions were being suppressed by some force, not even given the chance to surface.

In the end, I couldn’t even make it through the first act.

Bored out of his mind, Lin Yue gazed at the empty void, feeling nothing but tedium.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and accept this reality, a strand of red magic power intertwined with purple magic power slowly wrapped around his arm.

He was drawn upward against his will, until—

“Haa!”

Lin Yue suddenly sprang up from the pristine white bed, gasping for air, and began to cough uncontrollably.

The sharp pain in his abdomen instantly stopped him from trying to throw off the covers and get out of bed.

“You’re awake?”

As Lin Yue lay back down, a calm voice sounded quietly at his side.

“You are…”

Isabella.

Why is she here?

Forcing himself up, Lin Yue leaned against the headboard, looking at Isabella, who was quietly reading her book, his eyes filled with puzzlement.

By the way, how much time has passed since that day?

Lin Yue subconsciously clutched his wound and looked around at his surroundings.

Immaculate white walls and bright sunlight pouring in from the window made Lin Yue feel as if he had been reborn.

“You’ve been in a coma for seven days. You were the most seriously injured one.”

Isabella closed her book, her expression unreadable as she said to Lin Yue, “Would you like some fruit? I can peel it for you.”

Hmm?

Lin Yue hadn’t expected her first words to be about fruit.

For a moment, he was at a loss.

Then he remembered: in this world, as long as someone recovers from serious injury, their bodily functions are fully restored—there’s no need to avoid certain foods.

They just have to eat as much energy-rich food as possible.

But the real question was, why had this person—who barely interacted with him—come to his bedside to peel fruit, and how long had she stayed here?

“…Alright.”

Lin Yue hesitated before replying.

But if she was here, that must mean Airella and she had managed to find someone to save the day, and everything had been resolved.

Isabella picked up a small knife and skillfully sliced up the fruit, placing it on a white plate.

It seemed that this pampered young lady wasn’t entirely incapable of doing delicate work.

“Not eating? Or do you want me to feed you…”

Isabella looked at the dazed Lin Yue and spoke.

“No… I was just wondering why you’re doing a maid’s job.”

Lin Yue grabbed a slice of apple and stuffed it into his mouth.

After all, he’d been a noble for a month, and even the school assigned maids to handle their chores.

Lin Yue was all too familiar with the daily life of these privileged children.

“Is that so… I actually wanted to make you something to eat, but Airella stopped me, saying she didn’t want to add insult to injury or something.”

Uh…then it really is better not to eat.

Lin Yue glanced at Isabella, noticing that she looked a little dejected, as if she had something on her mind she couldn’t say.

It seemed she was staying by his side for a particular reason.

Seeing the strange Isabella in front of him, Lin Yue realized she wanted something from him, so he lay back down and asked, “Just say whatever’s on your mind. I won’t hold anything against you for that day.”

Peeling fruit, keeping vigil by my bedside—I almost thought I’d gotten myself a girlfriend here.

She must have something she wants to discuss.

The Valiana family’s second young miss was clever and resourceful, always able to make the optimal decision.

“Sorry to trouble you right after you’ve woken up…”

Isabella didn’t mind what Lin Yue had said to her that day; it was just that for the sake of her family and her sister’s feelings, her attitude had been firm.

She’d also sensed that Lin Yue had had another purpose that day.

What’s more, he had saved her sister, as well as everyone’s lives—including his own.

That alone was enough to earn Isabella’s respect.

She glanced around and asked Lin Yue, “Although it might be a bit late to ask now, but…”

“My sister, she might be expelled. Could you possibly…”

Isabella’s words trailed off awkwardly as Lin Yue suddenly jolted up as if struck by lightning.

“What!”

They’re expelling Isabella!

Are they out of their minds?

If they expel her now, and she doesn’t grow strong enough to fight Lia by then, won’t everything blow up?

Hearing that the key character he’d worked so hard to protect was about to be expelled without his knowledge, Lin Yue was so furious he could hardly breathe.

Isabella clearly hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from him, and was startled.

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Lin Yue grabbed Isabella by the shoulders, demanding, “Besides this, what else?”

Isabella, stunned by the shaking, replied mechanically, “Also, that student from the regular class… seems he’s going to be executed…”

“?”

Executed!

Execute your damn self!

If you kill that big guy, once I master space magic, I’ll skewer the whole academy like grilled skewers!

One loop after another!

“Where are they?”

Lin Yue wanted nothing more than to tear open a space rift and rush over to argue with those damn professors right now.

“The place is the school’s Deliberation Hall. The time was set a week ago.”

“When exactly?”

“Just now. Twenty minutes ago.”

Isabella muttered softly, “That’s why I said it might be too late…”

This meeting at the Deliberation Hall wasn’t open to the public, so Lin Yue wouldn’t be able to get in without prior notice.

Just as she finished speaking, Lin Yue, ignoring his barely recovered body and still in his white hospital gown, rolled and scrambled out of the room, startling a maid in the hallway.

While Isabella was still in a daze, a familiar figure poked her head through the doorway.

“Um… was that Lin Yue who just rushed out?”

It was Airella, who had just arrived with gifts.

“Good afternoon, Miss Isabella… Huh? Where’s Lin Yue?”

Trailing behind, Mapele looked at the empty room and asked, feigning ignorance.

“He heard about my sister possibly being expelled and rushed out in a panic.”

“Ah…”

Airella sighed, both annoyed and deflated, “That idiot Lin Yue, always thinking about his old flame, while we were worried about him…”

Oh ho, gossip!

Standing beside her, Mapele watched Airella’s reaction and tone, judging that something interesting was going on.

Who would’ve thought that this upright-looking Lin Yue was such a romantic?

Not only did he have some connection with the Valiana family’s eldest miss, a genius who might one day become a Tier Five or even Tier Six Magus, but he was also tangled up with Airella, another genius who could control magical beasts.

How amusing.

Mapele recalled the scene in the café when Lin Yue helped her out, and couldn’t help but sigh with relief that she wasn’t a naive girl—otherwise, she might have actually been tempted.

Ah… now I understand why things turned out like this.

Isn’t he just a central heater?

If Lin Yue knew what Mapele was thinking right now, he would surely burst out swearing.

Airella approached him on her own, Lia just wanted to feed him, Isabella chased him to kill him, and Mapele was working to pay off debt—how was he a central heater!

“Old flame?”

Isabella listened to Airella’s complaint, utterly confused.

“The Valiana and Hawke families did have a marriage arrangement back then. Even though it was canceled later, as far as I know, my sister and Lin Yue never had any romantic relationship.”

Hmm, what an honest child.

Mapele couldn’t help but sigh.

“Bella, do you know something?”

Airella seemed especially interested, seeing Isabella’s reaction.

She hopped onto Lin Yue’s bed, eyes sparkling.

After all, during exams they hadn’t been close enough to gossip, but now that they’d survived a crisis together, it felt perfectly natural.

“Well… it’s nothing worth talking about, really.”

Isabella seemed to be weighing whether saying anything might affect her family.

But since it was just the three girls, she figured it was fine.

“Alright, actually…”

What Lin Yue didn’t know was that the topic they were about to discuss would drag him into a living hell of torment.