Chapter 35: Confession

“You… why are you here?”

Liyakade stared at them in a daze.

Were they here to bring her to justice?

To capture her so she wouldn’t run away?

No, judging by their expressions, that wasn’t it.

“Liyakade! Don’t do anything reckless!”

Just as Liyakade was lost in her troubled thoughts, Field quickly stepped forward, slipping her arms under Liyakade’s armpits and locking her tightly from behind.

“Alice! Come help! Don’t let Liyakade jump!”

“I’m already helping!”

As soon as Field finished speaking, Alice lifted one of Liyakade’s legs, and together they carried her away from the cliff’s edge.

“No, what the hell is this?! I’m not jumping off a cliff!!!”

Liyakade shouted in shock at their coordinated sudden attack, too stunned to feel sad anymore.

“Put me down! This position… it’s so embarrassing! My skirt! Everyone’s going to see under my skirt!”

“No way. We have to get Miss Liyakade to a safe place first!” Alice refused firmly.

“Huh? You mean you’re going to carry me like this all the way back to the Academy?”

Liyakade asked incredulously.

“That’s right. To stop you from doing something reckless!”

Field said with determination.

“Put me down! I’m not thinking of doing anything stupid!”

Hearing that she was going to be carried all the way back, Liyakade couldn’t hold back and struggled fiercely.

It wasn’t curfew time yet, and many people were still at the Academy. If she went back like this, who knew how many people would see under her skirt?

“Miss Liyakade! Don’t struggle. We won’t let go even if it kills us!”

“What the hell kind of punishment bondage play is this? So elaborate?”

Hearing Alice’s resolute words, Liyakade struggled even harder.

“I really’m not thinking of doing anything reckless. Put me down! I swear I won’t run away! I won’t jump off the cliff! Believe me!”

“Really?”

Alice asked doubtfully.

“But you were sitting by the cliff just now, crying so sadly…” Field still hesitated to let go.

“Who do you think I was crying over? After you scolded me so badly, I’m not allowed to be upset for a bit? I was just trying to clear my head. Who would die over something like that?”

Liyakade explained in frustration.

“…Fine then.” Field and Alice exchanged a glance and decided to let Liyakade down.

“Tch.” Once down, Liyakade rubbed her shoulders that had been locked, wiping away the remaining tears on her cheeks.

“It’s your fault. You ruined the sad mood just now. So, why did you come? To stop me from running away?”

“No.” Field shook her head, then bowed deeply to Liyakade. “I’m sorry, Liyakade.”

“W-what’s going on?”

Liyakade was startled by the sudden apology and instinctively took a step back.

What had she done to deserve a bow from a princess?

“I was rude earlier. We’re supposed to be friends, but I maliciously misjudged your actions and didn’t even want to listen to your explanation. It was my fault. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Liyakade couldn’t stand it anymore and quickly helped Field back up.

“I’m just happy you came to see me and want to hear my side.”

“So, what exactly happened?”

Field looked up attentively, ears perked, ready to listen carefully.

“Sigh…” Liyakade sighed. What Alice had just said was the original owner’s doing. She had no idea what the original’s reasons were, but she could easily pin everything on Irina Zi and the Slave Contract, so there was no need to care about the original’s motives.

“I was forced by Irina Zi. Just like you said before, Princess Field, it was Irina Zi who ordered me to bully Alice. She was lurking in the shadows, stepping in at key moments to save the situation, creating her own image, and making sure no one suspected her.”

“Just as I thought…” Field nodded, confirming her negative impression of Irina Zi. She was nothing but a hypocritical fraud. Then she asked Liyakade, “So? You just obediently did as she said? Did she give you anything in return? Or threaten you?”

Field’s questions came like a barrage.

“Well…” Liyakade hesitated, “Before I enrolled, my parents sold me to Irina Zi. I was forced to sign a Slave Contract.”

“What!?”

Field was shocked.

“How could anyone be so heartless as to sell their own child?”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”

Liyakade rolled up her sleeve, revealing a curse mark on the inside of her left forearm, identical to the one on Irina Zi’s hand. “My parents were scared of my abnormalities and believed I was a Curse Child, so they sold me to Irina Zi.”

“How could you sign that? Once you sign something like that, you’re a puppet for life!”

Field scolded Liyakade for her foolishness, but upon seeing the curse mark, she believed Liyakade was forced into it.

“If I hadn’t signed… she would have killed me. I was already all alone. Even if I disappeared, no one would look for me. To survive, I had no choice but to sign.”

Liyakade shook her head helplessly.

“Then those strange wounds on you…” Alice asked.

“Also Irina Zi. She’s nothing like the calm, quiet person she appears to be. Behind the scenes, she’s a lunatic. If I said one wrong thing, I’d get abused.”

Liyakade bit her lip fiercely, angrily exposing Irina Zi’s deeds. “That woman barges into my dorm without knocking, as if it were her own home.”

“She often comes at three in the morning, either to assault me or order me to bully Alice. She even sends spies to watch me. If I mess up, I get abused again. She’s truly a monster!”

“……”

Liyakade, red-faced and furious, vented all her hatred toward Irina Zi, feeling much lighter after finally speaking out. Holding everything inside had nearly driven her mad.

“Ha… phew… finally, it feels good to get that off my chest!”

Liyakade took a deep breath, feeling a great weight lifted from her heart.

“…I’m sorry.”

Field was silent for a moment, then apologized to Liyakade again before suddenly lunging at her.

“W-wait!”

Liyakade tried to refuse, but Field embraced her without hesitation.

This was the second time Field had hugged her, and in truth, Liyakade didn’t resist being held by such a beautiful girl.

It was just… Liyakade’s petite frame fit perfectly into that turbulent embrace, and every time she was held, it felt like a cleansing wash.