Published at 5th of December 2025 8:14 pm

Chapter 222 Part 2

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

[How about injecting your Magic Power into me? Or me staining your core with mine? Were testing if it kills or not. Ill let you know if it works.]

[We should mix our Magic Powers and become each other. Could I get pink eyes? If we had each other inside, wed be better mages.]

Sunday.

Ulrike looked at Lucas, concerned.

Lucas, face dark, read a note, tossed it on the table, and retched in the bathroom.

Returning to the teams table, he sat, grim-faced.

Everyone watched him carefully.

All weekend, his notes were like this.

Lucas looks thinner.

Cant lose more weight here.

Eliass light jab at Ulrikes worry made Lucas glance at him, incredulous.

He forced a polite smile, then stared blankly at the table, rubbing his face.

Leonard.

What.

Ask headquarters to get me another uniform.

Ulrikes eyes widened.

All weekend, Lucas faced endless thefts. A shapeshifter posing as a servant? No matter how tight security was, they kept stealing.

Now theyd stolen clothes issued in the Emperors name.

Leos face hardened, brow furrowing.

I expected a Why me? but he didnt react further.

Lucas, taking the silence as agreement, stood shakily, looking fed up, without a word or glance.

Narce, whod cast space magic to isolate the school, followed Lucas.

In the frozen atmosphere, Ulrike spoke quietly. Guys is this an act?

The stolen clothes are real, Leo replied flatly.

So, except for the theft, that attitudes an act.

Yulia clapped, laughing. Wow~ Lucass acting is top-notch. Hes gotta be pissed, but he wasnt *this* bad before. Didnt know he could play it this sour.

Ulrike nodded.

Elias said Lucas felt the time was right.

To make the stalker drop their guard, I gotta act hit hard. Whatever I do, its not my real feelings, so dont take it too seriously. I know its uncomfortable, but bear with me for the weekend.

He told Elias, and it spread to the team.

When Narce re-cast space magic to block the stalker, Lucas chatted normally, smiling like nothing was wrong, so everyone knew it was strategy.

The bright sides the real him.

Ulrike swallowed, recalling his scarily real act.

No clue how he plans to shake the stalker, but

Gotta plan something fun soon to lift his spirits.

Ulrike steeled herself with her usual resolve.

***

Success.

Back at the estate, I suppressed a smug smile, furrowing my brow.

What was my mistake? What else wouldve made the culprit too impatient to stay hidden?

A thought from a now-erased timeline.

It didnt take long to conclude.

I didnt show I liked Yulia.

That was my conclusion then.

No matter how much Yulia leaned in, if I didnt reciprocate, to the stalker, its annoying but no big deal.

But if I acted like I had special feelings for her too?

That changes everything.

Theyd think their chance was gone.

Problem is, do I have to do this with my teammates again? This time, acting fully?

The Grand Hotel stunt and Yulias act already spiked their guard. Repeating the same wont draw them out.

So, Ill find a way they cant resist showing up

While looking like Im not out to attack.

I need to seem like Im losing.

If I look beaten, they wont suspect a trap.

Fatigue, resignation, lethargy from stalkingshowing Im affected is a good example.

Honestly, reporting and staying stone-faced wasnt fun for them. Bullies want reactions, so I just had to act upset like anyone else.

It went as expected.

The more I reacted, the more they taunted.

So what? They taunt more, I act angrier.

A scam cycle.

Of course, Im the only one scamming. Theyre not getting me.

I stood slowly, eyeing a box big enough for three thick books, filled with pink notes.

My gaze shifted to a notebook. The list of items stolen this weekend already spilled past a page.

Hmm.

Going smoothly.

Theyre wary but likely think theyve got the upper hand. Human subconscious works that way, sadly.

I felt my default expression tense, rubbing my chin.

Time to end this.

No dragging it out.

Preparations done, time to meet face-to-face.

Decided, I stared at the box, faking exhaustion, and wrote on a note.

[What do you want?]

They said theyd read replies anywhere. I tossed the note out the window and stepped away.

Shockingly, when I returned, a note was on my bed.

Lyrics from a folk song Id heard, *That you are my dearest*.

Come to them, thats all they want

Show up, you bastard

Not even a real answer.

I wasnt upset, feeling them play into my hands, but it was good fuel for fake rage.

I looked at the window.

I stopped bothering with curtains. Theyd just lift them when I left and returned.

It advertises lethargy, so I left itnow theyre using it as a screen.

Staring at thousands of notes in the box, I sat on the bed.

I counted backward from 10 silently, buried my face in my hands, and exhaled deeply.

Havent done it big since coming here, but it worked fine.

6, 5, 4

My nose stung.

When I finished, I wiped tears with my sleeve, stood, and angrily yanked the curtains.

Faking rage by smashing furniturenone of it minewasnt ideal, so I just needed a tool to shock the watcher.

Moving to another room, I thought, This makes me feel like the lunatic.

But theyre watching from outside. Not in another building or street, but definitely there.

I opened a safe, pulling out the familiar rectangular box Leo left.

Not a great memory.

Didnt think Id touch this again.

Opening the clasp, glass vials from stage 1 to 10 were neatly lined up.

What is it?

The drug I took in Gelda Asman.

I vividly recall swearing never to touch this shit again.

That resolve hasnt changed.

If I had to face Gelda Asman again, I wouldnt choose this. I dont want to fake emotions to lower someones guard, especially another victim.

But this case is different.

My hand reached for the end of the box.

Grabbing a vial, I headed to the estates rooftop.

Whoosh

The wind hit my ears as I opened the door.

Keeping my grim expression, I walked to the center, drank the drug.

Like before, the odorless liquid slid down my throat. The difference? This is stage 10.

Now, Ill feel sudden affection for the first person I see.

Or maybe notEliass machine noises werent for nothing.

But to others, itll look like Im in love with the first person I see.

Come out.

I spoke loud enough to be heard.

No response. Had to raise my voice.

You know what I drank. Come out!

p>Silence.

Only the wind drilled into my eardrums.

Fine.

Knew it.

Even with a feast set, theyd suspect poison and not show.

Theyve got a brain, so obvious.

Having seen through their ambitious plan, they know they need a tighter setup to control me. Showing up now, biting my bait, would half-ruin their scheme.

Thats why I built an atmosphere where they think theyre winning.

So I cant back off now.

I closed my eyes, touching my ears artifactEszetts private line.

I tapped it randomly.

No clue how many times, so no idea which of the six itll connect to.

Feels like Russian roulette. Whoever answers, Id prefer someone with the antidote or whos already provoked the stalker.

Clearing my mind, I brushed the artifact, pressing the activation button.

Beep

Before the tone finished, someone answered.

[Lucas?]

Nice.

The god of odds is on my side.

Its someone who can bring the antidote, so no burden if I fail. Separately, the culprit cant think that far.

I laughed, looking at the sky.

[Talk, Lucas.]

They can handle others showing interest like them?

Wonder how theyll take the reverse.

Keep scheming, or act now?

Come to the rooftop. Now.

I spoke with force.

No need to yell into the artifact, but my real audience required it.

Boom!

A fierce wind shook my robe and hair, making it hard to open my eyes.

An icy hand grabbed my cheek urgently. I heard panting, as if theyd rushed down.

I felt the space shift under their space magic.

Doesnt matter.

What matters is, my targets fully in my trap.

I grabbed the cold hand, casting a restraint spell with mine, and opened my eyes.

We finally meet.

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