The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

28 – Verdict

“Where did I tell you to stand still?”

Harue glared at Logan with fire in her eyes every day, but Logan could fold his fear and tuck it away.

After all, even among the lowest of the low, Harue coming to find Logan herself was sewage.

“She was even dumber than I thought.”

It was not so much stupidity as it was unfamiliarity with such a situation.

Having never experienced such widespread humiliation, it was not unreasonable for emotions to come pouring out.

“Why should I listen to you?”

The situation seemed favorable, but Logan wasn’t relieved.

The probability was low, but there was a chance that Harue might suddenly snap out of it, respond normally, or just leave without saying anything.

“You’ve completely lost your nerve without me noticing, huh? You’re not someone who can talk big to me.”

No one was beside Logan at the moment.

Shel, and of course, Anna, were absent. If Harue suddenly went crazy and attacked Logan, there was no way for Logan to handle it.

There was no way other than getting hit and stepped on just as it happened.

“But do I want to be alone for no reason?”

Last time Logan was alone against Harue, he was alone because he didn’t anticipate the threat of Harue, not because he wanted to be alone. Now, Logan being alone was clearly intentional.

“Just how much damage have I suffered because of you?”

If Harue had just been treated like any other trusted knight, she wouldn’t be this angry now.

Even if it was a little unpleasant, it wouldn’t have affected her promotion.

Note: Acknowledging that all characters are fictional and above 21 years of age.

However, one day, she not only received the benefits she had received so far but also received a one-month suspension.

For someone with a bright future like her, a one-month suspension was a punishment even more severe than a deduction, which is why she was so agitated for such a long time.

“Why is that because of me? You’re just receiving punishment for the crimes you committed.”

Logan’s words were logical.

Just as he said, the reason she received punishment every day was that she had done something wrong, not because Logan exposed facts about her.

“How many times have you said the same thing? I’m just getting the punishment I deserve for my wrongdoing. If I’m the target, even things I didn’t do become crimes, and if you’re the target, things you directly committed aren’t considered crimes, right? It’s absurd that the daughter of the aristocrat of the Imperial Opera has such corrupted thoughts. The future of the empire looks grim.”

Haru had no intention of keeping Logan’s mouth open any longer.

As it was before, leaving Logan’s mouth alone only made the situation more difficult, so she decided to raise her fist and strike Logan’s face.

There was no hesitation in Haru’s fist that struck Logan’s face, and Logan, with mana as thin as a rat’s tail and weak physical strength, could suffer significant damage if hit directly.

-Thud!

However, Haru’s fist never reached Logan’s face.

Suddenly, in front of Logan’s face, there was a sturdy barrier made of mana.

“There was definitely no one here?”

Haru was a bit lacking as a friend, but she wasn’t a complete fool.

Even if she had experienced being hit once, she knew that it would not be good for her if there were witnesses, so she made sure there was no one around and approached Logan.

She was genuinely surprised when the solid barrier blocked her way to Logan.

“An artifact?”

It was an unbelievable assumption.

An artifact that could be activated by inflating one’s mana is an expensive item that even a similar voidling like Logan cannot easily obtain.

Moreover, even with Logan’s mana, it is impossible to block Haru’s fist with any artifact, no matter how exceptional it is. So, the idea that Logan would possess such a valuable item was ridiculous.

“Never seen it like this in a day, truly disappointing.”

As Harue searched the surroundings with caution, wondering if anyone was nearby, a single massive ripple coursed through the air.

In that brief moment, it wasn’t as if Harue’s abilities had increased, and it certainly wasn’t something she had naturally discovered. She had merely revealed herself.

“The professor is collaborating with Logan?”

This was something unimaginable in Harue’s household.

Even if rumors had spread across the entire institution about the curse being lifted, it was still Logan. It was hard to believe that two women who seemed like friends were standing next to Logan. The idea of the professor assisting Logan was beyond anything Harue could fathom.

“It’s been a while, Professor Serien.”

Harue and Serien were familiar with each other, of course.

Until last year, they frequently encountered each other’s faces as a teacher in charge of the student affairs department and the student council president. Hence, their relationship wasn’t particularly amicable.

The atmosphere that Harue usually carried, which made Serien keep her distance, was the reason for the strained relationship.

“This is inside the academy. What on earth are you up to, Harue?”

“Setting a trap, perhaps?”

“A trap? I’m just stealthily walking through the academy, concealing my presence.”

No one was naive enough to believe such a nonsensical lie.

Serien had clearly manipulated Logan and used him to lure Harue.

“There’s no escape. I saw with my own eyes that you attempted to attack Asrian, and I even have video evidence.”

Harue clenched her teeth so tightly that they made an audible sound.

‘Why does this only happen to me?’

As things took a turn for the worse, she blamed the sky each day.

The rumors circulating widely and the actual arrest of the current offender were entirely different dimensions.

The heavy disciplinary action, which wouldn’t end with just a mere month of reflection, was going to befall her in a single day. Her once-pristine reputation would plummet into the abyss.

Of course, her skills hadn’t disappeared, and being the daughter of a duke, Harue’s social standing wouldn’t vanish. So, her life wouldn’t truly be ruined. However, a storm of considerable turbulence was hitting the well-laid flower path she once walked.

‘Astrian, you damned child.’

Her hatred was directed at Astrian that day.

If only Logan were absent, such a thing wouldn’t have happened to her. If Logan hadn’t manipulated Serene and set up the trap, none of this would have occurred. If Logan himself didn’t exist in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened.

In a way, it seemed like everything revolved around Logan’s curse for her that day. Everyone in the world was cursing Harue, attributing all of it to Logan, and she sincerely believed it was Logan’s fault.

“Don’t even think about running away.”

“Yes, I won’t run away.”

Harue spoke with a sarcastic tone.

To control the students in the academy, powerful professors were needed, and Serene was among the most formidable. The moment Harue thought about escaping, Serene, with her strength capable of subduing her immediately, had Harue captured effortlessly.

*****

“The punishment wasn’t as severe as I thought.”

Shohel expressed his dissatisfaction with a disapproving click of his tongue.

The trial had just concluded regarding the incident where Harue had tried to attack Logan but ended up getting caught as an offender. However, the verdict only demanded Harue to compensate Logan with 20 gold.

This was because the trial solely focused on the incident of attempting assault on Logan, which had not been carried out to completion.

‘Absolutely can’t just let it go.’

Being dragged out of the courtroom, Haru burned with anger as he stared at Logan every day.

The sentence itself wasn’t particularly harsh, but this trial held significant meaning on its own.

It became widely known that Logan’s life in a day was turned upside down.

As a result, not only did he receive cold treatment from the Knights of the Azure, but he also faced a severe scolding from his foster father.

In essence, his path to success was blocked, and he was even ordered by his foster father to reflect for a while.

In the midst of a day seething with anger, blaming Logan for everything, someone came to see him.

“What’s up? The trial just ended. You’re not here to pick a fight, are you?”

“I often get misunderstood because I look quite similar, but I’m not your sister.”

The woman, closely resembling Haru, approached Logan and immediately knelt before him.