I Give Up on the BL Novel's Male Leads - Chapter 182

It seemed like the silence wouldn’t be broken until someone spoke first.

The heavy atmosphere felt uncomfortable, so Illein glanced around at the others.

She wanted to speak up and lighten the mood, but seeing everyone lost in their own thoughts, she hesitated.

Damon, that was usually playful, had wiped away his usual a and attitude was now showing a serious expression, while Melias was silently deep in thought.

Edwin, observing them, seemed to be choosing his words carefully. When he finally spoke, his question was unexpected.

“Where is Rodein?”

Even though they weren’t on good terms, did it still matter because they were brothers? Damon thought carefully about how to respond to Edwin’s question.

“He’s…”

But seeing Damon pause with such a serious look made Edwin glance at him sharply, and he asked again.

“…Did he… die?”

Edwin’s words trembled slightly. Damon quickly shook his head in response.

“No, it’s not that. But…”

Damon wasn’t hesitant because of Rodein’s safety. Rather, he was cautious about delivering such a grim truth to someone who had just regained consciousness.

“The 3rd and 4th princes… are dead.”

Damon hesitated as he spoke the harsh truth.

“….”

Edwin froze with his eyes wide open, unable to respond immediately.

“…I see.”

His reply came slowly, and there was a clear bitterness in his voice, tinged with anger towards the perpetrators.

“A psychometric user came to the palace and tried to search, but everything was covered in what looked like black paint, so nothing could be seen… Edwin, did you see anything?”

Illein, watching Edwin with concern, asked cautiously. She thought that if Edwin was someone who immediately wanted to kill the culprit once he saw it, he might know something.

Edwin’s brow furrowed for a moment, then he shook his head.

“No, I didn’t see anything.”

At that moment, Illein, who was still watching his face, noticed something strange for a brief moment. Though barely noticeable, it seemed like Edwin’s lips twitched, almost as if he was holding back something.

It was clear he knew something, But he was reluctant to speak it out loud.

“Anyway, everyone should head back. I’ll arrange for permits to the palace…., but when entering, you should always move in groups of three.”

It seemed like Edwin didn’t want to continue talking about this topic, and he tried to change the subject quickly.

“Got it.”

Illein nodded. There must be some underlying reason that he was reluctant to talk

“Don’t forget, the palace isn’t safe either.”

Edwin spoke at Illein with concern.

“I understand.”

Melias, irritated by the look in Edwin’s eyes, decided to speak up first. He instinctively moved to shield Illein, stepping in front of her.

“I’ll come back tomorrow, Edwin.”

Soon, Illein bid Edwin farewell. The others also hurriedly followed suit, offering their goodbyes as well.

Edwin, watching Illein’s back, couldn’t help but think. Although he was looking at Illein’s face, it was overshadowed with Illenas’s face.

And also his own brother’s malicious expression as he targeted her.

‘I won’t lose her. I’ll make sure of it!’

Edwin made a determination on the image of Illenas reflected through Illein. Then, unable to resist his exhaustion, he closed his eyes once more.

The next morning, the students of Class 1 were chattering noisily about the previous day’s experiences.

“How was the tour of the palace?” 

“Don’t even ask.” 

“Wasn’t there anything you could do there? They kept saying we couldn’t do anything…”

It was more of a complaint than a genuine question. 

They were frustrated by the limitations while they diligently investigated the palace. What had started as curiosity quickly turned into stubbornness when they hit the wall of reality.

“By the way, isn’t our midterm next week?” 

“You’re really good at killing the mood.” 

“Shut up if you’re going to say that.” 

“Well, anyway, I asked some of the Imperial Guard last night…” 

“I heard there’s an ancient forbidden magic that erases everything. Did you hear about that?” 

“What? Is that really true?”

The group was exchanging a surprising amount of information.

The quality of the information was better than expected. With everyone pooling their resources, they had managed to find several leads in their investigation.

Since the students in Class 1 were among the brightest at the academy, the infrastructure they had was far superior to that of the palace wizards or the Imperial Guard.

“Tell me more about that.”

Damon leaned in with interest, intrigued by what he had just heard.

“You know how some of the ancient magics were deemed too dangerous and became forbidden or disappeared, like the runes we studied in class?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Well, I think that black magic might be one of those types.”

It seemed like a plausible theory.

“However, forbidden magic usually comes with a penalty every time it’s used. The fact that this wizard seems to get away without facing consequences is strange.”

“Is there something else? How could they not be afraid to use it?”