I Give Up on the BL Novel’s Male Leads

“What are you doing?”

“It’s nothing special. If someone threatens you, they’ll die.”

“…What?”

“Well, don’t worry, it won’t activate unless there’s intent to kill you. But if someone feels murderous toward you, everyone around you will die, except for you. So don’t worry.”

She looked at the magic circle of fire drawn on her palm, something that she couldn’t activate with her own magic but theoretically knew.

“Even if that’s not the case, you can activate it if you’re unhappy with the exams. The activation word is something you used to say.”

It was strange. Illein couldn’t understand what he was saying at all. He seemed familiar with it, but everything felt unfamiliar to her.

“What’s that?”

“Don’t you remember saying ‘die’ to me every time?”

“I… I said that to you?”

“Yes.”

Illein wanted to ask him to erase that magic circle. However, before she could speak, his lips touched hers.

“Ed, win…”

The shock of his lips touching hers made it feel like she couldn’t breathe.

“You love me. Don’t forget that. Oh! And I already found the books. Take them.”

Edwin said, then kissed her cheek. He looked at her and said:

“See you later. And next time, call me Theo.”

“Th-that…”

“If you don’t want to, it’s fine. You can keep calling me Edwin. That’s still me.”

Illein couldn’t respond. Or more accurately, she still couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

What was the truth? What was a lie? Was he really Edwin or not?

She couldn’t draw any clear conclusions.

The only thing she knew for sure was the lingering sensation of his touch on her lips.

And then…

“Illein?”

Illein suddenly came to her senses at the sound of Melias’s voice.

“Oh!”

Illein had forgotten why she was on the 12th floor. When did she get here?

It felt like something should be coming back to her, but it wasn’t.

It was as if someone had messed with her mind.

Her mind cleared as if cold water had been splashed on her, but she still couldn’t make sense of it.

“What are these books?”

She was startled by Melias’s question, noticing the books she was holding. Why was she carrying books about various attack magic that had nothing to do with her? Books she definitely didn’t need for the midterms?

Illein realized she had to face reality and was taken aback. She quickly tried to change the subject.

“Oh… these? I’ve been stressed out…”

Her answer felt flimsy even to herself. She wasn’t sure if Melias would take it at face value, but she didn’t have anything else to say.

Her memories were still blurry, and she was in a dazed state, unable to come up with any other excuse.

Illein suddenly had a thought.

It was a strangely familiar feeling. A sense of deja vu, as if she had experienced this same thing countless times before. She froze for a moment, caught in that sensation.

“Illein?”

Melias looked at her with a worried expression.

“I guess I was just trying to relieve some stress… Thank you for worrying about me.”

“If it’s to relieve stress, I can help. I’m quite confident in attack magic, after all.”

Illein nodded at his words, unconsciously fiddling with her lips. She kept feeling a strange discomfort. She tried to focus on Melias in front of her.

Illein had been taking the love potion twice a day. After deciding to do so, she had stuck to it consistently.

One bottle in the morning before going to school and another before dinner.

Thanks to that, even though she was with Melias all day, it didn’t feel awkward or burdensome.

On the contrary, she felt a pleasant excitement whenever they were together. Even now, as she focused on Melias, her mood lifted.

The strange discomfort that had been bothering her earlier vanished instantly. It felt like she couldn’t even remember when she had felt anxious about her disconnected memories.

Melias had been watching Illein’s change closely, keeping a sharp eye on the shifting expressions on her face. As her expression became more at ease, he finally relaxed.

At the same time, Melias had a sudden thought.

He couldn’t quite put it into words, but there was an odd sense of unease, something he hadn’t expected to feel. Usually, he didn’t act on instincts like this, but today, he felt compelled to do something about it.

Rather than ignoring it, he decided to take a more active approach.

“Illein.”

“Yes?”

“Would you consider coming to study at our mansion instead of Baron Thierry’s? I don’t want to bring Damon along, but I’ll tell him to come if it makes it easier for you. If it’s uncomfortable with just the two of us.”

He seemed like he’d feel more comfortable if Illein was nearby. At least, that way, he could protect her directly. He hoped that it would be just him taking care of her, and no one else.

But there was a hesitation about what Illein might think.

If it were up to him, he would exclude Damon, but Melias intentionally kept that thought to himself. He didn’t want Illein to feel uncomfortable with that behavior.

Furthermore, Damon’s status was a factor. If Damon hadn’t been the son of Duke Candelaria, Melias might not have paid him so much attention.