The Villain Wants to Change Genres – Chapter 125

Chapter 125

As soon as I arrived at the dormitory, the man growled fiercely.

“Take a bath and change into the clothes I’ve left on the table. Move quickly.”

Perhaps he had come to deliver the clothes and noticed I wasn’t there.

“Yes.”

After obediently responding and sending him away, I headed straight upstairs. I took out a small amount of Redparin powder and set it aside, then struggled to lift the mattress near the window.

With difficulty, I created a gap and tucked the poison and antidote deep inside before arranging everything back to normal. Since I would be lying there continuously, no one would be able to find them.

But Luwen knows I hide hair dye there, so he could find the antidote and give it to me. My roommates would be able to identify the Redparin antidote, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

‘Now I need to take this…’

How much should I take? The lethal dose is about one large spoon. Since it would be difficult to control the amount with powder, I poured a little water into a cup and sprinkled about half a teaspoon of it in.

The clear water quickly turned red.

‘I should drink it sip by sip and monitor my condition.’

Just as I was about to put it to my lips—

“Norman!”

An urgent voice echoed throughout the dormitory room. Feeling relieved, I immediately set down the water cup and rushed out.

“Luwen!”

I froze with wide eyes at the scene visible from the second-floor railing. The kids all looked disheveled and covered in dirt. They looked as if they had rolled down a mountain several times. Little Norman was even crying while being carried on Luwen’s back.

“Huu, huehueng… I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“I… I feel like I’m dying…”

Nadian, who had collapsed face down, was wheezing heavily. Cadin was already sprawled on the floor, wriggling like a mollusk.

‘Wow, they must have gone through a lot…’

Even Luwen was in the same state. He was soaked with sweat, more than I had ever seen, and his breathing was quite rough.

His deeply furrowed face softened like melting snow the moment he saw me. Seeing his relieved smile, for some reason, emotions welled up inside me.

“Everyone—”

Ah, why is my voice trembling? I swallowed once before speaking again.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. We’re fine. More importantly, we were worried… because we were late.”

Luwen answered while seating little Norman in a chair. After exchanging a few words, little Norman nodded vigorously, and Luwen came up the stairs. I couldn’t move, captivated by his gaze that persistently fixed on me.

Creak— Creak—

The wooden stairs made noise. As Luwen got closer, my body strangely began to tremble. I wanted to calm myself, worried he might misunderstand that I was afraid, but it wasn’t working as intended.

“I was surprised when you weren’t at the agreed place.”

“Ah, yes… Someone came looking for me at the academy. I returned safely by carriage.”

“I’m glad you’re not late.”

Luwen embraced me and buried his forehead on my shoulder. My worry about my trembling being transmitted to him seemed pointless, as he was trembling too. We were both worried about each other.

‘This is enough. Being loved this much, wanting more would be greedy.’

I hugged Luwen back and patted his back.

“There was no need to worry. I found an alternative.”

“An alternative?”

Luwen asked, lifting his head. Because of this, his face was right in front of mine, so I gently pushed his chest away and smiled.

This is too close…

“Yes. I was just about to take it when you arrived.”

“What is it?”

“I found some Redparin powder. So I brought it… Luwen wouldn’t know about it.”

Luwen, unfamiliar with it, mumbled “Redparin” and tilted his head.

“Is that an herb too?”

“Something similar.”

Seeing his suspicious gaze, which suggested he might interrogate me further, I quickly changed the subject.

“You couldn’t find Eliuna, right? I’ve mixed the Redparin powder with water. I’ll go drink it first. We don’t know when the messenger will come.”

“No. Norman found it.”

Luwen pulled out a small pouch from inside his chest.

“Norman did?”

“Yes.”

Looking down, I met eyes with little Norman sitting in the chair. He was vigorously wiping away tears when he waved at me. How can he be so cute even when looking pitiful? I couldn’t help but smile.

‘They all look exhausted; shouldn’t I offer them water?’

Since applying it would be quick, I was about to go downstairs to take care of them first, but Luwen grabbed my arm.

“Norman, let’s apply this first. You said we don’t know when they’ll come.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I’ll take care of them. Don’t worry. And don’t drink the Redparin. I need to check what it is.”

“It’s better if we take it together. It helps induce fever.”

“Absolutely not.”

His firm answer was so intimidating that I could only blink.

“Even though I said it’s fine…”

My voice trailed off due to lost confidence.

“I told you it’s not allowed. Wait, you said you mixed it with water?”

Luwen passed by me and strode into my room, then quickly came out with the cup containing the Redparin-infused water.

“I’ll determine what this is properly before deciding.”

“Oh, o-okay.”

What’s happening? Why is he so forceful? After I responded as if entranced, Luwen grinned, nodded, and went downstairs. I was blankly watching him bring water to the guys when Nadian’s shout to hurry up snapped me back to attention.

I applied the crushed Eliuna to my body. Not stopping there, trusting the antidote and ointment I had brought, I boldly rubbed it all over my face.

After waiting a moment, my skin began to tingle, and soon a rash with itching appeared. Unable to scratch the itchy areas, I was slapping them with my palm when there was a knock on the door.

Knock knock—

“Norman, may I come in?”

“Yes. I’m done.”

Creeak, the door opened. My roommates filed in behind Luwen. But I noticed little Norman limping, supported by Nadian. I thought he was carried due to exhaustion, but that wasn’t it.

“Norman, did you hurt your foot?”

Looking closer, his ankle was tightly wrapped in bandages.

“Y-yes… Actually—”

Just as little Norman was about to speak, there was a commotion outside. We all looked at each other at the same time. Nadian hurriedly approached the window and looked out.

“They’re here.”

I quickly lay down on the bed. Although I was skilled at pretending to be sick, it seemed impossible to actually induce a fever.

“Cadin, wet Norman a bit. Make it look like he’s sweating.”

“I’ll stall for time.”

As Luwen hurriedly left the room, Cadin looked around and picked up a water bottle. I flinched whenever the water touched my irritated skin, which made Cadin flinch too and apologize.

“A-are you okay?”

“Yes. It just stings a little. Splash it on generously.”

Little Norman directed Cadin with fierce eyes. Spray more here, that’s enough there. Just as he nodded, satisfying his own standards, Luwen’s voice was heard.

“I’m not lying. Norman has developed a strange rash.”

“That’s why I need to check. He was fine earlier, how can this suddenly happen?”

“There might be a risk of contagion, are you sure you want to proceed?”

The other person didn’t answer. It must have been due to the discomfort implied by the word “contagion.” It seemed like Luwen wanted to escalate the situation. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have mentioned contagion first.

“Still, I need to check…”

His previously confident tone had diminished.

“Then would you like to see from here? I’ll open the door for you.”

As if he had been waiting for this, Luwen suggested, and the man eagerly accepted.

“Let’s do that.”

Creeeak— At the sound of the door opening, I quickly closed my eyes. As I remained motionless, pretending to be asleep, my attention naturally focused on my ears. I could hear Cadin supporting little Norman, moving so that I would be visible.

“Oh my…”

Judging by the dismay in the man’s voice, my appearance must have looked quite convincing.

“No, can this happen so suddenly? He was fine just a little while ago?”

“Perhaps there were signs that were missed?”

“Ah, now that you mention it…”

Luwen calmly asked the man who was mumbling absently.

“Now that you mention it? What was there?”

“Ah, no. Don’t get too angry. Uh, I think he mentioned… not feeling well. Nothing specific. Ah, that’s not important. I need to go report this first.”

Opening my eyes slightly, I saw the man backing away stealthily.

“Hey! Medical department students! You all go back to the dormitory quickly. Don’t think about coming out until—no, no. Wait here!”

He shouted loudly and then ran down the stairs. The sound of the front door slamming shut was heard.

“Whew! I can’t believe this actually worked.”

He had fallen for it more easily than expected. Nadian whistled and laughed heartily, seeming relieved.

“People will come soon. They won’t just look and pass by like he did.”

In response to Luwen’s concern, little Norman answered.

“That’s true, but they won’t think of Eliuna.”

Another way of saying that a herb is difficult to find is that it’s also difficult to guess as the cause of an illness.

But if they approach it by process of elimination, eventually there might be a professor who thinks of Eliuna. If that happens before the First Prince leaves, it would be troublesome, so I needed to exclude Eliuna from the professors’ minds from the beginning.

“Nadian.”

“Yes?”

“Tomorrow or the day after. Whenever is fine, if you meet the chairman, could you ask him to visit me to check on my illness?”

Author: Hyacinthus B

Hyacinthus