Chapter 66: Karina Zain (1)

The confrontation with Gerard fizzled out due to the sudden appearance of a thief, but Karina still hadn’t shaken her suspicions about him.

Rumors were circulating that the Adventurer’s Guild, Bandarok, was the force scheming against the Academy.

But Karina remained unshaken.

‘It’s definitely Gerard. It’s gotta be him.’

At the showdown in the Lodge Café, I had lost.

But I still trusted my deductions.

I had been studying thieves.

More precisely, about Shadow.

The Zain family had countless records on them, and Zairo Zain’s journal was just a fraction of it.

Shadow’s methods were cunning and professional.

‘They’re not the kind of idiots who’d reveal themselves in broad daylight and get caught.’

So, the thief who appeared that day couldn’t have been from Shadow.

‘One of Gerard’s lackeys, then? He must’ve sent a signal for help because I cornered him.’

I saw the entire situation as something Gerard had orchestrated.

Yes.

Right now, all my nerves were fixated on one person—Gerard.

Every sense was directed at him, every moment of my daily life revolved around him.

In short, my brain was completely consumed by the existence of “Gerard.”

Even when a crow cawed in the sky, it was related to Gerard.

When the old janitor, who always showed up, suddenly took sick leave, it was Gerard’s doing.

The “Everything is Gerard” theory.

Everything was because of him.

Nothing else registered in my eyes.

When I closed my eyes to meditate, the image of the skull-masked thief beating me flashed in my mind.

The thief took off the mask.

And there, Gerard was sneering at me.

‘Can’t catch me, can you? Idiot.’

GritI ground my teeth.

The “Eye of Truth” was on hold.

I hated to admit it, but Gerard had seen through my weaknesses all too clearly.

[What do you think would happen if I tipped off that reporter about this? It’d be quite the show. How about a headline like… “Zain Family’s Daughter Accuses Honorary Merit Medal Recipient of Being a Thief”?]

The Eye of Truth was reliable, but using it came with great risk.

Of course, I was certain Gerard was the thief.

Absolutely.

I was sure of it.

‘But his brazen attitude keeps nagging at me.’

His voice, his tone, his gaze—everything about how he dared me to use the Eye of Truth without flinching made me hesitate.

In the end, there was only one way.

‘Evidence.’

Proof that he was the thief.

The skull mask, for instance.

‘Or catching him in the act would work too.’

Like right now.

In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep.

I crouched in the bushes, watching the men’s dormitory.

Specifically, the window of Gerard’s room.

An hour had passed since I started waiting, motionless, but my eyes still burned with fiery determination.

I didn’t doubt for a second that Gerard, wearing the skull mask, would soon open that window and slip out.

‘Something’s definitely changed.’

Lately, Gerard seemed different.

He couldn’t focus in class, often zoning out.

He wasn’t sticking to Yuria like usual and was wandering alone to strange places.

‘But when I followed him, he wasn’t there.’

Gerard had definitely changed.

The turning point was the fall of the Bandarok Guild.

According to my reasoning, these changes were a sign that he was preparing for a job.

‘Tonight’s the night.’

My instincts were screaming it.

And then—

Weeee—!

An alarm blared.

It came from the direction of the Research Wing.

A red glow shot up alongside the alarm, signaling an intruder.

“A thief?”

Muttering, I glanced back at the men’s dormitory.

My eyes widened.

“…He didn’t turn on the light?”

As the alarm and red glow woke the dormitory, lights flicked on all at once.

But Gerard’s room stayed dark.

As if… no one was inside.

‘The Gerard we know would’ve turned on the light and rushed out first.’

That meant Gerard wasn’t in the dormitory right now—he was outside.

Where?

I looked toward the chaotic Research Wing.

A thrill of excitement shook my body.

“As expected! That guy’s the thief!”

All the signs pointed to him being the thief.

All that was left was to confirm whether he was really in his room or not.

‘Of course he’s not there! But I need to make sure.’

There was a problem, though.

The place I needed to check was the men’s dormitory.

Just as the women’s dormitory was off-limits to men, the men’s was the same.

‘If it were anywhere else, I’d barge in without a second thought.’

Getting caught would be beyond humiliating.

Breaking the rules.

A scandal like that would drag the Zain family’s honor—and my reputation—into the gutter.

‘No, who cares? I’m going in to catch a thief! If Gerard’s not there, it doesn’t matter if I get caught, right?’

In fact, I’d be justified.

Catching a thief despite risking my family’s honor.

‘And if I don’t do it now, I won’t get another chance.’

I sprang up and ran toward the men’s dormitory.

Tap tap tap!

Luckily, I didn’t run into anyone.

“Huh?”

Actually, one cadet had glimpsed my silhouette entering the men’s dormitory.

But I was too fixated on catching Gerard to notice.

Even if I had, I wouldn’t have stopped.

My mind was filled with nothing but Gerard.

At this point, there was no turning back.

Gerard had to be absent from his room.

Gerard had to be the thief.

I passed through the main entrance and climbed the stairs.

Soon, I stood before Gerard’s room.

I grabbed the doorknob and turned, but it was locked.

Clunk!

I pulled out my staff and swung it.

Bang! Bang!

The doorknob was sturdier than I expected—it wouldn’t budge.

‘Am I an idiot? Why am I trying to force it open?’

Common sense had long since left me.

Breaking into the men’s dormitory was proof of that.

I gathered my mana.

I wanted to blast the door to pieces with my specialty, a fireball, but I held back.

Instead, I chose a spell: [Explosive Will].

Self-named, the “Karina Punch.”

Ziiing—

The power of exploding flames gathered in my fist.

Good. Muttering to myself, I swung my fist at the door.

At that moment—

Click!

The door opened.

“…!”

Time seemed to slow down.

My wide eyes met Gerard’s face.

‘How…?’

Whatever the case, I needed to cancel the spell immediately.

But the Karina Punch was already inches from his chest.

The best I could do was twist my body to divert the punch to the side.

“Ugh!”

Luckily, the punch only grazed Gerard.

But the cost was embarrassing.

The momentum from swinging made me lose my balance.

Thud.

Thankfully, Gerard caught me…

“….”

“Haa.”

A low breath above my head.

It was clearly an exasperated sigh.

Then—

“…What are you doing?”

My eyebrows twitched.

His indifferent red eyes were looking down at me.

“What are you doing, I said.”

At his question, for some reason, my mouth froze, and I couldn’t respond.

“….”

It was strange.

Why was I acting like this?

Sure, we were a bit close, but it wasn’t an unusual situation.

It was the same as always.

We were facing each other, and Gerard’s gaze looking down at me was as dry as ever.

Was it the height difference?

Maybe because I didn’t wear my high-heeled boots to hide in the bushes?

No, that wasn’t it.

His dry gaze felt colder than usual.

It was like a knife cutting into my chest.

And Gerard seemed much larger, taller.

My eyes kept drifting downward, and my face inexplicably grew hot.

I didn’t realize this was due to “shame.”

All I could do was let out a meaningless “Ah” and turn to escape the situation.

But then—

Grab!

Gerard seized my wrist.

I flinched, but his strength had already pulled me into the room.

“What do you think you’re—!”

“Shut up.”

Gerard snatched the staff from my hand and slid it under the bed.

With his foot.

I saw it but couldn’t get angry.

Because my body was suddenly lifted and placed on the bed.

Immediately after, a large blanket was thrown over me.

“Cadet Gerard?”

A third voice spoke just as the blanket covered me.

Realizing who it was, I stopped moving and breathing altogether.

The dormitory supervisor, Rubinus Elasdin.

If I was caught here, the consequences were unimaginable.

Breaking the rules and causing a scandal were no longer the issue.

Rumors might spread that the honorable Zain family’s daughter was sneaking into a senior’s dorm for a secret rendezvous.

The impact that would have on my future…

‘I have to stop this.’

But… who would?

I focused all my senses on what was happening outside the blanket.

Ironically… the only person I could rely on now was Gerard.

* * *

‘Idiot.’

Gerard cursed inwardly.

Bringing the dorm supervisor here, of all people.

Sure, she probably made this mistake in her rush to get here, but that just made her even more foolish and clumsy—someone who’d fail a thief’s interview on the spot.

‘If Karina gets caught here, we’re both screwed.’

To an outsider, this scene screamed “secret rendezvous.”

A junior breaking the rules to sneak into a senior’s dorm.

And those two were none other than Gerard and Karina Zain.

Karina’s situation was obvious, but this was something Gerard wanted to avoid too.

Because he was a thief.

The Zain family was a house of “evil eradication.”

Getting tangled with them offered no benefits whatsoever.

The two-timing rumors had been suppressed by Baron’s efforts, but if a scandal broke, those rumors would resurface too.

‘And then the Zain family would start paying attention to me.’

Even for Gerard, unwanted scrutiny from the Zain family was a burden.

Not for Karina’s sake, but for his own, he had to prevent this situation from getting out.

“Didn’t sleep, Gerard?”

“I was sleeping but just woke up.”

“Hm. Really? Didn’t mean to wake you, sorry. Mind if I take a look around?”

You’re already intruding.

Hiding his true thoughts, Gerard smiled casually and nodded.

“It’s about a suspicious person who reportedly entered this building.”

“Is that so?”

“Haven’t seen anything?”

Gerard shook his head.

“Nope. Like I said, I was sleeping and just woke up.”

“Hmm. Right.”

Nodding, Supervisor Rubinus stepped further into the room.

Looking around, he spoke.

“As you know, this dormitory is mostly empty right now, except for your room, Cadet Gerard.”

Building C was for third-years only.

And currently, all third-years except Gerard, who was taking first-year classes, were away on off-campus activities.

“I’ve been checking from the ground floor up, but I haven’t found this suspicious person.”

“What about the upper floors?”

“The upper floors…”

Click. The door opened, and cadets entered.

Second-years who had seen Karina.

“Just checked all the upper floors, sir! No one’s there!”

“…So they say.”

Gerard replied calmly.

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Of course, since you were sleeping.”

Rubinus opened the wardrobe.

With a creak, it revealed nothing but Gerard’s clothes.

“…I’m not so dull that I’d miss someone sneaking in while I was asleep.”

Rubinus closed the wardrobe.

“What, are you hiding someone on purpose?”

“Me?”

“Haha. Just kidding.”

Rubinus turned and stared at Gerard.

Then he walked toward the bed.

“Our Cadet Gerard, recipient of the Honorary Merit Medal, wouldn’t hide a suspicious person.”

“Thanks for the high praise.”

“But.”

Rubinus’s eyes drifted to the bed.

“For someone who just woke up, your blanket looks a bit odd.”

“….”

“Just saying.”

Rubinus smirked, patted Gerard’s shoulder twice, and left with the cadets, closing the door.

“Haa…”

Gerard frowned, looking at the bed.

Meanwhile, inside the blanket, I clutched my head, screaming silently.

Rubinus was gone, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave the blanket.

No matter how brazen, prideful, or headstrong I was, I was still human.

I could feel embarrassment and shame.

The plan was simple.

Quick escape.

But it fell apart from the start.

I tried to grab my staff and flee, but Gerard caught me all too easily.

“What are you doing?”

“….”

“Why are you here? You seriously think I’m a thief? Huh?”

Even someone as shameless as me had no words in this situation.

I avoided Gerard’s eyes.

In truth, I hadn’t been able to meet his gaze properly since I entered.

Gerard sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Tch. Just go. We’ll talk later.”

I turned to leave.

“Wait.”

“….”

“Come to the Blue Dragon Hall the day after tomorrow after class. If you don’t, prepare for your life to be over. Got it?”

I didn’t respond.

I just hesitated, then fled his room like I was escaping.

Gerard didn’t expect an answer.

He knew I had no choice but to show up.

“She won’t listen to words, so I’ll have to give her what she wants.”

A warning alone wasn’t enough—Karina had crossed too many lines today.

Yes.

As Luis had advised, I should’ve done this from the start.

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