“At first, I thought it was a joke, but I gradually felt the doctor’s sincerity. It doesn’t feel very good. Saying he wants to open up the head of a student he’s known for three years, shouldn’t he refrain from saying such things?”

As she spoke, her emotions naturally mixed in.

“I know he’s a researcher supported by the royal family. But before that, he’s an educator, isn’t he? At least when he comes to the Intelligence Bureau, he’s coming as an educator…”

“Dr. Straudt is like that with everyone. If he said he wanted to open up my head too, would that be any consolation to you, Trainee Liere?”

“Hmm, not really.”

Not at all. If anything, it only reinforced the doctor’s mad scientist image in her mind.

“Anyway, you’re not afraid of people… Then what is Trainee Liere afraid of?”

Everyone tried to hide their weaknesses from Ivlik. This was true not only for his enemies but also for those considered his allies, like colleagues or superiors. They believed that revealing weaknesses to him was like loading the magazine of a gun aimed at themselves.

And now, this Ivlik asked her. What are you afraid of, he said. To this, Cedine answered readily.

“What I’m afraid of is situations.”

“What kind of situations?”

“Situations that make me break my own beliefs about things I should never do in life. The self-loathing I would feel then… and the people who would dare to seek understanding and sympathy, saying they knew I would make the same choice as them in the end. Something like that.”

Cedine gave Ivlik a bitter smile.

“Is that too abstract?”

“I feel like I’ve become a teenage psychological counselor.”

“I’m not a teenager though.”

Cedine retorted seriously.

“I’m twenty years old. It’s been 60 days since I became an adult.”

Cedine was serious as she spoke, but Ivlik didn’t seem to be as he listened. His cheek twitched slightly. He must have bitten the inside of his cheek to hold back laughter. Cedine felt even more upset at his reaction of finding her amusing. She had tried not to easily give up control to him, but this was completely wrong.

To snap at him not to dismiss her for being young. You’re right. I am a rookie. What else could this be but an admission?

Ivlik quickly composed his expression and tapped his finger on the surface of documents he hadn’t even opened. Then he gestured for her to leave.

“Just know that the atmosphere of future lessons won’t be like today’s.”

“Yes, I suppose it shouldn’t be. Then I’ll be going now.”

Talking back until the end, huh. Cedine could feel Ivlik’s disbelief. He might have thought she was an impudent one. Perhaps that’s why he resolved to teach her even more harshly.

Ivlik Wintermore was not a man of empty words. Cedine was pushed to extreme situations during every remaining special tutoring session. She could never again show the composure she had during their first meeting. Instead, Cedine stumbled miserably over her words and teared up in front of him.

She spent the shining summer of her twentieth year like that. Trapped alone with Ivlik in a dim room, or a room so brightly lit with every possible light that it felt strange.

No matter how much high-calorie food her sister Karen fed her, Cedine’s weight kept dropping. There was no need to even step on a scale. The looseness of her skirt waistband was the most certain evidence. Karen lamented that all those cute chubby cheeks were gone, worried about her sister’s gaunt face.

“Chubby cheeks are not the issue right now. I think I need to see a psychiatrist soon.”

“Is the training tough?”

“Ivlik Wintermore is not human, he’s a demon. No, even demons would be more merciful than that man. Sister, do you remember Percival among my peers? The young master who was said to be the third son of Count Brightnen. I didn’t know, but they say Percival left the Intelligence Bureau altogether. Apparently, he decided to take over his maternal family’s business. He, like us, had been educated for nearly 10 years from the Academy to here.”

“Meeting the Lieutenant Colonel might have been an opportunity for him.”

“What opportunity? A perfectly fine kid’s mind was completely broken after just three special tutoring sessions.”

Karen offered more pancakes drizzled with acacia honey. The plump pancakes with blueberries inside were Cedine’s favorite breakfast menu until recently.

“Ugh, I can’t eat anymore.”

“You’re eating too little. You’ll collapse at this rate. And it’s hot outside.”

“I really can’t swallow any more.”

Karen pushed a plate forward, insisting she eat some fruit at least. Cedine had no appetite, but to avoid worrying her sister, she brought a piece of melon to her mouth.

“Sigh, I don’t want to go. I hear the Lieutenant Colonel is very popular among the socialite ladies. Could he have a split personality? I wonder if he’s different there. Honestly, I’m so sick of that man that I can’t even tell if he’s handsome anymore.”

“…You can quit like Percival did if you want.”

Karen’s voice suddenly lowered.

“It’s not a failure. It might not even be worth enduring so painfully.”

“If I say I don’t want to be an Intelligence Bureau agent at this point, the Deputy Director will be angry.”

“That’s the Deputy Director’s problem.”

Karen’s tone was somehow cold as she said this. Cedine knew her sister didn’t particularly like their foster father, Duke Crotsfield.

“Even if the Deputy Director is one thing, what about me… What should I do from now on?”

“Well. It might be good to think about what kind of work you want to do in the future. Didn’t you say you were interested in perfumes before?”

“A perfumer? Hmm, it’s nice, but I was just saying that.”

When Cedine became very flustered, Karen backed off at that point. Karen smiled brightly and said she was just saying it too, concluding the breakfast table conversation.

A few weeks later.

The special tutoring that seemed like it would go on forever finally came to an end. Cedine returned to university. Her friends, seeing Cedine’s slimmed-down face, said she looked ‘atmospheric’¹분위기 있어 보인다 means ‘It looks or feels atmospheric’ or ‘It gives off a certain vibe.’ and pestered her to share her weight loss secrets. Walking with friends on the sun-filled campus was a completely different world from the Intelligence Bureau tutoring room. Here, she could treat Ivlik as just an unpleasant person she would never meet again. Quickly melting into the bright and comfortable atmosphere of the campus, Cedine laughed and said that emotional distress was the best diet method.

She thought Ivlik Wintermore had permanently retreated from Cedine Liere’s life. That is, until Karen said the next year that she would be entering a fake marriage with Lieutenant Colonel Wintermore.

“That bastard. Ah, that man is completely insane, didn’t I tell you? After seeing how much I suffered last year, why would you accept such a proposal?”

“Don’t worry, Cedine. I’ve calculated everything before deciding. The benefits we’ll gain from this marriage are quite substantial.”

“We?”

“You and me, us. The Lieutenant Colonel has agreed to act as a sponsor for his only sister-in-law while maintaining the fake marriage relationship.”

Karen said she couldn’t let her sister live alone. When they met Ivlik for a meal before the marriage announcement, his demeanor was very different from when he was conducting the special tutoring. Seeing Ivlik’s impeccable manners with her own eyes, Cedine wondered who that demon she met last summer really was.

But half a year later, Karen died.