Chapter 4.1

“Haah, ah…”  

Delia’s ragged breaths echoed through the empty classroom.  

‘How many more times are left…?’  

She had grown quite accustomed to having s*x with Kartan Roxen.  

No, she couldn’t deny that there were moments when she even enjoyed the act itself.  

Delia, who had been lying face down on the desk, slowly straightened her body.  

While fixing her disheveled clothes, she glanced at Kartan.  

Despite the intense intimacy they had just shared, Kartan looked completely unaffected, unlike her.  

With an expression devoid of emotion, Kartan calmly wiped away the remnants of her fluids from his manhood and leisurely began dressing himself.  

It was hard to believe that this was the same man who, just moments ago, had been carrying out such vulgar experiments to see if she could resist “taking him in.”  

“Delia.”  

Contrary to her expectation that he would leave immediately as usual, Kartan suddenly called out to her.  

“Why are you so obsessed with being number one?”  

The question that followed was something Delia had not anticipated.  

And, of course, it wasn’t a pleasant one.  

“You already know, don’t you?”  

Her response came out sharp. From Delia’s perspective, there was no way she could answer kindly.  

She couldn’t understand why he toyed with her under such conditions, but since he knew she wanted to be number one, he must have proposed this arrangement based on that knowledge.  

If so, he must also know the reason.  

“Why bother asking?”  

“I’m genuinely curious.”  

However, his tone didn’t suggest he was lying.  

“Do you really love your family that much?”  

The short question, muttered almost casually, was enough to get under Delia’s skin.  

“What do they even do for you? Your family.”  

Kartan Roxen was essentially asking, ‘Do you really need to be number one just to gain your family’s approval?’  

A surge of anger welled up in Delia.  

It felt as though all her efforts up to this point were being invalidated in an instant.  

What did he know about my life?!  

“You don’t know anything!”  

Delia snapped sharply, her face flushing red, her breath quickening as her emotions spilled over.  

“Shut that mouth of yours. Acremen is everything to me.”  

Suppressing her emotions as best as she could, Delia spoke through gritted teeth.  

Since the age of eleven, Delia’s entire world had revolved around the Acremen Family.  

“If I’m not number one, I can’t be an Acremen.”  

She had lived her life in pursuit of her family’s recognition.  

“Do you really think your family genuinely cares about you? That they want you to be number one out of love?”  

Kartan’s question, which seemed to deny all of her efforts, felt like a direct attack on her most vulnerable spot. 

Delia knew the answer to his probing question.  

But she chose to ignore the conclusion her mind had already reached.  

“It doesn’t matter. I want to live as Delia Acremen.”  

Her voice trembled as she answered.  

Yes. That was enough. Delia herself wanted to be an Acremen. That was her only goal and reason.  

“This pointless conversation has gone on long enough. I’ll be leaving now.”  

Pulling herself together, Delia quickly walked out of the classroom.  

Tap, tap, tap.  

The sound of her footsteps echoed down the hallway, carrying the weight of her turbulent emotions.  

As the sound of Delia’s retreating steps faded into the distance,  

“You’re making it impossible for me not to care about you.”  

Kartan muttered to himself, a faint smile playing on his lips.  

***

A few days later, the academy was abuzz with excitement as the festival approached.  

As an institution focused on nurturing talent, the academy didn’t host many large events aside from this annual festival, which only heightened the anticipation.  

‘Will Father come alone? Or perhaps Mother, Sister, or Brother might join him?’  

For Delia, it was a day she had been looking forward to.  

Unlike last year, she had started this year as number one.  

And her father had sent a letter saying he would attend.  

She felt as though she had taken a significant step—no, three steps—closer to her wish for her family’s recognition.  

As she walked through the corridor in high spirits, a familiar voice called out from behind her.  

“Delia.”  

She flinched, her shoulders jerking slightly.  

Her body instinctively recognized the voice’s owner—Kartan Roxen.  

“…What is it?”  

As always, his handsome face, tall stature, and broad shoulders stood out.  

When her gaze met Kartan’s deep green eyes, Delia unconsciously took a step back.  

It was the first time she had faced him since she had told him to shut his mouth that day.  

By her count, about a week had passed since then.  

As she regarded him with wary eyes, Kartan’s reaction was one of exaggerated offense.  

“What? Am I not allowed to call you?”  

“Don’t you think it’s odd for us to be having such casual conversations?”  

Delia couldn’t bring herself to speak to him kindly.  

After all, just a week ago, such an incident had occurred.  

Yet Kartan, as if nothing had happened, responded with his characteristic unhurried smile.  

“But we’re close enough to share milk, aren’t we?”  

Even his playful remark carried a reference to what had happened a week ago, though with a different meaning.  

“You, you!”  

Delia’s face turned bright red in an instant.  

Kartan Roxen had truly lost his mind! To make such lewd comments in a corridor where anyone might overhear!  

She quickly glanced around to ensure no one was nearby.  

Fortunately, the corridor was empty.  

“Have you gone mad?”  

This time, Delia couldn’t simply ignore him.  

The remark was far too inappropriate. Just as she was about to scold him further,  

“Huh? What are you talking about? I was referring to the fruit milk I gave you in the cafeteria that day.”  

“F-fruit milk?”  

“Why? What were you imagining to make your face turn so red?”  

Feigning ignorance, Kartan smirked, leaning closer to whisper in her ear.  

“Of course, you also enjoyed my thick white milk, didn’t you?”  

Delia was left speechless, her thoughts in disarray.  

“You couldn’t resist, could you? You even asked me to feed it to you, to put it in for you.”  

As his warm breath brushed against her ear, each word he spoke felt like a bomb going off.  

Kartan Roxen was truly insane.  

Delia’s hands trembled with suppressed rage.  

“Did you call me here just to mess around?”  

“Of course not. I was curious about something.”  

And yet, he claimed he had simply called her out of curiosity.  

Dealing with him always felt like being dragged along, unable to predict where he might lead her next.  

Delia let out a deep sigh before asking,  

“…Haah. What is it?”  

She had no choice. She still needed to maintain their arrangement.  

“Are you planning to study during the festival again this year?”  

But his question was completely unexpected.  

Even considering his unpredictable nature, this was surprising.  

“Why do you care?”  

“Well, I thought we could go around together during the festival.”  

Kartan replied as if it were no big deal, much like when he had first proposed their arrangement.  

But to Delia, it was anything but trivial.  

Her expression twisted into a frown.  

“What? Why would I?”  

“Do you really want to know the reason?”  

Kartan smirked mischievously.  

To him, Delia’s wary demeanor was quite amusing.  

‘She’s cute like this, too.’  

The reason Kartan wanted to spend the festival with Delia was simple.  

He wanted to show her off to his brother.  

‘I’ll get an immediate reaction.’  

Kartan knew his brother, Repel Roxen, very well.  

Unlike Kartan, who quickly grew bored of things, his brother had a strong tendency toward obsession.  

Naturally, his brother was likely still fixated on Delia.  

Now was the perfect time to show her off to him.  

He was curious to see how someone who had never had anything taken from him by his younger brother would react.  

‘What kind of reaction will he have?’  

Kartan knew full well that his twisted motivation stemmed from wanting to take something his brother desired first.  

But what did it matter?  

Delia benefited from being number one.  

Kartan enjoyed ensuring his brother couldn’t have Delia.  

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.  

“Of course, there must be a reason.”  

However, Delia didn’t seem pleased.  

‘It’d be better if she cooperated.’ 

Kartan thought, a trace of dissatisfaction crossing his mind.  

Once he showed her to his brother during the festival, perhaps he’d let her go from his web rather quickly.  

Sure, he could always force her to come along, but wouldn’t it be better if she moved on her own?  

Having reached that conclusion, Kartan stared at her intently and asked,  

“Why don’t you try doing something you enjoy for a change instead of just studying?”  

“Something I enjoy?”  

As if such a thing existed…  

Delia was momentarily at a loss for words, unable to answer.  

It was the first time anyone had ever asked her about what she liked.  

Caught off guard by the question, she even forgot how Kartan Roxen had infuriated her earlier.  

“I…,” 

She began.  

What do I enjoy?  

It was a question she had neither been asked nor asked herself before.  

Even when she tried to pose the question to herself, the answer didn’t come easily.