Chapter 527

527 The truth behind the recent behavior

“W-wait!” Suddenly exclaimed Jun Ye Rim.

Vincent stopped and turned around. “Are you willing to share your pain with me at last?” He asked with a reassuring gaze.

Jun Ye Rim nodded. She averted her gaze and said, “When I sometimes go to the library because Lilith insists too much to pay you a visit...”

“Go on. ” Vincent said after Jun Ye Rim paused and her cheeks brightened.

“I... I saw the same classmates with the same female students buying some kind of service. I don’t know the human customs, so I...” Jun Ye Rim covered her face and took a step back.

“Don’t leave me hanging. Please continue.” Vincent requested when Jun Ye Rim acted as if she didn’t want to continue talking.

“I-I approached once and overheard one classmate say, “You didn’t do your job right, now my teammate took my spot”...” Jun Ye Rim stopped talking again. Her hands dropped, revealing a heartbreaking face.

“Take a break because remembering something bad can be exhausting. Furthermore, telling me this is enough. I can wait until you want to talk about this matter again.”

Vincent worried about Jun Ye Rim’s mental condition. He knew how painful it was to recall certain memories. However, this was the only way to find out the truth.

.....

“It’s fine.” Jun Ye Rim shook her head.

“No, it isn’t fine, Jun Ye Rim!” Vincent exclaimed. “Remember that I will listen to anything you want to say. Painful or embarrassing, I will hear it out and help you out.”

Jun Ye Rim stared at Vincent. After learning about Vincent’s personality and how he likes to help those he knows, Jun Ye Rim started to feel she should continue instead of keeping everything to herself.

Jun Ye Rim started to think it might be fine to place her trust in Vincent with his matter.

*Gulp* “They followed me and...” She paused while averting her eyes.

Jun Ye Rim did not hear Vincent speak. Only his breathing, showing he was beside her, could be heard. Such an act made her heart race with tension, yet she also felt a little bit reassured and at ease.

After a couple of seconds of quietness passed, the sound of Jun Ye Rim gulping caught Vincent’s attention. She was ready to continue.

“They stopped me from visiting the library and took me to...” She paused, and her lips trembled.

“They warned me not to tell anyone... they hit me and said this was only a...” Jun Ye Rim’s trembling voice, accompanied by falling tears, made the next words sound worse than they probably meant.

“It was a little warning...”

“So they thought making you become a less credible person with the rumors would hide the fact that they are trying to buy an escort service in the academy. ” Vincent concluded. He looked at Jun Ye Rim and continued reassuringly, “I will tell everyone what happened and never let you be by yourself.”

“But...”

“No buts Jun Ye Rim. If they touch you again...” *Crack* Vincent cracked his knuckles and continued with a glare, “Your arm will look like a minor injury compared to what will be in store for them.”

Vincent turned around to leave. He stopped after taking a few steps and decided to say, “Your family abandoned you. The elves abandoned you. You think you are a cursed being making everyone’s lives difficult.”

Vincent turned his head and looked at Jun Ye Rim. “Even if saying your name in reverse means remembering all these things, the name Mirey sounds wonderful. It is the name of a different person. A name of a new chance. You do not need the past if the present will be lived as if the past didn’t exist.”

Vincent smiled warmly and offered. “I do not mind Mirey Lionheart as my next wife.”

After smoothly proposing to Jun Ye Rim, Vincent left the astonished elf rooted to the ground and unable to blink alone.

Vincent returned to the mansion. He saw everyone trying to find Jun Ye Rim, and some even discussed leaving to look for her at the academy.

Vincent approached them and asked to have an emergency meeting as soon as possible.

[It looks like you found her. That sly elf has gotten used to concealing her mana and scent to avoid detection. Where was she?] Kazumi said after returning.

-She was listening to our conversation. Fortunately, I managed to hear about what happened, but I will tell you later with the others present.-

[I... understand...] The curious Kazumi unhappily said.

Later, Vincent explained everything that happened to Jun Ye Rim and why she started acting distant. Everyone frowned, and their heart began beating fasted out of anger when Vincent stopped speaking.

No one uttered a word as if they needed time to digest the information. However, even though there was silence, their frowns formed out of anger were enough to show how they were currently feeling.

As if predetermined by fate, Jun Ye Rim approached a few seconds after Vincent stopped talking.

Jun Ye Rim’s footsteps were heard, and everyone turned their heads while their frowns were visible. Her body trembled, and she started thinking it was right to keep everything to herself.

The ground slightly trembled when Ester, Lupa, Iris, Lilith, Plow, Nick, Clair, Vivid, and Pussy all ran to Jun Ye Rim. What happened next caused Jun Ye Rim to freeze in place.

“Why didn’t you tell us!”

“How are you feeling now?”

“I could have helped if you asked!”

Jun Ye Rim couldn’t believe what was happening right at this moment. Instead of being pitied, she was receiving care and kindness. It could be heard from their voices and their expressions how everyone was genuinely worried about her.

When Jun Ye Rim heard how they were going to protect her from harm and later heard how she should depend on them, the tears couldn’t hold back.

Jun Ye Rim, with a poker face, had tears raining from her eyes, yet she never broke into crying. She stood straight and acted as if she wasn’t crying to hide her emotions. It showed how much Jun Ye Rim had to change herself in order to blend in.

“Jun Ye Rim. This team is your new family. You are our Jun Ye Rim. You are also our Mirey.” Said Vincent with a warm smile.

Vincent’s words soon caused a chain reaction of agreements.

“You are our friend.”

“You are our comrade.”

“You are our partner.”

Jun Ye Rim couldn’t believe if this was real or if this was a trick. She never expected to have someone treat her like a friend in her entire life.

Jun Ye Rim felt strange while her heart felt at ease. She felt as if everything was going to be fine because no one was going to hate her for bringing unnecessary trouble to their team.

*Day 166 – 21 November – Saturday*

The next morning arrived, and it became eventful quickly. Everyone woke up early in the morning and split into four groups.

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Vincent and Nick changed their appearance. The two of them left to the flower garden where the vicious classmates might appear.

Fortunately, Jun Ye Rim decided to say who they were. She murmured how she could remember a name and a face by hearing them once.

Thus, Vincent and Nick were looking for the five male classmates of team five. Instead of confronting them directly and beating the living lights out of them like Lupa suggested many times, they decided to gather proof.

Furthermore, the plan could also serve as proof in case they were told it was slander. With Kazumi’s photographic memory and remembering the female students’ faces, the identification process would become easier.

Ester and Lupa, in her white wolf form, formed another group. Ester wore a wig and also wore Lilith’s uniform. She looked somewhat happy to put some pieces of fabric to make her chest look bigger.

On the other hand, Lupa felt like being tortured when they applied clumps of ashes with water to her beautiful white fur. Lupa felt she was receiving the worst kind of humiliation in her entire life as she now looked like a dirty gray wolf.

Clair with a different appearance, Pussy in her cat from purring happily from the exciting day she was about to embark on, and Vivid protecting them formed the third reconnaissance group.

The last group consisted of the anxious Lilith, the difficult-to-disguise Iris, and the recognizable Plow. The three of them were to keep Jun Ye Rim company and greet Maira or Tiffi if they would visit.

*Reconnaissance Group One*

Vincent, Ester, Lupa, and Nick arrived at the arrival hall, where they split up and headed in different directions.

Later, Vincent and Nick arrived at their destination. They found a seat near the start of the flower garden’s entrance and took out a book. They acted as if reading while their eyes moved to catch their targets in their sights.

Kazumi was also there to help, so no one was going to enter the flower garden unnoticed.

*Reconnaissance Group Two*

One walked happily and the other grumpily. Ester loved to experience what gathering lustful attention was like.

On the other hand, Lupa looked angry, and her teeth were about to appear the angrier she got. If their targets appeared, Lupa might bite them until someone manages to stop her from the amount of anger and hate building inside her.

*Reconnaissance Group Three*

Clair arrived at Paradise Island. She walked nervously at first, but Pussy’s meowing relaxed her anxiety. Additionally, behind her followed Vivid with the task of protecting his master’s girlfriend and her servant.