Chapter 179: I Really Deserve to Die
Rita kept her distance over the following days. It was a calculated move; showing up too frequently around St. Freya would only draw unwanted eyes and unnecessary suspicion.
Meanwhile, Bronya's relentless tutoring sessions were yielding actual results. Kiana could hardly be crowned valedictorian, but she was finally retaining the core material instead of instantly forgetting it the moment she closed the textbook.
The real tension in the dorm, however, stemmed from Rovel. He was giving Kiana the absolute cold shoulder. After she had casually thrown him under the bus earlier that week, he simply stopped talking to her. When she whined for him to help regulate her chaotic Honkai energy, he flatly refused, walking right past her without a second glance.
It took Bronya spelling out the exact reason for his icy demeanor for Kiana's single-threaded brain to process her mistake. Panicked, she promised to treat him to a lavish meal to make amends. Only then did the frost begin to thaw.
"I swear, Rovel can be so inexplicably petty sometimes," Kiana muttered. She rested her chin in her hands, her elbows propped on the dining table as she watched him happily devour the food she was paying for.
"It is entirely the idiot Kiana's fault for running her mouth," Bronya replied flatly, slicing her food without looking up. She had zero intention of taking the Kaslana's side.
And Bronya was right. Rovel had gone out of his way to help them persuade Himeko, securing their chance to participate in the upcoming assessment. He had spent his own energy regulating Kiana's internal flow, dragged her to the armory to see the Valkyrie Battlesuits just to ignite her motivation, and even smuggled in high-end desserts from Rita to keep her spirits up during late-night study sessions.
His reward for all that care? A swift, careless backstab from the very girl he was helping. Anyone would have locked her out. It was completely understandable why he was angry.
"Well, maybe if he wasn't always teasing me..." Kiana grumbled under her breath.
Rovel paused mid-bite. He slowly shifted his gaze toward her, his eyes narrowing into a dangerous, silent threat. Kiana instantly threw both hands into the air in a posture of absolute surrender.
"Okay, okay! I know I was wrong! I'm apologizing, aren't I?"
Rovel swallowed his food and shook his head slowly. "A simple apology and a single meal hardly demonstrate true sincerity."
Kiana's mouth twitched as she pointed at his nearly empty plate. "You seem to be enjoying it just fine."
Rovel merely hummed, a low, warning sound in the back of his throat.
Kiana slumped forward, utterly defeated. "Fine. You tell me. What is it going to take for you to actually forgive me?"
Rovel remained silent. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes slowly raking over her from head to toe, calculating.
Kiana gasped, her face flushing crimson as she violently crossed her arms over her chest. "That kind of thing is absolutely not allowed!"
Rovel let out a long, heavy sigh, spreading his hands in mock disappointment.
"What is that sigh supposed to mean?!" Kiana shrieked, feeling deeply insulted.
Ignoring her outrage, he calmly picked up his glass and took a slow sip of his drink.
"Say something!" Kiana demanded, her panic rising.
Rovel set the glass down and locked eyes with her. "I want you to give me..."
"I knew it! You have been plotting against me this entire time!" Kiana hissed, hugging herself tighter, her imagination running wild. "Even if you stole my first kiss, I would never give my body to you! Don't even think about it!"
"The usage rights to your head," Rovel finished, his tone completely deadpan.
Kiana, who was practically baring her fangs like a cornered cat, froze. She blinked. The usage rights to her head? What on earth did that mean?
"To put it simply," Rovel explained, interlacing his fingers on the table, "I get to change your hairstyle whenever I please. I can pat your head anytime, anywhere. You are not allowed to resist, you are not allowed to hit me, and you are certainly not allowed to hiss at me like a feral stray."
"Why should you get to control my hair?!" she protested instantly.
"Because aside from that, you possess absolutely nothing else of value that interests me."
He maintained a perfectly serious expression, projecting an aura of absolute authority that left zero room for negotiation.
Bronya paused her eating to shoot Rovel a sidelong glance. The request was utterly ridiculous. It was painfully obvious to anyone with a functioning brain what he was actually doing. He was just using this absurd contract as an excuse to build a closer, more affectionate dynamic with the white-haired girl.
It was a transparent, shallow scheme. Even an idiot like Kiana could not possibly fall for something so blatantly manipulative...
"Fine! I agree," Kiana declared, puffing out her chest. "But I have one condition!"
Bronya let out a quiet, defeated sigh. She had somehow managed to underestimate the sheer depths of Kiana's stupidity.
"Let us hear it," Rovel said, nodding graciously.
"You cannot use this to prank me! No making my hair look like an afro or doing weird stuff just to embarrass me in public!"
"Acceptable. My styling choices will always be rooted in respecting your personal dignity," Rovel lied smoothly.
"And..." Kiana's voice softened just a fraction, though she quickly raised a tiny, threatening fist. "You are not allowed to be mad at me anymore. If you keep ignoring me, I am going to beat you up!"
She bared her teeth in a mock growl, looking less like a threat and more like a very confused, very cute puppy.
Her words caused both Rovel and Bronya to freeze.
The realization hit them simultaneously. Kiana had not agreed to this bizarre, one-sided demand because she was tricked. She had agreed because she was genuinely terrified of losing Rovel's friendship. She just wanted him to stop being angry with her.
Slowly, Bronya turned her head toward Rovel. The mild disdain in her gray eyes rapidly morphed into absolute, unfiltered disgust.
"I am a monster. I am utterly guilty," Rovel whispered, his posture slumping as an imaginary spotlight of shame washed over him.
To emphasize the point, Bronya tapped her bracer, projecting a glowing holographic sign directly over Rovel's head that read: GUILTY OF MANIPULATING IDIOTS.
Kiana blinked at the glowing letters, completely lost. "Wait, what is going on now?"
"It is nothing," Bronya said, taking another bite of her meal. "A certain scumbag just located his conscience and is currently repenting for his sins."
"Eh? Me?" Kiana pointed at herself. She possessed just enough self-awareness to know that in a room containing the three of them, she was usually the designated idiot.
"Do not worry, Kiana. The Bronya is not talking about you," the silver-haired girl replied softly, a rare moment of mercy where she chose not to bicker. "Just eat your food."
By the time they finished eating, Rovel's guilt had reached critical mass. He immediately snatched the bill away from Kiana, paying for the entire meal himself. On the way back to the dorms, he bought her an armful of premium snacks, leaving the Kaslana girl thoroughly bewildered.
Her single-threaded brain simply could not process why his attitude had pulled such a drastic one-eighty. But as she munched on a limited-edition chocolate bar, she decided she did not really care. It felt nice to have him doting on her again.
Later that night, in the quiet darkness of his room, Rovel abruptly sat bolt upright in bed. He raised a hand and delivered a crisp, stinging slap to his own cheek.
"I really deserve to die," he muttered to the ceiling.
The morning sun bathed the St. Freya training grounds in a crisp, golden light. Himeko stood before the assembled group, her clipboard tucked under one arm. "Are you all ready?"
"Do not worry about a thing, Aunt Himeko! I am definitely going to crush this assessment!" Kiana declared, planting her hands firmly on her hips. She practically radiated confidence.
"Mm, good luck," Himeko replied with a warm smile. She held back her usual sarcastic remarks. She had personally witnessed the grueling effort the girl had put in over the last few days.
Kiana turned her attention to the stoic girl standing quietly nearby. "By the way, Class Monitor, are you participating in the assessment today too? I thought you were already a B-rank Valkyrie."
Fu Hua calmly pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "That is correct. Which is why today, I am taking the exam to officially become an A-rank Valkyrie."
"An A-rank Valkyrie..." Kiana murmured, a flicker of genuine envy shining in her blue eyes.
That was her ultimate goal. Theresa had promised that the moment Kiana achieved A-rank status, she would finally reveal the truth about her missing father, Siegfried. She had to push harder.
"What about you, Rovel?" Kiana asked, spinning around to face him. "Are you going to take the A-rank Schicksal Knight assessment?"
Rovel offered a helpless shrug, spreading his hands. "My internal Honkai reserves are still recovering. I am in no condition to participate in live combat assessments right now. For today, I am strictly acting as a proctor. I will be cheering for you from the safety of the observation deck."
That was the official excuse, anyway. In truth, his mind was focused on a much larger piece of the puzzle: the Gem of Desire.
If his timeline calculations were correct, the Gem of Desire should have already been implanted into Wendy's body. According to the original lore he remembered, the tragic transplantation experiment had taken place three years prior to the main storyline's start—which, in this current timeline, meant it had happened just last year. The brilliant, high-flying Valkyrie was already confined to a wheelchair, her potential crippled by Schicksal's ambition.
He stared out across the training grounds, his thoughts drifting toward the wind-bound girl. Perhaps there was a way he could intervene. Perhaps he could do something to save Wendy before the storm truly broke.
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