[Alicia's POV]
It was a rainy night. I was waiting for Ravin to return from his usual night training, but even after a long time, he didn't come back—I had a bad feeling, so I went to check on him.
When I arrived, I watched him fight for his life. Blood was dripping from his body, he was breathing heavily with a pained expression on his face, yet he still kept fighting.
Seeing him like that, something broke inside me. It felt like daggers were clawing at my heart. It hurted me to see him wounded. Only then did I realize how much I loved him. At that moment, I hated myself for being so weak.
When he killed the last assassin and leaned on a tree, I ran toward him and fell to my knees, gently placing his head on my lap.
He told me that he was fine, even though I could see how much he was hurting. Seeing him like this made me cry as I told him how scared I was.
It was at that moment that something changed inside me. My heart was filled with love... and something darker, something different than obsession. It was possessiveness.
I told him that we had to get him to a healer, but he told me he'd be fine thanks to his physique.
"Ah, I love you so much. You will always be by my side. You are mine. If you ever get hurt, hehe, I will loc—"
I kept gently stroking his hair with a loving expression, but my head was filled with dangerous thoughts. And I liked them.
Then, Ravin called out to me and asked if I hated him after seeing him kill without hesitation.
I could never hate him. I hurriedly said so. I even liked it a bit—of course, I didn't say that part out loud.
"I want to make a harem."
When I heard those words, I froze. My eyes darkened, and my possessiveness surged.
I hugged him tightly and whispered, "You are mine, mine and mine alone."
But he suddenly pushed me away, looked at me with an annoyed expression, and told me that he wasn't a toy to be owned, and that he would make a harem—his tone was cold.
Hearing his cold tone and words, I cried and ran toward the orphanage.
Even though I could hear him calling after me, asking me to stop, I couldn't.
After locking myself in my room, I cried—not because he shouted at me, but because of my own attitude. I couldn't even begin to imagine what I'd do if he left me. I didn't hate him, even after all that, but my possessiveness dimmed when I heard him say I didn't care about his feelings. I could even die for him, so I decided to change for him.
When he came knocking at my door, I ignored him and kept crying. But even after more than 40 minutes, he was still outside. So I opened the door. The moment I saw him, I started begging him not to leave me alone, that I will do anything he wants.
He suddenly hugged me tightly and told me I would always have a special place in his heart and would never leave me.
Hearing those words while crying in his arms made me feel loved and warm. It was then that I decided: I would not stop him from spending time with other women—but when he's with me, I will make sure he only thinks of me.
After that, we spent the night sleeping together, while I tightly hugged him.
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TWO YEARS LATER
[Ravin's POV]
I stood outside the orphanage gate with a big bag stuffed to the brim. Of course, I could've stored everything in my system inventory, but I decided to wait until I left—otherwise, I'd have to explain things to Grandma.
Speaking of her—she stood there with tearful eyes but didn't say anything.
Everyone had gathered outside to see me off, as today was the day I would set out to explore the world on my own. We have already talked about it a lot of times, that's why nobody said anything and just stood there with sad eyes.
In these past two years, a lot had happened. First, Alicia awakened her blood affinity, which she was originally supposed to awaken later. Now, she has both fire and blood affinities.
Grandpa eventually found out about the assassin attack. He already knew about my strength, so he simply asked for the details—and didn't tell Grandma. I also made a mental note to dispose of the bodies next time I killed someone.
Over the years, Alicia got... better. Don't get me wrong—she's still a yandere, and I love her for that. But the extreme possessiveness? That calmed down. In the beginning, she was just pretending, but over time, she really did improve.
Alicia's strength also skyrocketed. She reached the Apprentice- rank already. After that attack, she started training like crazy—only eating, sleeping, and training. Eventually, I had to step in before she destroyed herself. So, we began training together. She decided to become a mage—just like in the game.
And honestly? She's insanely talented. She learned two spells that Grandpa bought for her.
In this world, people can learn skills and spells by understanding their fundamental structure and mastering them through sheer effort. Alicia's spells were both of common rank—but she mastered them to the Master level. That kind of talent is rare.
There are five levels of mastery:
• Novice
• Master
• Expert
• Perfection
• Transcended
Most people struggle to make it past Master, but Alicia did it in two years. Her talent doesn't lose out to even the prodigies of wealthy families.
Now, as for us... our relationship improved a lot over these two years. She even accepted the fact that I'd have other women—but she became even more clingy.
We even went as far as holding han—okay, okay, don't look at me like that. I had to make that joke.
It's surprising, though. Now that I'm about to leave for an adventure—and we won't see each other until we meet at Nelix Academy, years later—she's quiet.
While I was lost in thought, Alicia ran up and hugged me tightly.
"Go and get stronger. I'll miss you. Also... try to keep the number of girls you get low."
She whispered that in a low voice.
She looked so adorable right now, I almost wanted to cancel everything and stay. But strength comes first.
"Of course I'll get stronger. But... no promises on getting fewer girls. I mean just looking at me would make girls fall for me."
My voice turned playful at the end—which earned me a punch on my back and a pout. Urgh, she looked so cute. Like a hamster. An angry, blushing hamster.
I couldn't help myself—I leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Her face turned red like a tomato, but she still didn't let go of the hug. If this were an anime I swear there would be steam coming out of her ears.
"Now will you let me go, or are you planning on hugging me all day? I mean, I'm not against it, but... I need to leave."
I chuckled.
She just glared at me and finally stepped back, looking like a hurt kitten.
"Bye, Grandma. Bye, Grandpa. Bye, everyone. I'll make sure to send letters."
I ignored Alicia, who just pouted again, waved at my family, and turned to walk away.
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(A/N: Sorry for not updating for 2 days. I wasn't well, so I couldn't write. But now I'll start posting chapters daily.)