Chapter 2
How to End a One-Sided Love
The contents of that book, set in an academy and belonging to a typical romance genre, were as follows.
A heroine who was angelic, beautiful, and intelligent, and a handsome, perfect male lead who loved her. They faced obstacles from villains, but in the end, they confirmed each other’s feelings… and so on.
Up to this point, it followed the extremely standard progression of a romance novel. But if that were all, I wouldn’t have been this shocked.
If there was one strange thing about that book, it was that all the characters actually existed at our academy.
The unnamed book’s heroine was Senior Flora.
That wasn’t particularly surprising. Flora Ivy had always been a perfect person.
It also wasn’t surprising that the male lead who falls in love with the heroine was Senior Noah.
Well, no doubt it was some idle prank by someone, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant to see the person you liked involved in something like that with someone else.
But what truly made me feel terrible was the fact that I was also in that novel.
Kaitlyn Blair—someone with nothing special about her—who harbored a one-sided love for the male lead Noah, grew jealous of the heroine Flora, bullied her, and ended up being expelled as a villain.
What’s more, there was a separate main villain, and my role and screen time were minimal. At most, only a dozen or so pages? I was basically a minor character reduced to dust.
It made me feel awful.
The fact that I liked Senior Noah, along with the personalities and backgrounds of the characters, matched reality in subtle ways, which was a bit unsettling—but that was all.
“…What kind of crazy person is this?”
Frowning, I crumpled the page of the book.
Some idle, perverted, sex-obsessed lunatic had written a story like this using students from the same academy? And even used me as some disposable villain?
“So… someone wrote a strange story involving third-year Flora and Noah.”
“Yes, I believe this kind of thing should be properly punished.”
With a weary expression, I nodded vigorously toward the professor, who was rubbing their temples. My clenched fists trembled with suppressed anger.
Even opening it felt unpleasant, but since I had to report it, I forced myself to read through the entire thing. The book even described fairly intimate physical interactions between the two main characters.
That part was unpleasant too, and the fact that I had been cast in such a strange role irritated me further.
Hmph. Let whoever wrote such embarrassing nonsense about fellow students receive a hefty penalty for it.
“How dare someone use fellow academy students as material for something like this…!”
I tensed my abdomen and shouted loudly.
“Such a perverted fantasy writing!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! It’s extremely vulgar. You should be prepared before reading it.”
The professor picked up the book, squinting and adjusting their glasses as they flipped through it, then said in a puzzled tone:
“I don’t see anything.”
“…Huh?”
Surprised by the unexpected response, I rubbed my eyes and looked back at the book. The same neatly printed text I had seen yesterday was there.
What? What’s going on?
Swallowing nervously, I spoke again.
“Maybe there’s magic… embedded in the book.”
Strange—I hadn’t sensed anything like that.
Tilting my head and furrowing my brow, I came to a realization internally.
Well, it wouldn’t make sense for someone who wrote something like that not to include any protection.
Maybe there was an error in the magic circle, and only I could see it. Alright—got you now, you bastard.
“Alright, I understand. Kate, you’re not the kind of person to do something like this without reason.”
The professor examined the book from various angles and began a simple inspection using a device.
Since both victims were high-ranking nobles, it seemed the professor intended to act quickly.
Honestly, I didn’t have the courage to confront them directly. But if I could trace the magical source and find out who did it, I would glare at them intensely.
Grinding my teeth, I waited, but after finishing the inspection, the professor handed the reddish book back to me.
“How strange. There’s no magic on it at all.”
“What? That can’t be.”
I asked back, completely dumbfounded.
“Kate.”
“But—that’s impossible! It’s written right here! ‘Noah gently held Flora’s lips and softly licked them.’”
“Kaitlyn.”
The professor, now removed of their glasses, pressed their brow with a tired expression.
“Go outside.”
“…Yes.”
Holding the book, I was ushered out and stood leaning against the door.
I clutched my head in confusion. My mind was spinning.
Was I finally losing my mind just two weeks before exams?
“Kaitlyn Blair, my name is Eliza Celine from the Magic Tower.”
“Thank you for using the Magic Tower’s appraisal service. We would like to inform you that the notebook you sent contains no magic whatsoever—not even preservation or waterproof enchantments.”
“Perhaps you sent the wrong item?”
“As we will not charge you again, please resend it within two days for re-evaluation.”
“We are returning your notebook.”
When the book I had sent to the Magic Tower—along with all my saved allowance, suspecting the professor’s magical tools might be faulty—came back with such a reply, my feelings shifted from anger to doubt.
The Magic Tower was not run by quacks. Its reputation was solid, and its credibility unquestionable.
Then what on earth… was I the one who had gone mad?
Looking in the mirror, I saw a gaunt girl with dark circles extending down to her chin. If someone saw her at night, they’d probably think she was a ghost.
I bit my nails and glanced at the book sitting on my desk.
Lately, I’d been losing sleep over that thing. Even Dora had worried when she saw my face. Right. I should just stop thinking about it. That’s better. I should get back to studying for exams.
Though still full of confusion, I eventually returned the book neatly to the library.
Hoping that my condition had just been temporarily strange.
With a complicated expression, I stared down at the red hardcover book sitting prominently on my bed.
Why is this here? I had just returned it to the library ten minutes ago.
A chill ran down my spine.
“Dora, why is this here?”
“You probably left it there yourself?”
Dora, lying on the bed flipping through pages, replied casually.
“No, I returned it to the library.”
“You probably forgot to bring it back.”
“No, I didn’t forget.”
Either she thought I was hopeless or didn’t feel like responding further—she said nothing more.
Standing blankly beside the bed, I picked up the book and began tearing it apart.
“Whoa! What are you doing?”
Dora looked at me with widened eyes, startled.
There was sympathy in her dark blue eyes, as if asking whether studying had become that difficult, but I ignored it and panted heavily.
I tossed the shredded remains into the trash and immediately headed back to the bed.
“I’m going to sleep a bit.”
“Uh… okay. Sleep well.”
Dora looked flustered at my unusual behavior, even covering me with a blanket and wishing me good night.
Closing my eyes as fatigue and pain spread through my eyes, darkness quickly overtook me.
After that day, I did everything I could to get rid of that unsettling book.
I tried returning it to the library multiple times, tried burning it and even singed my uniform shirt, and even used wind magic to shred it into thousands of pieces—but like a chick imprinted on its owner, the book kept coming back to me.
“Argh!”
That insane book!
The book I had thrown to the bottom of the rear lake just ten minutes ago was now sitting perfectly intact on my bed again. I screamed and hurled it into the corner of the room.
At first, it was somewhat intriguing, but now it felt like I had become the protagonist of a ghost story. How could a book with no magic do this?
Leaning back on the bed like a tragic heroine, tears suddenly began to flow.
I clutched the book tightly and muttered,
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Talking to a book felt pathetic, but I didn’t even have the clarity of mind to realize that.
Tears dripped onto the hardcover. Its vivid red color seemed to mock me.
I wanted to tear it apart, but since I knew it would just come back again, I didn’t bother.
“What’s wrong with her?”
Dora, who had returned to the dorm, was startled to see me crying.
“Sob… I’m not crazy.”
“Yeah, you’re not crazy. There, there.”
Wiping my tears and observing my mood, Dora asked cautiously:
“Hey… did you maybe confess to Senior Noah and get rejected?”
“No, I didn’t!”
I shouted in disbelief.
Why would she assume I got rejected so obviously? It was absurd, but I decided to deal with that later.
I wanted to tell Dora everything, but I knew this situation would be hard to explain. And I didn’t want to be seen as crazy, even by my close friend.
Biting my lip, I looked at the desk that had now become the permanent resting place of that book.
“Oh, going to study?”
As I picked up and opened the book, Dora patted my back, saying I’d made a good decision.
Before I lost my mind or failed my exams, I had to get rid of this bizarre book that only I could see—whether it was just a trivial novel or something else hidden beneath.
I gnawed at my lips and rubbed my brow.
Even if it was destroyed, it would soon be restored. No matter where I discarded it, it returned to my room.
It clearly wasn’t an ordinary book—but according to the Magic Tower, it wasn’t enchanted either.
If this phenomenon wasn’t magic, then there was only one other possibility.
Could this book be related to the temple?
That hypothesis seemed fairly convincing as I swallowed nervously and looked down at the book.
