Free Web NovelChapter 15: Alicia’s POV [Part-1]
On the morning of the academy’s opening ceremony, inside a room near the end of the first-floor corridor in the girls’ dormitory, a silver-haired girl slept peacefully. Her expression was soft, looking as if she had no worries about the world.
The first rays of sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains and fell directly onto her beautiful face.
Suddenly, she frowned in her sleep, as if she felt something highly unsettling and weird.
Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up hurriedly in her bed.
She looked everywhere around the room. Everything looked both unfamiliar and familiar at the exact same time.
She quickly clutched her hand over her chest, right over her heart. It should have been pierced and bleeding, but right now, it was completely alright.
It felt as if her entire reality had suddenly been pulled back into the past.
She stood up from her bed and pulled the curtains away from the window. Bright sunlight poured down from the sky, illuminating the room in a gentle light. Alicia looked out of the window and stared at the massive crowds of students walking in the direction of the Grand Hall.
At that exact moment, she finally realized what had actually happened.
She pressed her hand against the cold glass of the window and looked up toward the morning sky.
"So it seems, I really regressed back into the past..."
A slow, deliberate smile revealed itself on her lips.
"It seems I will get to relive the whole story all over again... And this time, it will be with all the knowledge from my past."
She turned around and walked toward the tall mirror to check her reflection. Her silver hair fell gently down past her waist. Her striking lavender eyes stared at her reflection with a gentle but firm look. She had already decided exactly what her main goal in this new life would be.
"So it seems, it is time to go and meet you, my dear... And this time, I will be your only one."
She smiled darkly.
"I won’t let anything happen to you ever again... You are mine to stay with, you are mine to play with... you are mine to protect."
She turned around and walked into the washroom to get ready for the first day of her new journey after her regression.
***
Alicia’s POV
’So where is he sitting? Knowing his usual habits, he must be sitting all the way in the back...’
’Mhmm...’
My gaze turned over to the back row, actively searching for that familiar figure. Finally, I spotted him sitting in the very back of the hall. He had messy black hair, glowing crimson eyes, and that same incredibly handsome face.
’He is sitting there all alone in a secluded corner, thinking no one will notice him. How adorable... But he doesn’t know that he can never escape from me.’
’He looks so cute and clueless, exactly like before. He is trying to pretend that he can easily survive in this brutal place... But do not worry. I will not let anything bad happen to you anymore.’
I stared deeply into his crimson eyes, noticing they looked a little different from what I was used to seeing. Any normal person might not have noticed the subtle change. But as someone who had been obsessed with him for years, I clearly noticed the difference.
’His eyes look much different from what I saw in my last life. They are noticeably brighter... It seems he has already awakened that.’
’Well... I will not step on your path directly, but I will also not let you achieve your goals also.’
I turned my head around as I sensed the dangerous presence of someone approaching. My gaze fell on the front of the room, looking directly toward the main stage. She entered the hall and introduced herself as ’Alexa von Veldora’, completely hiding her true nature behind a friendly mask.
’I cannot blame her, especially when I also wear a mask. A mask is not worn just to hide our inner self. It is worn in order to suppress our raging emotions. If I had not worn my mask right now, I wouldn’t have been able to just sit here calmly. I would have already kidnapped him and dragged him somewhere to the far end of the world, where no problems could ever reach him.’
’But I know I cannot do that yet. He has his own path to walk on, and I cannot step on it. Or rather, I never wanted to step on it.’
’This entire world is fated to revolve entirely around him. Not right now, but someday soon.’
’I know exactly how sensitive he is. If I act too forceful right now, he will definitely feel repulsed by me, just like how he felt during my last life. I cannot let that happen again. I have to control my overflowing emotions and take things slow.’
’Just wait for some time, Alden. I will definitely win over your heart soon.’
I looked back at the front, seeing Alexa’s dark smile forming on her lips.
’Hmm... so it seems she is finally going to show her true colors to the freshers.’
The moment she released her heavy aura, the room temperature suddenly plummeted. The crushing pressure slammed into everyone in the hall like a massive tidal wave. More than half the students instantly fell hard to their knees, passing out.
I just sat there calmly, folding my arms and crossing my legs. The invisible pressure washed right over me, but I remained completely unaffected by it.
’It is actually quite weak... She didn’t even release 1% of her true power... But I suppose that is for the best. If she had used more, this Grand Hall wouldn’t have survived. It would have easily broken into chunks.’
The raw pressure of an SS-ranker, whose power was vast enough to effortlessly wipe out a small nation, was definitely not weak. It was strong enough to kill every single student in this room instantly if she had not held it back. Even with her holding back, the sturdy walls of the Grand Hall seemed to crack slightly, even though they were reinforced with high-tier magic stones specifically designed to make the building more durable against magical attacks.
As the dust settled, only a handful of students remained conscious.
Suddenly, I felt a heavy, constant gaze fixed directly on me. I looked over at the stage. Principal Alexa was looking straight at me from the podium.
I stared right back at her, meeting her intense gaze without flinching.
’It seems she noticed me. Not as a regressor, but simply as a talented student who might shine brightly in her academy.’
’But do I actually care about this academy? Not even a little bit.’
I met her eyes deliberately, issuing a silent challenge. Our gazes locked for a few long seconds. Then, she casually turned toward the other conscious students. She used her spatial magic and disappeared into thin air, but not before briefly turning her pupils toward me one last time.
I looked at the empty space left behind on the stage. A small, almost imperceptible smile tugged on my lips.
’It seems I just got a new, useful tool to use for my plans.’
My gaze shifted back to Alden. He slowly stood up from his back seat and started walking out of the hall.
’It seems he is heading back to the boys’ dorm room. Should I just follow him right now? Should I just grab him, pin him down, and tell him to be mine?...’
’Sigh... How incredibly impatient of me. It seems my brain is going to be completely consumed at this rate because of my rapidly increasing obsession... No. I have to suppress it, at least until my goal is completed.’
I stood up smoothly from my seat and walked over toward the main exit of the hall.
Before I could leave, an academy assistant stepped in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.
I didn’t say anything to her. I already knew exactly what she was going to say.
She also seemed to notice that I already knew why she was here. Without speaking a word, she turned around and started to lead me away.
