The wide corridor spanned throughout the length of the building, divulging into rooms on the right and windows on the left that offered a picturesque view of the city. Commuters were scarce in the glare of the afternoon sun, but the winters had many of them walking through the streets idly. Nervous Academians stood regularly spaced, some bunched among their groups, like my lady and her two villainess friends, other isolated, trying to calm their nerves.

Every room had a name, but they were nothing more than empty classrooms designated for various menial chores of the Academy, may it be conducting prelims or combat courses offered for the first years. Today, only the final year Academians populated the floor, Placa hall at the far end of the corridor their only destination. If you did not count the washroom, that probably had water running by now.

“We’ll get going, Leti,” Casey said when they saw a couple of students walking out of the hall.

My lady nodded, waving at them hesitantly. “Good luck.”

“Aw, my baby,” Beth grinned at her and patted my lady’s shoulder. “Forgive me for today. I really wanted to touch you and give you my luck.”

My lady didn’t slap her hand away and turned toward the window, partly embarrassed but mostly annoyed. Casey giggled as they plodded through the crowd, which naturally split up when they heard Beth clicking her tongue. Word sure travels fast because they had an entire path paved for them right through the center of the corridor.

“Mongrel, can you come up?” my lady looked at my eye with an intense gaze. “I’ll take responsibility, so don’t worry about the mages.”

I wasn’t worried about some ignorant mages, but mingling among swarming kids didn’t quite sound right. It’s not that there weren’t any maids occupying some nobles, but there were certainly no butlers.

My afternoon nap had to wait; that was my only regret. Nevertheless, I got up and trudged through the mild warmth of the solemn sun into the shade offered by the Academy. A peaceful journey through the stairs was interrupted by the Academ, who was descending the stairs, and her eyes paused at me for a tad too long as she walked past me.

“Rudolf,” she said in not quite a friendly tone. “Where are you going?”

“My lady needs me, lady Yura,” I bowed politely, turning around, and offered my sincere smile, which never sat well with the mortals.

“That Letitia,” Yura sighed and waved her hand at me. “Go. You never saw me.”

“Thank you–“

“Just Yura, Rudolf,” she said. “I’m not a nobility.”

“Doesn’t make a difference, lady Yura,” I shrugged. “Nobility or not, as long as you are not my lady’s enemy, you will get the respect you deserve.”

“Your obsession with Letitia is disconcerting, Rudolf,” she sighed and continued her way down the stairs.

Obsession for amusement, I corrected her mentally and ascended the stairs without any interludes.

Feelings towards mortals don’t come by easy for the undead. Mortals crave warmth from other mortals because of their fear of death and fear of uncertainty. It’s not love that forms the basis of companionship but fear of being singled out. That’s why mortals will remain ignorant, for the absolute truth is none of their concern as long as they get an immediate answer that seems satisfactory. And one that never hurts their feelings of superiority.

That’s why only exceptional humans can transcend the mortality that binds them. Because they are not interested in society or civilization, rather their passion lies in unearthing the pure unadulterated knowledge that rules the world. Mortals might label them crazy for acting all high and mighty, but it’s just their insecurities and ignorance springing up again.

When I reached my lady, she was staring out toward the city, her chin latent on her arms that rested on the window sill. Her eyes lit up when she noticed my silhouette, and she beckoned me to stand beside her.

“Took you long enough, mongrel,” she said, ignoring the stares I garnered. Beth and Casey waved at me from the end of the corridor, and I returned the greeting when my lady pulled my hand.

“Are you nervous, my lady?” I asked, leaning on the sill beside her. My [Devil eye] rested in her shoulder, and it helped her garner some peace of mind.

She scowled at me, but her gaze imperceptibly turned soft, and she moved closer, almost leaning against my arms for solace.

“Letitia,” I heard the familiar voice behind us, the heroine’s genuine kindness hard to ignore. “And Rudolf?”

My lady’s eyes turned cold as we turned out in succession. “Don’t call my mongrel’s name! And it’s lady Letitia for you!”

She was alone, and her entourage of three men was at the far end of the corridor, ready to stab me any passing moment. Not that I was scared, but I didn’t like to become the object of the hatred of some puny brats. Gladiata’s gaze at me softened, and I sighed.

“Please treat him better. He’s your faithful friend, after all,” Gladiata said, and I almost saw a glowing light behind her head. Ambiance effect again, but well, I was immune to everything from this world. “Servants who serve their masters willingly deserve to be recognized for their hard work, lady Letitia.”

“Lady Gladiata,” I called out before my lady could gouge out her eyes. I was annoyed because I don’t really like unwarranted kindness. “I don’t need you to mind my wellbeing. My lady treats me much better than you ever could treat a stranger. So, please, refrain from talking against my lady.”

That much was true, for she always let me have bread despite running low on funds. I didn’t really mind what she called me in public as long as she didn’t sing out praises for an undead.

My lady squeezed my hand behind our back, and I affirmed she’d bite me today. Not that I hate it, but well, you know, I’m really supposed to hate it if I want my transmigration magic functioning. Curiosity is a double-edged sword. Always and unconditionally.

Gladiata looked at me with her tender gaze, something close to hurt flickering in them, but I mentally rejoiced at shutting up this pretentious… forgive me, this good lady. I sincerely prefer villains to heroes because they have this irresistible charm around them, something that ordinary people absolutely detest.

“Why are you here, bitch?” My lady asked.

“I just wanted to know how you were doing,” Gladiata said, her expression forlorn. “The Marquis and your fiancé died one after the other, and people have started calling you cursed. I was really worried about you, lady Letitia.”

She wasn’t being ostentatious here, but it was her nature to feel for others. I suppose she was crying in the classroom because her beloved crown prince had lost a brother. Maybe I should kill more nobles and see how long she continues to be a kind nun. That would be amusing in its own ways.

Am I an evil bastard? We undead are destined to hate kind people, so you can’t really blame me.

“Thank you,” my lady said with a smile. “But I’m glad both of them died a painful death.”

“Letitia!” the righteous heroine shouted, earning glances from everyone around us. “How could be so heartless?!”

“Just because you have a loving family, don’t assume everyone is lucky enough to have that. And don’t stare at my mongrel! I’ll gouge out those eyes!”

Gladiata was looking at me, probably for affirmation to her worlds, but she would never get it because I was the one who made her heartless. Her harem member, Elert, dropped by and dragged her away, hiding her pained expression in his bosom. He had matured over the past few weeks since he didn’t even try to pick up a fight with my lady.

My lady turned to me with a smile before staring looking at the picturesque view of the city. “It feels good to know that you are immune to charms of other women.”

“Not other women, my lady, all women,” I grinned, earning a soft punch that didn’t hurt much. I cast [Ward] as always because my lady’s tongue had earned us enough stares already.

We spent the next few minutes in silence, and Beth and Casey had to walk out through the other side, so they didn’t stumble across us again. My lady was restlessly looking at the diminishing crowd, her eyes moving from one person to another.

“Damn it!” she glared at me. “Why the hell am I nervous, Rudolf?!”

I shrugged and patted her head with my free hand. “You see, humans–“

“Ah, stop it!” she slapped my hand away. “I should know better than to ask undead.”

I laughed. “You’ll do fine, my lady. [Darkness] might force you to face some of your most dreadful fears, but it’s just an illusion. Your fears will never manifest as long as you have me around you, my lady.”

“Are you professing your love, my mongrel?” she looked at me with a teasing smile.

“I’m not, my lady,” I denied flatly.

“It wouldn’t hurt to lie at times like these,” she pouted.

“We undead don’t lie,” I said as the mage outside the Placa hall called out my lady’s name.

“Wish me luck,” she said, but she had already walked in the direction, her strides more confident than I had ever seen. Though, it was a front.

“Good luck, Letitia,” I said softly and ambled down the stairs, deciding to wait for her on a different flight for stairs, one meant for the exit. It was a usual corridor, but all the rooms were closed, for the Academy didn’t like crowded edifice when the royal mage visited the campus. The structure was no different from the fourth floor, except that the doors were open and empty chairs lined the classroom, though erratically.

The corridor was mostly vacant if you chose the ignore the spiders busy spinning their cobwebs. A mage walked past me, giving me a suspicious stare, but my clothes forced him not to ask any questions. Nobles rarely indulged in conversations with commoners, so I wasn’t really worth much attention. When I turned right at the far end of the corridor, Beth and Casey’s faces greeted me, and they had grins plastered across their swollen lips.

“Ah, Ruddy!” Beth chirped, beckoning to the empty classroom on her left. “We knew you’d drop by, faithful dog.”

“It’s too obvious, lady Beth and lady Casey,” I said, pointing to their lips.

“And so are yours, Ruddy,” Casey nudged my stomach with her elbows. “We heard Leti kissed you multiple times.”

“She did?” I asked in surprise and earned a smack from lady Beth.

“You will die in her hands one of these days, bastard,” Beth snickered. “We cleared the test, by the way.”

“What was your worst fear?” I asked, curious to know of more ways to torture humans.

“I thought it was obvious,” Beth said, placing her arm over Casey’s shoulder. “Losing my love scares me more than anything. But it was a puny test for this bully because I killed Casey’s murderer before killing myself. We already knew it was an illusion, Ruddy, so [Darkness] lost its potency on us. I might have gone crazy the first time, but not the third time.”

Casey nodded. “I saw Beth dying two times already, but this time, even you and Leti were added to the picture. That much was enough to know that it was an illusion. After all, Leti died before you.”

“Why is that a surprise, lady Casey?” I asked, leaning against the wall behind me.

“Because you will never let lady Letitia die, Ruddy,” she smiled and pecked Beth’s cheeks. “As I won’t let Beth die either.”

For them, it might have been an empty sentence, but for me, it was a matter of my pledges. I stayed silent, watching the moving clouds.

Will I break my own vows and make her undead for my amusement?

The answer was clear as the sky, but dark clouds garnering at a distance forced me to re-examine my resolve.