The Narrow-Eyed Villain of the Demon Academy

It was shocking.

Never would I have imagined that Fron, the real Fron, was Crete's daughter.

The thought that she might be lying crossed my mind.

However, Pria only smiled gently, as if to say she wasn't lying.

“She resembled me in some ways.

No, she was exactly the same.

Unable to make her own decisions, she was always preoccupied with watching my every move.

I thought she must have inherited more of my blood than his.”

“I was wrong.

I have no idea what happened inside that prison.

I don't know what kind of bond you and Fron formed, Rem, what you experienced, what words were exchanged.

But one thing was certain.”

Pria wore a strangely content smile.

“There, I saw you, Rem.

In that space where I thought all the children were dead and only Fron remained, you were there.

You were holding someone's head in your clumsy arms, weeping until your tears ran dry.”

“...I was holding Fron.”

“Yes, you were.

And I know what your existence means.

You were Fron's first decision, not my will, but her own.

Fron chose to save you and die herself, instead of following the predetermined path.”

And I was overjoyed at that sight.

That a child capable of making her own decisions was my child.

Pria continued.

“You have no idea how happy I was.

A mere ten-year-old girl deciding her own fate, it was unbelievable.

This cursed bloodline only creates bodies incapable of making their own choices.

The magical ability we call Authority is actually a shackle on our bodies.”

Snap-.

Pria snapped her fingers.

And countless male demons surrounded us.

The moment she snapped her fingers again, the demons retreated.

“It's the ability to have all men worship us, a convenient ability.

That was the problem.

I could have everything without doing anything.

But was it my decision?

No, I was a body incapable of deciding.

I just had to live.

A repetitive life like a machine.”

A mechanical life.

A body incapable of making decisions.

A strange feeling of suffocation gripped my heart.

What Pria yearned for.

It was true freedom.

What did Fron mean to such a Pria?

Pria continued speaking calmly.

“Fron was a child who could make her own decisions, and I saw you, her first decision.

And here you are before me.

A stubborn child who constantly makes her own judgments and wants to break free from the cage.

You are the embodiment of possibilities.”

Pria finally smiled.

A brighter smile than I had ever seen before as she hugged Fron tightly.

“Fron's first and last decision created you, a collection of possibilities.

A being who can do and try anything she wants.

That's how you were born.

Can you believe it?

The little dot that began with me mingling with the Lord of Pride has drawn a circle and returned.”

Pria conceiving Fron.

Fron's first decision.

And Rem survives because of it.

That small dot had finally drawn a circle.

“You are a special child.

I can't even begin to imagine what kind of future you will lead.

You can be anything, try anything.”

And so.

“I wanted you to live.

I wanted you to absorb me and become a being capable of anything.

But then, at some point, you started wishing for death, as if it was the only way.”

“...Not anymore.”

“Hehe, I can see that.”

Sweep-.

Pria shifted her gaze to me.

Then, looking back at Fron, she opened her mouth.

“I wanted to tell you why you have to live.

Your mother is an incompetent demon.

She can't decide anything for herself, a being who was only meant to exist like that.

But the one decision I made has drawn a circle and returned.”

The mother and daughter faced each other.

Pria shifted her gaze to me.

Then, looking back at Fron, she opened her mouth.

With a voice that seemed to crumble with the passage of time, Pria spoke.

“My child, so you too must draw your circle.

The decisions you make will become dots, and one day they will form a circle.

You too will become someone's mother and give birth to life. That's how you draw your circle.”

“...”

“I'm sure you can do it.”

Sweep-.

Pria stroked Fron's hair and kissed her forehead.

It seemed like a gift.

A gift to give Fron before leaving her for the last time.

Holding back her tears, Fron spoke to Pria.

“...You were the worst. You were the kind of person who would try to kill her own child. You, an adult, couldn't even make the right decision, and you think I can?” Ṟ

“Yes, I know you can.”

“Why? Why do you think so?”

“Because you were Fron’s first decision.”

“...”

Fron closed her mouth, then opened it again.

“I will never forgive you. I will curse and hate you for the rest of my life.”

“...”

Pria didn't answer.

At some point, her eyes had turned red.

And so had Fron’s.

“I wondered what kind of person a mother was.

How strong and amazing someone had to be to lock us up in prison, whether they even considered us their children.

Ironically, I felt a sense of pride.

Thinking, ‘Wow, my mother is such an amazing person.’”

Even though your eyes were only focused on one child, we still felt that way.

Fron sobbed.

“I'm disappointed.

That someone like you was my mother, someone so pathetic and incapable of making her own decisions.

At the same time, I hated you. For only seeing Fron.”

“...”

“See, you're not even looking at me now.”

“...I'm sorry.”

Pria lowered her eyes like a child being scolded for the first time.

Pria had differentiated between the child of the man she loved and the others.

That's why Fron hated and resented her.

“I will draw my own circle in my own way.

And that dot won't be alone.

I will make countless dots and draw countless circles. That's how I will live.”

I am different from you.

I will make countless dots.

I will draw that many circles.

“Maybe it won't be a circle. It might be a different shape.

The circle might break off while being drawn, or it might become a triangle.

But it will be my decision.

I will draw my circle with my own strength, not by relying on someone like you.”

Fron, declared that she would draw her own circle, even if it was clumsy.

At that moment, I saw it.

A new dot, starting from Fron, extending towards somewhere.

“I am not a circle that began with you and ended with you. I am just a dot that will now draw a new circle.”

So,

“Don't you dare try to define my life. This is my life, and these are the dots I made myself.”

“...I see.”

I wasn’t sure why, but only then did Pria seem relieved.

Fron drew her sword and pointed it at Pria.

“This is my first decision.”

“...”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Pria was silent for a moment.

Then, as her eyes met Fron’s, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

“That’s wonderful.”

That was the end.

Leaving those words behind, Pria didn't budge.

She simply closed her eyes with a gentle smile.

“...Ah.”

It was Kyle who broke the silence with a gasp.

He approached Pria and checked her pulse.

She wasn’t breathing.

…She had taken her own life.

Sweep-.

Fron lowered her sword.

And wept.

A contradictory cry, seemingly relieved yet full of lingering attachment.

I could only watch Fron from behind.

Thus, the operation to subdue the Lord of Lust came to an end.

Tap, tap-.

Startled by the sound of urgent footsteps, I turned my head.

There stood a girl with short, black hair.

“...How did you get here?”

“Found you.”

Rene.

She had arrived.

As they shared a brief moment of reunion, Rene tilted her head towards Fron.

“Why is she crying?”

“...There are circumstances, but I didn’t make her cry.”

It was then.

Fwissssh-.

Pria's body turned to dust.

The dust then dissipated and was absorbed into Fron’s body.

The ritual.

So this was the ritual that was supposed to kill Fron.

‘…She gathered life force for Fron.’

She had intended to infuse Fron with the life force and mana of herself and others.

However, aside from Pria's life force and mana, I couldn’t sense anyone else’s.

Finally, I understood.

‘Was this Pria’s second decision?’

Fron had declared that she would live on her own terms.

That’s why Pria had only offered herself as a sacrifice, withholding the life force and mana of others.

Sweep-.

“... …”

After a while, Fron stopped crying and stood up.

Her eyes were puffy, but they held a certain charm.

“Hey.”

Fron suddenly called out to Rene.

“...?”

Rene blinked, confused by the sudden call.

Fron simply smiled at her, that usual mischievous grin back on her face.

“From now on, you’ll call me ‘big sis,’ little sis.”

A shocking declaration from Fron.

Me and Kyle froze.

I couldn’t believe she was going to reveal to Rene that Crete had cheated on his wife (?).

“...Big sis?”

Unaware of the situation, Rene could only tilt her head in confusion.

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