I Possessed the Heroine’s Teacher

Werner had seated Glacies and Iris far apart, thinking it would prevent them from exchanging blows, but he didn’t realize they could still exchange harsh words.

Iris was the first to speak.

“Hey,” she called out.

But Glacies turned away, looking at the wall, clearly indicating that she didn’t want to engage in any conversation. It was as if she’d rather stare at a wall than talk to Iris.

Iris wanted to apologize. She knew how Glacies had felt about Werner before her regression, and she was aware of what had happened after all the battles were over. She knew that Glacies had starved herself to death, refusing to eat or drink, while mourning at Werner’s grave.

Though Iris didn’t want to lose her teacher, she couldn’t ignore the depth of Glacies’ love for Werner. The guilt over having ruined the long-awaited engagement gnawed at her. Despite their rocky relationship, Iris couldn’t entirely dismiss Glacies as a companion who had shared hardships with her.

“Hey, can you hear me? Red-eyed rabbit,” Iris called out again, using a nickname that Glacies’s colleagues had given her due to her red eyes and white hair. It was also the codename she had used during her infiltration mission, and Iris thought it would be a fitting name to use.

Glacies remained silent, ignoring Iris’s attempts to start a conversation.

“You, The young lady whose fiancé ran away when she was nine.”

Glacies tried to ignore everything Iris said, but she flared up at the mention of her “pretending” to be Werner’s fiancée. After all, she was his fiancée, both officially and in every “physical” sense. It infuriated her to hear Iris, whom she considered a parasite on Werner’s life, belittle her.

“How dare you, you lowly milk-drinker,” Glacies snapped.

“What did you call me?” Iris asked.

“Sir Zig is a valiant warrior with a noble character, and Lady Media is wise and kind. I wonder how such an ignorant cow like you could have come from them,” Glacies said.

Glacies’s words were harsh, essentially implying, ‘Your parents are so admirable, how could you turn out like this? Did you leave all the good parts in your mother’s womb and come out with only the bad parts?’ Iris understood the criticism and, feeling angry, decided to give back as good as she got.

“Hey, I have an interesting story to tell you,” Iris said.

Glacies remained silent, still looking at the wall. It was a blatant display of disrespect, but Iris smiled and continued with her ‘interesting story.’

“There’s a famous dog in the city where my master and I lived. It was a beautiful white dog,” Iris began.

“So?” Glacies asked.

“This dog stood in one spot, staring in the same direction, even though it didn’t have an owner. I asked a nearby shopkeeper about it, and she told me that the dog had been abandoned by its owner eight years ago,” Iris explained.

“That owner was cruel to abandon such a loyal dog,” Glacies remarked.

“But the white dog continued to wait for its owner, wagging its tail, for eight years, believing that its owner would return. The people around thought it was a stray, but the dog seemed to think that its owner had only left temporarily,” Iris continued.

Glacies felt a sense of unease as she listened to the story, perhaps recognizing something familiar in it. She stopped looking at the wall and turned to face Iris directly.

“Go on,” Glacies said.

“So, the dog waited foolishly for its owner for eight years, not realizing that it had been abandoned. It didn’t even know that its owner had found a new, younger, and cuter brown puppy,” Iris said.

“And what did the white dog do when it saw its owner with the new puppy?” Glacies asked.

“It still believed it was the owner’s dog and tried to approach them. It didn’t realize that it had been abandoned and that its owner hadn’t come back for eight years. It was pathetic, wagging its tail as if it didn’t understand the meaning of being abandoned,” Iris said, smiling as she told the story.

Iris believed in returning what she received, and she felt a sense of satisfaction and even wanted to dance as she told the story.

“That’s a sad story, but maybe the owner had a reason for not coming back for the white dog. Maybe the owner would have taken the white dog back if given the chance,” Glacies suggested.

“No, that was just the white dog’s delusion. A foolish white bitch,” Iris said, clearly directing the insult at Glacies.

Glacies stood up, ready to draw her sword.

“You damn milk-drinker…” Glacies growled.

“Oh, I was just telling a story about a famous dog in the city where my ‘master’ and I lived. Do you think you can relate to that story?” Iris asked, covering her mouth with her fingers and chuckling. It wasn’t that funny, but she was trying to provoke Glacies.

“Hmm, now that I think about it, your situation is similar to that dog’s,” Iris added.

“You don’t know how much Werner suffered because of you…” Glacies said.

“Of course, it’s your fault. Trying to force him into an engagement… What’s the difference between you and the perverted noblemen in romance novels who force themselves on powerless women? In those novels, those nobles usually end up beheaded, don’t they?” Iris asked.

No one had told Iris about Werner’s loss of grand magic before her regression. It was a final act of consideration for the girl who loved her master and a way to respect Werner’s desire to hold onto her love.

Despite this, Iris had sacrificed a lot of magic power and other resources to turn back time and reunite with her master. Even though she was still strong, if it were like before, she could have easily subdued Glacies, Melissa, and Melchiore’s entire family.

Iris swallowed a bitter taste in her mouth as she thought to herself.

‘It’s easy to fool the adventurer guild’s measly measurement tools, but fighting with her is a hassle. The side effects are still severe… If it were like before, I would have broken her arm in an instant.’

When Iris met the god who offered to turn back time, she threatened him to grant her wish. The god sighed and allowed her to turn back time.

The burden of turning back time remained, causing her to experience excruciating pain every time she fell asleep. But she could endure it, thinking of her master’s face, voice, and scent.

‘I have to pretend to be the naive disciple I used to be so that my master doesn’t suspect anything. I can’t let any signs of guilt or regret slip out.’

Iris regretted not doing something to prevent Werner’s kidnapping. But Glacies had come to her and whispered,

[You’re deliberately hiding your true strength in front of Werner, aren’t you? If you don’t want me to reveal that, you’d better leave quietly.]

At the time, Iris had been so shocked that she had no choice but to give in to Glacies’s threat. But according to Camellia, Werner was aware of Iris’s strength. So, there was no need for Iris to worry about being suspected.

Iris ground her teeth and ran all the way to the north, leading to the current situation.

Glacies was furious, but she took a deep breath and sat back down.

Iris had planned to let Glacies hit her a few times and then tell Werner about it when he returned. But Glacies had seen through her plan and backed off, which disappointed Iris.

“I made a mistake trying to have a conversation with a lowly milk-drinker like you,” Glacies said.

“Of course,” Iris replied, thinking that Glacies’s obnoxious personality hadn’t changed.

Iris turned her head towards the door, eagerly waiting for Werner to walk through it.

The door opened, and the two women who had gone out to fight, along with the two men who had gone to stop them, returned.

But Iris’s hopes were shattered when she saw Werner being carried by Melchior, unconscious and bleeding from his mouth.