What Now [1]

Deon knew this day would come.

The day Vierenna would catch up to him and open her eyes to the glaring truth. No matter how much one pretended, they could never completely escape their family's perception.

Deon had tried to exploit the previous Deon's depression and his own sudden change as a cover to initiate the illusion of self-improvement — a convenient excuse for his transformation. But his lack of knowledge about the old Deon left many gaps. Even the time he would need to learn more about the old Deon was a luxury he never had. Vierenna never left him alone. She was always by his side — both a blessing and a curse.

His entire approach had been wrong from the start. Instead of addressing the obvious flaws in himself and his personality, Deon only thought ahead to what he needed to do to return to his world. He neglected the broken vessel he inhabited and delved into the world's secrets and other's affairs.

His desperation consumed him. He had tried to do everything right, but instead, he did everything wrong. He ignored the foundation he should have built upon — and now, the name 'Deon,' the very identity he needed to navigate this world, might be taken from him.

'I've been reckless... foolish!'

Deon closed his eyes against the faint bluish-purple light that illuminated the darkness of his room, letting his consciousness slip into the routine of his training.

It was all he had for now. Sleep didn't come so easily.

---

Morning arrived, and Deon's mood only worsened. He felt exhausted, but sleep hadn't come to him. So he simply continued his training in the quiet of his room. The heavy red curtains were drawn, but light bled through the fabric's gaps in uneasy crimson streaks.

His training was slower than usual, for obvious reasons. His mindset was far from ideal, and his focus was at rock bottom. He couldn't stop thinking about Vierenna — and he knew she would come. But what disturbed him most was that the pity he felt toward her outweighed his fear of her.

He knew that was a fatal mistake — and yet... what could he do?

"Good morning, baby brother."

Vierenna entered without consideration for his privacy, as if the room were hers. Her obsidian eyes landed on him as he opened his own slowly to meet her gaze. His eyes were as cold as death, but they quickly returned to their usual calm, observing her.

"You didn't sleep?"

Deon declared more than asked.

Vierenna tilted her head, surprised by his sharp observation. But the longer she looked at him, the wider her eyes became.

"You didn't sleep either?"

"...No. I didn't train yesterday, so I took the time to make up for what I missed. I don't feel that tired."

Vierenna wanted to scold his recklessness, but the words wouldn't come. She stayed silent — and somehow, that was worse.

"So... what now?"

Deon asked for her own comfort.

A question — something she could answer.

"First, we need to be present when the De Ressa household leaves. After that, we'll make a schedule for your sword training — you know, balancing it with mana training and so on."

Deon nodded but made no move to get up. It was as if he was waiting for something else.

What could that be?

Vierenna didn't give herself time to think. She feigned annoyance and said,

"What are you waiting for? Go get changed — or do you need me to choose for you?"

Deon's gaze lingered on her for a moment, but he eventually rose and made his way to the wardrobe. Vierenna watched him walk with steady steps and a distant mind.

---

Everything played out smoothly. Deon and Vierenna gathered at the breakfast table again with the De Ressa family. The atmosphere was far better than the first day. Everyone seemed satisfied with how things had turned out. Even Felice struck up a conversation with Deon, praising his fight from yesterday.

Deon remained polite, saying neither too little nor too much — mostly because his mind was preoccupied with the girl beside him.

He didn't expect Vierenna to confront him directly. She was smart enough not to act rashly. She would watch him for a little longer before the confrontation came. But what Deon hadn't anticipated... was that she would treat him exactly as she always had.

Suspicion changes people's behavior, and Deon was relying on that to find a way out if he could.

But again, Vierenna was still Vierenna. Nothing seemed different, and that kind of calm squeezed Deon's heart painfully.

He was afraid.

'Is it possible I'm just imagining things? Maybe she doesn't suspect anything at all?'

But what were the chances? Deon crushed that hopeful thought before it could destroy him.

Even if Vierenna seemed unchanged, there were small, barely noticeable differences. like the silence she would fall into from time to time.

It might seem foolish to read into such a thing... but Deon couldn't afford to take chances.

After agreeing that the real contract would be signed two weeks before the academy departure — with Anna-Accia's late registration to handle — the De Ressa family went on their way, hopeful of meeting again.

Deon and Vierenna bid them farewell at the outer gates.

Ironically, that was the farthest Deon had gone since arriving in the world of his own novel.

"Just you and me now, baby brother."

Vierenna said as they walked back along the stone path toward the mansion.

Deon remained silent for a long moment. Vierenna at his side glanced at him, expecting an answer.

But Deon had nothing to say.

"...What now?"

So, he only repeated the same question.

Vierenna shook her head in defeat, glancing at him like a fool.

"I believe I already answered that question. Were you expecting something else? Do you want something else?"

Deon was silent for a moment before finally giving the honest answer.

"...No."

"Good."

---

As promised, Vierenna prepared him a schedule balancing his mana training and sword practice. The routine started that day. Deon was a little tired, but he didn't want to skip.

The day passed in a routine close to the usual, with the new addition of sword training.

Yet with every passing hour, Deon's tension multiplied, especially when he was alone with Vierenna.

He began to doubt whether she was truly suspicious of him at all. She was exactly the same, the same Vierenna who found joy in teasing him.

But Deon couldn't help himself.

Every moment he spent with her, something deep inside him screamed that he was in danger.

Deon had never felt danger from Vierenna before — even when fighting her yesterday, he had felt safer with her as an opponent than with his own companions.

He knew how terrifying Vierenna could be, and facing that knowledge directly terrified him.

But what disturbed him the most was the question he couldn't answer:

'When did she start suspecting me?'

Yesterday?

Or perhaps before — and he'd simply been too blind to notice?

---

Night fell once again.

Deon returned to the darkness of his room, but its silence felt like a death sentence... again.

Sleep didn't come, not on the second night either.

He sat cross-legged on his bed, the cube in his hands. He allowed his mind to sink into it. But on second thought, he pulled himself back.

He wouldn't train tonight. His exhaustion wouldn't allow it, and neither would his mind.

Deon set the cube down beside his pillow and slipped under the covers. The pillow felt comfortable beneath his heavy head.

He closed his eyes, but he didn't feel sleep.

Only the change that was coming.