I Give Up on the BL Novel's Male Leads - Chapter 17
Edwin avoided eye contact, and at that moment, a city guard officer spoke up.
“Will everyone else here also take the truth serum?”
“Yes, I’ll take it here.”
Marian reached out her hand and took the potion from the young city guard officer and drank it without hesitation. Once the officer confirmed the potion was taking effect, he continued:
“For verification purposes, please state your name and age…”
“Marian Rosetta. Yesterday during lunchtime, I did not see Illein Thierry enter class 10.”
“Ah, okay.”
The officer responded, visibly puzzled by the quick affirmation.
“We’ll go to the city guard station to take ours!”
“I will too!”
“So will I!”
As Willai and his group declared their intentions, Edwin snorted dismissively and said,
“Who said you had that option? Drink it here.”
Damon, who had approached me, draped his academy coat around my shoulders. It felt chilly but thanks to it, I was okay.
He handed me something and he grabbed my hand as I took it.
“This will counteract the effects of the truth serum.”
As Damon attempted to withdraw his hand, I gripped it again.
“Thanks, Damon. I really rely on you.”
In my drug-induced honesty, I blurted out those words and looked directly into his eyes. He stared back, and I didn’t look away.
“I insist on taking it to the guard station! This is an insult to our families!”
“If you don’t take it here, I’ll personally hold your families accountable. You accused me of being a thief, after all.”
“When did I ever accuse you of being a thief?”
Willai stammered while flustered, but Edwin glared at him irritably.
“You said the wallet was stolen by that thing and taken up to the rooftop where I was, which makes me an accomplice, right?”
Suddenly, I had become ‘that thing’ in their conversation. As our eyes met, I quickly looked away, feeling uneasy. I desperately wanted to shake off the effects of the truth serum.
“No, I didn’t mean that…”
“I’ll also report the violence within the academy.”
Damon suddenly stepped in to defend me, causing me to look at him quizzically.
“The students who have accused Illein have been continuously harassing him, including in this incident.”
Suddenly, the effect of the serum intensified, making it difficult for me to think.
It felt like I was watching someone else’s story, barely realizing it was my own whenever my name was called.
Maybe it was thanks to the ring, but I was somewhat able to think. It felt like a strong wall was slowly cracking.
“No, Lord Candelaria!”
“Here, it’s not polite to address by titles, Willai Macintosh.”
Damon’s commanding voice silenced the entire classroom.
“I just want to rest.”
My head was spinning, and I couldn’t grasp the situation, so I blurted out those words.
“Ah, Illein. I’ll take you.”
“No, you stay. You have things to do.”
“Marian, you want to go?”
“I’m fine.”
Marian looked okay. It seemed like I was the only one feeling weird.
“Then I’ll go with Edwin.”
I said this and grabbed Edwin’s sleeve.
“Not me?”
Damon was taken aback, and I pulled on Edwin’s sleeve.
I didn’t understand why, but as our eyes met, I felt the urge to go with him. Edwin seemed surprised but didn’t resist as I pulled him along.
“What’s up with you?”
He shook off my hand and gave me a puzzled look.
“I’m headed to the infirmary.”
“…”
“I thought you could use a break too.”
Maybe I remembered him often lying down during classes.
And strangely, the closer I got to him, the more relief I felt from him distancing himself from me.
It was hard to think logically.
I couldn’t really tell right from wrong; I was in a foggy yet sharp state of mind.
I needed to get to the infirmary quickly to take the antidote Damon had given me.
Though I felt a bit dizzy, I followed Edwin who led the way. He was upset with me but headed towards the nurse’s office.
The infirmary was on the first floor.
The problem was whether the truth serum was supposed to make descending the stairs this frightening.
I held onto the stair railing and slowly stepped down, staring only at the ground until I was startled at the wall in front of me.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m just really scared of going down the stairs.”
I felt embarrassed, like something was wrong with me.
“Ha.”
He reached out his hand, and I grabbed it; his hand was unexpectedly warm.
“Your hand is really warm. It feels nice.”
I wanted to cover my mouth, even though the words were already out.
Yet, I held onto his hand tightly, as if to say, ‘So what?’
“Should I share some of my magic with you?”
He didn’t respond, but I continued to follow him.
As we held hands and walked downstairs, the stairs still felt terrifying, making my body tremble.
It was astonishing how powerful the truth serum must be to induce such distorted thoughts.
“Edwin.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go slowly, Edwin. I want to walk with you a bit more.”
“Stop talking nonsense and just walk.”
His pace definitely slowed down.
As he adjusted to my slow pace, he had to keep waiting for me.
