I Became the Obsessed Ex-Husband in a Romance Fantasy Chapter 154 - Read Online

Translated Chapter 154. TS Side Story - Chase (3) “What is the meaning of this!” Dayna ignored Albert's startled shout and reached her hand toward the wall. Seureuk. The dagger lodged in the wall pulled itself free and obediently returned to Dayna's grip. “…An auto-retrieval magic tool, huh?” Even while lying face down on the floor in an unsightly manner, his unavoidable instinctive curiosity as a magic scholar kicked in. “Where did you buy it? Or did you commission someone to make it?” Albert peeked over his desk, having forgotten all about his dignity. “I believe one of the students from the Magic Studies Department made it. I would like you to confirm who it was, Professor.” “Why? Don't you like its performance?” “That's not it.” “Hmm.” Albert picked up the dagger and began to inspect it from various angles. ‘An auto-retrieval circuit in such a small dagger? The kind of guy who would pull this off….’ He knew everything about the Magic Studies Department students' chronic design habits, the modified formulas they primarily used, and their quirks when finishing circuits. Therefore, it wouldn't even take ten minutes to figure out who engraved the circuit into this dagger. However. “Hmmmm….” Albert deliberately dragged it out. Dayna Schumichel herself had come all the way to his office, so it was a shame to just let her go like this. ‘You sly little brat. Acting like you don't care when you're clearly burning with curiosity.’ Although Dayna was acting indifferent, Albert immediately saw right through her true intentions. If she really wasn't interested, she wouldn't have gone out of her way to come all the way here. ‘Skipping the research labs where students gather to come all the way here—how obvious.’ He could sense her eagerness to find the creator as secretly and quickly as possible. Albert, who usually lorded over students and enjoyed reaping the benefits, had no reason to pass up this opportunity. It was the perfect chance to make a Schumichel grovel to him, or to snatch a handful of top-grade mana stones. “Hmmmm….” Albert stroked his chin and deliberately furrowed his brows, adding an exaggerated act as if he were facing an incredibly difficult formula. “Do you need more time?” At Dayna's nonchalant question, Albert barely suppressed the corners of his mouth from curling up. “I can figure it out, but… This is a very complex and tricky circuit, so it seems I'd have to devote quite a bit of my precious research time to it.” “Is that so.” “As you know, I'm a very busy man even within the Academy. Without proper… academic support guaranteed, it's difficult to readily spare my time.” “Academic support, huh….” Albert tried hard not to let his shoulders shake with excitement. Just thinking about what to demand from Dayna thrilled him. However, Dayna Schumichel was not an easy opponent to deal with. “I understand.” With a cold expression, Dayna swiped the dagger right out of Albert's hands. “I've needlessly wasted the precious time of the ever-busy Professor.” “Huh? Ah, no… I didn't mean I wouldn't help….” Albert was flustered by her unexpected, razor-sharp surrender and stuttered his words. But Dayna turned her back on him without a hint of regret. “I will find another way.” “What? Who else but me? Do you think there's anyone in this Academy who knows the students' circuits as well as I do?” Dayna slightly turned her head and stared at Albert. Her gaze was chilling, as if she had seen through his schemes from the start. “Anersen-nim resides in the Schumichel territory. I plan to ask him.” “…What?” Albert's arrogant smirk twisted into something ugly. “Not me, you're asking A-Anersen?” Anersen. The genius who had blocked his way since their school days, constantly being compared to him, and reducing him to an eternal second-in-command. The name Anersen was a spell that simultaneously pressed Albert's deepest inferiority complex and his berserk button. ‘Wait. If word gets out that I lacked the ability to read it and handed it over to Anersen!’ Just imagining Anersen sneering, "Albert couldn't even read a basic circuit and struggled?" made bile rise in his throat. “Wait!” His shallow calculations vanished in an instant. “Hand that over here!” Albert threw all dignity out the window, jumped to his feet, and snatched the dagger from Dayna's hands. “Who said I didn't know?! I just said it would take some time! No, there's no need to wait! I'll find them for you right now!” Clutching the dagger tightly lest Dayna took it back, Albert dashed into his inner workshop. “…….” Dayna watched Albert's retreating back and released a sigh mixed with a scoff into the air. And in less than a few minutes. “I found it!” Albert returned to Dayna, his face flushed red. “There's no doubt. This is Rojian Vikander's work!” “How can you be so sure?” “L-Look closely. This is an assignment that Rojian submitted recently. See this circuit finishing method? It's perfectly clean, with absolutely no residue, right?” Albert unfolded the disassembled dagger hilt and showed it to Dayna. “The circuit inside this dagger is finished the exact same way. Rojian is the only one who treats it like this.” “I see.” Albert rambled on while reassembling the dagger hilt. “He maximized the property of drawing in mana when it recognizes a matching wavelength. It's a level of skill that no one but Rojian, the top student of our department, could achieve.” As soon as he finished reassembling it, “Thank you.” Dayna smoothly and shamelessly snatched the dagger right out of his hands. “As expected of a Magic Studies Department Professor, your insight is truly superb. Thanks to you, my curiosity has been completely resolved. Keep up the good work.” Dayna tucked the dagger into her waistband and lightly dipped her head. It was a perfunctory, soulless thank-you. Jeobeok, jeobeok. Dayna turned around without hesitation and walked out the office door before Albert could even open his mouth. Kwang. Looking at the mercilessly shut door, Albert finally realized what he had just done. “…Huh?” What about the research funding? The box of top-grade mana stones? No, at the very least, he should have seen that haughty Schumichel young lady grovel! He had thrown away a golden opportunity with his own hands because he had an outburst over a single name—Anersen—and ended up enthusiastically doing free volunteer work. “W-What did I just do…!” Inside the empty office. Albert's anguished wails echoed as he belatedly grasped reality and tore at his hair. ** It was the student cafeteria of the Academy. Under the high, arched ceiling reminiscent of a grand cathedral, dozens of students had gathered for lunch. The clattering sound of cutlery hitting plates, the hearty laughter of male students mingling with the soft giggles of female students—just then, Kuk, kuk. Dayna sat at her seat, poking at the salad on her tray with a fork. Deureureuk! Then, she suddenly stood up, checked for someone, and— Teolssuk. —sat back down with an expressionless face. Deureureuk! Teolssuk. Deureureuk! Teolssuk. It was already the nth time she had repeated that action. One would think a meerkat's spirit had possessed her. “Hey, Dayna.” Beatrice, who was sitting opposite Dayna, set down her spoon. “What's wrong with you? Are you looking for someone?” “No.” Dayna replied indifferently and started stabbing at her salad again with the fork. “What do you mean, 'no'? Everyone knows you're looking for a red-haired male student.” “…….” “Because of you lately, the boys are scrambling to get a hold of red hair dye.” Dayna remained completely silent despite Beatrice's persistent scolding. “I heard a very interesting rumor recently.” Alix, who was sipping soup next to them, casually chimed into the conversation. His golden eyes were filled with mischievous curiosity. “Word is that Dayna's been hanging around the Magic Studies Department building a lot lately?” “I've only been there three times.” “Did you just admit that yourself?” “…….” Realizing her slip of the tongue, Dayna furrowed her brows, but she couldn't calm Beatrice's already ignited excitement. “Wow, what is it? What is it? The Magic Studies Department is just full of those pale nerds, isn't it?” “Who knew Dayna had those kinds of tastes. Should I change my department right now.” “Stop it, Orabeoni. But then, Dayna, were you doing something with that red-haired male student from the Magic Studies Department….” Right at that moment, Deolkeodeong! Dayna stood up from her seat like lightning. She then grabbed the wrist of a passing red-haired male student. At her sudden action, all the noise in the cafeteria abruptly ceased. Dozens of pairs of eyes locked onto that spot simultaneously. “Gasp!” The male student whose wrist was grabbed barely managed to catch the tray he almost dropped. He then stared at Dayna with a slightly pale face. “W-What's the matter?” Without answering, Dayna scrutinized the male student's face. Receiving Dayna's gaze head-on, the male student's cheeks started to flush red. “…Sorry. I mistook you for someone else.” Once Dayna let go of his hand, the male student stumbled slightly and barely managed to escape the spot. Deolkeong! He ended up spilling his food on the table. However, no one laughed at him. ‘I wish Dayna would grab my wrist too.’ ‘I wish I could make eye contact with Dayna too.’ At that moment, that was the only thing the students were thinking. They were simply jealous of the male student. “Wow, did you see that expression? That was killer, seriously.” Beatrice grabbed the back of her neck in disbelief. “Just put up a poster! Tell him to wash his neck and come find you while you're asking nicely. That would be way faster!” “…Shut up.” Dayna sat back down with the face of a predator who had failed its hunt. “So why are you looking for that red-haired male student?” “I have something to ask him.” Realizing that it was pointless to deny it anymore, Dayna let out a soft sigh. “But every time I go there, he's not around. He's definitely avoiding me.” “Don't tell me….” Alix snapped his fingers as if he had realized something. “So that's why you've been eating for 30 minutes?” “…….” “I was wondering why you were eating so elegantly, when you usually wage war on your food and finish it in five minutes.” “That's right, you're right!” Beatrice clapped her hands together. “I knew it. You were dawdling instead of leaving. You aren't the type to wait for us to finish eating!” “But Dayna, I don't think that's a very good method.” Alix chuckled slyly. “If you keep holding down the fort in this cafeteria, that poor herbivore might starve to death.” “Yeah. Why do you think he keeps disappearing? He probably bolted the moment he saw you at the cafeteria entrance.” Unable to refute Alix and Beatrice's points, Dayna shut her mouth. Seeing her lost in thought, the two siblings exchanged glances. ‘Wow, did you see that? She's seriously considering it?’ ‘She looks like she's dying of curiosity. Who on earth could it be?’ ‘Oppa, find out soon!’ ‘Does she look like she'll talk? You try something then.’ As the two shot glares at each other, intensely exchanging opinions, just then. “You guys are right.” Dayna set her spoon down on the tray and stood up. “I shouldn't be chasing after my prey.” A meaningful smile crossed Dayna's lips. “I need to set a trap.”

I Became the Obsessed Ex-Husband in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 154