Reborn As An Overpowered Villain

Melissa did not know why, or for what particular reason, she hugged Lucien. All she knew was that before her mind could even form a single thought, before she could turn and walk out of the training ground, she found herself moving toward him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her face in his chest, which felt so comforting and strong that the tears she had been desperately holding back finally spilled from her eyes.

Previously, she had been clenching her fists against her leggings, biting her lips, gnawing at the inside of her cheeks, doing everything and anything to stop herself from crying, but in the end it had all been a futile effort.

Lucien's comforting words had helped her hold back her tears to some extent, but her inner monologue was in complete turmoil, her chest was tight, her heart was beating haphazardly, and her mind was spinning thought after thought, searching for a reason why Eleena was targeting her specifically, wondering in what possible way she looked like a slut or a bitch to anyone. So it was incredibly difficult for Melissa internally, no matter how much she had tried to hide it outwardly.

Lucien patting her head and comforting her with words, like he was tending to some frightened little girl, had made her relax just a little, and she had found herself wishing it would never end.

She wished he would continue to advise her, continue to comfort her, and when he pulled his hand away from her head and told her she should return to the dormitory, it felt as though the last remaining support had been stripped away from her.

She feared going back to the dormitory. She wanted to stay with him just a little longer, because he was strong, extraordinarily strong, and she knew that no one would dare speak down to her if he were beside her.

So, not knowing what else to do, not knowing how she could return to her dormitory room in this state, she ended up wrapping her arms around him. It was done purely on instinct, without much thought at all.

It was a response born from fear, from not wanting to face this world alone, from the desperate and unspoken wish that if it were possible, she wanted him to be there for her always.

And the worst part was that she was beginning to think Eleena might be right, not about Melissa making Lucien fall for her, but rather the other way around. That if this continued, Melissa herself would start to fall for Lucien, which she needed to avoid at all costs.

The world between him and her was like the distance between the sky and the ground. There was no common ground. And above all else, he was doing this simply because.

Because.

Because.

Melissa's mind stopped abruptly, uncertain of why he was even helping her in the first place. Then she remembered that it was likely because he was the one who had gotten her admitted into the academy through the back door. So if she faltered, if she lost the motivation to study, it would damage his standing as a professor and hurt his reputation. It was only natural, then, that he would look out for her. But even so, that did not explain all the care he showed her.

Is Eleena right? Did Lucien truly fall for me? She shoved the thought away the moment it surfaced.

Melissa tilted her head up and looked at Lucien's face. He was not looking down at her but gazing straight ahead, yet he had not pushed her away or stepped back. He seemed frozen in place. She shifted her gaze to his hands. They rested at his sides, not wrapped around her, and she understood perfectly well why he would never wrap his arms around her. He was likely too stunned by the fact that she had hugged him at all.

And, why in the world would he even hug her back?

She looked at his face again. "Why are you protecting me so much?" The words came out in broken syllables, her voice dry and hollow, her eyes still blurry with the lingering moisture of tears.

For the first time, Lucien lowered his gaze to meet hers. His silver pupils were something Melissa had never seen in anyone except him and his mother, and they were beautiful, extraordinarily beautiful, even more so than her golden hair.

His face remained impassive, but he looked troubled, and sad, and more than anything, he looked confused, as though he were wrestling with a guilt tied to something Melissa did not yet understand.

In truth, she did not know what those small shifts in his expression even meant. She was only piecing together what she felt from the faint, barely perceptible signs he let slip, signs she had unknowingly begun to notice and collect. The changes in his impassive face were so small that most of the time she would miss them entirely, but right now she could tell with quiet certainty that he was carrying guilt.

"Huh?" Lucien faltered, as though the question had caught him off guard. "Why am I protecting you?" He repeated it more to himself than to her, as though he too did not know the answer with any real clarity.

“Yes, why are you protecting me?” Melissa repeated the question looking at Lucien, wanting to make sure that she got the answer. So that she would not have to form answers for it in her mind all by herself.

"I think since I am sponsoring you, and I am the reason for your admission into the academy," Lucien began slowly, searching for the right words, the right reason, one that he too did not know clearly, "So, I think I should be helping you. And, should at least make sure you do not run into problems here."

Melissa gave a small, meek nod and, with great reluctance, unwrapped her arms from his waist and took a step back.

Some small, stubborn part of her had still been waiting, still been hoping he would say that he did not know the answer himself, that he was doing this because he simply could not bear to see her struggling, because it pained him to watch her be accused by others, because he could not stand the thought of anyone ever hurting her.

But just as she had suspected all along, he was protecting her because he felt responsible, because he was the one who had brought her into the academy, and that was why those conflicted expressions kept crossing his face, and that was why his voice carried that unmistakable weight of guilt.

"You don't have to feel responsible for it," Melissa murmured, her voice rough from crying. She clenched her fist at her side, so tightly that her nails nearly broke the skin of her palm. "I voluntarily joined the academy, and more than anything, I am truly grateful just to be studying here." She bowed her head toward him. "Thank you. And please, do not let this become a burden you carry."

Melissa lifted her head. Lucien looked genuinely shocked, his lips pressed together in silence, as though he could not fathom how she had read so clearly what was passing through his mind.

"No, you don't ha-"

Before he could finish, Melissa cut in quietly. "You don't need to console me any longer. And thank you for what you did earlier." She could not bring herself to stand near him a moment more. She was terrified that the longer she listened to him, the deeper her fondness for him would grow. So she turned on her heel and ran away.

***

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