The male leads of <Try Running Away for Once> all had strong character traits.
First, Raffaelo Nesta.
He was known for having the dirtiest personality among the four…
“Who do you think you’re looking at?”
To the nobles throwing shade at Aurora’s beauty, the original Raffaelo said this.
“I’m restraining myself from gouging out your eyes, so get lost.”
As expected of someone who has that arrogant face, he was indeed good at intimidating… no, he was good at threatening.
Second, Ghieuspe Ascary. He also pursued Aurora fiercely.
“Ghieuspe, how could you do such a thing to me?”
And Aurora, who so spoke like that in the original work, burst into tears.
He also had the keyword ‘silent man,’ but he was truly silent. To what extent?…
“……….”
“……….”
“……….”
His lines in the original work were usually like this…
Of course, that didn’t mean he didn’t love Aurora.
To what extent did he love Aurora…
“Aurora….”
In the original work, it took him a whopping 21 episodes to finally utter Aurora’s name. It was truly a remarkable love.
Additionally, he was rumored to be a dark-element mage who defeated 27 opponents alone in the demon tower. When a silent character speaks, they tend to make a big impact.
Lastly, Arkhangelo Phyro, he…
“Ha, dare to stand in my way.”
He was strong against the weak.
“Is a princess such a big deal!”
He was also strong against the strong.
He was the owner of a strong-willed personality, famous for not discriminating against opponents and boasting about his character.
Meanwhile, Arkhangelo also had the keyword ‘grumpy man’ while being a famous opera singer.
The reason he got closer to Aurora was because Aurora, who was interested in opera, used to attend his performances every day.
“I can’t sleep without Aurora!”
“If I mess up the performance tomorrow because of this, are you going to take responsibility?! Find Aurora!”
“Hmph, I won’t talk to ugly guys! Bring Aurora here!”
“Ugh, just looking at your face makes me nauseous!”
However, he eventually quit singing opera after Aurora ran away. For the grumpy him, he couldn’t sing without Aurora.
Despite being a great opera singer, his unique rude way of speaking was well packaged as part of the artist’s greatness. Although he received criticism from readers, it was part of the act.
In summary, all the male leads characters were a mess.
These male leads all had remarkable characters capable of ruining Aurora’s spirit.
But for them to come as a group, it was really a big deal.
‘No, let’s not do this. I’ve been through a lot lately!’
They say even if you’re bitten by a tiger, as long as you keep your wits about you, you’ll survive. It’s nothing special.
Alright, let’s think of them as delinquent students. How did I deal with delinquent students normally?
– It is possible to enroll in math classes with a grade of 2 or higher on the November mock exam (based on prospective 3rd-year students) or the College Scholastic Ability Test (based on retest students).
Oh, I see, I must have screened the students! There were no delinquent students in my class, hahaha!
Because the academy said that’s how we could earn more money and conduct classes smoothly, you know…
I felt a moment of gloom about reality, but anyway, I sat in front of them with my teacher’s charisma, ready to assert my authority.
Then Raffaelo glanced at me with an interesting expression.
“Do you know me, Viviana?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Why do you talk so disrespectfully?”
“Well, I know your character is actually notorious, but you’re the one who speaking informally to me first out of the blue like that, isn’t it? Did we know each other before?”
The important thing is to dominate the situation! I won’t back down!
The aura of a highly developed one-shot instructor is not much different from that of a cult leader…!
“Oh, it’s rare for someone to speak to me like this…”
Whether Raffaelo observed me with suspicious eyes or not, I maintained a steady face.
“You’re younger than me, Viviana, aren’t you?”
“Well, yes.”
“So relax. Since I speak comfortably to Aurora, it’d be easier for me to speak to Viviana as well. No problem, right? Viviana, you can speak comfortably to me too.”
Well, Raffaelo said I could speak comfortably, but…
“Certainly not. How dare I speak like that to Raffaelo, Major of the Army and member of the great Marquess of Nesta?”
It’s better to avoid any potential issues in the future, you know.
“What on earth are you saying?”
That man, Raffaelo Nesta, looked incredulous.
As much as I diligently read the original work, I could explain him in detail.
But explanations would drag on, so I’ll just extract the two most important keywords.
Firstly, a fire mage.
There were several mage families in this country, including the Count Viviana family, and the Marquess of Nesta, to which he belonged, was also a mage family.
Among them, Raffaelo specialized in fire magic.
Secondly, an army captain.
He rejected the path of a mage and unexpectedly enlisted in the army. With exceptional prowess, he rose to become the youngest army captain.
In other words, he’s proficient in both magic and combat.
With his temperament being filthy as well, it’s no wonder he’s fearsome.
“Well, after you get to the point of why you’ve come to see me, it’d be best to leave quickly. Wasting time like this is quite inefficient, you know?”
“What? You’re telling me to leave?”
“It’s a bit rude, but it’s roughly the same meaning.”
“This is really ridiculous. Fine, get to the point.”
Finally, the reason for his visit started to emerge from his lips.
“Before we begin, do you know who I am?”
“You’re Raffaelo Nesta, the son of Marquess Nesta, an army captain, and…”
“No, not that. Do you know what my relationship with Aurora is?”
“Hmm, do you have a specific answer you’re looking for? While it’s impossible to live by only hearing what people want to hear, if you wish, I can accommodate.”
Perpetrator and victim?
While pondering whether I could sincerely say that, fortunately, Raffaelo provided the answer first.
“What are you talking about? We’re friends, just friends.”
Ah, on the surface, it’s a friendship. That’s how I should respond.
While Raffaelo spoke to me, Ghieuspe and Arkhangelo remained silent. Ghieuspe was usually quiet, and Arkhangelo had a face that showed no interest in someone like me.
“By the way, did you know Aurora ran away from home suddenly a week ago?”
“Yes, I did.”
“So, I’m looking for Aurora. Because I’m her friend, you know.”
Friend, huh? It’s that kind of relationship where you beg like trash even though you’re in love.
Of course, my life is precious, so I didn’t let that slip out either.
“Then I thought about why Aurora ran away.”
“But that’s unfair for me too. Well, actually, you probably already know the answer yourself. When you know the answer, it’s better not to waste time and solve one more problem quickly.”
“What are you talking about? I was about to say Aurora ran away because of the Shae family.”
“What?”
Huh?
Wasn’t it my fault?
“It’s all because Marquess Shae pressured Aurora so much. He even tried to marry her off to the eldest son of Marquess Sanzio, who has a notorious reputation.”
“Y-yeah, haha.”
“That’s probably why she ran away.”
It felt absurd to blame Aurora while knowing she was the real reason for her own escape, but for now, I nodded along to his words.
In the original work, there were three main reasons why Aurora suffered.
First, Seraphina Viviana, who tormented Aurora in society, that’s me.
Second, the Shae family Aurora belonged to.
Originally, Aurora dreamed of becoming an opera singer, but the Shae family disapproved of her dream and strictly controlled her.
Third, the male leads who tormented Aurora mentally.
But ultimately, it was the third factor that drove Aurora to run away. Those damn male leads.
Wait a minute, did the male leads decide to blame Marquess Shae instead of me for Aurora’s escape?
If that so, I can’t miss this opportunity, can I?
After hearing that, my mind started spinning quickly.
The college entrance exam tutoring industry was as ruthless as high society depicted in novels. I was a survivor in that harsh political environment.
My instincts were telling me to naturally shift the blame onto someone else.
“I see. Do you happen to know where Aurora ran off to then?”
“No, I couldn’t find out either. I even thought about asking for help from the Tower, but you know, spatial mages are so rare.”
…Was that so?
But I succeeded in spatial magic right away?
I thought it was just an exaggeration in the book when they said it was rare.
“Anyway, the reason I came here is to help you, in my own way, Viviana.”
“Help? What do you mean…”
“Listen carefully. Marquess Shae is trying to blame you, Viviana, for Aurora’s escape.”
“…Pretending they have no responsibility at all?”
“Exactly. It’s better for their family’s reputation if it’s said that Aurora ran away because of the harassment by another noble instead of being forced into marriage and running away. So, Shae will try to pin everything on you, Viviana, no matter what.”
I remembered the story today about my father going to Marquess Shae.
Damn, then I really…
“But there’s not no way to survive. As I said, I will help you, Viviana.”
“How?”
“We’ll go find Aurora ourselves. Oh, when I say ‘we,’ I mean Aurora’s friends.”
I know what he means.
It must be the four male leads in ‘Try Running Away for Once.’
“If Viviana helps us, we can speak well to Marquess Shae. Even if their daughter is making such efforts, wouldn’t it be better to postpone blaming the family for a while?”
“Ah…”
Honestly, I didn’t quite understand.
Finding Aurora, who has completely disappeared from this continent, is one thing, but…
“But I still can’t understand why the great Nesta would help me.”
“What?”
“I have my doubts as to whether it might be a trap. How could I be included in a place where only Aurora Shae’s special people seem to gather? Why are you speaking on my behalf to the Shae family?”
“Are you going to keep pretending to respect me and say what you want?”
“It’s important to speak with facts without risking legal action from the student.”
I wasn’t a tutor who gave false hope. I wrote everything upward until Chapter 6, but if a student failed the exam, I would become the tutor with the lowest pass rate.
Raffaelo remained silent for a moment, looking bewildered, then elegantly crossed his long legs and spoke up.
“Still, you seem like an innocent soul. It’s pitiful to see you getting caught up in inter-family disputes for no reason.”
“Me?”
“You were friends with Aurora, weren’t you?”
Wait, do they not know that I harassed Aurora?
If that’s the case… I should make good use of this opportunity.
“Um, yes!”
Since the original Seraphina was actually a trivial villainess, she didn’t have much weight. It also made sense that the male leads didn’t know much about such Seraphina in the original work.
“Alright, so you should help us find Aurora. Will you help?”
“Um…”
I glanced around nervously before responding with a trembling voice.
“Of course, I’ll help. Frankly, seeing everyone brought here like this feels like they’re trying to create a threatening atmosphere to intimidate me. So, naturally, I’ll help… Oh, sorry for speaking out of turn. I’ll shut up.”
“What on earth is wrong with your personality?”
“I really don’t know.”
“…”
Oh no, my nasty habit of speaking out again.
I had a habit of being quite harsh with my students, and it seems like that habit won’t be fixed in this world either.
In fact, high school seniors always lacked content, and the only things to watch were online lectures or on-site classes, so I had to somehow stir up some controversy during that time. This habit could be considered a byproduct of that controversy.
Avoiding eye contact with them, I continued speaking with my eyes cast down.
“So, what kind of help are you seeking from me? If you’re trying to rob me of my property, I must say that such an act is not only conscienceless but also akin to fleecing a flea’s liver, and…”
“Do you do well on quizzes?”
“Excuse me?”
“Just answer. Can you do a quiz?”
“I’m not as skilled as the great magician Ghieuspe Ascary, but I can handle quizzes fairly well.”
With a puzzled look, I responded, so Raffaelo placed a letter and a box on the table.
“This is a letter Aurora left behind. There’s a quiz in it that we can’t solve.”
“Huh, so Aurora left behind a difficult quiz for once.”
Arkhangelo added with a sarcastic tone.
“Ghieuspe is the smartest among us, but even he couldn’t solve this quiz. We thought maybe we need a fresh perspective. That’s why we came to you.”
I glanced over the contents of the letter.
“Oh, I was going to write the date, but it changed to the new day just a minute ago. I won’t tell you what day it is.
“It’s pouring rain right now. I don’t know how long this rain will last.
“So, I’ll give you a quiz.
“You just have to input O or X in this box, but you only have one chance. If you get it wrong, you’ll never be able to open this box again.
“Hey guys, will the sun rise after 72 hours?”
“It’s been raining on and off in the capital for the past few days. Since Aurora didn’t mention the date, we couldn’t solve this quiz.”
Raffaelo frowned as if he were in a dilemma.
“Since it’s said that the box can’t be opened again if you get it wrong, we need to be careful…”
“No one found the answer to this stupid question?”
I widened my eyes in surprise, and Arkhangelo sat up abruptly.
“So, you know the answer to this quiz?”
“Uh… I can’t not know.”
This was the type of problem I could see when I was in charge of an elementary school logic class before taking on a college prep class.
“Stupid? If Aurora wrote the letter on June 1st, it’s O, if she wrote it on June 2nd, it’s X. If she wrote it on June 3rd, it’s O…”
“No, no, that’s not it. This was really a dumb question.”
“Are you calling us stupid?”
“Honestly, I do think you all are stupid, but I’ll keep quiet since Nesta and Phyro are watching me.”
“What’s wrong with this girl?”
“I’m baffled too.”
“……..”
Amid Raffaelo, Arkhangelo, and Ghieuspe’s bewilderment, I reached out to the box. And the answer I chose was…
