MLLTM Chapter 16

The tests have begun to select the students who would be part of Professor Bentley’s mentoring classes. Students who had a thing for Professor Bentley didn’t skip a beat in partaking, it was after all a test that would give them a chance and an excuse to see him. Lariensa and I, however, were just forced to participate. 

Since we’re still freshmen in this academy, there are some things we surely haven’t learned just yet, right? But, that’s fine! I can definitely pass this. I’ve been studying so hard for days!

Even though I told Lara to purposely get all the answers wrong, I studied hard in case Professor Bentley would do something about it, so I did my best and took the test, and somehow, I eventually got accepted.

However…

“I couldn’t believe Lariensa’s score on this test. A student who’s supposed to be good at history has a score like this? As a history professor, it’s undeniably my job to supervise a student like her.”

Woof woof! Arf arf! Bark bark!

Can you believe this dog barking some nonsense!?

Professor Bentley deliberately passed Lariensa even though she purposely got all the items wrong.

And as for me, I barely managed to pass the test by a hair’s width. It was too difficult for a freshman to even answer.

Of course, there were a few students who passed his test, but Professor Bentley used some tricks to remove some of them. 

“Please write down why we should learn history, what history means to you, and then submit your thoughts as a paper.”

Even if we submit a paper, it will still just be scored subjectively. I’m sure he’s going to put Lariensa on it no matter what.

“Oh, Lariensa doesn’t need to submit one because I can feel her passion to learn history.” 

See.

When there were no students left anymore, he went towards Lariensa and said something to her discreetly. 

And this got me agitated. 

Even though I know I’ll drop this class in the future, I had no choice but to write my paper all night long. I just can’t leave Lariensa alone with him!

On the deadline, surely, I almost saw my spirit trying to leave my body.

 

I then proceeded to the faculty room to submit my paper, ugly-looking with tissue on my nostrils.

“Marilyn Launer.”

 

There I was wondering who was that guy standing in the hallway, it seemed to Sibel.

 

Sniff! I pulled out the bloody tissue out of my nose and faced him as he stood in my way.

“You shouldn’t hand that in.”

  

I also know that, you know? Who are you kidding?

“You don’t have to care.”

 

“Even if you pass, you’d better not go to his classes.”

There’s no way Sibel doesn’t know about him. There’s no way he doesn’t know what Professor Bentley is like. 

He must have instinctively recognized this man as someone who has bad intentions towards Lariensa. 

“But I still have to do this. I can’t let Lara be alone with that bastard.”

I tried to walk past Sibel, but he stood in my way again. Maybe because I called him out last time before when he touched me that he didn’t do so right now.

Tsk, he keeps blocking my way. 

“Didn’t I tell you before to stay out of my sight?” 

“Why are you bringing that up now?”

  

“Are you doing this on purpose? You keep doing things that bother me.”

“I didn’t ask you to be bothered about it though..”

“Don’t hand in your paper. I’m sure you won’t be able to pass, and even if you will, you shouldn’t go.” 

“You know that you’re being too nosy right now, right?”

 

“I can’t help it. I’m a nice and kind student who can’t turn a blind eye to a friend in need."

Heh, that’s funny. How long are you going to keep up that facade?

“I am still not sure whether Lara would actually be included or not, so I have to prepare for the worst.”

“I think you’re the one who’s being too nosy.”

 

“Lara’s my friend.”

 

“Have you actually been in a dangerous situation?”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“When you are in a really tough and scary situation, you become on your own - no one suddenly remembers you as their friend or family.”

Is it related to his past? I have no idea about Sibel’s past before the storyline in the novel. I just came to this world with everyone already having their own defining characteristics and backgrounds.

“I don’t have to put myself in that situation, and I won’t in the future. Because I’m going to make sure that it’s not gonna happen.”

My words went past by him. Then he just simply stepped out of the way.

  

When you are in a really tough and scary situation, you become on your own?

What does he mean by that? 

…Sigh, I don’t know anymore.

Protecting Lara is already too much for me right now, what more trying to probe about Sibel’s past. There’s no need for me to know about it.

Creak–

I opened the door of the faculty room and submitted my paper to Professor Bentley.

“Good job, Marilyn. I hope you’ll get a good result.”

I’ll get good results if you let me through. 

“Yes, professor. I hope so, too. Lariensa felt uncomfortable taking this class alone.”

“……”

“If it wasn’t for her sake, I wouldn’t have bothered myself to enroll in this class.”

“Haha, I’m fine with you doing that.”

“But Lariensa’s not fine with it though.”

“……”

Facing Professor Bentley who has the same eye color as Marilyn’s, no, as I do now, I purposely smiled even more brightly.

“I trust professor to give me a fair evaluation.”

As I turned my back on him, my face immediately turned sour.

Well, I guess his expression is also the same as mine as he looked at me from behind.

＊ ＊ ＊

It was now nighttime, and Professor Bentley, who was known to be diligent, was still inside the faculty room.

His desk contained carefully written papers by other students, but in his eyes, they were all rubbish. For him, there was something more important than those papers.

Bentley entirely focused on one thing on his desk. Amidst the dozens of papers, there contained a portrait of a girl.

‘No matter how hard I try, I can’t capture her beauty.’

Eventually, he even crushed his own drawings which he drew relentlessly, and approached the window to look up at the sky. The stars in the night sky were shining so brightly today. It looked so much like that child’s blond hair that he couldn’t help but think of her.

“Lariensa…”

While carefully calling out her name, he recalled Lariensa’s innocent smile. She was naive and timid, and rarely showed her smiling face, but Bentley already saw her smile. When she is with her friends, she smiles like someone her age.

‘Indeed, when she is with her friends…’

Especially with that Marilyn Launer.

『 ‘Yes, professor.  Lariensa felt uncomfortable taking this class alone.’ 』

‘That lovely child. My Lariensa!’

He couldn’t say that to her.

Bentley could recognize Lariensa at first sight.

She was very similar to his first love, and the woman who would surely become his last love. 

Lariensa doesn’t know about it because she doesn’t even have a chance to talk to him right now, but she will realize it soon.

‘The fact that we are each other’s destiny.’

That’s what he thought.

‘But that Marilyn Launer… that damn Ginger.’

[T/N: In Chapter 3, it was stated that Marilyn’s nickname is Ginger.]

The man who took away his first love was also red-haired.

Frickin’ Ginger!

Because of his anger, Bentley threw Marilyn’s paper into the trash can without hesitation. The school janitors would be cleaning the faculty room early in the morning before the other professors enter anyway - and so he became quite complacent in throwing the paper due to this fact.

Bentley was preparing to leave the faculty room when suddenly… 

A cold wind blew from behind.

‘Did I open the window?’

‘I saw a star that looked like her, but I don’t remember opening the window at all.’

However, when he turned around, the window was certainly open.

‘I guess I’m getting too old now. I’m already forgetting things.’

Bentley sighed and closed the window again.

“Ohh, so you threw it away.”

It was unexpected for him to hear someone’s voice in the faculty room when he was supposed to be the only here inside.

Bentley hurriedly looked back.

“Who…?”

At first, it was too dark to recognize who it was, but soon the moon, which was covered by the clouds, revealed itself and lit up the room.

“Sibel.”

Sibel was sitting on his desk. Inside the room, there were drawings of Lariensa spread out which Bentley planned to take with him.

Bentley gritted his teeth but still tried to disguise himself by smiling.

“Sibel. You have to go back to your dorm right now. It seems like it’s past bedtime, and going out past curfew is against school regulations.”

Even though Professor Bentley still dared to speak despite being caught, Sibel didn’t gave him a reply. It seems that he was silently reading something.

“Sibel?”

“When I saw her earlier she looked pale. Her under eyes are now dark with eyebags and she even had a nosebleed.”

Far from retorting, he was talking strangely.

“You haven’t even read it. You must have had a hard time reading it with your dysfunctional brain.”

Bentley realized that on Sibel’s hand was Marilyn Launer’s paper, which he had just thrown into the trash can.

“Sibel! Are you aware that you’re violating the rules now?”

“Am I more guilty of breaking the rules than a professor who’s stalking a student?”

“What the hell are you saying…!”

“I don’t care what you’re going to do with Lariensa Jellinus.”

Sibel smiled brightly as usual, and because of this Bentley couldn’t relax. Sibel, who he only considered a student, was now somehow intimidating for him despite remaining polite.

“Well, I just want you to do something for me.”

Sibel, who held Marilyn’s paper tightly in his hand, stood up. He then approached Bentley, who was standing in front of the window.

“Let me join your mentoring class. Of course, including Marilyn Launer.”

Right now, Sibel Nouma Khan was threatening the professor.

‘You dare!’

“Sibel, picking students for this mentoring class was done through a fair screening. You didn’t even pass a paper, let alone take the test for it. Don’t be so childish.”

“Professor.”

“Do you have anything more to say?”

“Why did you steal Lariensa’s hair tie?”

“……!”

“You also stole her handkerchief the other day.”

‘How did he know that? I only took items when no one was there so that I won’t be suspected. I intentionally only stole the ones that would not have a big problem when lost so that I could make an excuse even if I was caught.’

“Ahem. You seem to misunderstand, I just lost my chance to return those things to her.”

“Then what about these hundreds of portraits of Lariensa Jellinus in your room?”

“In my room… Sibel, you…”

“I just need you to do me a little favor.”

“……”

“It seems that you want to make this big.”

Sibel turned his back on Bentley as if he was on his way to tell it to somebody. Bentley hurriedly grabbed Sibel before he could even finish thinking.

“All I have to do is include you in the mentoring class, right?.”

As a professor, having a romantic affection towards a student was considered a big taboo and unacceptable for someone like him.

He didn’t know how Sibel got into his room but he found out his weakness, and that weakness was certainly fatal to Bentley.

He couldn’t now oppose his threat which was disguised as a request.

“Answer me, Sibel!”

Until a while ago, it was Bentley, who was holding out as if he would not comply with Sibel’s request, but now that Sibel wasn’t making a sound, it was making him more nervous.

It wasn’t long after that Sibel smiled back at him and replied.

“Yes, together with Marilyn Launer.”

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