Chapter 20: Black Shadow Behind the Academy Gate

Late afternoon sun slowly sank beneath the western horizon, casting a reddish-orange light bias piercing through the stained glass cracks of the dormitory corridor. 

Following the tense duel against Prince Leonhardt in the enclosed arena earlier today—which successfully nearly gave me consecutive heart attacks—I decided to head straight back to the noble dormitory room. 

My body felt battered, not from physical exhaustion, but from mental energy draining completely to maintain the arrogant villainess mask all day long. 

I opened the door with slow movements, stepped into the tidy room, and immediately flopped my body onto the large soft mattress. 

*Ah... finally... Beloved mattress, save my nearly shattered body and soul,* I complained internally while burying my face into the soft velvet pillow. 

Today was truly a god-tier patience test. From the chaotic study group meeting, the prince's arrival seeking trouble, to the sudden duel almost blowing up my real identity as a former convenience store worker. If this keeps up, my lifespan in this novel world will certainly not last long due to sudden heart failure. 

However, the peace I had barely enjoyed for less than five minutes shattered when a suspicious sound echoed from outside the third-floor bedroom window. 

*Creak... tap...* 

A very soft rubbing sound, as if someone was carefully gripping the outer window frame. 

Instantly, my drowsiness evaporated into thin air. I straightened my body, put on an ice-cold facial expression, and glared sharply toward the thick velvet curtains covering the glass window. 

*Don't tell me Raven came through the window again?! That kid seriously needs basic manners training about visiting a girl's room at midnight!* 

With stealthy yet firm steps, I walked toward the window, grasping an ice magic ribbon in my palm just in case the visitor was a real intruder. 

Reaching the window, I pulled the curtains wide open and slammed the window panels wide. 

"How long are you going to make a hobby of jumping into my room through—" 

My sentence halted instantly in my throat. 

The figure standing on the windowsill was neither Raven in his black cloak nor Prince Leonhardt. 

There stood a man wrapped in a dark gray cloak with a hood pulled low hiding half his face. The faint stench of fresh blood immediately pierced my olfactory senses once the window opened wide. 

The mysterious man stared at me with a pair of glowing red eyes amidst the dark night, grinning widely revealing slightly sharper canine teeth than a normal human. 

My heart hammered wildly, not from charm, but because the safety alarm inside my head screamed hysterically to the max. 

*Wait... this isn't a normal background extra! Blood stench, dark cloak, red eyes... Could he be an assassin from Marquis Vane's enemy faction or lackeys of a black organization targeting academy nobles?!* 

"Lady Alicia Valerian..." the man's voice sounded hoarse, cold, and bone-chilling. "Our master sends regards. He says... it is time for the cold-blooded villain to stop playing pretend." 

Before I could process the meaning of that crazy utterance, the man raised his right hand, summoning a purplish poisoned dagger that shot straight toward my chest!