Harem System In A fantasy World - Chapter 173: Why
Chapter 173: Why
After Beatrice finished speaking, the room fell into a heavy silence.
Eveline looked at the three girls for a long moment. Her face was no longer soft or sympathetic. It was serious now, disappointed even.
She stepped closer.
“Explain yourselves,” she said firmly.
No one spoke at first.
Then Ymir suddenly broke down. She covered her face with both hands and started crying harder than before.
“I didn’t want to do it,” she sobbed.
Kaia shot her a sharp look. “Shut up,” she hissed under her breath.
That was enough.
Eveline closed her eyes for a second and sighed. She did not even need to keep questioning them. The act was falling apart right in front of her.
“Why did you do it?” she asked calmly, but her tone carried the weight of her barely concealed anger.
“You understand that falsely accusing someone of assault is a serious offense,” she continued. “Accusing him of raping all three of you could have ruined his life. This is grounds for expulsion.”
Kaia’s face drained of color.
Ceryn began trembling visibly.
Ymir’s crying grew louder.
“We’re sorry,” Kaia said quickly, panic clear in her voice. “Please, we didn’t think it would go this far.”
All three of them started begging at once, their words overlapping in a desperate mess.
Eveline sighed again. “You are asking the wrong person for forgiveness,” she said.
She slowly raised her hand and pointed toward Elion.
The girls froze.
They could not bring themselves to look him in the eye.
Their heads remained lowered, and their shoulders shook.
But this was no small matter. Their future was on the line.
Ceryn was the first to gather enough courage. She slid off the bed and dropped to her knees on the floor.
“I’m sorry,” she said, bowing her head. “Please forgive us.”
Kaia and Ymir followed a second later, kneeling beside her.
All three were now kneeling before Elion.
He watched them with a detached expression.
’More and more people seem to be kneeling in front of me these days,’
he thought dryly.
But he did not feel pity.
If things had gone slightly differently this morning, if Beatrice had not spoken clearly, if he had reacted poorly, this could have destroyed his life.
He looked down at them calmly.
“Tell me why you did it,” he said evenly. “And I might consider being a little lenient.”
The three girls began trembling again.
Their eyes flicked briefly toward William, who was sweating buckets now.
His face had lost all its color.
“Why?” Elion asked again. “This doesn’t look like something you planned by yourselves. There had to be some purpose behind it.”
Kaia swallowed.
Ymir sniffed and wiped her face.
Ceryn’s hands were trembling.
William shifted where he stood. He tried to look calm, but sweat was running down the side of his face.
“Speak,” Eveline said firmly. “If you don’t explain, I will assume you acted alone.” That made them panic more.
Kaia’s eyes flicked toward William for just a second.
It was small.
But everyone saw it.
William stiffened.
“I don’t know why they’re looking at me,” he said quickly. “I have nothing to do with this.”
No one had mentioned him.
That made it worse.
Ceryn finally broke.
“He said it wouldn’t go that far,” she whispered.
The words slipped out.
William turned toward her sharply.
“Shut up,” he hissed.
Eveline’s eyes narrowed.
“He?” she asked slowly.
Ceryn’s voice shook.
“He is the one who planned everything from the start,” she said. “He said if we accused him, the academy would deal with him.”
Ymir started crying again.
“He told us what to say,” she added. “He said no one would question three girls.”
Kaia closed her eyes.
“We thought he would just get suspended,” she said quietly. “We didn’t think it would become this serious.”
Everyone in the room turned toward William.
His face was pale now.
“They’re lying,” he said quickly. “They’re blaming me because they got caught.”
Elion did not speak.
He just looked at him.
He had reason to believe that was not even how they had planned this whole fiasco, but since things had gone awry, they were obviously twisting the tale a little bit.
Eveline stepped forward.
“You volunteered to come as a witness,” she said. “Why?”
William had no good answer; his eyes started darting around in panic.
Liora crossed her arms.
“You inserted yourself into this situation.”
William’s composure started to crack.
Elion finally moved.
He stepped forward and stopped in front of the girls.
“Stand up,” he said quietly.
They slowly got to their feet.
Elion then looked at William.
His voice was calm.
“I told you before,” he said. “One day, I will kill you.”
The words were simple.
But this time, no one thought he was joking.
Eveline stepped forward again, her expression very serious.
“Elion,” she said firmly, “I understand you are angry. But making death threats is not a small matter either.”
Her voice was calm, but there was a warning in it.
Elion let out a quiet sigh.
This woman was really starting to irritate him.
He had just been falsely accused of a crime that could have destroyed his life, and now he was being lectured about his words.
But…
She had a point.
Threatening to kill someone openly in front of witnesses was not smart, no matter how justified he felt.
He ran a hand through his black hair and looked away briefly.
“Fine,” he said calmly. “I’ll watch my words.”
Eveline studied him for a moment before nodding.
In Elion’s mind, she had just lost a few points in his book. It was a shame.
He had respected her before. Now, she was just another member of the crowd to him.
Mira stepped closer to Elion and slid her arm around his waist.
He naturally wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her gently to his side. The gesture was simple, but it was firm and clear.
William saw it.
His jaw tightened as he glared at the two of them.
Mira caught his look and, without shame, stuck her small tongue out at him in a mocking way.
William’s glare deepened.
Mira chuckled softly, clearly enjoying herself.
Liora watched the exchange and let out a small laugh.
“Alright,” she said, returning the focus to the matter at hand. “Now that we’ve figured out the gist of what happened, I would like to report this to Evander.”
She looked at Eveline.
“With your permission, I’ll have William, Ymir, Kaia, and Ceryn come into the DC for formal questioning. Their punishments can be decided afterward.”
Eveline nodded slowly.
“That’s appropriate.”
William looked like he wanted to protest, but he stayed silent. The three girls kept their heads lowered.
With that settled, the tension in the room eased slightly.
Eveline thanked Beatrice for her help.
“Of course,” Beatrice replied with a warm smile.
As everyone began moving toward the door, Elion turned to follow.
Just as he stepped past Beatrice, she gave him a quick, playful smack on his ass. It was light and firm.
But he hadn’t expected her to be so bold!
Elion jumped slightly in surprise.
No one seemed to notice.
Well.
Almost no one. Mira definitely noticed.
She raised a brow and leaned closer to him as they walked out.
“You won’t even let the staff escape your clutches, huh?” she whispered teasingly.
Elion let out a dry laugh. “I didn’t even do anything.”
Mira only smiled knowingly.
She didn’t say anything more.
But the look on her face said enough.
