The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

“Are you a dog, Prigia? Do I have to potty train you too?”

“Hik… Uh… Aah…”

I forced her to look down at her own excrement.

In the eyes of Shaara Prigia, who had always stood above others and learned to behave with dignity, the sight of her wet thighs and the pale piles of waste was undeniable.

The painful agony made it impossible for her to stand on her two legs, yet she understood what it was.

Her arms trembled uncontrollably.

Knowing that she, as the heir of Prigia, had just wet herself in front of others was undeniably humiliating, but at that moment, she was in no condition to preserve her pride.

“Alright, I’ll give you another chance, so speak up.”

“I… I’m the daughter of the Golden Ball… Just like Russell, I… I’ll follow you…”

“That’s not it.”

-Bang!!

Again, my fist crashed into her abdomen.

“Aaack… aah!”

I no longer grabbed Prigia by her hair.

As the drumbeat echoed again, Prigia clutched her abdomen, grimacing as she rolled over on the rotten leaves.

Despite the pain, her health was remarkably unscathed—that’s the terrifying efficacy of this treatment.

“Now, think again.”

“Ugh… I… I’ll give you everything… so that you can become the next Golden Ball… I…”

“….Hmm, still don’t get it.”

The thought of the next Golden Ball title briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

That’s not what she should be saying right now.

“Is this… not enough? That’s all I have…”

As my fist approached once more, Prigia, leaning against a hollowed log, trembled.

The last thing she had tried to offer was everything Shaara Prigia could provide.

To promise the title of Duke Prigia meant pledging her position as my consort.

She wasn’t just offering some shallow token; she was offering her body and status to solidify the inheritance.

Though she’d promised all her wealth and status, with no end in sight, it seemed she didn’t know what else to say.

It’s not like I didn’t understand what it meant, but that’s not the point Prigia needed to focus on right now.

It seemed she still didn’t grasp the meaning of my words.

“Please… just stop… I feel like I’m going to die…”

As I approached silently, Prigia grabbed my pant legs with tears in her eyes.

The slapping had stopped, so her head wouldn’t be ringing any longer, but blood leaked from her shredded mouth, and her face was swollen, making it hard for her to see properly.

Anyone seeing her now wouldn’t even recognize the noble lady Prigia.

Having grown up without knowing pain or fear, she was likely on the verge of losing her mind from this newfound terror and agony.

I gently stroked her wrist.

“You won’t die.”

It’s going to hurt a lot, but don’t worry; people don’t die from this kind of pain.

She wouldn’t know how controlled I was being right now.

“What…?”

“People don’t die from this. I’m the top expert in this area, so you can relax.”

“I… I can’t put strength in my legs, and my whole body hurts… I really feel like I’m going to die… Please, just stop…”

“Why should I stop? I told you to tell me why I need to save you. What you’re saying now isn’t even a reason!”

Seeing her still able to speak well confirmed she was, indeed, healthy.

With one hand, I grabbed both of her arms that were clutching my pant legs and lifted them up.

Her soft belly was now fully exposed.

“What…?”

-Bang!!!!

Another beating resounded.

“Aaaah!!”

“Prigia, let’s not do this. Why are you making me the bad guy here…?

You tried to kill me first, so I’m just returning the favor.”

“Hik… Hik…”

As the drumbeat rang from her belly again, Prigia spat nothing but gastric fluid and collapsed, clutching her aching stomach.

Her breathing, hoarse and short, sounded almost like a hiccup.

“You tried to kill me, so I can kill you too. Now think, think! You’re good at this sort of thing.

When you try to kill someone and they find out, what do you think the first thing you should do is?”

“I… I…?”

I was giving her blatant hints, and as she thought hard about it, she finally opened her mouth.

“So… what… do you want from me…?”

“If you don’t know, then there’s nothing I can do.”

As I closed my fist and took a step towards Shaara, she got startled and fell back.

“No…!! I’ll do it properly…!!”

Caught up in her hiccups, Prigia, after moments of sobbing, seemed to have come to some realization, gathering her knees together neatly.

With both hands, she properly positioned them before lowering her head.

This was the posture of the greatest apology in this world, kneeling and bowing down to the ground… a dogeza.

“I’m sorry… I acted too presumptuously…”

She continued her apology in a quivering voice.

In essence, she was saying she regretted being presumptuous and wanted to compensate for the harm done.

I was touched.

It was a historic moment that Shaara Prigia had apologized to someone for the first time.

She was even using formal language.

All that arrogance surely stemmed from not being educated to act otherwise.

“Finally, you get it. If you pull something like that, the first thing you do is bow your head and apologize. Got it?”

“Yes… Yes!”

Bowing her head, Shaara listened attentively to my words.

“Good job, Shaara. I knew you could do this.”

That Shaara Prigia was self-reflecting and apologizing to someone… what a significant step forward.

I patted her messy hair, praising her.

As she registered the warm words of praise just after her apology, Shaara shyly lifted her head.

“So… does that mean you’ll stop now…?”

“No, if one word is all it takes to end this, duels wouldn’t exist.”

But hey, had I known it would end with just one word, I wouldn’t have started at all.

The fact that it wasn’t over yet left Shaara with a face as if the sky was falling.

However, it didn’t seem she was going to run away.

She probably thought such actions might provoke me further.

That Prigia was considering how the person in front of her felt—already, it looked like the fruits of her training were showing.

“Still, it seems really tough for you, so I’ll treat you to something good for your body.”

In other words, I decided to reward Shaara.

I pressed the area behind her ear and under her chin with my fingers.

“Hiiiii?!”

Consequently, Shaara jumped up like a frog that just got zapped by electricity and fell to the ground, starting to cough violently.

“Cough! Cough!!”

Blood poured out from her mouth and eyes.

She shuddered as if she were about to die from the amount of blood she spat out, but she quickly realized.

“How about that? Feeling a bit lighter?”

“U-uh? How…?”

She had noticed her condition had improved.

“I told you, I’m a bit of an expert in this area. You should feel healthier than before, right?”

Though she must have felt excruciating pain, her condition was at its best.

I stimulated her blood flow and infused vitality to aid her recovery.

I helped her purge blood that was pooling in her face and healed the burst capillaries.

Naturally, it would take a significant amount of time for such a recovery to happen on its own, but I pressed her meridians and accelerated her recovery while preventing her from taxing her body.

Even with all that blood lost, Prigia’s physical condition was likely better now than before.

The proof was in the sheen of her skin.

A fleeting smile danced on Shaara’s face.

Perhaps she hoped this could end here.

“Shall we go back to square one?”

“…From the beginning?”

“Can’t have you forgetting what we covered.”

It’s possible she might genuinely be a psychopath by nature.

But the fact that symptoms can be mitigated with conscious effort is something I know.

This method may not have been the best, but in my own way, I would teach Prigia sociality.

By the time the education was over, she would understand what it meant to respect others.

She’d learn that doing something rude to someone right in front of her could very well lead to her own head getting smashed.

The night deepens.

She has been broken multiple times and rebuilt just as often.

———————————————-

Lucia wasn’t feeling very good.

Atlas was absent.

He had mentioned the day before that he was tired due to various reasons when we parted, so I figured he was feeling the fatigue.

However, one strange coincidence occurred.

Coincidentally, Shaara Prigia, who had a serious dispute with Atlas the day before, was also absent.

According to Perda, who had seen her most often, she usually would shut herself in her room when she was feeling down, but something felt off.

Yet, there was nothing Lucia could do.

She silently awaited his return.

The following day, both of them came to school again.

Shaara Prigia looked as usual, but Atlas, unusually, seemed to be in a good mood.

He was even humming a little, appearing quite cheerful.

“You know, it feels like it’s been ages since I had a fulfilling day, after all the annoyance lately.”

I didn’t quite understand, but it was just good to see Atlas smile after a long time.

As we walked down the hallway, a group came rushing towards us from across the way.

A long blonde figure at the front caught my eye.

It was Shaara Prigia.

“Whoa..!”

Lucia stepped protectively in front of Atlas.

“Why worry about them? Let’s just pass by.”

“…Okay.”

Atlas seemed amused by the situation and playfully tapped Lucia’s arm, attempting to pass by Prigia’s side.

As they walked past, Lucia silently wished for nothing to go wrong, but something strange occurred.

-Bow

“Good morning.”

That Shaara Prigia slightly bent at the waist in greeting towards Lucia and Atlas.

“W-what… suddenly..!”

Chills ran down Lucia’s spine.

Prigia had never greeted anyone during her time at the academy, and now she was bowing as well.

Was this some sort of trick? Lucia warily stepped back in front of Atlas, but Prigia was irritated.

“What’s your problem, Russell? It’s just a formal greeting. Are you rejecting my greeting?”

As infuriating as it was, she was right.

Yeah, it was just a morning greeting.

No big deal, and it wasn’t some trick or scheme—just an ordinary… morning greeting.

“Okay, good morning. Lucia, it’s just a greeting; let’s accept it and move on.”

Atlas nonchalantly responded and continued walking briskly.

Despite suffering from Prigia the day before, Lucia thought, “Atlas really is an adult,” as she followed him.

“Ugh… Y-yeah… Good… morning…”

Although it didn’t please her, there was no substantial reason to refuse.

As she prepared to casually wave and follow Atlas, a small voice drifted into her ear.

“Yes, Lord Atlas…”

‘Lord Atlas?’

She turned around immediately.

As they passed each other, Lucia Russell caught Shaara Prigia’s gaze crystal clear.

Her eyes were fixated not on Russell, but on Atlas.

Though Prigia had glanced at her from the corner of her eye, it was evident.

It felt like they’d both greeted each other, but that wasn’t the case.

Prigia had greeted Atlas with respect.

‘What happened last night…?’

Lucia’s worries deepened.