I Cured the Mastermind and Failed to Run Away - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4

She’d been dreaming.
A nightmare where she’d entered the Contaminated Zone for her Academy graduation exam and been caught by a Demon Beast, which chomped down on her with sickening relish.

—You’re becoming one with me now, hahahaha!

The Demon Beast had even spoken. It was grinding her between its jaws, and yet Rebellin found the whole thing absurd.
Because it was only a dream, she felt neither fear nor pain—only irritation at being masticated like some petty snack.
So even as the Demon Beast chewed, Rebellin pounded it mercilessly with her fists.

—Hahahaha! It’s useless! This is the Contaminated Zone, and the more Demonic Energy I consume, the stronger I become!

The moment the Demon Beast finished its villainous boasting, a sudden gust of wind tore through the air.
The beast that had been bragging an instant before was cleaved cleanly in two. Startled, Rebellin twisted to see who had saved her.
She found herself staring into Chadwin’s eyes, sword in hand.
“Gasp!”
And with that, Rebellin jolted awake.
“Ruby!”
“Rebellin!”
The moment her eyes opened, she saw her father’s and brother’s faces hovering above her, both creased with worry and concern.
Rebellin was lying in a bedroom at the Ethelyion Mansion.
“Are you with us? Does anything hurt, my dear?”
Her father, his face threatening to crumple into tears at any second, stroked the back of her hand over and over.
‘Did I lose consciousness at the end?’
When Rebellin said nothing, Arent exhaled in relief and spoke.
“Don’t you remember? You suddenly coughed blood at the banquet and collapsed.”
“What? Blood? Me?!”
Now that he mentioned it, she did recall something trickling from her mouth just before she went under.
“Rebellin.”
Arent called to her, confused expression and all, and met her eyes.
“What happened? You’re safe here now, so don’t worry. You can tell me.”
What had happened?
After fighting Mila in the Banquet Hall, she’d slipped onto the Balcony to escape the stares, and there she’d encountered Chadwin—contaminated, overcome by Demonic Energy—and then…
“Breath catches.”
As all the memories rushed back with perfect clarity, Rebellin gasped for air.
Back then, driven by the sense that she had to save her brother, she hadn’t realized how reckless she’d been. Now, the full weight of her madness crashed down on her.
‘I nearly died.’
A Grade 10 Purifier throwing herself into the flames to cleanse someone drowning in Demonic Energy—she might as well have hurled herself into an inferno for her brother’s sake.
‘I should be grateful I woke up at all.’
But what had become of Chadwin? How much time had passed since then?
“How long have I been unconscious?”
“Four days.”
“Four days?!”
She’d assumed only a day or two—four days sent her reeling. Rebellin cried out in disbelief.
Well, she’d nearly died and barely clawed her way back to life, so perhaps it made sense.
“Your fever ran dangerously high, and your condition was dire. If I could have borne it instead, I would have taken your suffering upon myself, my precious Ruby.”
Her father soothed the startled Rebellin and gestured to a servant to fetch the physician.
“I’m relieved you’ve awakened, Rebellin. I gather you had words with the Failur heiress at the banquet. Is she the one responsible for your condition?”
Rebellin tried to soften her reply so as not to alarm him, but Arent’s jaw had already set rigid.
If she said yes, she feared he would march directly to the Failur Mansion and burn the place to the ground.
Neither her father nor brother knew exactly what had transpired during her Academy graduation exam.
They knew only that her relationship with Mila had soured.
The incident where Rebellin had been attacked by a Demon Beast—the relevant professors had taken full responsibility and resigned without trace, leaving no evidence or testimony behind.
Most importantly, Rebellin herself had not wanted the affair to become public knowledge; her terror at the thought had prevented them from pressing further.
Only after the Academy had taken responsibility and erased every scar from her body had Rebellin finally been able to sleep without nightmares.
“No, I won against Lady Mila. I’ve just been tired lately. There were so many people, and it all felt overwhelming.”
Since being ranked as a Grade 10 Purifier, Rebellin had endured endless ridicule.
Adored from childhood and called the first love of many, she had believed the world was simply kind—so the cruelty struck her like a blow.
When contempt and mockery first rained down on her, she wept for days without stopping.
Still, she’d managed to bear it until the Academy’s graduation examination.
But after that baseless malice took physical form—after hands closed around her throat—Rebellin began to shrink from the weight of people’s gazes, from fear itself.
“And before the banquet, I was already feeling ill—chilled and aching. That’s why I coughed up blood and passed out, I suppose.”
Her family, well acquainted with Rebellin’s tendency to withdraw from others’ scrutiny, asked nothing further and fell silent.
She’d lied to them both, but she couldn’t tell the truth about Chadwin’s condition.
‘It’s not entirely false, anyway.’
Rebellin, seeing her rigid relatives, forced brightness into her voice to lighten the mood.
“No one saw me collapse while bleeding, did they? Or heard about it?”
“Ruby, I know you’re sensitive to rumors—I wouldn’t have let it slide. Arent and I handled it well, so don’t worry yourself, my dear.”
“I told you to stay calm. But when you’re like this, how can I look away, Rebellin?”
Though Arent’s words fell carelessly, his hand stroking her hair was gentle.
“I’ve decided to disregard your opinions for the time being.”
“Brother, you could just say you’re worried and will stay by my side for a while.”
Arent, who had never been skilled with words, nodded, his ears flushing crimson.
A sigh escaped of its own accord.
“What about the banquet? Is it finished?”
“The Victory Banquet was meant to last three days, but something came up. It ended after just one.”
The banquet had ended sooner than in the original story.
‘Could something have gone wrong because I performed Purification?’
She’d never heard of a Grade 10 Purifier actually purifying a person. What if there were side effects?
‘No. Even if I, a Grade 10 Purifier, purified him, how much could really have changed? He must have realized how severely contaminated he is, given how much pain he was in. He’ll probably seek out a proper Purifier.’
There was no point worrying about things that hadn’t happened.
‘But why doesn’t the original story mention Chadwin being ill until the middle? If he was suffering this much, he should have known he was contaminated with Demonic Energy.’
The original story followed the protagonist’s perspective exclusively, so everything else remained unknown.
Still, if the level of Demonic Energy she’d felt yesterday was genuine, it seemed odd that it never surfaced or that Chadwin himself didn’t notice—yet the text mentioned it not once.
“What happened that the banquet ended in just one day?”
“It’s confidential, but the Grand Duchy of Belharc’s ruling prince collapsed on the balcony.”
“What?!”
Now that she thought about it—she’d meant to call for help!
Rebellin had rushed out of the balcony and fainted, leaving Chadwin unattended.
“There were no visible wounds, but his uniform was disheveled—signs of a violent struggle.”
“…A…struggle?”
‘It wasn’t from a violent struggle—he just suddenly pulled me close!’
Though she kept her expression calm, Rebellin’s heart hammered so wildly she half-expected it to leap from her chest.
“He lost consciousness entirely. If it had been an assassin, it would have been the perfect opportunity—but they left without harming him, so the culprit likely had other motives.”
That culprit is your sister.
“The Grand Duchy of Belharc’s knights are searching with fierce determination, so whoever it was will face rigorous interrogation if caught.”
Arent’s words burrowed deep into her mind.
She must never be discovered. She must never be caught.
Rebellin made a vow.
‘No one saw me on the balcony. If they had, rumors would already be spreading. Thank goodness for that.’
Just as Rebellin exhaled in relief, the family physician entered.
After examining her, he prescribed a Sedative and delivered an encouraging diagnosis: nothing was wrong.
“Ruby, would Father sit with you tonight? I could read you fairy tales.”
“I’m more comfortable resting alone.”
Rebellin cut him off firmly.
Her father hadn’t bathed properly in four days and looked disheveled; dark circles shadowed Arent’s eyes.
“Father, you should rest too. And you, brother.”
Her father brought out fairy tales organized by genre, insisting he could read them aloud, but Rebellin’s repeated refusals left them unopened.
‘I’ve inherited Father’s stubbornness perfectly!’
Rebellin lay on the bed, fixing the two men with a stare that said leave.
In the end, both were ushered from the room.
Only after a considerable time had passed did Rebellin rise from the bed.
‘Has everyone gone?’
She made deliberate sweeping motions with her arms and legs, but no one entered. They really were gone.
“Good.”
In truth, there was a reason she’d sent her father and brother away so quickly.
She hadn’t told them because she feared they’d worry, but from the moment she opened her eyes, she’d felt something different—a power moving through her body unlike anything before.
“What is this?”
Purifiers knew the limits of their own strength. As a Grade 10 Purifier, Rebellin’s power had always been remarkably meager.
Or so she’d thought.
“Why has my Purification strength increased?”
A force swelled through her entire body, pressing outward in all directions.
There had always been effort, always a sense of strain, but never—not once—had she felt power overflow like this.
‘Something changed after I purified Chadwin.’
Rebellin climbed out of bed and opened her private drawer, which was fitted with a double lock.
“There should still be one of those Grade Confirmation Mana Tools I bought and hid away long ago.”
When she’d first received the test results confirming her as a Grade 10 Purifier, she simply couldn’t accept it.
Her father and brother, seeing her devastation, had arranged for her grades to be retested at multiple institutions, but the results never changed.
Still unable to come to terms with it, Rebellin had purchased Grade Confirmation Mana Tools in bulk.
They weren’t official assessments—there was a margin of error—but she’d tested herself daily.
After dozens of attempts all returned the same result, Grade 10, she’d despaired and shoved them away in a corner.
“Here it is.”
Rebellin withdrew a Grade Confirmation Mana Tool.
Fortunately, it still seemed intact and usable.
“I thought I’d abandoned all such illusions.”
She’d convinced herself she was fine now, that it didn’t matter, yet here she was, thinking it best to check her grade first—so perhaps she hadn’t truly let go after all.
The memory of those desperate days, watching dozens of Mana Tools display the same result, brought a bitter smile to her lips.
After hesitating for a moment, Rebellin grasped the Grade Confirmation Mana Tool with familiar ease.
As she poured her power into it, the tool glowed crimson.
A soft beep sounded.
Rebellin narrowed her eyes and checked the reading.
“……?”
The moment she saw the result, she rubbed her eyes.
“Huh? Did it break from being buried away for so long?”
She tried to wipe the result with her hand, but it wouldn’t fade.
“……Grade 5?”
Something felt off. Rebellin hurled the Mana Tool behind her and tore open a new one, gripping it in her palm. She checked it the same way.
A beep signaled the result.
“Grade 5?”
Grade 5 again.
Rebellin shook the Mana Tool.
“Could the Mana Tool be… broken? Or does it have an expiration date on its accuracy?”
A Purifier’s grade was innate, determined at first measurement and never to change thereafter.
So how could this be happening?
Rebellin pulled out another Mana Tool and checked, then checked again.
Dawn broke. And she could no longer deny it.
“……I’m Grade 5?”
Her grade had risen.
She’d collapsed and awakened as a Grade 5 Purifier.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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