I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

“If you’re afraid to stand on your own, I’ll help you.”

“…Help me? Someone like me?”

At some point, Mary’s tone had changed.

Having accepted Kraush as her superior, she now listened to him with utmost deference, sitting with her knees neatly together.

“That’s right. Mary, you’re my classmate, aren’t you? Helping a fellow classmate is only natural.”

It wasn’t a command but an offer of help.

Words she had never heard before shook her yet again.

“What’s the point of having friends if not to help one another?”

Kraush’s smile appeared dazzling to Mary’s eyes.

Gulp—

Unconsciously swallowing, Mary sat in a daze when Kraush’s hand lightly touched her shoulder.

The moment his hand brushed against her through the robe, Mary flinched.

Understandably so, as beneath her robe, she wore only a single piece of underwear.

Perhaps it was because her body was so overheated from the alluring fragrance.

Even the light touch of Kraush’s hand sent a shock through her lower abdomen, forcing her to bite her lip to suppress her reaction.

“Isn’t that right?”

As Kraush smiled once more at her, Mary blankly nodded.

“Yes…”

Utterly weakened, she replied like a child, as if she were no older than four.

Seeing this, Kraush slowly walked to the window and opened it.

The cool night breeze drifted in, dispersing some of the fragrance and cooling Mary’s sweat-drenched hair.

Only then did Mary’s mind begin to clear, if only slightly.

“I think that’s all for our conversation.”

Kraush said, gesturing toward the outside with his thumb.

“Don’t you think it’s time for you to head back and rest?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”

Mary rose from her seat, stumbling slightly as she made her way toward the window.

Her overheated body made her movements heavy, but she endured it.

Finally, she turned to look at Kraush.

The face of Kraush she met was painted with an exceptionally kind smile.

In that moment, she felt a warm sensation on her head.

When she followed the feeling and lifted her head, she saw Kraush’s hand there.

His hand, gently patting her head, was so warm that it reminded her of the way her father used to praise her during her childhood.

But even her father had grown cold toward her now.

After all, she was the princess’s assassin.

Mary’s legs almost gave way, threatening to collapse beneath her.

But when she looked up at Kraush’s face, she found the strength to remain standing.

“Don’t belittle your own efforts.”

Upon hearing his final words, Mary lowered her head, overwhelmed by emotion.

“…Yes, Sir Kraush, thank you for today.”

Now addressing him with honorifics without hesitation, Mary pulled her robe back over her reddened ears and climbed out the window.

“I’ll do my best.”

Leaving those last words behind, she quickly left Kraush’s room.

Since her regression, her heart had remained hollow and empty.

Chipped away over time, she had become like a candle about to be extinguished by the wind.

But today, during her encounter with Kraush, she felt for the first time as if those missing pieces were beginning to be filled.

Kraush had genuinely treated her as a classmate and friend, supporting and encouraging her.

She wanted to repay that sincerity.

She wanted, just once more, to receive acknowledgment from someone so much stronger and more exceptional than herself.

Before she knew it, the lingering shadows of Sigrid and Arthur had disappeared entirely from her mind.

Under the cold night sky,

Mary ran forward.

For some reason, she felt as though sleep would elude her tonight.

＊ ＊ ＊

Sunlight streaming through the window.

A refreshing breeze.

“Uuuunng!”

A girl with sea-colored hair stretched widely in her pajamas.

Her name was Sigrid Ephania.

As she woke up, she greeted the day with a bright smile.

She didn’t know why, but she had a feeling something good was going to happen today.

It might have been because she had such a pleasant dream last night.

‘Arthur appeared in my dream.’

A bit disappointed that it was only in her dreams, but still delighted to have seen him, even in memory.

Lately, a series of events had left her in a sour mood, but today she hummed a cheerful tune, feeling unusually lighthearted as she got out of bed.

‘Ah, could it be that the task I ordered went well?’

Yesterday, she had orchestrated something using a dog that had completely lost its value, setting it up to breed with another dog.

It must have worked out, she mused, grinning to herself.

With a giggle, she stepped out of her room.

She could already picture Mary’s belly growing round and Kraush standing by her side.

The thought of Charlotte, devastated at losing Kraush, made her spirits soar.

And imagining the cursed one, bound to faithfully obey her commands as Mary’s husband, only sweetened her mood further.

Sigrid wore a wide smile as she opened the door to step out.

“Lady Sigrid, a letter has arrived for you.”

“A letter?”

Hearing this from her personal maid, Sigrid tilted her head in curiosity.

Could it be related to the tasks she had recently assigned in the imperial palace?

‘Sizerly… That one did return to the palace.’

The pleasant mood from moments ago slightly dimmed as Sigrid extended her hand.

“Let me see it.”

“Here it is.”

As the maid handed over the letter, Sigrid examined it closely, front and back.

There was no name written on it.

‘It doesn’t seem to have any magical tampering.’

Though the thought crossed her mind, it didn’t appear to be the case.

After all, a letter from the imperial palace wouldn’t be this carelessly handled.

Sigrid tore open the envelope and began reading the letter inside.

After spending a moment reading its contents, she froze.

“This crazy bitch!”

She spat out an uncharacteristic curse and crumpled the letter in her hand.

The letter’s sender was none other than Mary.

[To Lady Sigrid]

Lady Sigrid, thank you for everything.

I have decided to stand on my own without causing further trouble for you.

– Yours sincerely, Mary Diana

The moment she read the letter’s contents, Sigrid doubted her eyes.

It wasn’t until she read it three more times that she fully grasped what it said.

Before she could discard Mary, Mary had left her first.

This absurd situation left Sigrid momentarily breathless, rage surging to the top of her head.

She had ordered Mary to conceive Kraush’s child, yet Mary had suddenly declared her independence.

And worse, that dog had defied her orders to do so.

“AAAAAAAAHH!”

Sigrid screamed in a mix of frustration and fury.

The good mood she had woken up with was completely obliterated in an instant.

Nothing else mattered anymore.

She would drag Kraush in by any means necessary, no matter the cost.

“That stupid bitch, Of course, someone like her couldn’t be useful to the end.”

She tore the letter into shreds and scattered the pieces onto the floor, then turned away.

The emotions reflected in her eyes were dark and foreboding.

Clap, clap!

At that moment, the sound of clapping echoed, and a man appeared before her in a kneeling posture.

He was one of the Black Dragon Knights, specializing in covert operations.

“Where is Kraush right now?”

Still kneeling, the man answered.

“This morning, he used a teleportation circle to return to his family estate.”

Hearing his words, Sigrid froze.

“T-That—!”

After the midterm evaluation, the students were given a few days of rest.

During this time, Kraush had promptly returned to his family home.

It was utterly infuriating.

Sigrid’s rage showed no signs of subsiding that day.

＊ ＊ ＊

At that moment, Kraush was aboard a carriage heading to Green Pine Mansion.

The reason was simple.

During the few days of rest for the midterm evaluation, there was someone he needed to meet.

‘Will she like it?’

Kraush fiddled with the ring in his hand.

At the same time, an unfamiliar brooch hung on his chest.

The brooch was none other than a creation by Vioren, a fellow second-generation student and a Barrier Master’s child.

「Take it. If not this, then it’s over.」

Vioren, who had appeared with deep dark circles under her eyes, handed the brooch to Kraush.

Judging by her trembling hands, it truly seemed like she had reached her limit this time.

Kraush pinned the brooch he received from her to his chest.

[ ……I can’t see it. ]

The moment he heard the reply, Kraush turned to look at Vioren.

Vioren, locking eyes with Kraush, looked at him desperately.

Soon after, Kraush slowly smiled.

「It’s a success.」

「Gaaaah!」

Letting out a strange scream, Vioren jumped up and down on the spot.

Then, clenching her fists tightly, she spoke to Kraush.

「Alright, you jerk, now tell me immediately how I can maintain this state!」

Hearing her words, Kraush calmly answered.

He explained that it wasn’t her skill but rather the reagent she used that was the issue.

Realizing the truth, Vioren blinked in disbelief.

「…That’s all it was?」

But perhaps because she had some idea, she slowly brushed her hair back.

「…Well, it wasn’t a finished product, even though it was a reagent my mother made.」

Muttering to herself, Vioren staggered as she walked away.

「I’m going to sleep.」

Having hit her physical limit, all she wanted was to lie down immediately.

[ Honestly, just when I thought things were getting comfortable, now I have to go back to being a crow, don’t I? ]

Kraush glanced at Crimson Garden, who was preening its feathers in front of him.

Vioren’s barrier technique had even blocked Crimson Garden’s sight.

Because of that, there was no choice but to return to being a crow and stay by his side again.

[ Won’t that Mary girl notice? ]

Mary had seen Crimson Garden’s crow form before.

When asked if he was sure, Kraush rested his elbows on his knees and slowly leaned forward.

“Yeah, it will actually work to our advantage.”

The boy who had stopped her when he tried to assassinate the imperial princess.

The moment Mary realized that boy was Kraush, she would feel a deep sense of defeat once again.

And that defeat would transform into idolization toward Kraush.

Sigrid and Arthur were already crumbling away in Mary’s mind.

“She’s someone who interprets things to suit her own convenience. She’ll probably think that what happened back then was her trying to assassinate the princess and almost being executed, but I stopped her.”

When regression occurs, others undoubtedly change.

However, the regressor merely continues living along the extended line of their existence.

Therefore, when it came to Mary, Kraush could be absolutely certain.

That woman would interpret things in such a way that she would elevate him no matter what.

It made sense since bringing Kraush down was equivalent to bringing herself down.

[ What a pathetic creature. ]

“Her abilities, at least, are undeniable, though.”

At the moment Kraush let out a short laugh, his pocket twitched.

When he opened it, a corpse rat sprang out and settled on his shoulder.

“I’m ready.”

The words that came from the corpse rat were none other than Ebelasque’s voice.

Ready.

Understanding the meaning behind those words, Kraush’s blue eyes gleamed coldly.

She had finally completed the corpse transformation of the Lightblade Sovereign.

In fact, the very reason Kraush had bothered to leave during the midterm evaluation was because Ebelasque had informed him that the corpse transformation of the Mad Sword Emperor was nearly complete.

They couldn’t bring Ebelasque and the Mad Sword Emperor’s corpse into Rahern Academy, after all.

A suitable place to avoid prying eyes was necessary.

“Then everything is ready.”

The Black Witch’s eyes could be avoided.

The Mad Sword Emperor’s corpse was prepared, and they were in a situation where not only interrogation but also participation in discussions using that corpse was possible.

With everything converging now, Kraush smiled slowly.

“The Ixion bastards.”

Time to break their skulls has come.

Translators note:

I randomly remembered.

The students at Rahern academy are referred to by which generation they are. 

So the very first group that enrolled, the ‘First-generation’ which Charlotte is part of, is actually called ‘First-years’ despite being now second year students.

Conversely, Kraush’s group is called ‘Second-years’ despite being first year students.

It’s stupid and confusing so I’ve been using ‘first-’ and ‘second-’ generation instead to keep it more legible.

Fortunately, the author fixed this retarted way of addressing them in his new novel. YES! there’s one more novel from this author being translated, it’s called: The World After The Bad Ending

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!