The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character

"…What are you talking about?" Rachel said, her voice was cold enough to send chill down myself spine.

Excuse me? You two? Calm down.

"Did I say something I shouldn't have?" Professor Lena asked innocently.

That makes Rachel even more irritated.

…Damn it, I'm so scared…! Everyone's going to die…!

Seeing that, Professor Lena let out satisfied smrik on her face.

Professor Lena shifted her weight ever so slightly, a motion so subtle it might've gone unnoticed—unless you were used to people who moved like predators.

"I'm merely reminding you of your place, Hero Evans," she said. "No matter your rank or reputation outside, this is my classroom. And you don't get to tell my cadets to quit."

My mouth opened, but again—nothing came out.

Rachel's smile was gone now, completely replaced by something calm and cutting.

"And I'm reminding you, Professor, that my brother's health isn't just a cadet matter. If his life is on the line, no ranking system or teaching post trumps blood."

Lena's expression didn't falter. "If it was really about his health, you'd be supporting his growth, not coddling him like a sick pet. Or do you think he's too fragile to even try?"

Rachel's fists clenched on the table—but she didn't rise. Not yet.

I, meanwhile, had gone full statue mode. Didn't blink. Didn't breathe. If either of them activated a spell, I was gone.

Rachel took a slow breath.

"I watched him nearly die once. I'm not going to watch it happen again just because some third-rate professor wants to bark orders."

I choked on air.

Third-rate?!

Lena's brows lifted slightly, and her smile vanished—finally. "Careful," she said. "Throw around insults like that, and people might think you're projecting."

"Projecting what?" Rachel shot back.

Lena leaned forward just a little, placing both hands on the table. "Your failure to protect him the first time."

The silence was thunderous.

I felt that one like a slap across the face—and it wasn't even aimed at me.

Rachel stood up so fast the chair scraped violently against the floor. The air around her pulsed—just a flicker of mana, but enough to make half the students in the cafeteria stop mid-bite.

Lena didn't flinch.

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Lena's POV:

Actually, Lena hadn't shown up by chance.

The moment she learned that Rachel Evans—Rin's older sister and a renowned Hero—would be arriving at Velcrest Academy as an external inspector, she quietly began following him.

Not that it was hard for someone like her. As an A-rank Hero, tailing a distracted younger cadet was child's play.

From a distance, the two of them looked like any other pair of siblings catching up. Rachel smiled. Rin responded politely. No arguments, no raised voices.

But the moment Rachel told him to "come back home" and "quit being a Hero," Lena's stomach turned.

She had read the Chairman's old investigation reports.

When Rin was at his lowest—injured, mentally drained, nearly broken—it hadn't been comfort he received from his sister. According to the records, she told him things like: "You can't be a Hero," and "Just stay home where you belong."

Maybe she'd meant well in her own twisted way. Maybe her concern had been cloaked in harsh words.

Lena used to believe that.

But seeing them together now? Seeing how Rin sat silently, eyes cast downward—not from respect or guilt, but from detachment?

She knew the truth.

He didn't hate Rachel. He wasn't angry.

He simply… no longer looked at her as his sister.

There was something chilling about it. Rin, who always treated everyone with warmth, looked at Rachel with a calm indifference Lena had never seen before. Cold, distant. Like she was a stranger he had already said goodbye to in his heart.

It wasn't that he couldn't speak up.

It was that he had already decided.

And Rachel Evans wasn't the one he listened to anymore.

Lena stepped forward, voice low but firm.

"Rin can decide for himself. Please stop speaking like his choices don't matter."

She didn't raise her voice. She didn't try to shame her.

But she also didn't back down.

Because she couldn't just stand there and let Rachel try to tear Rin down again with her authority and cold logic.

Not when he'd finally started to rebuild himself.

Not when, in Lena's eyes—whether he knew it or not—he was already stronger than most heroes she'd ever met.

And if Rachel couldn't see that?

Then maybe she didn't deserve to call herself his sister.

----

Rin's POV:

The tension in the air felt like a drawn bowstring—tight, ready to snap.

Rachel didn't sit back down. She stood there, jaw locked, eyes narrowed at Lena like she was ready to unsheathe a sword and throw down right there in the middle of the restaurant.

Lena didn't so much as blink. Her hands stayed calmly on the table, her posture elegant—like someone who knew she'd already won, even before the fight began.

I really, really wanted to vanish into mist.

"Say that again," Rachel said slowly, voice like steel dragged across frost. "Say that again, Professor. I dare you."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "You heard me perfectly the first time." MyVirtualLibraryEmpire(MVLEMPYR)

I glanced around. The restaurant was half frozen—some cadets had abandoned their food entirely, others were pretending they weren't staring, but even the clatter of dishes had ceased. A full-on, high-tier mana duel could break out any moment.

"I've been teaching Rin since before you ever showed your face at this academy," Lena said. Her voice was cool, composed. "And in all that time, I've never once told him he couldn't do something. You? The first words out of your mouth were about pulling him out. Dragging him back."

"I'm trying to save him," Rachel snapped. "Do you think I like seeing my little brother fall apart?"

"You're not seeing him at all," Lena replied sharply. "You're seeing the past.

Rachel flinched—just slightly. But I saw it. And so did Lena.

She didn't stop.

"This Rin—" she nodded toward me "—is pushing forward. He's rebuilding. Slowly, yes. Carefully. But it's his decision to make. And you barging in with your trauma and guilt, calling it protection, is only going to break him down again."

"I'm his family," Rachel growled.

"And I'm his teacher," Lena countered. "One who actually believes in him."

The words hit like a thunderclap. Rachel's shoulders tensed, the flicker of mana around her sparking erratically now.

"I'm not going to stand here and be lectured by someone who's only known him for a few months," she hissed.

"Then maybe start listening," Lena replied, tone icy. "Because I've seen cadets fall apart from pressure, from expectations. And I've seen what happens when they're finally allowed to choose who they want to be."

She looked at me then. Her gaze wasn't warm—but it was clear. Steady.

"Rin doesn't need saving. He needs space."

Rachel looked like she wanted to scream.

No, More then that.

She was ready to fight Lena this instant.

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Author Note:

Thank you for reading the chapter. I hope you continue to do read more in future.

It's my first novel so if there's any kind of mistakes you find in the novel related to grammar please tell me and I'll edit it as soon as possible.