Transmigration: I Made A Deal With A Man in Yellow

Days passed, and Liliane’s behavior began to change after what had happened at the training ground.

The memory shifted again, bringing me back to the dining hall. The same five sat around their usual table, eating breakfast just like before, but the atmosphere was completely different this time.

Usually, their table was one of the loudest in the hall, mostly because Froyers and Liliane couldn’t go five minutes without arguing about something stupid. Whether it was a nickname, food, training, or some random comment Froyers made, Liliane always found a reason to argue with him.

Today, however, the table was quiet.

And it wasn’t because the two had finally made peace.

Liliane had changed.

She had become colder and more distant. She barely spoke anymore, and even when the others tried to include her in their conversations, she would only answer with a few words before becoming silent again.

At that moment, she was staring down at the food in front of her without eating any of it.

"Liliane, are you alright?" Arkens finally asked.

Liliane slowly lifted her gaze from her plate and looked at him.

Arkens slightly flinched.

I noticed it too.

There was something different about her eyes. The timid girl who used to look like she was constantly on the verge of crying was still there, but something else had begun replacing that fear.

Something colder.

"Arkens is right," Elfriede said, her voice filled with concern. "You’ve been really quiet these past few days. We’re starting to worry about you. Is something wrong?"

Even Yuria, who normally wore the same aloof expression no matter what was happening around her, was looking at her younger sister with concern.

Froyers was different.

He looked more angry than worried.

"Is it because of that blonde bitch Sena—"

Arkens immediately slapped a hand over his brother’s mouth.

"You idiot! Why are you cursing?" he whispered with a glare.

Several children from the nearby tables turned toward them after hearing Froyers, but Arkens quickly gave them a reassuring smile as if nothing had happened.

Froyers grabbed his brother’s wrist and pulled his hand away from his mouth.

"Don’t cover my mouth like that."

"Then stop shouting curses in the dining hall."

Froyers glared at him for another moment before lowering his voice.

"Brother, it’s definitely Sena. Who else could it be?" He glanced toward Liliane. "After everything she said to Lily during training, of course she’d still be upset about it. And after Friede broke Sena’s jaw, there’s no way that bitch isn’t angry either."

"Froyers," Arkens warned again.

"What? I’m speaking quietly this time."

Elfriede ignored the two brothers and gently rubbed Liliane’s back.

"Is it really Sena again?" she asked softly. "If she’s still bothering you, just tell me. I’ll talk to her."

"No."

Elfriede’s hand stopped.

Liliane reached behind herself and removed her sister’s hand from her back.

"It’s okay."

She stood from her chair.

"I’m fine, so don’t worry about me."

A smile appeared on her face.

But there was something wrong with it.

I had seen Liliane smile plenty of times throughout these memories. Her smiles were usually easy to understand. When she was happy, she smiled. When Elfriede comforted her, she smiled. Even when she argued with Froyers, there was sometimes a hint of amusement behind her anger.

This one felt forced.

Elfriede seemed to notice it too.

"Liliane—"

But Liliane had already turned around.

She walked away from the table without saying another word.

"Ah..."

Elfriede raised her hand as though she wanted to stop her, but slowly lowered it when Liliane disappeared into the crowd.

For several seconds, nobody at the table spoke.

Froyers stared after her with a deep frown before his eyes moved toward the untouched plate.

"She didn’t even touch her food..."

The others looked down at the plate.

Not a single bite had been taken.

The usual lively atmosphere around their table was gone. Arkens remained quiet, Froyers looked frustrated, and Yuria continued staring in the direction her sister had left.

Elfriede looked the most worried of them all.

I stood nearby with my arms crossed, watching everything silently.

Unlike them, I already had an idea of what was happening.

My eyes followed the direction Liliane had gone.

That dark energy I had seen clinging to her at the training ground hadn’t been there for no reason.

Something had found her when she was at her weakest.

And whatever it was...

It was slowly changing her.

...

The memory shifted again, and I found myself back at the training grounds.

It was sparring practice today. Each person had to choose a partner and fight until one of them surrendered or was no longer able to continue.

It didn’t take long for everyone to find someone to fight. Elfriede, Froyers, Arkens, and Yuria went through their matches without much trouble. At this point, the four of them were among the best fighters in the orphanage, so watching them win wasn’t exactly surprising.

Liliane, however, had yet to begin her match.

And obviously, I already knew where this was going.

Sena chose Liliane as her sparring partner.

What surprised me was that Liliane didn’t refuse.

The old Liliane would’ve probably started shaking the moment Sena approached her. This time, she simply walked into the training area with her rapier in hand and stood across from the blonde girl.

A knight instructor stepped between them.

"No killing and no fatal wounds. The fight will only end when one of you surrenders or becomes unable to continue."

The knight looked at both girls.

"Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" they answered together.

The knight stepped backward and raised his hand.

"Start!"

The moment his hand dropped, both girls drew their weapons and rushed forward.

Rapier met bastard sword.

Clang!

Their weapons separated and immediately collided again.

Clang! Clang!

They no longer fought like the clumsy children I had seen during their first training session. The fear and awkward movements were long gone, replaced by focus and determination. Their feet moved with purpose, their attacks were aimed properly, and neither wasted much movement when defending.

But as I continued watching, my attention focused entirely on Liliane.

She had improved.

A lot.

Actually...

A little too much.

Only a few days had passed since her last fight with Sena. Back then, she had spent most of the match desperately defending herself. Even when Sena left herself wide open, Liliane hesitated to attack because she was afraid of hurting her.

That hesitation was completely gone now.

Sena swung toward her.

Liliane stepped to the left, allowing the blade to pass beside her before immediately thrusting her rapier toward Sena’s stomach.

Sena twisted her torso.

She was fast enough to avoid being stabbed, but not fast enough to escape completely.

Shhk!

The tip of Liliane’s rapier sliced across her side.

A thin line of blood appeared.

Sena immediately jumped backward and placed a hand against the wound.

"You little—!"

Her eyes snapped toward Liliane.

Liliane simply stared back at her.

"No way. Liliane actually hit Sena?"

"She couldn’t even fight her properly a few days ago."

"Since when did she get that good?"

Murmurs spread through the crowd of teenagers watching the match.

Froyers crossed his arms and snorted.

"Hmph. It was about time. Do they seriously think Sena is invincible or something?"

Elfriede, Arkens, and Yuria didn’t say anything, but if you looked closely enough, small smiles had appeared on their faces.

They were proud of her.

I wasn’t.

My frown only deepened.

Clang! Clang!

Sena rushed forward again, and their weapons collided repeatedly.

She threw a horizontal slash toward Liliane’s side, but Liliane reacted as though she already knew the attack was coming. She twisted her wrist and positioned the rapier perfectly.

Clang!

The bastard sword was redirected away from her body.

Both girls pushed away from each other before immediately lunging forward again.

Clang! Clang!

Liliane’s footwork changed.

Her movements became lighter and faster as she began moving around Sena instead of constantly retreating from her. Sena attacked her shoulder, then her stomach, then followed with another slash toward her neck.

Liliane avoided every single one.

"You’ve gotten quite good, haven’t you?" Sena said mockingly.

She suddenly stepped inside Liliane’s guard and drove a fist toward her stomach.

But Liliane had already raised her leg.

Thwack!

Her shin intercepted Sena’s forearm before the punch could land.

"You talk too much."

Liliane pulled her leg back, pivoted on her heel, and immediately threw a roundhouse kick toward Sena’s head.

But Sena wasn’t a beginner either.

The moment she saw Liliane turn on her heel, she leaned backward.

Swoosh!

Liliane’s foot missed her face by barely an inch.

Then the kick suddenly changed direction.

Instead of continuing past Sena’s head, Liliane brought her leg down toward Sena’s chest.

Sena’s eyes widened.

She threw herself sideways and rolled across the dirt, narrowly avoiding the heel that slammed into the ground where she had been standing.

Liliane immediately chased after her.

Sena pushed herself back onto her feet and smiled.

Then she ran toward Liliane too.

The fight quickly became much uglier after that.

Their blades cut into each other’s skin. Fists slammed against cheeks and stomachs. Kicks were thrown whenever their weapons became trapped against each other, and at one point, Sena outright slapped Liliane across the face before receiving a punch in return.

Neither backed down.

Minutes passed, yet neither girl managed to gain a clear advantage.

Blood covered their clothes from numerous shallow cuts. Sena’s cheek had swollen from a punch, while blood ran from Liliane’s nose and down to her lips. Both were breathing heavily, their movements becoming slower as exhaustion finally began catching up with them.

Still, they continued fighting.

Clang!

Their swords collided again.

Liliane stumbled backward.

Sena nearly fell herself.

They looked at each other, breathing heavily.

Then both rushed forward one final time.

I didn’t even know which one landed the last hit.

Both girls collapsed.

Thud!

Silence briefly filled the training ground.

The knight instructor looked between them before lowering his hand.

"It’s a draw. Take them to the infirmary."

The crowd immediately erupted into murmurs.

Everyone seemed shocked.

Liliane, the girl who had always been considered one of the weakest fighters in the orphanage, had somehow closed the gap between herself and one of their strongest fighters in only a few days.

The same girl who had once been too frightened to even wound another person had just fought Sena until they both collapsed.

Some people were confused.

Others were impressed.

Elfriede and the others were smiling.

I wasn’t.

I stared at Liliane as several people lifted her unconscious body from the ground.

There were only a few explanations for someone suddenly changing this much in such a short amount of time.

Maybe some transmigrator had possessed her body and given her knowledge from another world.

Like me.

But somehow, I doubted another transmigrator had randomly appeared inside Sister Friede’s childhood memories.

Which left the second possibility.

Something evil had offered her power.

And considering the demonic energy I had already seen clinging to her...

Yeah.

It was definitely the second one.

My frown deepened as the group followed Liliane toward the infirmary.

Whatever demon was lurking around this place had already gotten to her.

The question was what it had asked for in return.

Before I could think about it any further, the space around me shifted.

The training grounds disappeared.

The people around me vanished.

For a moment, everything became distorted before another memory took its place.

When my surroundings settled again, I stared at the scene in front of me.

Then I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

"...Well, shit."

This was quite the terrifying change.

And why was I reacting like that?

Simple.

Liliane had just killed someone.

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