The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 127

Sunset (10)

I didn't reply and just smiled.

I looked around, wondering if there was a fruit stand near the plaza.

Then I extended my hand to Estelle.

Estelle took my hand and followed me as I walked.

In front of a suitable fruit stand, I handed the owner a coin and picked up an apple.

Its surface was smooth, and its red color was vibrant.

I passed through the plaza, then the bustling street, then in front of a large church, before walking back towards the small church near the academy's back gate.

Only the sound of our footsteps echoed rhythmically on the stone pavement.

And after walking into the small church, I sat down on a long pew.There was the smell of old wood and a faint scent of melted candle wax.

"You remember me burning to death?"

"I only remember what has already been burned."

Estelle replied.

Somehow, her voice seemed choked.

"Aren't there any good memories?"

Estelle shook her head.

Her hair swayed softly at her shoulder line.

"Hmm. I've always found this place very comfortable."

I took a bite of the apple.

With a crisp sound, cool fruit juice spread in my mouth.

It wasn't as sweet as I expected.

"I wish only good memories remained."

"......"

"It's a bit better now, but before, whenever I was with Seraphina, my fiancée, that is, it felt like we were strangling each other.

It felt like my very existence was the problem.

As if I only ever caused pain."

Estelle, who used to come find me wearing simple yet pure white priestess robes, came to mind.

When both Levina and Seraphina were only ever wanting something from me, the image of Estelle handing me an apple she'd bitten into, flashed through my mind.

I had clearly thought that the Estelle I first met was all there was, but realizing I had loved Estelle even in a past I couldn't remember, gave me a somewhat subtle feeling.

"We clearly loved each other, but all we did in the name of love was hurt each other, you know.

The more we were together, the more we only stirred up each other's painful spots."

Estelle, who used to smoke cigarettes with me, came to mind.

The cute image of her saying she'd give me good cigarettes as a gift to smoke together instead of these cheap ones, and then actually being unable to smoke the good ones because they were too strong, flashed through my mind.

"So I was holed up in my room, but the room was also filled with the stench of cigarettes and the smell of alcohol, you see."

"......"

"It was horrible, but I felt like I had to be there.

As if someone like me shouldn't be wandering around, but had to stay there."

When Seraphina spewed harsh words at me, and Levina was still constricting me, Estelle, who stroked my cheek and said I resembled someone, came to mind.

Though being superimposed with someone wasn't as good a feeling as I expected.

Estelle didn't want to superimpose me with someone, so she painstakingly peeled away those superimposed memories one by one with her hands.

Though I ended up burning to death then, that's a minor issue.

"But you, you brought me out.

I didn't come out on my own; you took my hand and pulled me out of there."

"......"

"That's how it was.

You might not remember, but still.

Even if you can't understand what I'm saying. That's how it was."

Estelle couldn't reply, her face blank.

I approached Estelle, placed the apple I was eating in her hand, and then left the church.

Returning to my room, I saw Levina sitting on the edge of the bed, still half-asleep and nodding off.

"What the hell did you put in the alcohol yesterday?"

"They said it helps open up your heart, but it must have been a defective product."

Levina said.

Then she rubbed her eyes, got up from her seat, yawned, and lightly nudged an empty bottle rolling on the floor with her foot, knocking it over.

"And I even bought good alcohol, too."

Levina got up, tidied the rolling bottles, cleared the table, and then opened her mouth.

"By the way, it's today."

I moved the bottles Levina had collected to the area near the entrance and asked.

"What is?"

"We're going to the Beluze family estate around evening. Because of the engagement annulment."

I remembered Seraphina saying last time that after she burned down the mansion and the wheat fields, she was completely kicked out of the family and asked me to find her a room.

"Why are you rushing it so much?"

"It feels like I have to do something quickly, or something bad will happen. It's a gut feeling.

So I was going to douse you in alcohol and take you, but I didn't expect to pass out first."

Levina said so, then approached me, placed her hand on my shoulder, massaged it for a long time, and then hugged me tightly.

She hugged me and whispered in my ear.

"Why, can't you let her go?"

"Choosing whether to let go or not isn't up to me."

After neatly clearing the trash can and opening the window, a somehow cool breeze entered.

"Seraphina, that indecisive girl with no advantages besides her looks, what can she possibly do?"

"......"

"Let's continue to live like this together, you said you'd protect me. You said you loved me."

Levina said so, then lightly bit my earlobe and exhaled.

Feeling somehow ticklish, I pushed Levina away, and she, blushing, put her hands behind her back and said.

"Because we're family, I'll be better than that girl who doesn't even accurately know what kind of life you've lived."

And yet, the person occupying half of my painful childhood life is my sister right before my eyes.

"I know you're not perfectly fine. But we grew up in such a place, didn't we?"

Levina approached and caressed my cheek.

Then she touched my lips with her index finger, lightly touched my teeth, and said with a smile.

"So, always let me be by your side. I'll be satisfied just being by your side."

I was about to reply, but decided to just go along with it appropriately.

Because once the demons invade, everything I've thought of will begin to shatter one by one.

It's not easy to keep repeating the same foolish acts, flaunting emotions and recalling past experiences, even after directly experiencing that it neither alleviates your mood nor solves any problems.

That's why I don't really know how to react every time Levina approaches me like this.

All I knew how to do was just slap her cheek or make her shut up.

Levina was someone who would be fine even when treated like that, but I am an understanding and kind human.

I don't like hitting or tormenting people.

Unlike Levina, that is.

Even if we share the same father, the Duchess can only be thought of as something full of flaws as a human.

Because her mother was that way, Levina's personality must have gone half-mad.

"Like now?"

"Yes, like now."

"Then why are you trying to annul the engagement with Seraphina?"

"Because that child dislikes me."

Levina said, fidgeting her fingers.

Like a child confessing something wrong.

"Even I know who likes me and who dislikes me."

"Someone who knows that, lives like that?"

"Because I wasn't born insignificant enough to live constantly worrying about others' opinions."

"......I don't like you that much either, Sis."

"No way. I know you're joking."

She said it so flatly that honestly, I wanted to hit her, but I held back.

Because she'd probably like it even if I hit her.

"Seraphina will already be there.

Because I sent a letter to Count Beluze.

We can go find her today or tomorrow."

****

And so, Levina and I rode in the carriage, spouting meaningless nonsense at each other.

The road to the Beluze earldom was peaceful.

About an hour after the carriage rolled out of the capital, the scenery was painted in entirely different colors.

The clumsily tall buildings and complex alleyways of the city disappeared, and endless plains filled the view.

The road was a well-maintained dirt path.

With each turn of the carriage wheels, the sound of small pebbles scattering and horses' hooves treading the dirt could be heard.

As I opened the window, the smell of dust mixed with the fresh scent of grass wafted in.

The sunlight was warm but not hot.

A suitably pleasant warmth enveloped the inside of the carriage.

On both sides of the road, golden wheat fields stretched to the horizon.

With every gust of wind, the wheat ears collectively bowed and then rose.

In the distance, low hills stretched in soft curves, and beyond them, the faint blue shadow of a mountain range was visible.

The sky was clear and blue, without a single cloud.

Occasionally, one or two nameless birds flew across the sky.

The birds' calls were faintly heard from afar.

Wildflowers bloomed profusely by the roadside.

Small yellow, purple, and white flowers swayed in the wind.

The carriage occasionally passed through small villages.

The villagers cast indifferent glances at the passing carriage, then soon returned to their own affairs.

Children were also seen playing by the roadside.

Their laughter carried far on the wind.

It was a peaceful landscape, so much so that I immediately understood why my father had said he wished to live here.

The peaceful scenery brought with it a languid drowsiness.

Levina was already nodding off in front of me.

I felt weary.

Until, at some point, the smell of something burning wafted past my nose, and the burnt smell grew stronger the closer the carriage got to the Beluze family's estate.

After telling the coachman to stop the carriage, I got down by the roadside and stared blankly at the source of the smoke.

A half-collapsed mansion was burning.