Chapter 163: Apology – 2

Kayla sensed Vivian’s presence but remained still.

She was sitting right next to Kailo’s bed.

Meanwhile, Vivian stood motionless by the door, making no effort to approach Kayla.

She simply stood there, as if serving a punishment.

A long and heavy silence filled the room.

In truth, there were no words left to exchange.

They had already said everything that needed to be said, and now, whatever followed would depend on Kailo’s condition.

Thus, they remained frozen from noon to evening, and even as night fell…

Yet as time passed, even Kayla, being human, felt a twinge of conscience.

Kayla knew exactly what kind of room this was.

It was not a space meant to serve as someone’s hospital room.

Not even for Kailo.

This was the master bedroom of the Rondor family.

A special chamber that every noble house possessed.

From that perspective, the current situation was unnatural.

The head of the house, Vivian, was standing uncomfortably in her own room, while Kayla sat there unmoving, as if it were hers.

Additionally, it was clear how much Vivian valued Kailo.

She had given up the master’s quarters for him and offered no explanation or excuses to her own blood relatives.

Instead of offering clumsy comfort, she chose to remain silent.

Ten years ago, when war was raging, who could have imagined this scene?

That she and Kailo would be here, in the master’s bedroom of the Rondor estate, leaving its lord standing aside.

The cycle of hatred that had once flowed between Kailo and Vivian now seemed like a thing of the past.

Yet, Kayla still couldn’t fully grasp the emotions between them.

She could see that love existed.

It was painfully obvious.

But if that were the case, then how was she supposed to explain what Vivian had done to Kailo?

She had thrown him into the punishment unit forces, denied him the chance to visit his mother’s grave, kept him imprisoned so he couldn’t leave, and, according to her brother, even cursed him.

How could any of that be explained?

Could one truly love someone and still hate them at the same time?

After a long silence, Kayla turned to look at Vivian.

She remained still, rooted by the door.

Kayla couldn’t understand Vivian’s or Kailo’s feelings.

But she understood one thing.

That she was an obstacle between them.

If Kayla had to name the person she respected the most, it would be her father.

The person she loved the most would be her mother.

But if she had to name the person she both loved and respected the most… that would be Kailo.

She could only imagine how much pain he had endured for their sake.

And yet, he stood tall, shining brightly, making him seem both admirable and heartbreaking.

But no matter how strong her feelings were, they felt powerless in front of Vivian.

The years Kailo and Vivian had shared were too long, their bond too deep to fathom.

Right now, Kayla wanted nothing more than to stay by Kailo’s side.

She wished she could remain there forever.

But she knew, deep down, that even Kailo wouldn’t want that.

The one person who could truly help him at this moment wasn’t her.

It was Vivian.

Clack.

Kayla, suppressing her own desires, carefully rose from her seat.

She took slow steps toward the door.

Even as they passed each other, neither she nor Vivian spoke a word.

Yet both of them understood.

Kayla was stepping aside.

She was acknowledging the depth of what lay between Kailo and Vivian.

Vivian stood beside Kailo for a long while, eyes closed.

The night breeze drifted in through the open window, sending her crimson hair fluttering like flames.

She had no other goal at that moment.

She was simply waiting.

Holding tightly onto Kailo’s hand, she sought courage.

Before she knew it, her hair settled down.

The night breeze had been blocked by something.

And then, the familiar scent of tobacco filled the air.

It was a scent she had known for as long as she had known Kailo.

“…Hah…”

Even as the familiar sound reached her ears, Vivian remained motionless.

She had been expecting this all along.

“Well, that was entertaining.”

Came a melodic voice.

Elena spoke with amusement.

“Watching the Las Order suffer after tormenting my little playthings… Oh, how delightful it was.”

By “playthings,” she was undoubtedly referring to the witches.

Vivian silently agreed with that sentiment.

For so long, she had been nothing more than one of Elena’s playthings herself.

“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have interfered with Kailo Alan’s fight. I could have watched an even greater spectacle.”

Ignoring Elena’s prattle, Vivian quietly asked,

“…Can you heal him?”

“Kailo?”

Vivian nodded.

“…And why should I?”

Elena countered with a question of her own.

“You are both useless to me now, you and Kailo alike.”

Vivian slowly opened her eyes, revealing Elena standing by the window.

She had stepped inside, resting one foot on the floor, pointing her cigarette holder toward Vivian’s abdomen.

“Your vessel. It’s broken. I’ve lost interest in you.”

Vivian shook her head.

She didn’t believe her.

“…Then why are you here?”

Elena’s cold expression shifted into a sly grin.

“…At least you know how to talk better than those mindless fools.”

Vivian, unlike before, no longer had the strength to rebel against Elena.

Pleased by this, Elena began pacing around the room in a lighter, more playful manner.

“Still… there’s something to be gained. A useful toy like you doesn’t come by often.”

She chuckled to herself.

“A woman, the head of the Rondor family, and the ruler of Loctana. Not taking advantage of that would be foolish.”

No matter how much Elena talked, Vivian didn’t look at her.

Instead, her gaze fell on Kailo.

As if Elena wasn’t even there, she gently stroked his cheek.

“…Hmm. Yes, I suppose that’s the only way.”

Elena, looking entertained, stopped in the middle of the room and faced Vivian.

“I can fix Kailo. But in return…”

“…Offer your memory.”

Vivian, looking down at Kailo with affectionate eyes, finally turned to Elena and asked.

“Isn’t that right?”

Elena was smiling in satisfaction.

“…Yes. You finally understand.”

Vivian rose from her seat.

Then, she quietly approached the window.

“There’s no other way, is there?”

“No.”

“…Why?”

Vivian asked.

“Because it’s fun.”

Elena replied.

Vivian smirked.

Because it’s fun.

She hadn’t expected to understand them anyway.

She had her own assumptions about why Elena was so determined to take her memories.

If she forgot Kailo and those memories were replaced with something else… wouldn’t she come to trust Elena as her most reliable ally?

After all, Elena had been a secretly beneficial presence in her life.

But in the end, that was just an assumption.

Maybe, it really was just because she found it fun.

It didn’t matter.

“I have one more question.”

“Anything.”

—Boom!

Vivian firmly shut the window and turned around.

At the same time, her eyes flared with burning intensity.

“Just how far do you plan to underestimate me?”

“…What?”

“Valon!”

—Bang!!

The bedroom door burst open.

At that moment, soldiers stormed inside.

Elena’s expression dropped in an instant.

It was clear she hadn’t expected this.

“…How many times do I have to say it? I won’t offer up my memories of Kailo.”

Vivian whispered with resentment.

The demon’s expression subtly twisted.

Her gaze flickered anxiously between Vivian and the soldiers in the room.

“You…”

“It was a mystery to me.”

Vivian said.

“A demon like you… why could you only maintain that one form? Wouldn’t it have been easier to disguise yourself? It would’ve made it simpler to turn me against Kailo.”

Elena’s appearance had always been the same.

“Why could you only stop Kailo for a few seconds at most?”

No matter how much Elena interfered, Kailo was able to overcome it.

“Why did you hide yourself under a robe in the square, living like a fugitive?”

“Why are you so obsessed with me? Why did you avoid the Las Order? Why couldn’t you do anything by your own power? Why did you have to rely on my hands? Why, even now, is someone like me still so important to you? Why did it take so long to kill Count Corrode?”

There were countless other questions.

And based on those questions, Vivian threw out her own conclusion.

“…You’re not as omnipotent as you make yourself out to be, are you?”

Whether it was due to some restriction, the limits of her power, or the possibility that she wasn’t a demon at all but simply a skilled witch—

The entity that called itself a demon was far from all-powerful.

Vivian recalled the vow she had muttered to herself on the platform while biting her lip.

If she survived, she would make sure to kill that demon.

To torment her in the most painful way possible.

That resolve had not changed.

Before Elena could react, the soldiers lunged at her.

The demon, now captured and forced to her knees, looked at the soldiers and smiled.

“…Do they know what Vivian really is? That she’s the witch they so despise?”

The soldiers remained unmoved.

Their lack of reaction seemed to press down on Elena even further.

Elena now turned her question to Vivian.

“…What do you plan to do if I kill everyone here and leave?”

The answer came from behind.

“We came prepared, demon.”

“A soldier doesn’t always get to choose a battle they can win.”

The moment she heard those words, Elena struggled violently.

Vivian kept her eyes locked on the demon.

Watching, to make sure she didn’t try anything.

“If you have any tricks left, use them now.”

Vivian continued.

“Because soon, you won’t even have the chance.”

Perhaps she had only seemed so powerful because she was someone Vivian had known since childhood.

And in the heat of anger, it was easy to forget just how dangerous an opponent truly was.

This was a gamble.

If Elena turned out to be stronger than expected and escaped—or if she overpowered them all and fled—at the very least, they had to try.

Otherwise, there was no other way to catch her.

The being that called herself a demon was a master at hiding.

Elena’s expression twisted to its limit as her body suddenly flinched upward.

Five soldiers immediately pinned her down.

“Urgh…!”

Elena, unable to take flight, suddenly vanished from sight.

For a moment, Vivian’s heart sank.

“She’s below us!”

Though she was invisible, the soldiers remained confident that they were still holding onto something.

Valon made a few quick gestures in the air, and Elena let out a piercing scream as she reappeared.

“Aaagh!”

Yanes grabbed her left leg, Duran her right.

Wallace seized her left arm, and Martin her right.

And Valon, sitting on her back, gripped her golden hair tightly, pressing a dagger to the nape of her neck.

The demon, her head turned just enough to meet Vivian’s gaze, exhaled heavily before breaking into a wide grin.

“Are you sure about this, Vivian?”

“If I die, you won’t be able to heal Kailo. Are you really okay with letting him die?”

Elena sneered as she continued.

“What will you do? Kailo Alan has given up everything for you and collapsed in the process… yet here you are, unable to even control your own anger, ready to throw him away?”

Vivian slowly approached Elena.

The mere fact that she couldn’t escape was enough to fill her chest with ecstasy.

“I told you. Just how much do you intend to ignore me?”

Vivian sneered.

“Healing? As if. Do you really think I’d entrust Kailo’s body to someone like you?”

She had never planned to entrust Kailo’s body to her in the first place.

She couldn’t even bear to hold her hand properly—how could she possibly entrust him to such a woman?

This was all just revenge for Kailo.

Punishment for stopping his body and causing him such grievous injuries.

“…This isn’t the time to be arguing about that.”

Elena said.

“If Kailo dies, I’ll die too. Your offer means nothing to me.”

The soldiers flinched at her words.

Vivian didn’t care.

“…That’s not why Kailo has been alive.”

Vivian muttered.

“I begged Kailo over and over again. I warned him—I told him that if he died, I would follow. If he still chose to die despite knowing that, then it’s Kailo’s fault.”

“Hey.”

Aomeone tried to interject.

A world without Kailo wasn’t worth living in.

That was the absolute truth.

Beyond everything else, she was prepared to offer her life as atonement to the Alan family, just as she had promised Kayla.

She might not be able to die right away.

There were still things she had to do for Kailo—just like this revenge.

But it wouldn’t take long.

Vivian was sure of that.

“From the very start… I no longer want to live in a way that would bring Kailo shame.”

She couldn’t let herself sink any lower.

She had already become unbearably filthy, but only now did she realize—there was always a bottom beyond the bottom.

She couldn’t fall any further.

As Vivian looked into Elena’s shining eyes, she suddenly snatched the dagger from Valon’s hand.

Thunk!

She drove the weapon into Elena’s shoulder.

“AAAGH—!!”

The moment she screamed, Valon clamped a rough hand over her mouth.

Blood spurted out from her wound.

Vivian could feel the scorching heat of it vividly.

Her breathing grew heavier.

Relief from revenge.

And yet, unresolved rage swirled within her.

In the chaos of emotions, the most distinct feeling was satisfaction.

It was exhilarating to know that she had exacted even a fraction of her revenge against Elena.

Schlck!

Vivian pulled the dagger from Elena’s shoulder.

The fabric of her clothes was quickly stained dark red.

Vivian kept staring at the blood before leaning in toward Elena.

Then, she asked one last question.

“…Are you a witch? Or a demon?”

With her mouth covered, Elena could only tear up, unable to answer.

Vivian gripped the dagger tightly, then, for a moment, her thoughts drifted to the figure lying on the sickbed.

She didn’t want to exude such negative energy near him.

As much as she wanted to give in to her thirst for revenge, Kailo wouldn’t approve of it.

So, suppressing her emotions, she turned to Valon and said.

“To the underground.”

Valon nodded.

“Torture her until she dies.”

That, too, was an order given to Valon.

He accepted the task without hesitation.

Not long after, Vivian received a brief report.

Elena had spent her final days writhing in endless agony before succumbing to death.

Whether she had been a demon in a human’s body or a mere witch pretending to be one—Vivian never found out.

But before her final breath, Elena had used her tattered tongue to leave Vivian with a single, pathetic will:

“I’ll be waiting for you in hell.”

That worthless declaration had no effect on Vivian whatsoever.

Because a world where Kailo wouldn’t wake— was already hell to her.