episode_0033

Knock knock knock knock!

The time when the sun is still high in the sky.

In the deserted academy grounds where the students had returned home, a single footstep echoed.

“Ugh… Ugh… !”

The owner of the footsteps is a small girl with cherry-colored twintails.

Lucica Rapisle.

She ran through the academy. She ran with all her might.

There is no destination. Anywhere, anywhere,

I needed a place to hide right away.

“Haa… Haa… Haa… !”

Her small lips erupted in ceaseless gasps.

My heart felt like it was going to burst.

I couldn’t tell if it was because of the jumping or something else.

Sweat poured down from all over my body, and my trembling limbs did not obey me properly.

Still, I had to run.

Anywhere, anywhere I can be alone.

I wanted to disconnect from the world.

I needed time to think alone in the dark, where no one knew me.

Knock knock knock knock!

Exit the square, pass the dormitory, cross the podium,

And as she passed the main academy building, she unconsciously headed towards the shabby old school building.

An old building that is now rarely used except in special cases.

It was a great hideaway, out of sight of others.

Lucica opened the door there and ran down the hallway.

“Haa… Haa… !”

Not yet.

I had to go deeper.

To a completely isolated place where no outside sounds can reach.

Turning the corner at the end of the hallway and entering the building, Lucica finally found a place where she could be alone.

Women’s restroom.

Lucica, who was heading there, jumped into the corner toilet stall as if being chased by something and hurriedly locked the door.

Clank-click!

Only then did the sound of footsteps within the old school stop, and all that remained was the girl’s heavy breathing from within the partition.

“Ugh… Ugh… Ugh… Ugh… … ”

She was staring at the bathroom door, holding her breath with a face like that.

thud!

He just banged his head against the door and let his arms hang limply.

“Ugh… Ugh… ”

The heavy breathing gradually subsided, and soon complete silence descended on the room.

Lucica still had her head against the door with a bewildered expression on her face.

As the blood that had rushed in cooled, her complexion turned pale.

“What the heck… What the heck… is that… ”

She still couldn’t understand what she was seeing with her own eyes.

My head refused to accept the sight.

But it was definitely real, and it was engraved in her eyes and wouldn’t leave her.

“Tirisia…Tirisia… ”

The sight of her childhood friend, whom she truly cherishes and loves, being held in the arms of a vicious man.

The sight of her friend, whom she had been watching for a long time, acting like an animal was a great shock to her.

The Tirisia she knew was a model of a noble young lady, neat and virtuous.

I never imagined that such a vulgar and disheveled appearance could exist in Tirisia, whom I respected as a fellow woman.

But what was more unbelievable than that was the truth contained in that sight.

[―I’m sorry about this, your girlfriend is mine now.]

I think back to the words that came out of the mouth of the man who was holding his friend.

A statement that cannot be interpreted in any other way.

It was a mockery and contempt that declared that he had taken Tyrissia by force.

A misguided desire to flaunt and enjoy what one has taken, rather than simply what one has taken.

The face of the person who had been insulted then came to mind.

He is… a boy who is my childhood friend, just like Tirisia.

“Erto… !”

His face, full of despair, reflected in the mirror, appeared clearly in her mind.

That expression on his face, as if everything he knew had collapsed.

A staggering gesture.

A back view of someone running away from hell.

All of that was still vivid before my eyes.

That was the conclusion of Truth in the Mirror.

Tirissia betrayed Erto. And she did it right in front of his eyes. In such an ugly way.

I would rather believe that the mirror was showing an illusion.

But there has never been a fantasy magic in the world that was so realistic and sophisticated.

I had to admit it and accept it.

That’s what actually happened.

“… Huh.”

Something flashed through Lucica’s mind.

A few months ago, Erto suddenly missed three days of attendance at the Academy.

Since then, the two people felt awkward in the way they treated each other.

The sudden declaration of breakup came out of Erto’s mouth.

And… not long after, Kelg Durakal appeared and announced the fact in front of all the students.

“That’s ridiculous… ”

The pieces of the puzzle fit together,

A flow was completed in her head.

“Nonsense… No… Way… !”

thud!

Lucica banged her head against the door again.

If that’s really the reason Erto collapsed and couldn’t come to the academy,

This means that he has been hiding the truth for several months, ever since then.

To protect the honor of Tirisia.

To make it seem like she broke up with him in order and met a new man.

It means that I have endured sadness alone and in solitude.

Why, why, why,

Thud, thud, thud,

Lucica kept banging her head against the door.

Why did Erto do such a thing?

One by one, the actions he took to hide the truth began to come back to me in my memory.

[I was the one who first suggested going back to being friends.]

[I find it difficult to keep up with the life of the noble family called the Broward family.]

[Senior, I don’t want to be a burden in Tirisia’s life.]

His words, which attributed the reason for the breakup to himself.

Lies that he made up himself to step down for the sake of Tirisia’s future.

Lucica believed it to be true.

That’s why,

That’s why I was so angry.

“This can’t be… This can’t be!”

Let’s rethink the whole situation from his perspective.

Erto didn’t want to break up.

We had no choice but to break up.

How can I continue to love my girlfriend who is in the arms of another man?

He was left with only two options.

Either expose Tirisia’s corruption, or cover it up and take all the blame for it.

He chose the latter.

He chose to sacrifice himself to protect the honor of his betrayed lover.

Why so―

No, Erto was that kind of person.

He was a kind and pitiful person who still couldn’t let go of his childhood friend feelings for Tirisia, who tore his heart apart.

That is why he repeatedly called me such a sloppy person.

“Erto… Ahh… ”

A period of several months, by no means a short period of time.

I couldn’t even imagine what was going through his mind during that time.

I couldn’t imagine what it was like for me to say in front of everyone that I was giving up Tirisia with my own hands.

but,

‘I am?’

Himself,

His childhood friend named Lucica Lapisle,

What did you say to him?

Finally, memories of what she had done began to flood into her mind.

Seeing Erto, who I believed would never waver, let go of Tirisia,

As a friend who has been watching and supporting him for a long time, what would you say?

Didn’t he just burst out in swears and accusations because he couldn’t control his anger?

Didn’t he commit the worst act towards Erto, who had disappointed his expectations and trust?

“Haa… Haak… !”

Once again, Lucica’s heart began to beat.

Cold sweat runs down my face and my breathing becomes rapid.

In the midst of her confusion, the words she had said to herself flashed through her mind.

[Erto, you are certainly a good person. However, you are not the kind of man who would suit Tirisia.]

[Because I wanted to cheer for that kind of Erto.]

Advice that was confidently given to a person who had his girlfriend stolen in front of him, saying that he would support him.

[Seriously… is that your conclusion? You won’t regret it?]

It wasn’t sincere, it was an inevitable action that I couldn’t regret.

“Ahhh… Aaaahhhh!”

A moan that was closer to a scream gradually leaked out of Lucica’s mouth.

He gets a headache and keeps repeating the words he said to himself that hurt him.

[You’re going to run away now? Is that all you felt towards Tirisia?]

He wasn’t running away. He was an outcast.

[I’m really disappointed. Don’t talk to me again. You piece of shit.]

[Why are you trying to pretend to be something now? You’re a cowardly fugitive.]

To my innocent friend who has committed no crime,

To the person who had the noble determination to sacrifice himself to protect his lover,

Who on earth said those words that crushed and tore my heart apart?

“Ahhh! Aaaahhh!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lucica screamed, banging her head against the solid tile wall repeatedly.

Until the end, until the end.

Until he was incited to endless malice by his enemies,

I am,

I am-

[So, how does it feel? Having Tirisia in another man’s arms.]

“AAAHH …

It only pushed him into the abyss.

I pushed my precious friend, who was already in the abyss, into an even deeper abyss.

The whole situation from beginning to end strikes her memory like a panorama.

Erto, who tried to smile and accept his own jokes in despair.

Erto, who had been enduring his own accusations with a pitiful face, hiding the truth.

And, Erto, who seemed to have given up on everything, was stripped of even the minimum qualification to be by Tirisia’s side.

The one word he had told me only now hit home.

[I hope that one day you will understand me too.]

That’s exactly what it meant.

The moment I learned the truth, everything turned upside down.

But he certainly didn’t say it with any expectations.

It holds a secret in its heart that will never be revealed unless it opens its mouth.

It was just a bitter complaint uttered toward a hope that would never come true.

Now, now I can finally understand his true feelings.

After already causing irreparable harm to Erto.

“Wow―”

Lucica bent over in a sudden, intense feeling of nausea.

“Wow, wow! Wow! ”

And then she put her head in the toilet and vomited loudly.

Gulp gulp!

What’s inside my stomach pours out with tears.

“Wow, wow! Wow!”

Even though there was nothing left to come out, the vomiting did not stop.

It was a feeling of guilt that was constantly overflowing.

It was her karma that could never be relieved.

“Wow, wow!”

Only after vomiting so many times was she able to come to her senses and catch her breath with difficulty.

“Ugh… Ugh… ”

She took a deep breath, holding onto the toilet that was now covered in vomit.

and,

“Sob… Ugh… … Huhhh!”

I started to sob and burst out in tears.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… !”

He keeps throwing apples into the air that don’t reach him.

“What the heck have I done…! Aaaah!”

If I could go back in time, I would rip my own mouth off.

I hated myself so much for constantly picking at his wounds.

“Black… Huh… ”

But such miracles do not exist in the world, and what has already been spilled cannot be picked up.

Now, she had to move forward, embracing her shattered past.

“… Tirisia.”

In her pink eyes, there was a glimmer of determination.

Her pale complexion regained its composure, and she came to a single conclusion with a calm mind.

“Huh… ”

Lucica, who had wiped her lips, staggered up from her seat and flushed the toilet.

Dismissal, dismissal,

A red current began to rise from the cherry blossom-colored twintails.

“Why…is it like that.”

Lucica came out of the bathroom with a determined look on her face.

Step by step – step by step –

Dismissal, dismissal,

With every step she took, electricity surged through her body.

“Why!”

Knock, knock, knock, knock,

The pace changed to a run, and the current became more intense.

Blat blat blat blat―!

Parts! Parts! Parts!

“Why―!”

With a roar that made her heart burst, Lucica, transformed into a bolt of lightning, ran down the hallway and out of the old school building.

Ppaang!

She flew into the sky of the academy and started running to find her childhood friend.

I couldn’t let this go on.

I had to meet Tirisia.

I had to meet him and hear the reason.

The reason why she betrayed Erto and fell into the arms of another man.