Ch.212212. A Relationship of Discovering and Being Discovered

“Blanc. I’m your husband, right?”

“Uh… huh?”

“I’m just asking. I…”

I look around, making sure the door is definitely closed.

If these kinds of conversations were to reach other people’s ears, it might negatively affect Blanc’s reputation or Yuri’s reputation.

“Because I was… a man.”

“…If you’re talking about being a husband, does that mean we’re married? I’m fine with that…”

“No, no, wait. Why is the conversation going in that direction? You know very well that’s not what I meant… sigh.”

A playful smile appears on Blanc’s face.

“Caught me. Hehe.”

“These days, I sometimes can’t read you well.”

“Why? I think I can tell more easily than before.”

“Of course, because you… you’ve changed so much.”

I tell her that I’m starting to get confused because Blanc’s emotional expressions have become too diverse.

“Is that so… to the point where it’s hard for you to notice?”

“Yes. Really… it’s like hiding emotions within emotions, or showing secondary emotions beneath an overall feeling of happiness. It’s like a mask, but the mask is showing a genuine expression.”

“What… does that mean?”

“…It means I don’t know either. It’s not like they’re hidden so deeply that they’re hard to find. Everything is exposed, but the feeling of liking… sigh. I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired analyzing you. And you know what’s even more troubling?”

“What is it?”

“That expression of yours showing how much you like me. I don’t dislike seeing it… If it were before, if it were my mindset from before we started dating, I could have dismissed it as fake emotions just meant to tease me. But now I accept even those emotions as happiness, and knowing those emotions are genuine, those emotions, those emotions…”

My words escaped in a disorganized jumble.

It’s really, really, really embarrassing to say these things, but still.

“Because emotions… are pouring out. Because good things are pouring out, even though they’re emotions I shouldn’t be receiving, affection, love. I sometimes feel that way. Ah, of course, since Blanc and the other magical girls, and their partners tell me not to think that way, so I try my hardest to forget, because I’m a villain. Because I’m a villain…”

Blanc is my adversary.

Yet, she can be the one who understands me.

Yet, she has become the one who understands me.

Is this what it means that your greatest adversary can become your greatest confidant?

If someone had told me back then that you would become lovers with Blanc, I would have been truly angry.

“…Is it right for a villain to live such a happy life?”

“It’s okay.”

“…I’ve caused too much harm to people. People like Citrus even lost the use of their legs permanently.”

“At least no one died.”

“But many were injured. Even if I didn’t take their lives, isn’t it the same as shortening their lives or completely taking away their futures?”

“That was… an accident.”

“The one who caused that accident was me… intentionally.”

“…Because you were manipulated by that person called Boss.”

“But it was my hands and my mind that acted.”

Hearing this, Blanc stared at me intently.

“If we punish those hands and that mind, will your guilt lessen? Will your responsibility be reduced?”

“It would be an escape. An eternal one.”

“Do you think this method… is a way for you to repent?”

“Since I cannot be forgiven, I have no choice but to live in eternal repentance.”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“Karma eventually comes back. As they say, life is full of unexpected turns. After receiving such great happiness… I’ll eventually fall back to the bottom…”

“If you just fall to the bottom, isn’t it enough that the time you spend with me is happy?”

“…How does that work?”

“I told you. You’re already being punished. We’re keeping you confined, right?”

“That can’t possibly be a real punishment…”

“And you also have to be my lover and toy? Being treated as a toy by all the magical girls—if that’s not punishment, what is?”

“I know for certain that will never happen.”

“Hmm… even at night?”

“…At night?”

“Hehe. I’ll show you what real punishment is, what’s truly scary. Tonight. Look forward to it.”

“…I never thought I’d feel again that the words ‘punishment’ and ‘anticipation’ could be used together.”

“Why? Where have you heard it before?”

“Well, you know. In prison.”

“…What happened there?”

“I’ll tell you later… Huh? Why is everyone…”

Everyone was looking at me with strange eyes.

…Just recalling what happened in prison must have changed my expression.

Judging by their reactions.

If only Blanc had reacted, I could have dismissed it as ordinary nosiness.

But it’s not just her; everyone is reacting that way.

“…Do I really have to talk about it?”

Everyone just stares without saying a word.

It will take some time until the food arrives.

…Well, they’re all lovers anyway, so it should be fine.

To talk about that time.

* * *

“Are you crazy…?”

“I’m fine.”

“No, not you, but that woman… no, how? How did someone like that pass the personality test?”

“Well… that kind of thing might happen after they start working. If you’re saying that all the money she earned throughout her life as a prison guard disappeared… well, she might have been fine until I ruined it.”

“But that doesn’t mean she should… sigh, torture. Yes, torture just to inflict pain, ignoring human rights.”

“Well… I’m alive now, so I think that’s fortunate. And… I got out of prison earlier than expected…”

“That doesn’t erase the human rights violations you suffered.”

“I’m fine with it… well, it was the punishment I deserved…”

“That wasn’t punishment; it was just personal harassment.”

“In the end, even if it was harassment based on personal grudges, the harassment I received was because of the damage she… well, suffered.”

“Sigh… the more I think about it, the more I want to curse… no, I shouldn’t say bad words.”

If Blanc is this angry, how much angrier must Ellie be?

It’s difficult to say whether Blanc’s connection to me is shallower than Ellie’s.

The same… yes.

Honestly, Ellie has been thinking about me for a longer time.

So, when I looked at Ellie’s face.

As expected.

I can see that she wants to speak, but Yuri is stopping her.

Seeing how Yuri, sitting next to Ellie, is more restless, fidgeting here and there.

Not knowing where to put her hands, she places them on Ellie’s legs, then firmly presses down on her shoulders when Ellie looks like she’s about to lunge forward.

Pat, pat.

It’s obvious that she herself isn’t very calm either.

Who’s the master and who’s the puppy here?

Yuri is the mature one.

“Bine. What’s that person’s name?”

“I don’t know. That person never told me their name.”

“Someone around that person must have told you.”

“Well… I know the surname. It’s just… a common surname in this country, Lee…”

“Hmm…?”

“Every day, it was ‘that bitch,’ ‘this bitch.’ That’s what they called her. Even her colleagues.”

“…So those people just stood by and watched?”

“They had their circumstances too. Their lives were at stake. Well, it was like blackmail. Anyway, no one is completely clean, so she had dirt on them… but I didn’t really care.”

“Bystanders are just as bad.”

“If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to leave that prison with my sanity intact.”

“…Sigh.”

“At least she wasn’t a lesbian, it seems. She didn’t treat me sexually. That’s fortunate, isn’t it? Instead, I was like a punching bag she could play with… though I hear being a lesbian isn’t exactly normal.”

“How could that possibly be fortunate…”

Blanc pulled at her hair as she looked at me.

“You don’t need to blame yourself…”

“…If only it had been Marina, ha. Then we couldn’t have gotten you out. We couldn’t have given you an acquittal either.”

“Um, Blanc…? What does that mean…?”

“Ah… it’s nothing.”

“…Was it a plea bargain?”

“No. No. I never did anything like that.”

“…The reason for my unusually short sentence despite being a high-ranking member of Eden…”

“At least I didn’t do anything illegal or anything like that.”

“So you did do something.”

“…Ah.”

Well.

I had expected that someone’s influence was involved.

But the fact that it was Blanc is really…

The magical girl of ‘Salvation.’

Sigh.

She said she came to ‘save’ me from that shack. Probably.

“…And you call yourself a magical girl.”

“Well, in the end, I saved you, so it’s fine, right?”

“A magical girl, of all people. Saving a villain.”

“We’re lovers.”

“Back then, we were villain and magical girl. On top of that, sworn enemies and rivals.”

“That was just your one-sided thinking.”

“…What?”

“Because I’m stronger than you.”

Blanc says with a smile.

“Huh? Are you picking a fight with me? With me?”

“Pfft.”

“You’re laughing? Are you laughing right now?”

“Weak loser. Failed villain~ Completely below magical girl level. Pfft.”

“It doesn’t suit you when you act like that.”

“Eh…?”

“Well, there’s a certain image, you know.”

“Tch…”

“If you were trying to cheer me up, it seems to have worked. I’m not thinking about that story anymore.”

“Phew. That’s good. I’ll take care of that person myself.”

“…Even though you don’t really know who it is.”

“Well… I’ll make sure to tell them not to touch anyone else as much as possible.”

“If that’s the case, then just…”

“No, this is actually an opportunity.”

“…What?”

“If the media handles it well… somehow creating public sympathy to make it a bit easier for you, Bine, to live…”

“…I don’t want that.”

“What do you mean you don’t want it?”

“There’s no reason for me to be more comfortable, is there? I… um, to borrow your words, am eternally bound to all of you, aren’t I?”

“Kuh…”

“I… as long as I have all of you, it doesn’t matter what I do, right? And… originally, I don’t really like going out; I’m a homebody.”

“A homebody girl?”

“…A homebody.”

“Now you’re a homebody girl. That’s good, rather.”

“Sigh. I…”

“You’re a woman now.”

“No…”

“After crying like that?”

“…”

Embarrassed by Blanc’s words, I lightly hit her chest.

Blanc, finding it cute, took the hits while stroking my head.

Until the food arrived, Blanc continued to stroke my head.

…There must have been some communication with Ellie too, as her mind also seemed to be at ease.

That’s a relief.