Ch.40Light (5)

[Leave, stranger.]

She was originally an irredeemable villain.

An extra who tormented the protagonist with a twisted heart, completely consumed by inferiority toward others.

A role that no one liked.

[I can’t accept this.]

[Why is everyone cheering for that commoner…?]

[I’m clearly superior. What right does she have to smile so confidently when she has nothing to her name?]

The girl’s obsession led in the wrong direction.

She envied the protagonist with her brilliant talent, and her jealousy soon blossomed into ugliness.

Perhaps it was tears for what she couldn’t have.

[I don’t like it.]

Before she knew it, the girl had come to hate the protagonist.

She despised, ignored, and distorted her.

Sometimes she even directly confronted her, trying to erase her place in the academy.

It was the typical story of a dislikable villainess.

An obstacle, or a hindrance.

Considering all the evil deeds Amelia committed in the original story, nipping it in the bud could be one approach.

I could have removed her early to prevent her from causing trouble for the protagonist.

I had that power.

I could have eliminated such a troublesome extra whenever I wanted.

But the reason I didn’t was simple.

‘She hasn’t done anything wrong yet.’

I know the future.

But is it right to punish someone for crimes they haven’t yet committed?

This fundamental question made me hesitate.

Perhaps she could change.

Of course, I didn’t have high expectations.

Predetermined fate. I knew how unfairly it could flow.

I was merely watching.

‘You never know.’

A phrase that always leaves a sliver of possibility.

Even the darkest villain usually has one belief they want to hold onto while living in this world.

I was no different.

‘I want to see a future that didn’t exist before.’

Perhaps things could be turned around if it wasn’t too late.

Even with my knowledge of the original story, I hoped it wouldn’t define the entirety of this world.

I wanted all the children to live their own stories.

Opportunities, struggles, choices… crossing paths with each other through countless processes.

“My lady.”

This time, my faith was rewarded.

“……”

“Do you need strength?”

Those dazed, trembling blue eyes.

I wanted to learn more about the girl’s story that would unfold from now on.

“I believe I can help you.”

So I reached out my hand.

To my precious and pitiful extra.

The snake smiled kindly toward the vain girl who could no longer be called a villainess.

Blessing the gently blooming petals.

***

<Kyaaaaaak!!!>

Fragments of tentacles floating in the air.

Behind the scream piercing her eardrums, she could see the monster writhing in pain and retreating.

The scene transformed in an instant.

“……”

The villainess stood in a daze.

Despite the urgent situation with blood and flesh flying everywhere, her frozen body refused to move.

Everything seemed to flow in slow motion.

As if time in the world had stopped.

It was surreal.

The scene before her eyes resembled a dream.

As she stared with vacant eyes, someone stood at the point where all questions converged.

It was a golden snake.

“Huhu.”

A bloody laugh tickled her ear.

A blonde boy resting his chin on her slender shoulder. His uniquely sweet scent brushed the tip of her nose.

The villainess’s breath caught.

“My… was my entrance too sudden?”

The snake murmured leisurely.

Despite having a monster right in front of him, he showed not even a hint of fear.

Rather, his lips curved as if he was enjoying himself.

Looking at him, a question involuntarily escaped.

“…How?”

The girl muttered blankly.

Her voice, having lost its characteristic sharpness, was filled only with dreamlike wonder.

She questioned inwardly.

How was he alive?

She had clearly seen him crushed under the monster, yet now he stood without a single scratch.

It was a difficult situation to understand.

But instead of answering, the boy merely whispered softly.

“It’s a secret.”

A voice full of mischief.

Yet even such childish disguise couldn’t hide his inherent ominousness.

“My lady?”

A murderous intent rippling faintly.

Darkness engulfing the entire laboratory.

Eyes that silenced the atmosphere.

It wasn’t his usual frivolous demeanor. She could tell just from the energy she felt.

It was truly overwhelming strength.

“You don’t need to be so tense.”

“……”

Emilia held her breath as much as possible.

There were no more questions. Only unilateral submission.

The first encounter with such distant power.

An immense sense of deprivation weighed down her entire body.

She gave up trying to understand.

The girl froze in place.

As she remained still, the boy leaning against her body showed a sly response.

A small whisper reached her ears.

“My lady.”

“……”

“You told me then, didn’t you? That you wanted to live.”

“……”

If “then” referred to what happened right before the execution.

The day she had begged on her knees so shamefully.

-Please, young master.

-I want to live.

-Hic, ugh… because I want to live.

The boy smiled maliciously.

The faces of the two people close together. The breath brushing against her earlobe was particularly dizzying.

Her heart was dyed with a faint trembling.

A rapturous light flashed over his white pupils.

“Like then… would you like to make another deal?”

The snake flicking his tongue.

The boy offered a proposal in the pitch-black darkness surging around them.

“I will help your story continue.”

Life.

“If you take my hand… you’ll be able to overcome that monster and survive this hell.”

The snake’s offer was unbearably sweet.

Until just moments ago, she had been facing death, and now she was given hope she had already abandoned.

The girl received another chance beyond regret.

“But I want you to live for me.”

What she paid in return was none other than herself.

“It’s enough if you stay by my side always… so I can watch your story unfold.”

The boy said.

Though she didn’t know exactly what that meant, Emilia could only nod as if entranced.

Survival. Only that one thing filled her mind.

“This is a new deal.”

The snake smiled gently.

Their foreheads touching.

The body heat transmitted through the soft skin clouded her reason.

After standing in a daze for a while, suddenly she heard the forgotten crying sound.

<Kyaaaaaaa!!!>

An excited scream.

Ahead was the monster having a seizure.

Having recovered from its wounds somehow, it was rushing toward them, swinging its tentacles in all directions.

Yet the boy remained composed.

“Don’t panic.”

The snake embraced the girl from behind.

After trapping her slender figure in his arms, he grabbed each of her wrists.

“As long as I’m here… you won’t be pushed back, my lady.”

Swoosh-

The boy raised Emilia’s arms.

It was as if he was manipulating a doll.

The girl seemed momentarily flustered, but soon surrendered her body to his calm touch.

The cool spear tip aimed at the monster.

“Just for a very brief moment.”

Immediately after.

Shadows gathering stealthily.

The pitch-black darkness that had been tangling and colliding among themselves soon swept forward in a massive flow.

Consequently, the ice began to turn black as well.

“I’ll show you a new world.”

The blade was coated in black.

Darkness converging at her slender fingertips. It bloomed like frost flowers in the middle of the night.

Emilia felt a thrill run through her.

“It’s temporary power.”

It was a kind of omnipotence.

Even amid the coldness dyeing a corner of her heart, the spear emitted a noble light and remained sharp.

Emilia, who had been in a daze, regained her posture.

Her arm moved on its own.

As if she knew what to do.

<Auu, uwaaaaaa!!>

The monster drew near.

Hundreds of tentacles were pouring down over her head, but the girl was merely staring silently.

Of course, not all anxiety had disappeared.

The fear she had received from that monster still remained.

‘Can I do it?’

Her blue eyes wavered.

However, there was a whisper in her ear as if it were obvious.

“You can.”

The simple encouragement contained not even a hint of doubt.

How long had it been since she received such pure trust? It was from a childhood so distant she could no longer remember.

A feeling of fulfillment welled up in a corner of her heart.

The girl opened her eyes wide.

She exploded with energy.

A strange sensation rushed to her palm. She swung the spear straight with all her might.

The next moment.

Slash-!

A beautifully continuing afterimage.

Along the thin trajectory, an intense cutting sound echoed.

“……”

It passed in slow motion.

A straight line drawn across the entire laboratory, followed by the monster’s body splitting in half.

It was a strike that cleanly cut through its form.

<Urgh! Kyaaaa…!>

The monster collapsed without even completing its scream.

Black rotten blood soaked the floor, and the eyeballs that had been stuck all over its skin lost their light.

A mess of ugly tentacles.

The girl stared at the scene with unbelieving eyes.

“Haa, haa…!”

As she gasped for breath, a voice came from right behind her.

“Didn’t I tell you? That you could do it.”

She wanted to turn her head to look at the boy, but suddenly her body lost strength.

Emilia staggered a few times before sitting down.

The exhaustion that followed extreme tension.

Her consciousness flickered precariously as if it would break at any moment.

“Oops.”

The snake caught the falling girl.

Was it because of his particularly warm embrace?

Emilia found comfort in the boy’s body heat that vividly colored her senses.

“You were magnificent, my lady.”

A sweet scent brushed the tip of her nose.

Like putting a sleepy child to bed, the snake patted the girl’s back with a languid touch.

Her mind became increasingly blurred.

“Rest well. I’ll take care of the rest now.”

A palm covered her eyes.

In her completely darkened vision and fading consciousness, the last thing she remembered was…

“Sleep well.”

Dyed with affection.

A tender whisper.