Chapter 112: I’ll do anything

“Tina!”

It was a scream that echoed like a desperate cry.

Viviana approached me with a frantic expression. Her arms wrapped tightly around me, holding me so firmly it nearly took my breath away.

“Viviana…”

“What are you doing?! Why are you hurting yourself again?!”

Her usual calm and composed demeanor had completely vanished.

“Are you… angry?”

“Of course I am! Why would you do something like this again?”

I cautiously raised my head to look at her. Her amethyst-like eyes swirled with deep emotions.

Why is she so angry?

I thought this might be a way to atone for my sins, even just a little. Was I wrong?

I didn’t want her to waste her emotions on someone like me. And yet, once again, I had ruined Viviana’s mood.

“Please don’t be angry, Viviana…”

I timidly clung to her collar and pleaded earnestly.

“Ah…”

Her eyes, locked on mine, quivered slightly. After a long moment, her tightly pressed lips parted as she gently took my hand.

Her touch was warm and kind.

Thinking back, Viviana had always been gentle with me from the moment we first met. What had I done to someone so kind as her?

“Viviana.”

“Speak.”

“Please don’t waste your feelings on someone like me.”

Viviana stared blankly at me, her eyes blinking in silence.

“What… did you say?”

“Instead… please, release any negative feelings you have onto me.”

I took her hand and placed it on my cheek, just as Lilian once had.

“You can use me however you want to satisfy your frustrations. I don’t mind. Please, treat me however you wish.”

“…What?”

“Even if it’s… ruining me completely. I think my face is decent enough, so it might even be satisfying.”

“…You want me to ruin you?”

“Yes! Hit me if you’d like. If you want, you can even use me to fulfill… your desires. You could even kill me if that’s what you want!”

Nothing would make me happier than being destroyed by Viviana. That’s how much I admired her.

But someone as extraordinary as her could hardly gain anything from someone like me.

The only thing I had of any value was this face.

If I could help Viviana even a little in this way, it would make me immeasurably happy.

So please, hurt me. Help me shed the weight of this terrible guilt.

Viviana raised one of her hands.

Was she going to slap me? Or perhaps strike me? Maybe she would touch my body for her own desires.

It didn’t matter. Whatever punishment Viviana decided, I would accept it gladly.

But her actions were unexpected. She wrapped her arms around my waist and, with a swift motion, pulled me into her embrace.

Then, she tightened her hold, hugging me so firmly that I could barely breathe.

“Viviana…?”

Her affectionate gesture caught me off guard, rendering my resolve meaningless. I blinked at her, stunned.

“Tina, can you grant me one request?”

“…What? Please, go ahead.”

“Promise me you’ll do it first, and then I’ll tell you.”

Her words were sudden. What kind of request could Viviana be so hesitant to make?

But it didn’t matter. I was willing to do anything for her. For Viviana, I was ready to give up everything.

“Yes, I promise.”

Even if it meant asking me to give up an arm, I was ready to agree without hesitation.

But my resolve was rendered meaningless by the completely unexpected words that came from Viviana’s lips.

“Please… Please don’t harm yourself.”

“What?”

“Don’t break your fingers, don’t twist your wrist, don’t bite your tongue… Promise me now that you won’t leave so much as a scratch on your body.”

“Well, that’s…”

“Promise me. Quickly.”

Viviana’s eyes held not a shred of mercy. Her determination was unwavering, as if she would not relent until I gave my word.

I was at a loss.

If I wasn’t allowed to harm myself, how on earth could I atone for the harm I had caused others?

Self-inflicted wounds were the only way a foolish and ugly person like me could think to seek forgiveness.

“…I can’t promise that.”

“Why?”

“I… I’ve done too many terrible things. If I don’t do this, I just can’t—”

Viviana looked at me silently. A storm of emotions rippled across her bright, shining eyes.

“I’ll help you.”

She embraced me even tighter, as if to say I had no escape. Her arms wrapped around me firmly, leaving no gaps.

“I’ll stay by your side until all your sins are gone. I’ll help you every step of the way.”

“So, promise me now, right here.”

I couldn’t understand it. Why was she so kind to me? I had only ever hurt her, yet she always approached me first.

And every time she did, the guilt stabbing into my heart became sharper.

Could she possibly know? How much her kindness pained me?

Yet, paradoxically, her tender words and actions filled me with a joy so overwhelming that I found myself crying without realizing it.

“Really…? You’ll help me…?”

In the end, my pathetically weak resolve once again leaned on someone else’s care.

The sturdy wall I had built around my heart crumbled helplessly in the face of her warmth.

“Yes, as long as you promise me.”

I didn’t know any way to atone without hurting myself. So, more than anyone, I knew how selfish the promise I was about to make truly was.

But Viviana said she would help me. Couldn’t I rely on her?

Unlike me, Viviana was incredibly capable. If it were her, perhaps she could erase the traces of the sins I had committed.

And if she couldn’t… then maybe some of the responsibility would fall on her too…

“I-I promise…”

“Really? Can I trust you this time?”

“Yes…”

I nodded repeatedly in Viviana’s embrace.

Only then did she show me her radiant smile again.

“Good. Then let’s leave this place now.”

“What…?”

The air around us swirled violently.

In the midst of the sharp turbulence, a violet light began to gather and converge at Viviana’s fingertips.

And with a deafening roar, the prison door shattered into countless fragments.

The force was so immense that the surrounding space itself began to tremble.

“I didn’t like this place either. Fortunately, I already had an idea.”

Viviana drew her sword from her waist.

With movements too swift for the eye to follow, the chains that had restrained me were severed in an instant.

Then, as if cradling a princess, Viviana effortlessly lifted me.

Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her neck for balance. She looked down at me with a satisfied smile.

“Wait, where are we going…?”

“To a place touched by sunlight.”

With that resolute answer, Viviana stepped outside the door.

Still holding me in her arms, she walked forward, one step at a time.

Before long, sunlight—something I had never seen in this prison—reached my eyes.

The light was so much brighter than I had imagined that I reflexively squinted against it.

“Lady Viviana!!”

A sharp cry came from behind.

Lillian was charging toward us, her eyes blazing with fury.

“What are you doing?! Who gave you the right to take Tina?!”

“Lillian.”

“You can’t just do as you please! Return Tina immediately!”

“Lillian, you know as well as I do. You’re walking the same path as I am.”

Lillian’s face contorted, her voice trembling.

“No! If you hadn’t shown up and stirred things up, none of this would have happened!”

Viviana stared coldly at Lillian and replied firmly.

“Stop making excuses.”

Hostile words filled with tension flew back and forth between the two.

Lillian insisted I should stay here, while Viviana declared that would never happen.

In the end, it was Viviana who seized the upper hand in the tense standoff.

“Think about what you’re doing to Tina. Would you dare to justify it before Lord Artasha?”

At those words, Lillian fell silent, as if struck speechless.

Even so, she refused to back down. Her eyes grew sharper as she glared at me.

“Tina belongs to me. The Empire recognizes it. Are you saying you intend to defy the Empire’s decree, Lady Viviana?”

“Invoking the Empire to threaten me… Does that mean you’re willing to stand against me?”

There was no one in this world who would willingly oppose Viviana. Not even Lillian.

Viviana was the type of person who always saw her decisions through to the end. Knowing Viviana’s stubborn nature, Lillian bit her lip and trembled.

“Even so, I can’t allow you to take her away so recklessly.”

“Then come with us.”

“…What?”

And then something unexpected happened.

Viviana suddenly covered my ears with her hands. I was startled but didn’t resist.

With my ears blocked, Viviana and Lillian began to speak, their voices entirely inaudible to me. It seemed Viviana had used magic to thoroughly silence any sound from reaching me.

As Viviana’s lips moved, Lillian’s eyes began to waver more and more.

Finally, when Viviana lowered her hands and released my ears, Lillian’s expression had settled into an eerie calm.

“…Alright.”

Just moments ago, she had been furious, yet now she was complying so easily.

What on earth had they discussed to make her change so drastically?

Though I was curious, I didn’t ask. After all, I was just a mere prisoner. Whatever Viviana decided to do with me, I could only comply.

Viviana said she would help me to the end so that I could atone for my sins. I decided to entrust everything to her.

No matter what it might be.

Even if I were sold as a slave.

Even if I had to endure the agony of torture.

If Viviana commanded it, I wouldn’t hesitate.

***

…Or so I thought.

Blinking blankly, I stared at the scene before me.

Soldiers laughing heartily, female mercenaries exchanging serious and weighty discussions.

This place, filled with various tales and chatter, was a tavern located on the outskirts of the continent.

It had taken three full days of riding day and night to get here, so it was certainly far from the Empire.

“This is the tavern I always stop by before heading to the battlefield. The food is decent, and the people are good,” Viviana said with a faint smile, gently pushing me toward the kitchen.

“But…?”

“Tina, forgiveness is something only those with power and money can grant properly. Empty words of forgiveness are powerless.”

“…I have a lot of money.”

“Are you talking about money you earned yourself?”

Her words left me with nothing to counter.

“…So, why does that matter?”

“You need to earn money. First, earn enough money on your own to seek forgiveness.”

I had seen Viviana smile many times, but this was the first time I had encountered a smile of hers whose meaning I couldn’t grasp.

She patted my head once and then looked up at an older woman.

“I’ll leave her in your care, Grandma Miranda.”

“Sure, I’ll work her hard,” replied an elderly woman.

Her white hair and the wrinkles on her face bore the marks of time.

At first glance, she appeared to be an ordinary old woman, but…

Her burly, muscular physique, rivaling that of any mercenary, made it impossible to think of her as frail.

“Are you ready to work, child?”

Her dark eyes pierced through me as if she could see straight into my soul.

Meeting her gaze, I couldn’t help but feel that breaking my fingers might be the easier option.

‘I did say I’d do anything…’

But I never imagined it would be actual work where I’d have to earn money…