Chapter 41

Chapter 41

The Heroine of the 1st Playthrough Remembers My Training.

Episode 41: Vivian’s Training Journal (6).

In a room full of flickering candle flames, a man wearing a white mask sat arrogantly with one arm thrown over the side and legs crossed.

‘…Why isn’t she coming?’

I had worked hard to set the mood, but Lucia was late.

Sometimes, people might think it’s normal to be a bit late, but Lucia never was when it came to me.

Still, I kept my posture, hoping she might come in while I changed it, but my leg was starting to go numb.

‘…Something must have happened.’

I couldn’t even sigh anymore.

Did a patrolling guard catch her? Or was there another student who just happened to leave something behind? If not that, then…

Several possible scenarios popped into my head.

Of course, I had never been caught during gameplay.

I chose a day with no events and no people around.

But I had experienced it many times already.

Unexpected incidents overflow in this world.

The main story I knew was only likely to go that way, but it was not certain.

‘Damn…’

Having reached a conclusion, I quickly stood up from my chair.

Lucia followed orders well but lacked the ability to improvise.

If she really met someone, it could be a big problem if I didn’t intervene.

“Hoo, hoo.”

I blew out all the candles I had carefully lit, worried about a fire, and ran outside.

“Haa…haa…”

I was exhausted.

Wearing a black suit to look imposing made running uncomfortable.

“…No…”

The only fortunate thing was that I heard Vivian’s voice from upstairs.

I carefully climbed the stairs.

─Slap.

Lucia slapped Vivian’s cheek.

Looking around, fortunately, there was no one else besides Lucia and Vivian.

‘Hoo…’

At least it wasn’t the worst-case scenario where someone else saw them.

I hid in a corner to assess the situation and listened closely.

“…I can’t…”

─Slap.

“…I’m, I’m sorry…”

─Slap.

“I’m sorry….”

─Slap.

Lucia mercilessly slapped Vivian’s cheek.

Even though I wasn’t the one being hit, I flinched with each sound.

‘Hmm…’

In the first playthrough, before building affection, Lucia often displayed such behavior.

A woman who was fair but cold, and endlessly ruthless to those who weren’t her own.

If the princess could be described as a pure lunatic, then Lucia in the first playthrough might have been a sociopath.

…If I had been reincarnated in the first playthrough’s world, I would have definitely avoided Lucia.

“Don’t be mistaken. It’s not just about destroying your family. That’s only the beginning. I will crush everything. I will crush and crush until you can barely cling to life. Don’t think you can escape through death. If you die, I will repeat this until everyone bearing the name Beatrice is dead, starting with your sister, then your father, then your cousin.”

While reminiscing, Lucia spat out some terrifying words.

‘…Isn’t that too much?’

Cold sweat ran down my back as I listened.

It was true that I had given Lucia some authority to punish.

Punishment was an indispensable part of training.

But the current Lucia was unreasonably hostile towards Vivian.

‘This isn’t the first time…’

This wasn’t the first time Lucia’s aggression had surfaced.

She had shown similar behavior towards the princess, not just Vivian.

‘…Why?’

If it were simple jealousy, it could be resolved, but something about it bothered me.

It wasn’t because I trained Lucia not to be jealous.

Considering all the crazy situations, it was expected that anti-jealousy training might fail.

But if it were jealousy towards the princess, I had been avoiding the princess, and she showed no aggression towards Yuriana or the new target, the school nurse.

‘What exactly is the standard?’

When I tried to figure out the common trait among the people Lucia was unreasonably hostile to,

“Yes, yes…thank you..I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry….”

Vivian’s state became strange.

‘Huh…? Why is she saying that line now?’

Thinking I might have misheard, I peeked out slightly and saw that the light had vanished from Vivian’s eyes.

‘I’m screwed…’

I’m really screwed.

That was the awakening line of Witch Vivian.

To be precise, it’s the line just before she entered the awakening, and although she hadn’t awakened yet, it’s certain that she would go berserk soon.

‘Damn…’

I couldn’t afford to lose Vivian here.

I must do whatever it takes to resolve the situation.

‘Hoo… Deep breath.’

I wanted to rush out and snap Vivian back to her senses, but the ‘Prince of the Bed’ didn’t say that was the best course of action.

Running out in a panic would only diminish my authority.

Like the saying “the more urgent it is, the more you should take your time,” I adjusted my attire, neatly combed back my hair, and took a step forward with elegant and grave composure.

‘Let’s go.’

─Toktok.

The sound of my footsteps echoed through the corridor, signaling the start of my life-or-death mission to capture Vivian.

“Ma…master…”

Lucia, surprised by the sound of footsteps, turned her head and ran towards the masked man.

“Ma…master, why are you here…”

“…I am disappointed in you, Lucia.”

“…Ugh. I’m… I’m sorry, Master…”

Lucia, who had never lost her confidence, now trembled and bowed her head before the man.

“Didn’t you say the training was complete?”

“Well… that…”

“Tsk, I don’t want to hear excuses. The punishment for this will be dealt with later. Stand aside.”

“Yes…”

Lucia bit her lip and stepped aside as the masked man approached me.

─Toktok.

At first, I didn’t recognize him, but the closer he got, the more familiar he seemed.

─Toktok.

A familiar gait.

─Toktok.

A recognizable physique.

─Toktok.

A sweet scent.

─Toktok.

And above all, an unforgettable voice.

…I couldn’t believe it, but all the information led to one conclusion.

“…Yujin..?”

At that moment, the man stopped walking and removed his mask.

“How… how can it be… you…”

I thought I might stop breathing.

I couldn’t believe it.

I never thought Yujin would appear here.

“…Vivian Beatrice.”

Then Yujin spoke in a voice colder and more unfamiliar than I had ever heard.

Just that was enough to shatter my barely held-together composure.

“I never imagined the new female Lucia found would be you.”

Yujin’s fingers touched my lips and slowly moved down.

“…What is your worth, Vivian?”

His hand grazed my neck and touched my collarbone.

“I… I…”

Instinctively, I spoke in formal language.

My worth…

Did I ever have such a thing?

From birth until now, I was merely a substitute for my sister.

“Yes, compared to your sister, you’re nothing special. So, are you just a substitute for her?”

Yujin’s words seemed to read my mind.

Tap, tap.

At the same time, Yujin’s hand roughly tore at my buttons and touched my chest.

“…Hah…”

The large, hot touch of a man’s hand, distinctly different from Lucia’s, made me involuntarily moan.

Seeing this, Yujin smirked with one corner of his mouth raised.

“…To make such noises with just this… your body is properly trained… Oh, and I heard you masturbated while calling my name from the beginning.”

My blood ran cold.

I thought Lucia hadn’t mentioned it even once, so he didn’t know, but Yujin already knew.

“Aah, Vivian. I treated you as a ‘friend’, but you looked at me like this… I’m greatly disappointed.”

“..Huh…sniff… I’m sorry.”

“Is that so? What are you sorry for?”

Yujin whispered in my ear.

Even in this desperate situation, my obscene body was excited by just that.

“…Sniff… thinking of Yujin… sniff… while masturbating… I’m sorry.”

“Speak clearly. Where and how did you masturbate?”

“In… in the classroom… on Yujin’s… desk… imagining being raped by Yujin… I masturbated…”

Tears fell in shame as I confessed to the person I loved that I masturbated while thinking of him.

“Hah, you masturbated on my desk, the desk of someone who considered you a friend, in the sacred classroom…”

“…Huh… sniff… yes.”

Yujin, who had been stroking his chin, approached and whispered to me.

“…Vivian. You’re an irredeemable pervert.”

With Yujin’s small rebuke, my heart crumbled.

An overwhelming sense of despair unlike anything I had felt before.

I collapsed to the ground and started crying.

“…Sob…sniff…I’m…I’m sorry…sniff…I’m sorry I was born like this.”

I wanted to die.

I should just die.

Hearing Yujin’s words made me realize.

I didn’t even have the right to resent the world.

A being worse than trash had no right to blame anyone.

The moment I resolved to die, Yujin embraced me and spoke.

“…It’s still okay, Vivian.”

It was poison.

Such a sweet poison.

“Vivian, no matter how useless you are, no matter how obscene you are, no matter how many sins you commit, I will still cherish you.”

The hand of salvation thrown at the edge of despair was so sweet.

“Sob…sniff…sob…wail…”

It seeped into the heart I thought had completely shattered.

I was scared.

Of this sweetness.

I didn’t want to believe anymore.

I didn’t want to get hurt anymore.

…But I couldn’t let go.

I clung to Yujin’s collar.

Because he was the only reason I, denied by everything, could remain in this world.

“…In return, Vivian. Give yourself to me.”

I knew that if Yujin abandoned me, I would be completely broken.

It didn’t matter.

If Yujin abandoned me, I planned to end my life at that moment.

I slowly knelt and bowed my head.

“Sob…yes…yes…Yujin…I’ll, I’ll offer myself…”

And I vowed as I kissed Yujin’s feet.

“I’ll offer everything to you…”