episode_0015

I swiftly embraced the frenzied Lulu, immediately activating one of my buff spells, increasing my defense.

The reason I embraced Lulu was very simple.

To make Lulu feel guilt towards me, there was no other way but this method.

Guilt, originally, is easiest to induce through regret caused by violence. Since I prefer not to take the difficult path, I will use frenzy to torture my own body.

Even while embracing Lulu alone and taking on the attacks myself, letting all the other nobles escape. Even Yustetia would consider me a kind person.

“Grrr!!”

“Ugh…!”

Lulu’s long nails tore into my back.

If my stats for health and vitality weren’t both at S, that attack would have pierced my organs, leading to my death.

Because even if it pierces my back, it won’t hit my organs. If I were to aim for the organs, there’d be no need to target the stomach. By aiming for the back, you can puncture the organs.

Yet, to minimize damage, targeting the back is best. Thanks to vitality, I can recover in about 5 seconds even if my flesh is torn.

What has improved due to health is the ability to embrace Lulu for an extended period.

Enduring Lulu’s struggles, I raised my health stat, causing harm to my body and continuing to embrace Lulu until the end.

If I were to make her faint, the frenzy would be lifted, but that wouldn’t do. If she were to faint, she wouldn’t witness this scene. That’s why I must keep embracing Lulu until the frenzy’s duration ends.

The frenzy lasts for 1 minute. Since about 30 seconds have passed from that fight, I only need to endure for another 30 seconds.

It seems like there are still about 2 minutes left before Karla enters here, so I continue to embrace Lulu.

She probably won’t come within 30 seconds. Karla, who wants to return to the same relationship with Ayla as before, won’t easily come back here.

“Grr…! Chchch…! Grrgrr…!!”

Lulu’s numerous long nails began to randomly tear into my back.

“Thud…!”

“Ugh…!!”

Oops, I didn’t think about my mouth.

I was only thinking about the nails and forgot that among the weapons of a beast, there’s the mouth.

Realizing that her long nails weren’t very effective against me, Lulu started tearing at my back with her nails and biting my shoulder.

It takes about 10 seconds for the bite wounds to regenerate instantly. Still, it seems she won’t bite my neck. Beasts generally don’t go for the neck.

I don’t know why… In the novel, it just said they don’t bite the neck. I’ll have to look into it later.

“Growl!!!!”

“Kwack!”

“Ugh…!!”

Now, Lulu didn’t just pierce me with her long nails; she gathered five of them together and grabbed my flesh fiercely.

No matter how resilient one is to piercing, it’s hard to withstand being grabbed fiercely. In other words…

“Rip…!”

“Damn…!!”

I’m being torn apart.

Even I, enduring the pain, eventually let out a groan.

The agony of having my shoulder torn and the pain enveloped me in a different dimension.

While Lulu didn’t bite much with her mouth due to its size, her nails were an exception.

After grabbing a lot of my back flesh with her long nails, she tore it all at once.

It stings. A burning pain pierces my body.

If I had known such intense pain would come, I would have done it differently… Bullshit! I want to see the end as soon as possible. Just delaying it because of a single pain, it’s unacceptable.

Despite the struggles, shoulder biting, and back tearing inflicted by Lulu, I quietly, very quietly, continued to embrace Lulu.

“Lulu… calm down… We should go home… Let’s return to the academy together.”

About 20 seconds later, I spoke to Lulu.

When there were about 10 seconds left of the rampage duration for the personality to gradually return, I spoke kindly to Lulu.

Although this sound would have reached Lulu’s ears as her mind slowly returned, she probably finds it difficult to remember since she hasn’t fully come back yet.

However, this is just a buildup for naturalness.

Rather than suddenly speaking kindly once she regains her senses, it’s more natural to have been kind from before and pretend not to notice until the end of the rampage duration.

Continuing to soothe with a gentle tone without even knowing the duration of the rampage. It may be difficult to turn Lulu’s heart around, but she will be slightly flustered.

Continuing to hold onto Lulu and endure the pain, eventually, Lulu’s struggling ceased.

“Ha… Ha… Sir, Sirine…?”

Lulu, who had lost focus, regained clarity in her eyes and looked at me sharply.

Yes. After 10 seconds, Lulu’s rampage subsided.

Seeing that Lulu had returned to normal, I whispered to her while holding her tighter.

“Lulu… are you okay? A rampage… I forgot that such a thing exists for Suin… So, are you okay?”

I imitated a trembling voice, trying to convey concern to Lulu.

Feeling something odd about my trembling voice, Lulu must have felt another strangeness about me holding her.

Waking up suddenly to being held like this, it’s only natural to feel strange.

However, Lulu can understand. She knows what happens when she is held like this in this state.

Realizing something, Lulu stared at me with trembling pupils.

“Ah…! Ah…! Aah…!!! Ah…!!!”

Lulu could see my torn back, ripped clothes, shoulders dripping blood, and the other shoulder torn to the point where bones were visible.

Moreover, her hands were so forceful that her fingernails were almost breaking.

It was indeed tough enduring Lulu’s struggles. I didn’t even know my nails could break. Still, this will surely add to the guilt, right?

“Sir, Sirine…!! Are you okay…? No, not okay… definitely not okay… It’s because of me…!”

Lulu recalled the incident from three years ago when she killed a human woman, her pupils shaking intensely, starting to breathe heavily.

She must be losing her mind and going crazy.

That event was a trauma for Lulu.

By triggering that trauma, she’s spiraling into madness like this.

Well, one thing is certain: I can’t comfort Lulu right now.

A proper comfort will have to wait until tomorrow; for now, I need to build up.

There’s roughly a minute left until Karla comes in. During that time, I need to redirect Lulu’s feelings towards me.

The only difference between me and Karla is simply a matter of timing.

I’ll raise the level of affection a bit more.

Furthermore, Lulu is currently in a state of mental instability, easily accepting anything.

With one confession of love from me, there’s a high chance Lulu’s heart will turn towards me.

Karla, who mistakenly developed feelings due to a misunderstanding.

Me, who protected her.

Who should she love more? The answer is already clear.

-Swish.

Still apart, I gently pulled Lulu’s body, filled with guilt, close while holding her head.

“Sir, Sirine…?”

A bewildered expression. Well, it’s certainly understandable. Since I sacrificed myself under the pretext of protecting Lulu, she might perceive it that way.

I hugged myself suddenly, even though I could hate myself. Naturally, there was nothing else I could do but embrace myself.

If you’re here, gather your courage. Don’t be afraid, forget the past. Even if Lulu were to let go of her guilt by saying such things, her heart could still belong to Carla.

The possibility is slim, but certainty is best.

So, include this “phrase.”

“Lulu… Forget the past… Truly… Truly, beloved Lulu… You don’t have to feel guilty… Don’t cry… Don’t tremble… Don’t be afraid… You’ve done nothing wrong…”

I comforted Lulu, including the word ‘love’ in my words.

As Lulu listened to me, seemingly taken aback by the word ‘love,’ she stared at me with trembling pupils.

“S-Stop it… What are you saying? Love… Me… You know that I love Carla, right?”

You know well or not, but that’s a misconception. Still, am I trying to deceive you? Carla has no intention of deceiving you, right?

“If it was hopeless… If you protected me by sacrificing yourself due to mere feelings of love, that would truly be foolish!”

You think I never felt that emotion towards you? Besides, you’re mistaken. It’s just a difference of one piece of paper, isn’t it?

“I-I… I love Carla…! You know that too…!”

So you know, right? It’s a misconception. But why did you fall from my embrace? I’ll have to hold you again.

In any case, Lulu’s words contained not a single hint of contradiction.

All true. Not a single strange word. Since loving Carla is a fact by Lulu’s standards, it makes sense.

Yes, Lulu loves Carla. And I, who supposedly harbored love for Lulu, came to know that while being with her, she liked Carla.

So naturally, I had to give up. Seeing the person you love happy is the best thing, after all.

Therefore, I supported Lulu as much as possible while maintaining boundaries. Supposedly, with the emotion called love.

We cheered for Lulu, joked around, and got along like close friends. I might have liked someone else instead of Lulu.

But seeking another love interest because of the emotion called love doesn’t guarantee that love will come to me.

Yet I pretend. Simply that, because of love, I saved Lulu. Even if Lulu marries Carla, I pretend that I will love her as much as Lulu forever.

“This is foolish… Yes… I understand… Being a man who loves a woman with a man she loves… It’s the worst… I knew… I knew that you liked Carla… But I couldn’t give up…”

I hugged Lulu once again as she fell from my arms. Though she resisted, I steadfastly held onto her.

“Just… If you were happy… If you were connected to Carla, I’ve lived like this out of that desire… But this time, I had to protect you… Because Carla is gone…”

Lulu’s body shivered once. Perhaps my act was resonating well with her.

Even though the place where I’m expressing my feelings is a burning social hall, it doesn’t matter to me about the timing or location when conveying emotions.

“You don’t have to accept my feelings… I’m just a hopeless loser anyway…”

While hugging Lulu, tears streaming down her face, I conveyed genuine love, opening the truth and closing the falsehood.

Lulu trembled at my words, then exploded in anger along with Ayla.

“No…!!! The one I love is Karla…! You know well that your heart cannot be accepted…”

I have no intention of accepting your heart. But as I said earlier, that was a misunderstanding from a novel.

“But… why did you help me…? Even going so far as to burn yourself…! Being torn apart to the point where bones were visible…!! Why did you endure it…?”

You, looking like a beggar, will seem pretty. Now, you will become a girl who should receive laughter and joy, not spread it.

“It wasn’t just for love that I acted like that!!!”

Yeah.

“Lulu… you really are a fool…”

“What…?”

Contrary to her feelings, I embraced Lulu even more, showing a gentle smile, and to turn Lulu’s heart around, I offered my final words.

“Lulu… I love you… only you… the sight of you suffering. The sight of you consumed by guilt… I don’t want to see that…”

The crackling flames began to engulf the ballroom. As a result, my face darkened due to the flames spreading behind me to the floor.

It felt like melancholy. Yet, it resembled someone pretending not to be affected as much as possible.

Seeing me in that state, Lulu’s pupils began to shake.

It meant that my true feelings were gradually getting closer to Lulu.

“So… you endured it… Even if you didn’t accept my heart, just… out of the desire for happiness… just to watch you and Karla’s married life until the end…”

Lulu, who heard words without a hint of hesitation, which Karla would never hear, started trembling all over, her pupils dilating.

It meant that Lulu’s heart, trapped by the character Karla, was breaking free from the prison called Karla and coming towards me, seeking freedom.

But she wouldn’t know. The place she fled to was not a prison like Karla but an even more isolating, inescapable, wicked prison—a solitary confinement cell.

To Lulu, Karla was a man she feared.

Yet, because she allowed herself to be deluded, she persisted.

She almost gave up a few times, but she kept dashing forward.

However, due to Karla’s relationship with Ayla, Lulu’s interest in Karla was waning. And before such a Lulu, someone appeared who looked only at her, loved her to the point of burning themselves, and would celebrate even if she connected with someone else.

In the end, Lulu realized.

That compared to Karla, I loved her much more.

But do I not love you?

“Ah…!”

As if realizing now.

“Ah… Ah…! I’m sorry… I’m sorry…!”

Without looking at herself.

“I’m sorry for saying ugly things… I’m so… so sorry… for almost treating your heart like trash… sorry…!”

Erasing Karla and others from her mind, Lulu embraced me.

“Because I liked someone like Karla…! I’m sorryyyyy…!! Huaaahhh…!!!”

Feeling joy at the fact that a man who truly loved only her had appeared, and regret for almost treating my heart like garbage, Lulu experienced both emotions simultaneously.

Tears streaming down, she embraced me tighter than I did her, continuing, “I… I love you so much…!!” With that, Lulu, who had feelings for Carla, disappeared. Although Lulu had never seen me romantically, she still held a liking for me, so her heart quickly turned towards me. Since Carla and I were only a paper’s width apart to begin with, driving the wedge like this would be the end of it.

Though abrupt, Lulu, who had been mentally unstable and was growing indifferent towards Carla, needed someone else.

As a result, a gap formed in Lulu’s mistaken love, and I seized the opportunity.

Thus, Lulu’s heart shifted towards me.

Rather than someone like Carla, who didn’t even look at herself, she turned to a man who looked at her, cared for her happiness alone.

Now, halfway to the success of the plan.

“Lulu… rest now… You must be tired…”

“Sob… Mm… See you tomorrow… Promise me… you’ll marry me…?”

“…Of course. Sleep well, Lulu.”

“Mm…”

As Lulu’s eyes gradually closed, she let out a short sound in response to my words.

The idea of marriage is a bit bothersome, but it doesn’t matter since we’ll be separated anyway.

If we end things here and hold out until the wizards come, Lulu and I will have our sweet ending.

But what I want is separation. That’s why there’s one more thing left.

-Whoosh!

I immediately turned my head to where Yustetia, who had been watching us, was.

And indeed, Yustetia was still observing us.

Moreover, with a face full of ‘interest.’

Originally, I intended to settle things with just Carla, but with Yustetia’s help, the separation will be even smoother.

Carefully laying Lulu on the floor, I quietly ascended to the second floor.

The fire continued to spread, but I wouldn’t go all the way to where Lulu was.

There wasn’t a sheet or anything in the center.

Knowing it was safe, I went up.

It was to ask Yustetia for a favor.