episode_0060

Shoo-

The two girls looked at each other in the dim darkness, listening to the sound of rain falling outside the window.

Flash!

Occasionally, lightning flashed, illuminating the room and casting dark shadows on their faces.

Two people whose relationship can no longer be called friends.

The girls stared at the face of the person they once cherished most, overcome with complex emotions.

“Tell me, Tirisia.”

The first to speak was Lucica Rapisle.

She leaned against the wall, crossed her arms, and glared at Tirisia with a quizzical expression.

“Why did you betray Erto?”

“Yeah… ”

As if it was a question she had fully expected, Tirisia nodded and answered.

“The curse of charm that Kelg Durakal has placed on me… ”

“… ”

“You can’t just say it’s because of that.”

“Yeah, if everything was caused by that one curse that makes you fall in love, I wouldn’t even be asking this question.”

“Yeah.”

Her pink eyes glared at Tirisia fiercely, firing their guns in the darkness.

“What’s important isn’t the attraction, but your attitude after you find someone you love more than Erto.”

“… ”

“Tirisia, were you the kind of person who would do such a terrible thing to Erto just because you had someone you loved more? Did the curse forcefully erase your guilt? Or did it simply bring out your hidden nature? What do you think?”

“That’s… ”

Tyrisia lowered her gaze and became lost in thought.

After a while, the answer came out of her mouth.

“To be honest, I don’t know. How much of it was my true self… Was I out of my mind because of the fascination… Was my reason being ruled by my emotions, or was that my true self, intoxicated with happiness… The line isn’t clear. I don’t know.”

“Hmm, I guess so.”

Lucica nodded, came closer to Tirisia, and threw out a new topic.

“Then what about this assumption? What if you fell in love with another man while you were dating Erto, not because of attraction, but just because you were dating him? What if that man ordered you to betray Erto like Duracal? Do you think you would have done the same thing then?”

“Lucica, that’s… ”

Tyrissia closed her eyes for a moment, lost in thought.

The jade colored eyes that had opened again stared at Lucica with a clear expression.

“This may sound shameless, but… If it weren’t for the Curse of Attraction, I would never have loved anyone other than Erto in my entire life. I can be sure of that. You don’t have to believe me. But I want to say that at least, with my pride and conscience on the line.”

At the confident statement, Lucica also nodded, her expression slightly relaxed.

“… Yes, I can honestly agree with that. I’ve been watching you and Erto for a long time… I knew full well that you two had a relationship that could never be broken in a normal way. That’s why I gave up on Erto.”

“… Thank you for trusting me, Lucica.”

Tirisia smiled bitterly, but Lucica snorted and continued speaking.

“But it is difficult to apply that assumption to the current situation. It is meaningless to say now that it would not have happened if there had been no fascination. The reality we are in now is that the impossible situation actually happened. There were victims who were deeply hurt. So discussing the possibility in the ideal does not help solve the current situation.”

Tirisia also nodded in agreement.

“… Yeah, you’re right.”

“In the end, no matter what the cause was, it is true and reality that you voluntarily betrayed that guy because you loved someone more than Erto.”

“Yeah… ”

“You didn’t even pretend to feel heartbroken while watching Erto being miserably destroyed right before your eyes.”

“Yeah… ”

“Erto didn’t resist at all when he said that he would burn it as firewood for the person he loved more now, since it was now a small love from the past.”

“Yeah… ”

“I know your personality, Tirisia. You are the kind of person who thought you truly loved that person, and would give your heart to him if he asked you to. A kind, devoted, sacrificial, loving person who would accept anything the person you love says. That would be Tirisia Brewerd. I know you so, so well.”

“… ”

As Lucica’s words were repeated, Tirisia’s gaze gradually lowered.

“But even so, you shouldn’t do that to Erto. He was still a man you truly loved. You shouldn’t betray someone you’ve cherished and cared for for so long in such an ugly way.”

“… ”

“If your love with Erto was real, you should have at least broken up properly. You shouldn’t have hurt him. You should have broken up with Erto first and then gone to that man. Why did you leave after ruining the heart that you had been in for so long? Unless you were brain-numbed, you should have refused such an unreasonable order.”

At Lucica’s reprimand, Tirisia lowered her head and spoke in a crawling voice.

“… I’m sorry. I have nothing to say. I was just… so stupid.”

“Haa… I see.”

Lucica took her hand out of the armrest and glared at Tirisia.

“The worst is Durakal, but the next worst is you. Tirisia.”

“… ”

“You are clearly a victim, but you are also a perpetrator. And the perpetrator who hurt Erto… must take responsibility. I think it is selfish to want to offset the guilt and move on because you are also a victim. Do you agree? Tirisia.”

“… I agree.”

“Okay, I won’t say anything more since it’s up to you to figure out how to repay that sin. Personally, I think it’s impossible.”

“I’m looking for a way…”

“Keuheung―”

Stretching her arms above her head, Lucica stretched out, then sat down on the bed and brought up a new topic.

“Up to this point, you’ve probably already talked to Ertorang… Don’t we have more to say?”

“… Yeah.”

Tyrisia, who had a feeling what would come out of Lucica’s mouth, waited silently for her question.

“The day you were expelled from the academy… the day we dueled. I got beaten up by you and you completely played me with your words.”

“I’m so sorry… Lucica.”

Tirisia immediately bowed her head and apologized, but Lucica held out her palm to stop her.

“Before I hear your apology, there’s something I need to confirm. Tirisia.”

“What is that?”

Lucica smiled faintly, her rosy eyes piercing into her face.

“How much of what you said back then was Durakal’s trick and how much was your true heart?”

What she was asking about was the story of the verbal abuse her friend had poured out on her.

Not only did he knock her down without hesitation, but Tirisia left with a deep knife stuck in her chest.

Lucica wanted to know if such actions really came from her heart.

“The trick Duracal used on you was to make you love him more than Erto. In other words… This doesn’t really have anything to do with me, right?”

“… ”

Tirisia listened to Lucica’s words in silence.

“There’s no way Durakal would have ordered you to say such things… So, can I assume that the words you said to me were purely your own thoughts and true feelings? Tirisia.”

“Lucica… Back then… Really… ”

“I told you it’s too early to apologize. Answer me.”

“읏… ”

At Lucica’s urging, Tirisia nodded with her eyes tightly shut, feeling like she was being beaten.

“Yeah… You’re absolutely right, Lucica. I would have done anything for Durakal back then… but there was absolutely no reason for it to have to be in a way that hurt you. I got annoyed at you… hit you… and said mean things to you because I’m a piece of shit. There’s no excuse.”

Lucica let out a deep sigh as she watched Tirisia admit her sins.

“Haa… Yeah, honestly, I wanted to deny it too, but I couldn’t. Since we’ve been friends for so long and have built up a bond, I wanted to believe that what I heard was something I was hypnotized or manipulated into coming out of.”

“Lucica… ”

“But there is no such easy reality. ‘Ahaha! What, you were manipulated? Then it’s not my fault! Let’s be friends again, Tiring!’… It might be better to forgive easily like that… Our story can’t have such a convenient conclusion, right?”

Tirisia felt some pain in her chest and appealed to Lucica, pressing it against her T-shirt.

“What I did to you was completely my fault, without a doubt… It was because I was a selfish and bad person… ”

“Huh―yeah.”

Lucica sat on the bed, hugging one knee and staring at her quietly.

“I shouldn’t have done that. I was so… stupid.”

“So you admit that it was all your true feelings? We seemed to be on good terms, but you actually looked down on me and thought I was a coward who couldn’t express his love properly?”

“… I think I was angry at the time and said some harsh things. I definitely wasn’t ignoring you all the time, Lucica, but I don’t know if you’ll believe me… ”

Lucica laughed mockingly at Tirisia, resting her cheek on her knee.

“Well, it’s a bit hard to believe what you say. After all, it was your decision to say those words, and once you say them, you can’t take them back. To me, that’s your true feelings that I can’t forget, Tirisia.”

“… I see.”

Tirisia lowered her head as if in resignation.

“Even if it’s late… Will you accept my apology now? Lucica.”

“Wait a minute, I’m not done talking yet.”

“… ?”

Tirisia suddenly jumped up from her seat and looked at Lucica approaching her.

Lucica, who had come within arm’s reach, looked up at Tirisia’s face and smiled more playfully than ever.

“We’ve been living together for so long, so we can shake off that level of fighting, right?”

“Huh… ?”

“I understand your position, and in some ways, I feel sorry for you. I mean it.”

“That, so…?”

At Lucica’s words that gave her a glimmer of hope, Tirisia’s complexion brightened slightly.

but,

“But, Tirissia, do you know why I can never forgive you and accept you?”

“―”

Hope fell into the abyss of despair in an instant, and Tirisia swallowed her shock and listened to Lucica’s words.

She looked up at Tirisia with a mischievous smile.

“The opportunity I thought would never come, came to me, Tirisia.”

“Uh.”

“The enemy who had no way to win blew himself up and left the place empty.”

“Ru, Lucica… ”

It was neither an accusation nor a joke.

“I finally have hope for the love I’ve endured for so long, but who do you think I’d forgive you and bring you back to Erto? Huh? Tirissia.”

What Lucica is doing now is,

Declaration of victory.

“I don’t want to hear an apology from you. Rather, I want to express my gratitude. Because you stupidly abandoned Erto, you created the possibility for me to love you.”

It was a heartless mockery and twisted praise addressed to the loser.

“Thank you so much Tiring, Erto, who doesn’t hate people that much, truly fell for you. I’m truly happy that you, who couldn’t be broken by any other means, were shattered so miserably. Now I’ll fill Erto’s heart. You just watch quietly from a place I can’t reach, you slacker♡ Ahaha♡”

“Ah… Lucica… Aah… ”

Looking at Lucica, who was covering her mouth with her hand and laughing at herself, Tirisia felt an irreversible sense of despair and deprivation.

There was absolutely no anger towards the girl giggling in front of me.

All that swirls in my mind is endless regret.

Because all of this was a result of my own hands.

It wasn’t Lucica’s fault.

She is now just being honest with her heart.

It was you who committed the sin.

Therefore, the only one I could blame was my past self who made wrong decisions.

“Why did you become a dumb person who ate honey? Tirisia, don’t you have something to say? Huh?”

Lucica looked up at Tirisia and placed a hand on her waist as if to urge her to react.

“… I’ll go back.”

Tirisia turned her back on Lucica with a look of dismay on her face.

Lucica’s farewell was heard from behind, along with a snort.

“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to tell you the most. I’m done with business.”

“… Lucica.”

Tirissia rested her hand on the windowsill and looked back at her precious lost friend.

Gureuk-

A single tear ran down her white cheek.

“Even if you won’t forgive me… I’ll still apologize. I’m truly sorry.”

“… ”

Lucica looked at her with a hardened expression for a moment, then,

“Yeah, I won’t be seeing you anymore, but take care of yourself too. Tirisia.”

With a bitter smile, I bid a sincere farewell to Tirisia.

“Hello, Lucica.”

hook-

Tirisia ran out the window, dripping sparkling water droplets down her chin, and disappeared into thin air without a sound.

The end of a long friendship.

A relationship that left both parties deeply hurt and ended in a twisted way.

The pain brought about by that miserable ending deeply bruised Tyrisia’s heart.

“Ugh… Ugh!”

She ran across the dawn sky, swallowing her tears.

last,

Lastly,

The place where he would use the last minutes given to him today was decided.

Because she hasn’t yet apologized to him for giving her everything.

Even if I have to wallow in the filth of the gutter, I have to struggle until the very end.

She hurried her steps towards the person she had once loved and still loved.

To Erto.

That was the only thought that came to mind.