episode_0162

When Priscilla, the female investigator, and the health teacher all left the health room, the room naturally became quiet.

The silence was so heavy that it felt like my whole body was becoming heavy even though I was just breathing, like when I was breathing in a thick fog.

“… … .”

After looking at the spot where the three people left for a moment, I removed the blanket I was covering and got down from the seat.

No matter how much medicine I took and recovered to a certain extent, the internal injuries did not go away that easily, so just standing up made me feel a numb pain all over my body.

But the pain couldn’t relieve my frustration.

“Ha… … .”

Even though I sighed as the ground disappeared, the feeling of frustration did not seem to get better.

Even when I got up from my seat, my tight stomach didn’t seem to loosen up.

Even when I opened the window, it was difficult to breathe.

“Stay by my side… … .”

He said he would stay by my side. From now on, I will be by your side… … .

Priscilla’s not funny words lingered in my head. If it had been in the past, it would have been said with a straight face. When did he decide to kill me, and now is he trying to deceive me with words like that?

No, it’s not like he made up his mind to kill him since he already killed him once. You killed it once, right? Those were words that would have made her scoff.

“What happens now… … .”

But now, strangely enough, I couldn’t smile at all.

Rather, I was angry. At the same time, I was sad.

“Don’t be funny… … .”

I gritted my teeth and tried to control my emotions as best as I could, but it was a meaningless action.

No matter how much I suppressed and controlled the emotions that started to burst out, they ran wild like a wild colt with no reins, and even though I held on to the reins, I couldn’t control them, only leaving scars on my hands.

As I approached the window, my legs gave out and I collapsed in place.

“Don’t make me laugh… … . Why, why are you saying that now… … .”

It’s like this again. It’s the same as back then. It was the same as when I met Ceria and when I became closer to Hermel.

Now, as if I was wrong in deciding to walk down the path of evil. As if telling me not to go down this road anymore.

He showed me and suggested countless paths that I could not walk, and sometimes he came to me and tried to lead me by holding my hand.

“Hmm… … . Ugh… … .”

My chest was tight and I couldn’t breathe. My face felt hot, and my vision became increasingly blurry.

It’s an emotion that could have been easily controlled in the past. No, you probably never felt this emotion in the first place.

It was because I had been with Hermel for too long. It’s because she got rid of all the emotions I had killed and filled their place with herself.

“No, hey… … .”

Hermel isn’t bad. Don’t blame her. You know that. Hermel did nothing wrong.

“Keuuuu… … . Ugh, huh… … .”

I tried to hold back my tears, but the tears that had already begun to flow started flowing freely before I could do anything about it.

I don’t know if it was because the hole through which I was leaking was too small, unlike the mountain of emotions, or because I was just in this situation where I couldn’t do anything, but I was so frustrated that I hit my chest with my fist.

Hoping to break this feeling of frustration even just a little, I hit my chest hard.

“Ugh, ugh… … .”

I hit it again and again. Until my heart throbs and my fists tingle.

In the end, I didn’t even have enough strength left to raise my arms, so I slammed my head into the wall and gritted my teeth.

“Asshole… … . Asshole… … . I can only cry this much… … . Now, now I’m trying to pretend to be nice or weak… … ?”

It’s the path you chose. What are you going to do if you regret it now? Are you going to at least apologize to the people you already killed? Or are you going to pay for what you’ve done so far?

What are you going to do with that? Anyway, this damned world is going to try to kill me one way or another. It will be destroyed one way or another. What difference does that make?

It’s all about self-satisfaction anyway. I’m doing this because I want to make you feel comfortable. If the outcome is the same, you decided to make a choice you wouldn’t regret. You decided to follow the path you chose.

“Okay… … . You were supposed to… … .”

As I was taking a deep breath and trying to control my emotions, I felt something drooling through my prayers.

“Coop, Coop… … .”

The moment the saliva entered the airway, a dry cough naturally broke out.

“Keheuk, ugh, great!”

But strangely, the coughing didn’t stop, and eventually I covered my mouth and took a deep breath, feeling the pain that felt like my lungs were going to burst.

Gulp.

“Pugh!”

At the sound of a squishing sound and the feeling of sticky, hot liquid wetting my hand and near my mouth, I slowly removed my hand from my mouth and took a shallow breath.

The fishy smell of blood and unpleasant heat lingered around my mouth.

“… … .”

Should I say it’s thanks to that? The heated emotions cooled down as quickly as they had heated up.

As if I was intoxicated by the strong smell of blood, I blinked blankly as I stared at the blood soaking my hands, then quietly lowered my head and looked at the floor.

Red stains were staining the pure white floor.

“Ha… … .”

I sighed quietly, feeling literally mixed emotions, and used water magic to clean up all the blood from my mouth, hands, and floor, then opened the window and used fire magic to evaporate it all.

A hazy blood-mixed fog flickered before my eyes and was blown away by the wind, and I slowly continued to think with my mind somewhat clearer after vomiting blood.

“Yes, a choice without regrets.”

Walking the path suggested by someone and regretting the path you took, and walking the path you chose and taking responsibility for it in the end.

If you have two options and you have to choose anyway… … . Isn’t it obvious what you have to choose?

Even if I express my regrets, I will decide the path I will take. This is the path I started walking with that intention in mind, and this is the relationship I ended with that decision.

If you decide to live inhumanely, you will do so until the end. Even if the end is cruel and ugly. You won’t have any regrets.

“… … Princess Charlotte?”

“Ah! Move as you please again! I told you to take it easy!”

When I turned around at the sound of an angry voice somewhere, the faces of the public health teacher and the male investigator, Terra Earningston, who had opened the door of the health room and entered, caught my eye.

“I’m sorry. It’s so frustrating, so stop… … .”

I smiled faintly and slowly went back to bed.

Nothing much happened after that. No, something special happened, but it wasn’t like there was a setback to my plans or anything.

I was told by the health teacher just how my body was doing and that I should continue taking medicine or go to a cathedral, a reputable potion maker, or a large doctor’s office to get proper treatment.

“Oh, right. I heard this in passing, but if you are familiar with Professor Priscilla, wouldn’t it be okay to ask Professor Priscilla to make a potion?”

“I didn’t tell you just now because I thought you probably wouldn’t be shocked to hear that I ended up like this. I will try to tell you in a separate message later.”

“Ah… … . I see.”

As I was having this conversation with the health teacher, Earnings Stone, who had been sitting quietly next to me, spoke in a low voice.

“Excuse me. For sure… … . I heard that you are related by blood to Princess Charlotte and Marquis Priscilla. Is that correct?”

“Did you even investigate that?”

“In order to conduct an investigation, the basic premise is to know all the information about the other party… … .”

After looking at him with an expression of shame on his face for a moment, I sighed quietly and nodded.

“Yes. that’s right. Professor Priscilla and I are related. Professor Priscilla is my aunt.”

“Umm… … . Well, I don’t know if I can say this… … .”

“Hehe, my aunt and I don’t look alike.”

Unlike mine, whose eyes are downcast, Priscilla’s eyes look like they’re glaring even when she’s still.

Besides that, hair color and other things. It would be much quicker to find similarities between Priscilla and I than similarities. Because there probably isn’t one.

“By the way, why did Professor Priscilla never mention his relationship with the princess?”

“He was probably worried that people would say that I received preferential treatment. No, my aunt said so herself, so it must be true.”

While the public health teacher and I were talking, Earningstern, who had been listening quietly, stood up and lowered his head.

Has it finally come? I looked at him with my mouth closed, and slowly blinked as I listened to the words that came out of Earneststone’s mouth.

“Sorry. My shortcomings and assumptions caused the princess trouble.”

The health teacher who was assessing the situation next to me looked at him and me alternately with a shocked face. I just smiled slightly and shook my head.

“It’s okay. The investigation isn’t over yet, and the real culprit hasn’t been caught, right? So, it is not impossible to understand that arrows are coming back at me, the most likely suspect.”

“I am deeply grateful to the Princess for her understanding. Also, I apologize.”

I smiled at those words and shook my head lightly.

“As I said before, I did not forgive you and that female investigator without any consequences. And this matter will be officially reported to the royal family after all investigations are completed. Please go and talk then.”

“Yes. Okay.”

After saying that, Erningston raised his head, sat down, looked straight at me, and continued speaking.

“And I know that saying this is really shameless and unexpected. Could you please listen?”

“Yes, it’s just a matter of listening, it’s not difficult.”

“Contrary to my thoughts, this incident was a big one that would have been difficult to resolve with just my junior and I. In order to avoid creating another victim in the future, I hope that the princess will help with this investigation.”

He said that and kept his mouth shut. The teacher sitting right next to me seemed to have roughly caught the flow of the story, but his face was filled with indescribable anger.

Of course, because she was an outsider, she didn’t say anything and just glared at Earningstern quietly.

“… … Really, it’s such a random and shameless thing to say.”

“… … .”

“But, I like it. He even bowed his head like that to me, who was a prime suspect. I think I said this too… … . I like people who take pride in their work and work hard.”

I said that and smiled brightly. Earningstern quietly lowered his head at my words.

“Thank you so sincerely.”

In this way, I was able to step aside as a suspect in this investigation and naturally insert a third party, ‘another real culprit,’ into the investigation.

With this, this investigation will fall further and further into the labyrinth. This is because the third party, the real culprit, who is on the list of suspects, is a non-existent person.

However, it was a little surprising that he recruited me. He has all the evidence perfectly prepared and is the kind of person who hangs a noose around my neck while I stand far behind.

You don’t necessarily need my help. However, the fact that you asked me for help… … .

‘Friends close, enemies closer… … .’

It’s really sad to see him trying so hard to get his head around it, and things may get a little more complicated in the future, but I don’t really care.

Anyway, this is something that can be overcome soon.

“Please take care of me in the future.”

Even though everything was going well, I wasn’t happy at all.

Strangely enough.