The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 111

Afterimage (22)

The world feels strange.

Too much time has passed since I surrounded myself with such abnormal and unusual things.

So much so that I can no longer even fathom what it means to live a normal life.

Perhaps that's why the front lines, facing the demons, felt comfortable.

It was a place where normal humans became abnormal, or perhaps, for me, it transformed into a normal place.

It's not that there are no normal humans, but it seems there are far more people who used to be normal but are now changing.

A few days ago, the female knight always by Kyle's side, perhaps due to accumulated stress, sliced to death a soldier who had spewed lewd remarks at her.

And she did it openly, in a place with many onlookers.

She might have come by choice, but that soldier was likely dragged here; if it had just been flogging or three days of starvation, everyone would have understood.Thanks to that, the commoners' attitude towards us these days was not very good.

Though even if it wasn't good, it wasn't any different from when the atmosphere was favorable.

Because even in this dire situation, our lodgings and food were completely different.

I don't know exactly how the soldiers are faring either.

Probably no one knows except Kyle and the people sticking to his side.

There likely aren't many high-ranking officials who care much about mere meat shields that can be conveniently used.

Anyway, rumors spread that each time refugees poured in, more than twice the number of demons seemed to arrive; as days passed, deserting soldiers, claiming they wanted to spend their last moments with family, were not few, and there wasn't a day without a fight.

Though for me, it was a story I couldn't care less about.

"La- Lavin."

Seraphina, somehow glancing at me, opened her mouth.

"Luckily, I got all the cake ingredients, and I asked a soldier who used to work at a bakery to ba- bake a cake… Want to eat it together…?"

"Yeah, I'll eat it. The cake sounds delicious."

I replied.

At those words, Seraphina's face brightened considerably.

"Ri-Right? I prepared it diligently because you seemed a bit too de- depressed lately!"

Seraphina headed off somewhere for a moment, then soon returned with a rustic cake placed on a round tray.

Seraphina, who would have been shocked by such a large amount if it were before, was now staring intently at the cake, saliva gathering in her mouth, making a "churp" sound.

At this rate, I wondered if I was actually stealing her food.

There was no cream or fruit on top, but it was surely several times better than the tough bread that couldn't be eaten without soaking it in the stew we crammed into our mouths every day.

Since there was no usable knife or plate to portion it out, we simply tore the bread roughly with a suitable fork and shared it, but it was somehow very enjoyable.

A sweet, soft taste lingered on my tongue.

"By the way, I heard the Saintess and that Family Head fought over you a few days ago… Is that true?"

Seraphina asked, munching on her cake.

"They didn't fight over me."

"Then what?"

"Neither of them has a particularly normal personality.

It just seems the rumor spread that way because I was in the middle, trying to stop them."

"......Really? I, I somehow feel like I know why the Saintess fought with the Family Head.

Because I know what that un-Saint-like person thinks of you."

"You think you know?"

"Lady Levina doesn't look at you normally.

I don't know ho- how to describe it… but sometimes it's just unpleasant.

In some ways… honestly, it feels worse than the Saintess."

Seraphina's complexion looked somewhat unhealthy.

Was the Levina of her childhood also an unpleasant memory for her?

"W- Well, she wasn't normal even as a child, so I just tr- try to take it as it is."

Indeed, Seraphina had often been subjected to what was almost harassment from Levina.

To the point where hating Levina was almost natural.

As we were spending time together, eating the rustic cake, someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

After a short while, the door opened, and someone entered.

It was Kyle.

"Knocking isn't announcing that you're entering; it's asking for permission to enter."

"Unfortunately I'm terribly uneducated, you see."

Kyle replied.

His face was etched with fatigue.

"Get out. Can't you see we're busy?"

I put down the fork with which I was eating the half-eaten cake and said.

Kyle didn't reply to my words, and just stated his business.

"You need to come right now."

As I rose from my seat, Kyle continued speaking.

"Not you, Seraphina."

"At least tell us why."

Seraphina said to Kyle.

"......The demons who retreated last time, this time they've invaded in triple the scale."

"Right now, of all times?

Or perhaps you only believe the refugees' words now that you see them, after dismissing them as nonsensical rambling from uneducated, fear-stricken commoners."

"We're discussing whether to retreat from here or block them no matter what, so don't waste time and come quickly.

His Highness also said so."

Kyle ignored me and spoke.

"Is Seraphina that important?"

"Without her, it wouldn't be strange to lose at any moment."

At those words, I said with a smile on my face.

"If losing a battle can happen just because one person is missing, shouldn't you just accept defeat?"

Kyle merely looked at me, saying nothing in response.

I grabbed the hem of Seraphina's clothes as she tried to rise, and made her sit down again.

"Instead of talking about such trivial things, finish the cake with me. You went through so much trouble to get these, Seraphina."

"La- Lavin. Even so……"

I cut Seraphina off, drew closer to her, and hugged her tightly so she couldn't stand up.

"We barely managed to block the last invasion, but will we be able to block it this time?

Even though our numbers have decreased, the demons have reportedly tripled."

I picked up a small piece of cake stuck on my fork, put it into Seraphina's mouth, and said.

"This, how many more times can we eat it? Unless the demons retreat, huh?"

Seraphina hadn't even finished chewing, but I kept picking up cake with the fork and shoving it into her mouth.

Since she ate everything I gave her, there was a certain pleasure in feeding her.

"Everyone's going to die soon anyway, so spend your last moments with someone you love. You too."

I said to Kyle.

Kyle merely sighed as if slightly suffocating, showing no passionate or irritable reaction.

Whether he had become numb, or was holding it in.

Each time the piece of cake I forcibly shoved in went into Seraphina's mouth, her cheeks puffed out.

Her face reddened somehow.

She gently pushed me away, who was hugging her tightly, and then stood up.

And then, about to speak, she swallowed the cake filling her mouth, and after patting her chest as if choking, opened her mouth.

"I, I still wish you, Lavin, would live a long life."

"It's okay if I don't live long."

Seraphina shook her head.

"You came all the way here because I'm precious to you, didn't you? To protect me."

At those words, I couldn't even think of a reply.

Whatever I said, it probably wouldn't have meant anything.

In that situation, saying it wasn't like that…

Seraphina followed Kyle out of the room just like that.

Somehow, I felt a sense of emptiness.

I could have stopped her if I wanted to, but when she wore that expression and said those words, I had no choice but to let her go.

Because I couldn't distinguish between the Seraphina of before and the Seraphina of now.

Each time they overlapped, my mouth wouldn't open properly.

After Seraphina left the room, I took out a cheap cigarette from my pocket, stuck it in my mouth, and lightly lit it.

Lately, I've felt a significant increase in my ability to handle spells.

Though not particularly powerful, it's like having an extra hand that moves exactly as I think.

Around evening, Levina came to my room.

Opening the door without knocking, she leaned against the doorframe, crossed her arms, and asked.

"Did you hear the news?"

"About the demons?"

"Yeah, they say they're coming in huge numbers."

"So, what nonsense are you going to spout now?"

"Because it seems everyone's going to die anyway."

"......That's the right thing to say, for once."

"Is it?"

She uncrossed her arms and walked into the room.

"If this place falls, Edelgard will be over too, and soon all the days of my childhood, all the days I've spent until now, will become useless."

And then she slowly got onto the bed.

"You're not bringing up marriage with Seraphina or Estelle, and you're not going out at night with them either, it's not because you have some defect in your reproductive organs, is it?"

"What new, brilliant bullshit are you going to pull now?"

"You were afraid of having a child in a place like this, weren't you? Because you're kind."

"Kindness or not, before that, what are you trying to say?"

"Hold my hand, hug me tightly, and kiss me. Then spend the night naked under the same blanket."

At that moment, I felt heat rush to my head and eyes, and I pressed hard on my eyelids.

"Why are you spouting bullshit again, you crazy bitch."

"Today, I held a meeting with the high-ranking nobles and well-fighting friends.

Since I'm nothing without the Edelgard family, I defied them.

Saying I'd stay here."

Levina said that, then burst into laughter, as if something was incredibly amusing.

"There aren't just one or two people like me; many responded positively.

Half decided to stay here. So, probably half will die soon, and the other half will die much later.

And I will die here."

Levina took off her white blouse.

She then approached me and placed her hand on my face.

"So die with me."

I gently took Levina's hand that was on my face, and turned her palm to face herself.

Then I rubbed the cigarette I had clamped in my mouth onto Levina's palm, extinguishing it.

"I have no intention of dying with you."

Because this time, I'll die first.

Anyway, Levina looked at me and smiled, not even frowning.

The faint smell of burning flesh permeated the room.

I stared blankly at her and said.

"Put on some clothes. I'll sleep with you."

Levina held out her palm, burned by the cigarette, to me and said.

"Hold my hand and sleep. All night long."

I think Levina said something similar when she was around ten years old.

I looked at Levina again.

She was still the same.