The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 35

Coloring (17)

At the tail end of the night, we returned to the church. The smell of blood that had lingered at the Clement mansion had long since been washed away by the cold dawn air.

She entered the church.

I followed her inside.

Estelle went upstairs to the second floor and took off her blood-stained black priestly robes in front of the bathroom.

The clothes were haphazardly tossed onto the floor.

It was like the shed skin of a snake.

On the black fabric, still-wet blood glistened stickily.

And then she entered the bathroom.

The sound of water quietly echoed inside the church.After a moment, she came out, changed into pristine white priestly robes.

As if nothing had happened, she had once again assumed the appearance of the Saintess.

All traces of the night had been erased.

Only her clothes and hair carried the scent of night dew and a faint tobacco smell.

For three days, it was strangely peaceful.

Except, that is, for the city buzzing with rumors that a retired priest had been murdered again.

People poured out their own conjectures.

It was the work of heretics, the doing of a demon, an internal power struggle within the Church.

People weren't interested in the truth.

They merely needed interesting stories.

As always, we woke up in the morning, drank coffee, and headed to the Academy side by side.

We attended classes, ate lunch, returned to the church, had dinner together, and went to bed together.

And on the morning of the fourth day.

Before heading to the Academy, Estelle stopped at the church door.

She didn't open the door lightly as usual.

She simply gazed at the heavy wooden door without a word.

I stood beside her, waiting for her to speak.

The surroundings were silent.

In the distance, the faint chirping of birds announced the first dawn.

The air was cold and clean.

The darkness was thinning, and the outlines of the world were gradually revealing themselves.

"From today, I'll have to go alone."

Estelle finally spoke.

Her voice was as usual, but tinged with a very subtle weariness.

"I told you last time, didn't I?

That the old men had given me a task.

I have to go burn all those heretics."

She said, shrugging her shoulders.

Her tone was light, as if she were off to do some overdue homework.

"Strangely, those old folks are rushing me a lot this time.

Or maybe the heretics are holding some grand festival, who knows.

Just thinking about it is a bit annoying."

She turned back to me.

Her red eyes sparkled quite beautifully.

"When I get back, let's go to the house where I used to live."

Her voice had grown a little softer.

She seemed a little shy, somehow.

Like a girl asking someone out on a date for the first time.

Her cheeks appeared faintly red in the dawn light.

Maybe it's rose-tinted glasses.

Just as 'Lavin' and I had been infatuated with Seraphina, now Estelle was with me.

She laughed playfully and lightly pinched my cheek.

"How many days do you think it'll take?"

"Well, at least more than three days, I think."

She stood in front of me, gazing at me for a moment.

And without a word, she lightly hugged me.

"I'll be back."

I stood there for a while.

The day that followed was strangely long.

There was no one to eat breakfast with.

It was natural, yet her absence felt unusually large.

The bathroom no longer smelled of apples.

It just felt like only the damp, cold scent of weeds remained.

I went downstairs alone to the first floor and brewed coffee.

The series of actions; grinding beans, putting them in the filter, and pouring hot water felt awkward.

As always, I prepared two cups.

One remained as is, but as I reached to add sugar to the other, I stopped.

My hand, holding the sugar bowl, hovered in the air for a moment.

I just placed two cups of black, bitter coffee on the table.

One cup in front of me, the other in front of the empty chair.

Steam rose, wafting into the air and dissipating.

Coffee drunk in front of an empty chair was tasteless.

I went to the Academy alone.

The path we always walked together felt distant when I walked it alone.

The students' gazes were still on me, but Estelle was not within those gazes today.

Perhaps because the distinguished Saintess wasn't by my side, their whispers weren't particularly audible.

Classes were boring.

The professor's voice was like distant noise.

I just stared out the window.

The sky was gray, and the clouds looked heavy.

Lunch was also alone.

I sat on the garden bench where I always sat and chewed on the hard bread.

The bread tasted of nothing.

It was merely a lump to fill my stomach.

With Estelle gone, there was no one to light my cigarette.

I fidgeted with the cigarette pack in my pocket.

The hard corner of the pack was felt at my fingertips.

I took out a cigarette and put it in my mouth.

But I didn't light it.

I just held the unlit cigarette in my mouth like that.

It was quite a long day.

The second day was not much different from the previous one.

I woke up in the morning, brewed coffee, and walked the Academy hallways.

I attended classes and ate a tasteless lunch alone.

I roamed the Academy like a ghost.

I existed, yet it felt as if I didn't.

After all classes ended, I left the Academy to return to the church.

The sky was still ash-gray, and the air was damp as if it would rain at any moment.

With every gust of wind, the bare branches clashed together, making sounds.

Just as I was about to enter a narrow alleyway on the path to the church.

As it was the season when the sun set early, the alley was already dark.

Suddenly, someone blocked my path.

It was Levina.

She was dressed in her usual neat school uniform, but she had a sword at her waist and a robe draped over her body.

Her face was as rigid as ever.

Without any explanation, she simply gestured towards the alley with her chin.

"Follow me, right now."

But I had no intention of following her.

I couldn't find a reason to take her hand and follow her.

I turned to leave that spot.

Before I could even utter "What are you doing?", Levina moved first, just as I was about to open my mouth.

In the blink of an eye, she surged into my space and brought a cold sensation to my neck.

It was the blade of a small dagger.

An ominous chill pierced my skin.

I held my breath.

Her hand was trembling.

Her hand, gripping the dagger, trembled ever so slightly.

That tremor was transmitted through the dagger's blade to my neck.

I could feel the dagger's blade digging deeper into my neck.

With just a little more force, it threatened to tear my skin and sever my blood vessels.

"Just follow me. Before I really kill you.

If it comes to this, I'll kill you with my own hands."

She gritted her teeth and whispered.

Her voice, like her hand, was trembling.

I didn't answer.

I merely stared straight into her eyes.

Her always calm eyes were shaking madly.

Levina slightly pulled back the dagger's blade.

And then, with her palm, she slapped my cheek.

Smack!

A sharp sound echoed in the alley.

My head snapped to the side.

The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

My cheek was hot.

"I told you."

Her voice was trembling low.

It was a voice mixed with anger, desperation, and something unidentifiable.

"Even one wrong step, and you'll be more than dead."

She grabbed me by the collar.

"I clearly told you to stay away from Estelle, that crazy bitch."

Somehow, I felt that if I were with Estelle, dying wouldn't matter.

At the very least, Estelle was the only one who picked me up after I was kicked out of the family and abandoned by Seraphina, and treated me like a human being.

Of course, I would be dying alone, but Estelle would definitely grieve for me sincerely.

Unlike my distinguished former fiancée and former master, who were meaningless no matter how many years I clung to them.

I didn't want to be led anywhere by Levina's hand.

Her help always came with a price.

"Don't be foolish. There's no place for you to go back to."

Still gripping my collar, she spoke almost in a whisper.

Urgency was palpable in her breath.

"In the place you've been staying, inquisitors sent by the Church are already waiting.

Even if you say you didn't do it, no one will believe you.

A heretic who bewitched the Saintess, a Satan, a male prostitute.

I don't know what they'll call you, but the outcome will be the same.

You'll turn to ash on the pyre."

She rapidly spilled out her words.

"No matter how corrupt those old men of the Church are, do you think they didn't know an abomination like you was clinging to their precious Saintess?

Those disgusting bastards deliberately left you alone.

Once they thought she'd gone far enough, they'd use you to try and rein in our idiotic Saintess.

Of course, that crazy bitch won't be reined in by that, but either way, if you go back now, you'll die. For sure."

"If that's the case, is there any way for me to survive?"

I belong to the rather weak category.

Weaker even than Seraphina, and Levina standing before me.

Right now, I might be physically stronger, but I don't even know how to use magic.

"...At the very least, we have to get out of here."

Levina's answer offered no solution.

Regrettably.

At any rate, she said that and began to seize my arm and pull.

Her grip was rough and urgent.

There was no time to resist.

I was numbly dragged along by her.

We ran through the narrow alleyway, into the darkness.

Only our ragged breaths filled the alley.

Like a dying flame.

Looking at her back, I barely managed to open my mouth.

My voice didn't come out properly.

"...Why, exactly?"

Why were you trying to save me?

Though the words didn't come out completely, Levina seemed to understand.

"..."

Because, at my question, I felt Levina's back stiffen for a moment.

Her footsteps faltered for a very brief moment.

"You're... not my brother..."

She seemed about to answer, but ultimately closed her mouth.

As if she couldn't bring herself to utter it.

Levina didn't turn her head.

She simply gripped my wrist even tighter and ran faster.