The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 55

It was a childish appearance, completely unlike her usual unperturbed demeanor.

At least 'Lavin' had never seen this side of Levina before.

"There's no one I can show this relaxed side to, and no one who would want to see it. It's the same for you, isn't it? Ah, I know it's my choice, of course."

She smiled faintly.

"Still, sometimes... it feels stifling somehow. It's not that I feel hollow, or anything like that; it's just how it is."

Levina picked up a pen from the desk and continued speaking softly, twirling it in one hand. The pen glided smoothly between her fingers.

"I wonder how much longer I have to wait, how much more I have to strive, before I can act without caring about my maternal relatives, Mother, you, and everything else around me. Even though you're by my side, and it feels like I'm almost there."

At her words, I asked softly.

"So, what exactly are you trying to say?"

At my words, Levina shrugged and smiled.She stopped twirling the pen and gently placed it on the desk.

"It's meaningless nonsense. A sister can complain to her younger sibling, can't she?"

We were silent for a moment.

Sunlight streamed into the room through the window, illuminating the dust motes.

I didn't want to hear Levina's voice.

It wasn't that I disliked it, but I just didn't want to hear it.

It was as if I was slowly suffocating, somehow.

"Estelle told me. Ah, you might not know if I just say Estelle. The Saintess."

Levina opened her mouth again.

"That maid is almost fully recovered now. Once she's ready, I'll let the two of you meet."

Roughly three days passed after Levina left the room.

For three days, I didn't leave my room.

Levina would occasionally bring me tasteless food she claimed to have cooked herself in the dining room, saying I needed to eat something warm, and she would drop by once in a while to check my complexion.

And as promised, she arranged a private meal for Lineta and me.

It was a small dining room in the mansion.

Perhaps it wasn't used much normally, as it smelled of old wood and incense trying to cover up the scent of dust.

I had arrived first and was already seated.

Not long after, the door opened and Lineta entered.

She was wearing a white dress.

It wasn't the worn-out maid uniform she used to wear in the annex.

Her face was still pale, but she looked healthier than before.

"Young Master! Oh, no, that's not right. We decided I'd call you Lavin, didn't we? It's good to see you after so long, Lavin! Honestly, I'm so happy I can't even express it in words right now."

Lineta spoke, smiling brightly as she used to.

But her smile was unnatural somehow.

Like a well-drawn painting, it lacked vitality.

"I never thought the Young Mistress would do something like this for me. I guess... I've made it, haven't I! To celebrate, I'll buy you lots of delicious things in the capital sometime! Because Young Master, you always like being treated to food!"

She sat in the chair opposite me.

Servants quietly brought in the food.

It was warm soup, freshly baked bread, and a delicious-looking steak.

We began to eat in silence.

Only the clinking of knives and forks against the plates echoed through the dining room.

"By the way, how have you been?"

Lineta was the first to break the silence.

"I just... spent my time reading books in my room. And you?"

"Me? Well, I was lying down all day, you know..."

Lineta picked up her knife to cut the steak, then paused for a moment.

"How's your body?"

"Oh, I'm all better! I'm completely healthy now!"

She continued speaking, then glanced at me cautiously before resuming cutting her meat.

She hesitated several times, almost opening her mouth but then stopping.

"Young Master, no, Lavin."

Lineta said softly.

She kept her head bowed, looking only at her plate.

"You... don't resent me, do you?"

Her voice trembled faintly.

"Why would I?"

I asked back.

"Because... I tried to... kill you."

Lineta's voice grew softer and softer.

"It's fine. I snatched it and drank it myself."

At my reply, Lineta fell silent.

I changed the subject.

I didn't want to have such a gloomy conversation with Lineta.

In fact, I didn't want to have such a conversation with anyone else either, not just Lineta.

"By the way, was it uncomfortable living here? How's the main mansion?"

"Oh, yes! Definitely! I'd only heard that the main mansion was a big, lavish estate, but living here in person, it's a completely different experience. The annex was amazing enough to make my jaw drop when I first entered, but the main mansion is truly different."

Lineta said, as if in admiration.

"It is big."

I replied listlessly.

I didn't have many good memories in this mansion.

"And I met the Saintess for the first time! She was truly as beautiful as if she had stepped out of a painting. She even bestowed a blessing upon me."

She spoke as if genuinely happy, but her eyes weren't smiling.

Her eyes were somewhat vacant.

"Are there no other places that hurt?"

"Yes! The Saintess, hic, yes, I don't, I don't have any pain! The Saintess herself told me various stories by my side, prayed for me, and treated me, so everything is fine."

Lineta ate her food heartily, as if nothing was wrong.

Then, tears started to well up and flow.

She seemed unaware of it.

The tears streamed down her cheeks and fell onto her plate.

She made no move to wipe away her tears, merely continued silently cutting her steak.

"...Lineta."

I called her softly.

Lineta's hand paused for a brief moment.

"Yes?"

She tilted her head.

And then, idly, she touched her eye area.

Dampness clung to her fingers.

Only then did she seem to realize she was crying.

But she didn't panic.

She simply wiped away her tears with her sleeve, as if nothing had happened.

"This steak is really delicious. It's the kind of food I couldn't even imagine back where I used to live."

Lineta said, still wiping away her tears.

"The meat was always tough, so whenever you visited our house, we only served you hearty stew, didn't we? Young Master, you must have always eaten things like this since you were a child."

She continued speaking as if nothing was amiss.

Her voice was as bright as usual.

But I could feel the deep sorrow hidden behind that voice.

She stopped speaking for a moment and looked directly at me.

Her eyes were faintly trembling.

And Lineta said softly.

As if confessing a secret.

"I heard that... everyone in the village... died."

Her voice was so remarkably calm that it sounded almost unreal.

"I don't know why, but they said everyone was a heretic."

She cut another piece of steak and put it in her mouth.

"Actually, I didn't go to church often, so I don't really know. Our village was tucked away in such a remote corner that it took half a day just to go to church once. Could that have been the problem?"

Lineta spoke calmly.

Slowly, chewing a cut piece of steak very, very slowly.

"Since the Saintess herself said it, it must be true, right? The village chief was arrested, and everyone else was executed... but my mother."

Lineta couldn't continue.

She merely bit her lip.

Her shoulders were subtly trembling.

"I asked the Saintess what happened to my mother. But she just smiled faintly and didn't say anything at all."

I couldn't say anything.

It felt as though no words would reach her right now.

"The Young Mistress said that the Saintess herself led the knights from the church and carried out those deeds, but she wouldn't tell me anything more."

Lineta's lips were still curved upwards, but they were trembling uncontrollably. Her attempt to force a smile looked even more agonizing.

"Young Master, could it be that... because I met someone like you and became happy, I was punished for it? Or perhaps, for daring to harbor feelings, me, a lowly servant..."

Lineta started rambling incoherently.

Her voice became increasingly choked with sobs.

"And for daring to try and kill you, failing at even that, and trying to die alone to end it all, did God punish me with divine retribution? Lavin, by choosing my mother, the villagers, instead of you... Is that why everyone..."

She couldn't finish her sentence, her voice trailing off, and she once again began to cut the steak in front of her.

As if nothing had happened.

But her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably, making it difficult not only to cut with a knife but even to pick something up with a fork.

"Lineta."

"...Yes."

"Just the two of us. Only us. Let's run away, anywhere you like?"

At those words, Lineta replied with a smile.

"I can't go anywhere, Young Master. Lavin, we can't go anywhere."