The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 90

Afterimage (1)

I opened my eyes.

A not-so-unfamiliar ceiling came into view.

It was my academy room.

The room was so thoroughly steeped in the acrid smoke of cheap tobacco that I wondered how I had ever lived in such a place.

Returning after death had, by this point, become quite familiar.

Still, dying itself never got any easier, no matter how many times it happened. Thanks to the powder Levina had given me, I didn't go painfully. Not that I was particularly grateful.

It felt as if the sensation of my limbs being severed and my neck cut still lingered.

When I felt my neck, spurred by a chilling sensation, there was blood.

Touching it with my fingertip, I found my neck was slightly cut. Very thinly, as if by a paper cut.I reached for a handkerchief from my pocket, but finding none, I wiped my neck with a convenient piece of white cloth I spotted nearby. Perhaps it was just a superficial cut, as no more blood stained the cloth after a short while.

It was a little unsettling, but then again, returning after death should be even more so, shouldn't it?

I casually tossed the bloodstained cloth onto the floor to be picked up later during cleaning.

Then I got up, stretched, and opened the window. I swept the rolling glass bottles, trash, and cigarette ash on the floor into a pile for the waste bin, then took a cheap stick of tobacco from my pocket and put it in my mouth.

And naturally, I used a spell with my finger to light it.

Fwosh.

Even after lighting the tobacco with the flame that erupted from my fingertip, a flame surprisingly larger than I'd expected, I somehow flinched in surprise.

For three years, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't cast a single spell, but after squandering my fortune and plundering peasants, I suppose this much magic is possible. Still, it wasn't something I'd want to do again.

Lineta's figure, walking naturally through the mansion, came to mind. I had never imagined she'd be the type of person to casually walk through a mansion strewn with blood and flesh fragments, striking up conversations.

The thought, Was there such a character in the original story?, crossed my mind, but since I could barely remember reality now, there was no way any 'original story' would remain in my head.

Looking back, even though I had tried to separate 'Lavin' and myself from the very beginning, I couldn't recall who I was, what my name was, what life I'd lived, or what kind of person I'd been. Yet, I had vaguely and indistinctly dismissed all of this as fake, never once doubting my own judgment.

I had never harbored such a doubt. It wasn't until I had died about five times that I even began to recall.

But even if I'm an idiot, I don't have dementia, and it hasn't been that long. There's no way things should be getting this hazy...

As I was pondering such thoughts, a translucent window appeared in mid-air.

[Collect the Ending. 5/?]

[Currently collected rewards: Lingering Trace, Afterimage, Traces, Lingering soul, □□]

[Reward: Love]

[Would you like to claim □□?]

I didn't want to see this right now, so I waved my hand, dismissing the translucent window floating in the air.

[Would you like to claim the reward for which you have already paid the price?]

The hazy window disappeared for a moment, then clearly reappeared before my eyes. This had never happened before, so I stumbled backward, tripped over a table, and fell.

Even after falling, the translucent window still hovered in the air before my eyes.

[Claim the reward you are rightfully owed.]

[Yes] [No]

Without realizing it, I gazed at the transparent window before me as if entranced, then pressed 'Yes'.

At the same moment, an image of myself, riding a horse with my robe pulled low, flashed past. Though there's no way I could ride a horse.

Then, a scene flashed by: myself collecting Seraphina, who lay dead, split in half, sewing her up with a needle for half a day, then laying her in a crude coffin and burying her. In that scene, I lightly dug into the soil with a spell and buried the coffin.

But Seraphina wouldn't have died in front of me.

An image of myself collecting what was unmistakably Estelle, though her form was unrecognizable after being mutilated by Demon's blades, putting her in a box, and burying her, flashed past.

Estelle couldn't have died in front of me.

Another scene flashed: Levina, sitting in the office, smiling brightly at me and saying something. When I shook my head, she took out a magic stone from her pocket and swallowed it. Soon after, Levina exploded, and a scene flashed where there wasn't a single spot in the room not stained red.

Levina mustn't die. So, she couldn't have died.

With the fleeting hallucinations and disorienting thoughts, a wave of nausea suddenly rose, and I rushed to the bathroom to dry heave.

"Ugh, cough! Gurgle..."

Fortunately, I hadn't eaten anything, so there was no mess. I had no strength to stand and remained slumped there for a long time. I didn't even have the energy to question the emotions and hallucinations that had just passed.

As I was sitting there in the bathroom for a long time, I heard the sound of the door opening, followed by a familiar voice.

"You call me, and then... Lavin? Not in your room?"

Footsteps walking into the room could be heard. Then they stopped right in front of the open bathroom door and discovered me.

Seraphina, looking at me with trembling eyes, held the bloodstained white cloth in her hand.

"La-Lavin! Are you hurt...?"

Seraphina dropped everything in her hands and approached me.

A faint scent of lilac brushed past my nose. Only then did the nausea that had been rising seem to subside a little.

For a long time, I looked at Seraphina's worried face, as she caressed her own cheek and gazed into my eyes. Then I staggered to my feet and lightly washed my face at the sink.

"No, I'm not hurt at all. So... why did you come?"

"Why did I come? You called me, Lavin."

"...Ah, I did, didn't I?"

"Are you hurt somewhere? Or are you sick?"

"Just fell and hit my head. I'll be fine after a little rest."

"Even so...!"

"Just wait a moment. I'll just quickly wash my face and come out."

Seraphina still looked at me with worried eyes and sat down to wait for me. Meanwhile, I rinsed my mouth, lightly brushed my teeth, and then came out of the bathroom.

I saw Seraphina staring at a letter lying on the table, not daring to touch it, like a dog told to wait in front of a treat.

I sat opposite her and said.

"It's a letter I wrote for you. Read it."

"Ah, yes. A-a letter written for me, you say."

Seraphina, with a blank expression, took the letter and was about to open the sealed part of the envelope, but then tucked it into her pocket.

"...You're not going to read it? You won't throw it away, will you?"

"Th-throw it away? Of course not! I-I'll go to my room and read it!"

She replied hastily at my words.

Then Seraphina lifted her head and looked at me. It was an awkward situation to even ask why she was looking at me.

And not long after, Seraphina started to cry. Tears flowed only from her right eye.

"Why, why am I doing this... My right eye feels strange. Something must have gotten into it."

With that, Seraphina got up from her seat as if fleeing.

"Th-uh, it seems neither of us is in a state to talk today..."

I got up from my seat, walked over to her, and took her hand.

"La-Lavin?"

Seraphina looked at me, startled.

"Want to go get some chocolate cookies together, for old times' sake?"

"Cookies...?"

"Yeah."

"I-I'll go."

Seraphina nodded, still crying as she wiped her tears with one sleeve. I held her hand and led Seraphina toward the bustling street.

Though I didn't know if I had any money in my wallet. It had been a long time since I'd worried about money, and the sensation felt unfamiliar.

The streets were full of people, bustling and vibrant with life. Feeling somewhat awkward, I walked around, glancing about like a country bumpkin who had just arrived from the countryside.

As she walked, Seraphina fidgeted with the hand she was holding, then intertwined our fingers and gripped my hand tightly enough to make it tingle slightly.

From leaving the dormitory until arriving at a cafe on the bustling street with Seraphina, neither of us spoke a single word. Yet, it wasn't a feeling of awkwardness or discomfort.

After that, at the cafe, we ordered some drinks, chocolate cookies, and the cream-topped bread Seraphina loved, then found a seat on a quiet terrace.

The waiter brought coffee, warm milk, and the cookie bread. Seraphina drank her milk, but only stared at the cookies without touching them.

"Seraphina, aren't you eating your cookies?"

She looked at me with her mouth slightly open, then hastily replied.

"Ah... ah, yes. Co-cookies, I should eat them. Thank you."

Then she slowly began to nibble on a cookie. It was as if a small bird were pecking at feed. She ate about half a cookie, then set it back down on her plate.

"A-actually, I also came because I had something to tell you."

Seraphina took a drink of warm milk, as if her throat was dry, and then spoke again.

"I already told Father and the Edelgard's Young Head that I would break off our engagement with you."

She bit her lower lip. As the distinct sound of her lip being bitten was heard and blood began to flow, I brought my hand to Seraphina's lips and gently stroked them. Then she slowly relaxed her grip.

"La-Lavin... I brought up breaking off our engagement, and you're okay with it?"

"No, I'm not okay."

I said with a smile. I didn't bother to add anything or express any strong displeasure. It was something I'd already done countless times, to the point of exhaustion.

And Seraphina, if nothing else, loved me. Truly, not a lie. Not out of pity for me, nor simply because she regretted the long years we'd spent together, but truly, me.

"I-I guess I wasn't okay either. I thought I was."

Seraphina said, her voice sounding slightly wet with tears.