The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 92

Afterimage (3)

"So, why are you practicing those pathetic spells anyway? You're not even in the magic faculty."

Levina sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and continued speaking. Her voice was laced with something like sharp shards of glass.

"You know someone died, right?"

"I know, so what?"

"Even if it wasn't your doing, it was because of you, Lavin."

I took out a stick of tobacco from my pocket. I bit the tip slightly, lit it, and inhaled the smoke.

I blew smoke towards Levina. The hazy smoke spread, forming a faint curtain between us.

Levina neither avoided the smoke nor showed any displeasure; she simply watched me silently. Though, perhaps her throat felt a little dry, as she picked up the cup of water I was drinking from and took a sip.

"Lavin, now I'm going to kick you out of the family. I'll make sure you can't use the Edelgard name either.""......."

When I didn't say anything, Levina continued, sounding even more excited. Like a child excitedly chattering about what's going to happen next while watching a movie they've already seen with someone else.

"If you tell Father, I'll make sure you don't get the money that always came regularly. If I hear even a whisper of you causing trouble, I'll get you expelled from the academy too, one way or another. I'll do it myself."

Her words made me let out a hollow laugh. The Levina who used to say I had to love her overlapped with the Levina before me now.

Does she still think that way?

No matter how many times I died, Levina remained consistently the same. Nothing about her ever changed.

When I let out a hollow laugh at her consistently idiotic demeanor, Levina, appearing displeased, raised one eyebrow slightly and spoke.

"What's so funny? You can't believe it? That you're getting kicked out?"

She lightly touched the rim of the glass on the table with her index finger.

"Now that the topic of breaking off the engagement with the Beluze family has come up, I'm going to separate you and Seraphina too."

At her words, I recalled Seraphina, whom I had met a few days ago. I wondered if Seraphina would still come looking for me, even if I were the one to leave first.

"Will we really separate just because you try to cut us off? It's not as easy as you think to break us apart."

"What can that child, who's busy being swayed this way and that, do for you?"

Hearing those words, I let out a hollow laugh. I had seen with my own eyes that Seraphina could do a lot for me. To an undeniable extent.

Seeing my reaction, Levina silently stared into space, then gripped the glass tightly.

Her white knuckles stood out.

"So don't waste your time on such trifling magic. What you should be doing is doing what you're doing now properly, and just graduate. Then, for a start, I'll let you stay in the annex for a while, and when I become the Head of the family, I'll even make a suitable position for you."

"No."

"What?"

Levina looked at me, slightly flustered.

"I said no."

I stubbed out the almost-finished tobacco in the ashtray, then put another fresh one in my mouth and lit it. It was often hard to endure being in front of Levina without at least this.

"Do you even know what kind of situation you're in right now?"

"I know it perfectly well."

"Then...!"

Just as Levina was about to raise her voice, I kicked the table in front of her.

The glass on it fell to the floor and shattered, and the table toppled over. I grabbed Levina by the collar, who was sitting on the sofa, and pulled her to her feet.

"So what? Knowing the situation doesn't really change much."

"Lavin, wasn't what I always said, 'know your place'?"

Levina grabbed the wrist of my hand holding her collar and struggled to pull it away.

"Right now, I'm telling you I'll personally take you in and let you live with me, Lavin. So you don't need to go out of your way to do anything."

"I don't need to."

I threw Levina, still holding her by the collar, onto the bed.

"Even if you kick me out of the family, you'll always come looking for me because you're worried."

"Why would I ever do that for a disgrace to the family like you? Stop spouting such idiotic nonsense."

She propped herself up on the bed with her arms, trying to rise. Her disheveled hair obscured her face.

"As if someone like me would worry about you, a mere bastard child of a prostitude, who doesn't know your place and tries to climb up..."

I slapped Levina's cheek, and her head snapped to the side. My right hand stung slightly.

I spat the tobacco I had in my mouth onto the floor. I pushed Levina, who was trying to get up from the bed, and climbed on top of her.

Right, this was our relationship, after all. I guess I'd forgotten for a moment, thinking we'd gotten somewhat close in my own way for the past year.

"You, what is this... what... are you in your right mind right now?"

Levina pushed against my shoulders, but I didn't budge.

I stroked her cheek, where my handprint remained. Remembering the touch of her hand that always caressed my face.

"No, my sister, you will worry."

As I said that, I placed both my thumbs on her Adam's apple and slowly began to press down.

Levina's eyes widened. I could feel her legs kicking against the bed like mad through my thighs.

When I released the pressure from my thumbs, she gasped for breath, coughing.

"Cough, cough... Do you think anything will change if you do this here?"

I tightened my grip again, choking her. Then I whispered into her ear.

"Well, perhaps a lot will change. You don't actually hate me, do you?"

When I released the pressure from my hands, Levina once again struggled to breathe in and out. Her eyes were slightly unfocused, as if her mind was hazy. Her gaze lost its focus and wandered aimlessly into the air.

"Gasp... Uh, uh... Are you... are you really Lavin?"

"Then who else would I be?"

"Even if you've changed a little over the past few years... you always listened to what I said more."

I grabbed Levina's face with my right hand. Her cheeks were squeezed together, making her face look like a duck's.

"Because I thought you'd change a little too, you crazy bitch."

Levina, crying, weakly tried to push me away. Her arms flailed in the air, and her fist brushed past my face.

"......Ah."

Though her movements stopped as her hand brushed past my face.

Her long fingernail had scratched my face, and a little blood trickled out. I roughly wiped the cheek where her nail had scratched.

And then I slapped her cheek again. As I tightened my grip on her neck once more, Levina grabbed my wrist.

Her resistance was much weaker than before. I brought my face closer to hers.

"You'll love me no matter what I do, won't you? Because there's no one else but family who would love a disgusting, terrible, idiotic human being like me."

Levina's lips trembled slightly as she repeatedly opened and closed her mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. Only a faint breath escaped.

"There's no one else but me who will understand you, is there?"

Only her ragged breathing filled the empty room.

Before I knew it, I had another fresh tobacco in my mouth and lightly lit it.

"So if I ask for money, bring it to me as I ask, whether the family goes bankrupt or not."

I blew smoke into her face. Her eyes wavered within the hazy smoke.

Perhaps the smoke was acrid, as tears welled up in her eyes again, turning her gaze watery. It suited those dry, gray eyes quite well.

"If I tell you your mother is a nuisance and ask you to get rid of her, then get rid of her. I don't care what happens when you become the Young Head."

I kept my left hand on her neck while stroking her hair with my right hand. Her silken hair flowed through my fingers.

"I won't stop you from backing up and supporting that bastard Kyle, but if he clashes with me, just take my side, whether you look ugly or not."

"You, you... by doing this now... I..."

Levina's voice was hoarse.

"Even if I slap your cheek, choke you, or even try to kill you, or try to take the position of Head of the family as your mother so feared, you'll do everything I ask, won't you?"

"What will you do... if I don't?"

Levina, with tear-filled eyes, let out a hollow laugh and tried to scoff. Though her voice was trembling excessively, it held no real meaning.

"I'll hate you, truly."

Levina, under me, didn't open her mouth, biting her lip. Only tears streamed down her cheeks.

I sat beside Levina, not stopping my right hand from stroking her hair.

She lay on the bed, doing nothing. The subtle trembling of her lips and body slowly subsided.

And not long after, she closed her eyes.

She slowly turned her head. She wasn't avoiding the stroking hand. Instead, she leaned her body deeper into that touch.

Her lips parted ever so slightly. A silent sigh escaped.

The frantic heaving of her chest gradually stabilized. Her regular breathing broke the silence in the room. Her fingers moved slowly on the blanket.

She seemed about to grasp the bedsheet, but didn't.

She gripped my hand, which was still stroking her hair. She held my hand tightly for a long time and didn't let go.

Levina remained turned away from me, holding tightly onto only my right hand that had been stroking her hair for a long time. The tobacco I was smoking had almost burned out, so I casually flicked the end with my middle finger and tossed it onto the floor.