The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 93

Afterimage (4)

Levina fell asleep, purring softly while holding my hand.

It was a cat-like sound.

It felt awkward to tell her to leave the room after waking her up.

Even in her sleep, her brow was slightly furrowed.

Now that I thought about it, only a few years had passed, but her face was subtly different.

At that time, Levina's face had been heavily filled with exhaustion.

I gently got up from the bed.

And then I roughly covered her with the blanket that was next to her.

I slowly opened and closed the door, careful not to make it creak.The hallway was dimly lit by faint lamplight.

Just then, the door to the next room opened slightly.

A familiar face peeked out from the gap in the door.

"You, you hit women too?"

It was the female student from the next room.

Her voice wasn't hoarse, but it was languid, like someone who had just woken up.

"Seems so."

I replied.

I didn't particularly feel like making excuses.

Then, perhaps having misunderstood something, I saw her face flush slightly.

"At least close the window, or be a little quieter.

I was just about to go to sleep and you startled me."

She let out a small yawn.

Even after hearing such words, I had nothing to say.

"I'm sorry."

At my words, she scratched her cheek lightly with her index finger, as if a little embarrassed, then opened her mouth.

"...Ah, yes. I'll accept your apology."

The female student cleared her throat with a 'ahem'.

Then she asked.

"By the way, is it true that you're getting kicked out of the family?"

"Well, I don't know if I'll be kicked out or not."

"I hope you get kicked out quickly. Then at least I won't hear any noise before I go to sleep."

"......."

"Oh, it's a joke."

The female student waved her hand, telling me not to make such a face.

Then she looked at me for a moment, took out a candy from her pocket, and tossed it to me.

This time too, the door wasn't wide open, so it hit the gap in the door and was about to fall to the floor, but I reflexively snatched the falling candy.

Then I unwrapped it and popped it into my mouth; it was lemon-flavored.

It was sour and sweet.

"It's tasty."

"How did you catch that?"

The female student asked.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"Because I thought it would fall."

She stared at me for a moment as if looking at a strange person, then closed the door.

Just before the door closed, I heard the hinges creak slightly.

Rolling the candy in my mouth, I trudged familiarly towards the garden surrounding the church.

The cold night air brushed against my cheeks.

After walking for a long time like that, I leaned against a suitable bench and sat down.

Looking around, not a single person was in sight.

I put a cigarette to my lips and lit it.

White smoke dispersed into the night air.

And then I created many orbs of water on my palm.

I hollowed out a space inside them, lit them up, and played with them, spinning them in the air.

Somehow, the academy felt unfamiliar.

The students who whispered about me whenever I passed by, the teachers who occasionally singled me out and scolded me if I dozed off during class, and the people who avoided me as if they'd catch a disease if they even exchanged words with me.

Thinking that every single one of them would have been killed by Demons or hidden somewhere, trembling, meeting their end, made me feel somewhat unsettled.

Indeed, it made sense, considering that such a powerful and magnificent Saintess kept me by her side and wouldn't let me go, solely for me, solely for my happiness.

Still, it seems I don't regret that part.

Perhaps it's because my nature is that of a rotten, bastardly scoundrel, a prostitute's son, and a half-blooded illegitimate child, but it didn't really resonate with me, no matter what achievements those great brave noble lords made on the front lines, whether they were court mages, sword saints, knights, or whatever.

Even when commoners struggled or those great individuals spouted off about some grand cause for humanity, none of it really struck a chord with me.

What did it matter to me if those mere peasants died or not, or if the soldiers who claimed to fight for humanity starved to death or not?

Just as my death had no meaning on those people, their deaths held little value for me.

But Estelle's death, if not for others, was valuable to me.

Because she acted as if it were a truly joyous and valuable thing, even as she went to die for someone everyone disliked.

Therefore, I had to become a valuable human being.

Seraphina's death was pitiful.

She seemed like someone who, just like me, only stumbled, eventually slipped and fell, and then resigned herself to it.

Now that I thought about it, I realized I had definitely chosen to do only the worst things.

As for Levina, well. That's not a topic I particularly want to discuss.

I thought we had become quite close.

I thought we had grown a little closer and understood each other, but seeing her behave like that immediately upon my return, it naturally made me a little sad.

"Hey, isn't smoking in a place like this a bit much?

You should also consider the people living around here."

A whispering voice came from behind me.

I was startled and turned around while still seated on the bench.

I hadn't even gone looking for her, yet Estelle was standing there.

As soon as I looked at Estelle, our eyes met those vivid crimson eyes.

A few tears welled up.

They just flowed from my eyes the moment I saw her.

Whether it was out of apology or longing, it was hard to tell, as my mind felt like a blank slate.

I started to get up to hug Estelle tightly, but then paused, feeling a slight, ever-so-slight pang of distress at the fact that we were meeting for the first time, and didn't open my mouth.

If I opened my mouth now, I felt like I would burst into tears.

Estelle was flustered, seeing me suddenly shed tears.

"You, are you okay? Did you get dumped or something?"

Estelle said, approaching me with a slightly playful tone, and then our eyes met.

It seemed I wasn't clearly visible as she had her back to the light.

Her steps faltered.

"...Lavin?"

Her voice was very soft, but clearly audible.

"Right, your name was Lavin, wasn't it?"

Estelle murmured.

Her eyebrows were faintly furrowed.

"Where did we meet? I don't remember meeting you."

She was wearing a pure white priest's robe.

Thanks to her red eyes and pure white hair, she was incredibly distinct even in the dim night lighting.

Or perhaps it was because I had spent all day with Estelle, enough to recognize her instantly even from just a passing silhouette.

I wanted to approach Estelle like this and tell her I had missed her.

"Still, we must have met somewhere, definitely."

Estelle said, coming closer.

"For a way of speaking to approach a man alone at night and seduce him, it's really not very good."

I laughed hollowly and spoke.

My voice trembled slightly.

"I should have had experience. You were always busy approaching me, can't you see my face?"

I felt as if something was being carved out of me, but I forced myself to swallow, then slowly calmed myself by taking a deep drag from my cigarette and exhaling.

Then I fumbled in my pocket for a cheap cigarette and offered it to Estelle, who seemed to have no intention of leaving.

Estelle smiled wryly, then took the cigarette.

"Perhaps we met like this back then too."

"Probably not."

I replied.

"But I don't have a light."

Estelle said, holding the cigarette between her lips.

I approached and created a flame at my fingertip to light it for her.

"You were a mage?"

Estelle's eyes widened slightly.

"I'm not a mage."

"Then what could it be? Where did I meet you?"

"......."

"Seeing as my chest feels a pang, could you be a heretic or a Demon?"

Estelle came closer to me and gently placed her fist on my chest.

A soft 'thump' echoed faintly.

"It's a joke."

She whispered.

"Somehow, it feels incredibly comfortable."

"Even cheap cigarettes are still cigarettes, after all."

Saying that, I took a step back from Estelle.

"Perhaps we ran into each other a few times at the Edelgard family estate."

"Ah, you're that trashy illegitimate child who only looks decent... But you don't seem like that as much as I thought?"

While speaking, Estelle wiped under her eyes.

Though no tears were visible.

"You, you know who I am, right?"

Estelle asked.

"Who wouldn't know you?"

"And yet, not bowing your head to me, isn't that a sin?"

Estelle uttered something that wasn't particularly funny and burst into laughter by herself.

Her laughter quietly spread through the night garden.

"Anyway, since we met like this, isn't it fate? Why don't we meet sometimes every night?

I think you're the only person who would chat with me and smoke these things."

We had already decided to do that.

We had always spent time alone together at the church.

We had even whispered words of love.

My memories haven't disappeared, but perhaps it's even more agonizing that only traces remain, scattered here and there.

Because only I can see these traces, and no one else around can find them, it's always just me...

Since I didn't reply, Estelle sat on the bench opposite me, looked at me, and began to smoke a cigarette.

After finishing one cigarette, she even gestured, as if it were only natural, for another.

I silently handed her another, and she waited for me to light it for her.

Estelle exhaled a long plume of white smoke.

The smoke slowly dispersed between us.

She didn't say anything.

I didn't say anything either.

We simply continued to blow smoke.

I wondered who would clean the ashtrays, but then thought that since the staff were always moving around, they would surely clean them up well if they were gathered in one place.

Her crimson eyes seemed to glow in the darkness like the ember of a cigarette tip.

Her movement of bringing the cigarette held between her fingers to her lips was slow but incredibly natural.

While smoking for a long time, I opened the cigarette pack and found only two left.

Estelle took out both cigarettes herself.

She put one in her mouth and shook it as if asking for a light.

When I lit it for her, she handed the lit one to me.

And for her own, she took out matches from her pocket and lit it.

Sizzle.

The sound of the match flaring up was sharply audible.

Seeing that, I smiled slightly.

When did she say she didn't have a light?

"I'll come find you. Where do you live?"

At that, Estelle didn't answer "the church," but rather shook her head.

"I'll come find you. Just tell me where your room is."

Estelle approached and, naturally caressing my right cheek, said.

And perhaps even she was surprised by how naturally she had approached, as she stood blankly for a long time, gazing at her right hand.

"Or maybe I'll just stay there, the church is annoying anyway."