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“Hmm…?”
After blankly reading through Frey’s diary, Kania suddenly came to her senses and lifted her head.
“I-Is this…?”
Her surroundings had changed within moments, as she realized she was no longer in Isolet’s house.
“……???”
It was a place that she was very familiar with, the garden of the Starlight Mansion.
“Why am I suddenly here…?”
With a perplexed expression, Kania looked around.
“…..!”
She lowered her head absentmindedly and widened her eyes as she heard crackling in her hands.
– Crack… Crack…
The sound came from a translucent window that appeared in the diary she held.
“Huh?”
Kania’s expression gradually hardened as she read the contents of the window.
“W-Were the writings regarding the ‘Prophecy’ true?”
Kania eventually mumbled with a completely stiff expression.
“…Uh.”
She stared at the front door of the Starlight Mansion with trembling eyes.
“I-I have to go in, right?”
The diary’s contents began to appear in Kania’s mind, urging her to enter the mansion.
“U-Umm..”
As such, Kania hesitantly walked to the mansion’s front door.
“Oops.”
She was startled and took a step back as her hand easily passed through the front door.
“……..”
A chilling moment of silence followed.
“…Gulp.”
As Kania swallowed dryly in the silence, she shut her eyes and stepped forward.
– Swish…
As she walked in, she saw a very familiar sight. Dark-colored wooden floors, a cozy sofa, and vintage decorations.
However, even though the synergy of these items were meant to create a comfortable and exquisite atmosphere, Kania started trembling as she saw this familiar room.
It was because the Starlight Mansion was not a place of comfort or coziness, but her prison instead.
“…Uh.”
“…Young Master.”
Kania took a deep breath after trembling for a while.
“Were you really… a Hero that protected everyone?”
She clutched her fist as she wore a hollow expression.
“Then, all the evil deeds you have done so far…”
She murmured in a low voice.
“…was it necessary for you to do that?”
Of course, no one answered her questions.
– Clatter, clatter!
“…!?”
Instead, noises could be heard from the kitchen.
– Shaaaah…
Kania could only mumble and frown as she stared with red-shot eyes.
“That is…”
It was because she saw a familiar black aura emerge from where the noise was located.
“…Wait, could it be?”
It was then that Kania realized. She was now at the point corresponding to the dates written in Frey’s diary.
– Squeak…
Thus, Kania looked on with equal amounts of familiarity and bewilderment as this mysterious event played before her.
“…..!”
In utter shock, she watched as her own self came out from the opened kitchen door.
– Thud, thud.
A version of herself who wore a cold expression held a tray containing sandwiches and coffee towards the room that the original Kania was already in.
“Persistent jerk…”
Then, she stopped briefly and mumbled something in disgust.
“…Why won’t that jerk eat?”
Then, she began to go up the stairs slowly.
“…….”
While observing her other self’s actions in a daze, Kania couldn’t help but follow as if she was under a spell.
– Knock, knock, knock.
“I’ve brought your meal, Young Master.”
As Kania followed, she saw her other version started to knock on a very familiar door.
“Let’s finish this quickly…”
And then, shortly after.
“Come in.”
As Frey’s voice rang out, Kania was taken aback because it was the first time she heard his voice since the final battle.
“Here are the sandwiches and coffee you ordered, Young Master..”
“Hmm.”
Upon hearing Frey’s response, Kania entered the room and placed the food on the desk before him.
“This is your fifteenth order. I truly hope you’re satisfied this time.”
Kania affirmed with a cold glare, however, Frey just responded with a composed expression.
“I can’t be bothered to say anything more to you, so I’ll just eat.”
“…Thank you for your leniency and grace..”
Kania glared coldly at Frey and left the room immediately, as soon as she finished speaking.
“……….”
Silence filled her surroundings as she fell into deep contemplation.
“…..Ah.”
And from that moment on…
– Shush.
Frey’s actual emotions began to seep into Kania with the help of the system.
“Huuh…?”
“Hmm…”
As such, Kania was able to feel the same emotions as Frey had in the past.
“…..!”
She widened her eyes in surprise.
[xx Year, xx Month, xx Day]
[Finally, I see the System Window.]
“What..? Is this…?”
She stared blankly at Frey as she recalled that time he kept complaining about the food being tasteless. However, he was currently smiling while eating the sandwich.
The diary’s contents that Frey had written long before, had finally began to appear before her.
– Munch, munch…
“…Huh?”
Kania was a bit puzzled by this phenomenon, as she tilted her head and observed the scene. Contrary to her expectations, Frey was happily eating her sandwich, even though he had clearly complained about its quality earlier.
“Ugh…”
Kania started to grasp her mouth as she collapsed to the floor.
“Ugh…!”
Kania began to cough up blood for an unknown reason.
“Huh?”
Then, a sharp pain surged in her chest. In such a situation, Kania, with a confused look in her eyes, saw Frey vomiting blood after eating a sandwich in hand.
“Keughh…”
The contents of the diary continued to flood her mind without reprieve.
[If I treat Kania kindly, especially without this ‘weakness’, she will eventually become ‘suspicious’ of me. Thus, this ‘suspicion’ will lead to a ‘certainty’ about my true nature.
She was a partner who has always been with me from the early days of my countless regressions.
She was the one I was most emotionally connected to and the one who sacrificed the most for me.
And so, since I realized I could only finish this dogshit game without anyone knowing me as the real Hero, I decided to give her my weakness to help her escape my inevitable torment.]
“Ah…”
As she tried to organize the thoughts flooding her mind, at the same time, Kania tried to stop the blood flowing from her mouth.
“Ah…”
Words from long ago came up in her mind.
She froze as the forgotten speech flashed in her mind.
“Ahh…”
At that moment, Kania’s mind went blank as she recalled his previous words.
– Munch, munch…
Kania had no choice but to witness; even in great pain, even as he kept coughing blood, Frey managed a faint, worn-out smile as he devoured the sandwich containing her poisons and curse.
.
.
.
.
.
As time passed, darkness had already set in.
“Ugh…!”
It was obvious that only a brief moment had passed for Kania, who sat on the floor as she coughed up blood.
“Ugh, eugh…”
Thanks to her own shock, she still couldn’t gather her thoughts for a while, even while the excruciating pain caused by her own poison and curse had subsided.
“What have I been doing all this time…?”
She muttered to herself with a pale face.
“D-Did he suffer this much because of me?”
As a result of the curse’s activation, Kania felt the same pain as Frey for a brief moment.
“In order to not get caught… and so he can grant me freedom…?”
However, what hurt Kania more was her guilt towards Frey.
According to what she had just witnessed, Frey had intentionally fallen under a curse as a reward for her loyalty throughout their previous cycles. And…
“The emotions I felt when he ate my food…”
The emotions Kania felt when her heart briefly connected with Frey were undoubtedly “happiness” and “longing.”
“That was…”
Even as it caused him so much pain, Frey ate her poisoned and cursed food with so much nostalgic happiness. Throughout the Special Quest, Kania could feel his desperate desire for salvation with even more intensity.
“Ughh…”
Those words continued to pound in Kania’s head and the painful realization caused her to lose her strength and plunge to the floor.
– Swish…
“…Huh?”
As time passed, Frey, who had been sitting at his desk without falling asleep, glanced at the clock and got up from his seat.
The clock, which was decorated with magic crystals, indicated that the current time was early in the morning.
– Squeak…
Kania stared blankly at Frey, who was opening the door and stepping outside cautiously at such a late hour.
“All right.”
With a complicated expression, she got up from her seat.
“The reason I infused poison and curses into Frey…”
And then, Kania slowly followed Frey from behind.
“It was because every night… Frey…”
“Tried to force…”
She opened her mouth, but her words trailed off.
“…….”
With an even paler expression than before, Kania continued to follow Frey’s steps.
“Ughh.”
Kania stopped in her tracks as well, when Frey abruptly halted in the darkened hallway.
– Squeak…
“A-As expected…”
Kania murmured in a trembling voice as she gazed intently at the door that Frey opened.
“…You are going to my room.”
Without fail, Frey visited Kania’s room every late night.
“Hmm… Hmm.”
“……….”
Frey entered Kania’s room, as he held his breath and cautiously observed her state of consciousness.
“…All right.”
Frey proceeded to unbutton his clothes.
– Click.
– Swish, ssk...
He carefully climbed onto the bed and slipped his hand inside Kania’s top while she was lying still.
“T-That’s right…”
Kania’s expression gradually hardened as she witnessed the scene before her.
“I knew it… I knew it, but I have to endure it…”
Kania continued to watch as mixed emotions crossed her face.
“Although I always fantasized about revenge… I was worried about my sister… so I endured it.”
She began to unleash the feelings that she had always held in..
“No matter how much it was desired, that’s… huh?”
She suddenly looked perplexed.
“I didn’t give you enough life force all this time, so it was tough for you, right? Hang in there, Kania.”
Frey spoke as his hand was still inside her shirt.
“I’m about to improve your sister’s healing ability. And, in this cycle…”
Instead of doing something Kania had expected, she heard a surprising statement from Frey.
“…I think I can finally give you a Happy Ending.”
Frey’s hand gently caressed her back while his other hand covered his mouth with a handkerchief.
– Shaaaah…!
Shortly thereafter, an unknown energy began to infuse into her body.
“Cough! Cough…!”
“Akkhhhh!!”
At that moment, Kania felt intense pain, as if her insides were being twisted. Consequently, she collapsed and vomited the blood she had been holding in the entire time.
“Ah… Ugh…”
“…Huh?”
However, her expression quickly changed to one of astonishment as she witnessed her different persona begin to regain her vitality, despite only lying on the bed.
“U-Ugh…”
Meanwhile, even as he was gasping his head while trembling in pain, Frey continued to infuse his own life force into Kania’s body until the very last drop that he could give.
“…Ughh.”
“T-This is…”
And shortly after…
As Kania watched the scene in inevitable agony, a translucent window mockingly appeared in front of her.
“W-What is this…?”
A highly provocative message appeared on the system window, almost as if it was meant for Kania to read while she trembled in disbelief.
“Yo-…”
Soon, she completely stiffened, even while forgetting all the pain she had experienced thus far.
“Young Master……”
Her eyes were completely fixated on the only two words left on the translucent window.
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