Chapter 274: Feelings [3]

Chapter 273

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Episode 71 - Feelings [3]

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The memory flashed briefly through Veronica’s mind.

Instinctively, she looked toward her chest, where the same cracks were clearly visible to the naked eye.

At that moment, she was wearing a coat, and as soon as she saw them, she quickly covered the area.

Honestly, every time she looked at the cracks on her chest, she felt a primal fear. The fear was so intense that her heart began pounding uncontrollably.

She was terrified.

But even so, she looked at Adel, who remained with his eyes closed, and little by little, her mind began to calm down.

’N-no matter. It doesn’t matter... I don’t care what happens to me afterward... I-I’ll still be here for a few more years, y-yes, I’ll still be here for a few more years...’

’I-I’ll be able to live long enough... E-even if I can’t see the end... I-I’ll still be here...’

As her thoughts desperately searched for a relief that seemed impossible to reach, her hands trembled without her realizing it.

Her mind tried to calm itself, while her breathing struggled to regain the rhythm it had lost.

And just then...

"I don’t know what’s happening to you, but..."

"......"

Veronica raised her gaze toward Adel, who had just spoken.

"I’ll stay by your side for as long as you want me to."

"......"

Veronica’s eyes widened.

Only then did her heart stop pounding so hard, and her mind, which had been consumed by fear just seconds ago, began to calm down.

Her body found a little peace.

Then she pressed her lips together.

Not hard enough to make them bleed, but with enough force that they began to tremble slightly.

And silently, tears fell from her eyes.

Veronica quickly wiped them away, trying to avoid making a sound.

But suddenly...

Knock! Knock!

".....!?"

Someone knocked on the door.

Veronica immediately used Mana to make the tears in her eyes disappear, along with the redness that had appeared around them.

She looked toward the door and said:

"Y-you may come in."

"....."

Her voice sounded choked and shaky, so Veronica simply closed her mouth.

Her lips trembled slightly for a second.

Creak!

Then, the door slowly opened.

The head of a girl with pale pink hair peeked through the opening.

Her face was nervous, and her lips were pressed tightly together, trembling slightly in plain sight.

Rinna first looked at Veronica and asked:

"You were crying..."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Veronica immediately interrupted her, alarmed, while waving her hands.

Rinna closed her mouth and nodded faintly, unsure of what else to ask.

"You can come in. Don’t just stand there."

Veronica said this, and Rinna finally entered the room.

The room was actually quite large.

It was practically a VIP hospital room that a billionaire would be willing to pay for.

A chandelier illuminated the entire place. There was a wardrobe filled with clothes, a bathroom, and a small area designated for rehabilitation.

At the far end were double glass doors leading to a spacious terrace, from which three floating islands could be seen hovering above the clouds.

Sunlight streamed directly in from the terrace, illuminating the room.

Finally, Rinna’s eyes settled on a specific spot.

There was a large bed beside a nightstand.

It was a king-sized bed, and lying on it was a tall, white-haired boy with his eyes closed. He had bandages wrapped around his chest and arms.

"......"

Rinna silently looked at Adel as she clasped her intertwined hands tightly.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

In truth, she wanted to say so many things, but she simply couldn’t.

She felt guilty.

Perhaps it was because she had attacked him.

Even if the Pope had controlled half of her body at the time, Rinna had the ability to cancel the magic.

But she hadn’t done it.

And the consequences of her decision had brought her first friend at the Academy to the brink of death.

She had nearly killed the person she had grown so deeply attached to.

Rinna thought Adel blamed her for what had happened.

That was why, when he told her it wasn’t her fault, it only made her feel even guiltier.

The spear that had nearly killed him had been the result of her own magic, an action she herself had carried out in that moment.

She could have stopped it.

But in the end, she hadn’t, and she had nearly killed someone who was very special to her.

For the past two days, Rinna hadn’t stopped blaming herself.

Over and over, she told herself that everything was her fault, that she had nearly killed her friend because of her actions.

She hadn’t slept at all.

She hadn’t even closed her eyes.

She simply remained there, murmuring that it was her fault.

Adel had rescued her from the Pope’s plans.

Yet instead of thanking him and acknowledging that she owed him her life...

She had simply stabbed him in the back.

"....."

From the moment she had entered the room and seen him, her eyes had filled with tears.

She couldn’t even utter a single word.

And just then, as the tears fell to the floor, drop after drop, echoing through the silence of the room...

Adel suddenly opened his eyes and "looked" in her direction.

Then he said to Rinna:

"Big kids aren’t supposed to cry, or are you a crybaby?"

"......!?"

Upon hearing his words, a memory blossomed in her mind.

It was the memory of a child who had appeared before her while she was crying after receiving a severe punishment.

The image of the past overlapped with what she saw before her eyes.

The face of the white-haired child merged with that of the boy standing before her, who also had white hair.

"....."

Rinna’s eyes widened.

However, as soon as she heard those words, she replied:

"N-no, it was all my fault, I-I... I just hurt you, and I could have stopped it, but... I-I didn’t do anything. It’s my fault..."

Adel silently "looked" at her as he listened to her words.

Then he gave her a faint smile and said:

"I already told you, it’s not your fault, Rinna."

He knew Rinna very well.

He knew she would blame herself.

Because that was just how Rinna was.

If she believed something had been her fault, her mind simply accepted it as the truth.

But she couldn’t accept forgiveness from the person she had hurt.

Adel knew her well enough to understand that.

That was why he simply repeated the same words.

"I already told you, Rinna. It’s not your fault."

"It’s not your fault, understand?"

However, Rinna immediately shook her head, her voice rising.

"N-no, I said it’s my fault, it’s my fault... It’s all my fault."

Her tears continued to fall, and when she realized she had shouted, her eyes widened as fear and guilt filled them.

She stumbled backward toward the exit and said:

"I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry... I-I didn’t mean to..."

Clank!

The room’s door shut as Rinna hurried out and closed it behind her.

"....."

Veronica, who was sitting silently in a corner of the room, stared at the door for a few seconds before turning her gaze toward Adel.

Adel was "looking" toward the door thanks to the sound he had just heard.

He remained silent for a few moments before thinking:

’She must be devastated, huh?’

Veronica wasn’t inherently kind, nor could she be considered a particularly considerate person.

She didn’t really know how someone like Rinna might feel after doing something she considered unforgivable.

However, after seeing her in that state and then looking at herself, she realized she couldn’t simply sit back and do nothing.

She turned her head toward Adel and said quietly:

"Why don’t you go after her, like some prince charming?"

"......"

Adel turned his head and "looked" at Veronica with an expressionless face.

Veronica simply muttered:

"I just want to lighten the mood a little."

Adel didn’t respond.

Instead, he got out of bed.

His body felt a little heavy and strange, probably because he had remained completely still for two days.

After stretching his body slightly, he walked toward the door and said to Veronica:

"I’ll be back soon."

"Okay."

Veronica watched as Adel left the room and closed the door behind him.

---

How long had she been walking while still crying?

Tap! Tap!

Her footsteps echoed through the halls as she wiped the tears from her eyes with her hands.

She didn’t stop.

She simply kept walking, passing through one hallway after another, until she eventually found herself outside without even realizing it.

The setting sun painted the sky in shades of orange and twilight. Night was slowly approaching.

Rinna arrived at a massive flower garden and walked until she reached a pavilion at the edge of the floating island.

The view was simply breathtaking.

Hundreds of meters below, the clouds stretched all the way to the horizon, painted in the colors of twilight as the sun slowly descended.

Rinna stopped and gazed at the sunset.

Her pale pink eyes were slightly reddened.

Her cheeks were wet, as were her eyelashes.

She stared at the horizon, letting out faint whimpers between her sobs.

"Ugh... I-it’s my fault, it’s all my fault. I could have stopped it, but I didn’t do anything... Why am I such an idiot?"

She felt completely guilty.

"I-I’m such a complete idiot... I couldn’t even stop something so simple..."

She pressed her lips together as her heart felt heavy.

"I don’t deserve an apology or forgiveness... I-I just... it’s all my fault... I-I didn’t want to hurt him."

She clenched her teeth, and slowly, her vision grew blurry again.

Her head hurt from thinking about what had happened over and over again, replaying the scene in which she had hurt Adel in her mind.

The memories kept appearing and disappearing again and again.

It was painful.

Yet she didn’t even care how much it hurt.

To her, what she had done was something that shouldn’t be forgiven.

Then why did Adel keep telling her it wasn’t her fault?

’It’s my fault.’

Why did he smile at her and tell her she wasn’t to blame?

’It’s my fault. It’s my fault because I’m an idiot, because I was negligent, because... I’m just an idiot who couldn’t resist it...’

The tears continued streaming down her cheeks, and she wiped them away whenever she could.

All warmth and sweetness had vanished from her face.

And as she continued blaming herself, repeating that everything was her fault and convincing herself that she didn’t deserve any forgiveness...

"That’s enough."

".....!?"

A voice clearly laced with anger came from behind her.

Rinna spun around and saw Adel.

Her heart immediately began to ache.

She wanted to run away from him, believing she didn’t deserve to keep making him listen to her pointless lamentations.

However, when she tried to leave, Adel simply stepped into her path.

"Do you really think I’ll let you leave that easily?"

"....."

Rinna didn’t answer.

She simply stepped aside, trying to walk in another direction, but...

"Did I say you could leave?"

"....."

Her tears began to fall even harder.

Rinna kept her gaze fixed on the ground for a few seconds before finally looking up at Adel.

"I-I’m sorry, I-I don’t... I don’t deserve..."

"Don’t deserve what? My forgiveness, or for me to tell you that you’re not to blame?"

Rinna pressed her lips together and murmured:

"Y-yes..."

However, Adel clicked his tongue.

"Tsk, you’re really annoying sometimes, aren’t you?"

"......"

"But..."

Adel sighed softly and "looked" at Rinna.

"Since you’re so stubborn, I can tell you over and over again, for the rest of my life, that you, Rinna, have nothing to feel guilty about."

"Do you really think I don’t know you well enough to know that you never wanted to kill me in the first place?"

"You’re you. I know you well enough to know what kind of person you are. You’re the kindest person I’ve ever known, the most honest and sincere person I’ve ever known, the most precious person I’ve ever known... and you’re also the person who became friends with someone everyone believes is a villain."

"Yet it really frustrates me that the person I know believes all of this is her fault. Do you know how frustrating it is to listen to someone this stubborn blame herself for something she didn’t do?"

Adel sighed once more, as if he were genuinely exhausted.

"So I’ll say it one more time."

He approached Rinna and, without hesitation, pulled her into his arms and hugged her.

"None of this is your fault, Rinna."

Only then did Rinna’s tears begin to fall without stopping.

She cried with all her strength as she clung to Adel’s embrace.

For the first time since leaving the room, she stopped trying to hold back the pain she had been carrying inside.

The tears continued to fall as the sun slowly disappeared into the distance, painting the sky with the last colors of sunset.

A girl who had felt a deep pain in her heart.

And a boy who, with a simple embrace, had begun to ease it.

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End of Rinna’s Arc.