Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The Confession
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“…You liked me?”
I pretended not to know in response to Victoria’s confession.
I believed that the fact I could hear her Inner Thoughts was something I had to take to my grave.
And from the very beginning, the attitude Victoria had shown toward me had been nothing but slander and criticism.
“Honestly… it’s hard to believe.”
Avoiding the issue like this wasn’t strange at all.
“That’s understandable. I am a born liar, after all.”
Victoria gathered her wet hair with her hands and shook it lightly as she spoke candidly to me.
In her eyes, flames from the campfire flickered softly.
“The truth is, I was living on borrowed time. Because of that, I thought I had to hide my feelings for you…”
It felt like she was finally expressing her true heart, and without realizing it, I nodded.
“Love is such a contradictory emotion. I didn’t want to be forgotten by the person I liked. I didn’t want to be hated. So in the end, I chose this method.”
Victoria spoke with a slight tremble in her voice.
No matter that she was a Saint, she seemed clumsy when it came to conveying her true feelings.
As if trying to calm her pounding heart, she kept one hand pressed against her chest.
— My heart is beating so fast, like it’s broken… I really hope this confession succeeds…
What if he doesn’t accept it? What if we can’t even go back to being friends? What if he ends up hating me?
Unlike her outward appearance, her Inner Thoughts were filled with countless worries and anxieties.
“So someone like that kept slandering me and insulting me? If you liked me, you could’ve been a little gentler.”
“…That was the only way I knew how to love. I selfishly wanted to receive your love without letting my feelings be discovered.”
As the crackling firelight softly illuminated the two of us, Victoria gently caressed my cheek with her slightly cold hand.
Rather than words, she expressed her sincerity through her actions and expression.
Even her smallest breath carried the emotion called love.
“What do you even know about me…?”
I couldn’t understand Victoria.
I thought that after experiencing my past together, she would understand even better.
The screams of villagers burning to death, the sight of my parents smiling in relief as I fled while they died—those images were still vivid in my mind.
“I’m trash. A worthless idiot who couldn’t save a single person while my hometown was massacred by the Demon King’s Army…!”
I bit down on my lower lip and spat the words out.
I had been praised as a genius Mage since childhood—yet I was nothing more than a fool who saved no one.
“Please listen carefully. No matter how much guilt you carry, it was not Astal-nim who killed your parents or the villagers.”
“……”
“I don’t know how many nightmares you’ve relived in Bellamora’s Illusionary Dream… but it wasn’t your fault.”
— Just how many deaths must you have witnessed… for someone who endured so long to suddenly try to take his own life…
Victoria brushed my wet hair aside, wearing a bitter smile.
Now that the flowers blooming on her body were gone, her beautiful face was fully visible.
“To place such a heavy burden and responsibility on a ten-year-old child—if even a god did that, I would curse them without hesitation.”
Tears streamed from Victoria’s eyes, which shone like a sea of stars, as she raged on my behalf.
A Saint who lived more devoutly than anyone, following the words of the Heavenly God—yet she spoke those words solely for me.
“I believe that your sacrifice was wrong. It’s no different from blaming an ignorant child for failing to save the world.”
“Y-you, that’s…”
Victoria was returning to me the very words I had once said to her.
“…Isn’t it similar to what you once said to me? I’ve wanted to return those words to you someday.”
She laughed softly as she said it, unable to suppress a small chuckle.
“Do you understand now?”
— Do you understand that I love you now?
My ears were muffled with water, but her gentle, soft voice was something I could never forget.
Even without saying it directly, her actions and attitude overflowed with love for me.
Nod. Nod.
After hearing Victoria’s resolve, I had no choice but to nod.
I could tell just how heavy and intense her feelings were.
“Hehe, look at this, Astal-nim. My clothes are completely soaked because of you. Ah—if you stare too much, I’ll get embarrassed…”
“……”
“So you are a man after all. I thought you were some kind of eunuch Saint who couldn’t function properly.”
Victoria wrung the water out of her Holy Garments with both hands and stuck her tongue out playfully to tease me.
It seemed like her way of lightening the heavy mood.
— Rather than covering myself with my hands or arms, acting like it’s nothing might be more effective at charming Astal-nim… right?
Or maybe she was simply embarrassed.
Her ears had turned bright red, and her eyes widened—it seemed she hadn’t expected her wet clothes to be so revealing.
“…Astal-nim, please come here.”
Victoria slowly approached my crying form and gestured for me to come closer.
“Please regain your peace of mind, even if it means leaning on the shoulder of a generous older sister like me.”
Thump.
She rested my head on her shoulder and whispered softly into my ear.
The sensation of her soft, damp skin mixed with the faint floral scent blooming from my body brushed against my nose.
“…Didn’t you say your ideal type was an older woman? I’m just catering to your tastes. Is there anything uncomfortable about it?”
— If I act like this, he’ll definitely like it… right?
“Doing things you don’t usually do makes it kind of overwhelming.”
I replied unnecessarily, trying to hide the ticklish heat rising to my face.
Seeing that Victoria’s cheeks were slightly flushed, it was clear she was embarrassed too, even as she pretended to be fine.
“…You like it, yet you’re pretending otherwise.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then how do you explain your neck turning red? Your body is far more honest than your mouth.”
Victoria gently traced my neck with her finger, carefully avoiding the areas turned into flowers.
The way she tickled me felt almost bewitching.
“Astal.”
Victoria spoke my name as if steadying her resolve, then began to unravel the feelings she had kept buried in her heart.
“If you have nightmares every night, I will always be the one by your side to wake you.”
— I know you’re suffering from Bellamora’s Illusionary Dream, tormented by a past you can’t erase.
Victoria knew that my suicide attempt today had been caused by Bellamora.
After transferring all the flowers blooming on her body to me, I had tried to end my life.
“If you suffer in a dream that never ends, I will whisper reality to you and give you reassurance.”
— In this one and only life, I want to leave behind beautiful memories with you and make sure you never give up your life.
Victoria continued her confession in a whisper near my ear.
Always clumsy at expressing her feelings, she spoke her heart in a trembling voice.
“As a Saint, I can say with pride that you are kinder and more wonderful than anyone. A world without you was filled only with darkness.”
Even the chirping of insects decorating the night fell silent, as the pounding of my heart and Victoria’s heartbeat echoed loudly.
“Hmm… you still look unconvinced. In that case, let’s make a promise.”
Victoria made me a proposal.
“From now on, please never try to die.”
She extended her pinky finger, smiling gently as if to reassure me.
“I’ll even willingly stake the name of the Heavenly God Lumina whom I believe in…”
Victoria, who had never skipped a single day of prayer throughout the journey to defeat the Demon King, even invoked the name of the Heavenly God she served.
“You need to cherish yourself more.”
I hesitated at the promise, wondering why she would go this far for someone as worthless as me—
“…So please, don’t die.”
Hug—
As she said those words, Victoria pulled my face tightly against her chest.
I could feel the overwhelming weight of her love, so intense it nearly stole my breath.
— Thump, thump.
“Can you hear my heartbeat? This is proof that I love you—and a compass showing that we’re in reality.”
— T-this should work, right…? I’ve rehearsed these confession lines in my head so many times… It’s not strange, is it…?
Hiding her embarrassed Inner Thoughts, Victoria carefully delivered her cringe-worthy confession.
Her heartbeat raced as if it were broken.
“My heart only beats this fast for you. You may be proud.”
She gently stroked my head buried in her chest with her other hand.
After some time passed, she pulled me slightly away.
“I adore you, Astal.”
— I like you.
Victoria began to speak the words of love she had prepared for me.
Hearing her confession together with her Inner Thoughts made my heart race with how sincere it felt.
“I don’t want to be a one-month fake—I want to be your real lover.”
— I love you, Astal.
Victoria handed me the cosmos ring she had prepared and lightly pressed her lips against mine.
Soft, warm, and carrying the lingering scent of flowers—her touch covered my lips.
“…Will you be my boyfriend?”
— Please be my boyfriend.
The birthday that should have been filled with sorrow and pain turned into a sweet and beautiful moment.
All of it—her warmth, her emotions in that instant—
It all felt unbearably precious.
But—
“…I’m sorry, Victoria.”
I had no choice but to reject her confession.
“Let’s break up here.”