The Unqualified Person -7-
Ricardo's faint smile marked the end of her own grave mistake. In overwhelming shock, she reached out into the void, but all that returned was the cold text of the blue window.
[Viewing ends.]
[Returning to original time in 3 minutes.]
Her vision began to darken gradually. Only sounds remained. Nothing was visible.
Through the encroaching darkness, Ricardo's calm voice echoed.
"Run, Yuria."
"Ah... ah..."
"It's fine. Hurry."
She had wanted to stay by his side until the end. She had hoped to remain with Ricardo and heal him. But her fleeing footsteps in the face of overwhelming terror twisted her own expression.
"I'll... heal you..."
"It's fine. Run, now."
The desperate footsteps of the fleeing girl rang out like a mad symphony in the darkening void.
'No...'
'Don't run...'
'Stay until the end.'
As the sound of her past self's footsteps faded away, Yuria collapsed.
She couldn't see anything, but Yuria knew. In this space now, only Ricardo and Calips remained.
"Chrk. Chrk. Chrk. What if you're abandoned? If you drag that girl back now, I could at least spare you."
"I know how to attack elders but not how to respect them, you see."
"Heh heh... What a boring fellow."
"Yeah. Must be dementia—my humor's not landing."
With the short exchange over, the sounds of battle exploded like bursting eardrums. Flesh tearing. Skin slicing. Brutal sounds.
Yuria plugged her ears and shed tears.
'Ah... no...'
She thrashed, denying her actions, but the piecing-together memories refused to escape the swamp of reality.
One forgotten memory resurfaced. After escaping the dungeon, while hospitalized, Ricardo had cautiously opened her ward door.
"Why are you here..."
She remembered coldly pushing him away. Though not explicit, she had told him to leave.
Ricardo had scanned her body for injuries, then placed a small gift on the bedside table with an awkward smile before leaving.
"I brought something you lost."
In the small box that day was the pink dagger she thought lost in the dungeon. The very dagger that had stabbed Ricardo. The precious gift from her father, which she had once mentioned to him—he had brought it back, reliving painful memories.
As memories aligned one by one, Yuria shook her head in denial.
'Hah... hah... no...'
"Poor abandoned fool."
"..."
"You want to protect her even after she ran off and left you? I'd have chased her down and dragged her by the hair."
"You've gone senile."
"Don't you value your life?"
"Isn't it time for you to return to the dirt?"
The black mage's mockery of Ricardo and his desperate retorts filled her ears with the clamor of battle. Then came the elder's voice, hinting at Ricardo's defeat.
"Not bad. You put up a fight, young swordsman."
As the black mage's chilling words ended—
"Limit Break."
With Ricardo's curt words, the blue window bid farewell to the past.
[Returning to original time.]
When she came to her senses, everything was over.
Still dazed, unable to escape the shock of her horrific past mistake, Mikhail had gathered all his strength to face Hans. Thanks to Mikhail dragging it out, the imperial knights searching for Hans arrived in time.
"Damn it..."
Hans swallowed his rage and fled. Against a strong opponent wielding aura skillfully, he had no choice but to tuck tail.
Muttering "If not for the rampage...," Hans vanished after shooting us a chilling "See you again."
She had done nothing. Joining the group for support, her inadequacy hadn't helped Mikhail or Ruin—instead, she'd only hindered them, failing even to persuade Hans.
Watching the knights clean up, Yuria swallowed her frustration.
"I... couldn't do anything..."
Many sacrifices. Lost friends. Unthinkable truths revealed.
Having blindly misunderstood and treated him cruelly, Yuria now bit her lip and held back tears upon learning the truth.
"What an idiot..."
She felt like a fool for being able to do nothing. If only she'd been stronger, less swayed by emotions—the events shown in the blue window might not have happened.
She could have protected Mikhail. Ruin. Ricardo.
Her weakness made her feel utterly pathetic.
In the vast space of the battle with Hans, Yuria tilted her head toward the ceiling to hide her welling tears. Otherwise, they'd pour out.
She didn't want the knights or friends to see her cry. But spotting the sword scars etched across the ceiling, emotions surged like a receding tide, and she broke.
"Hic..."
Scars from a fierce fight. Traces of a weak academy student swinging desperately against a vile black mage to save her.
Traces of protection.
Tears began streaming down her chin.
"Nothing happened."
His gentle voice kept echoing in her mind. The sad face of Ricardo, hiding bleeding lips behind a faint smile, lingered.
With hollow eyes, Yuria murmured.
"You can't do that."
"You shouldn't have..."
"I misunderstood you... thought you did those things. What am I supposed to do now...?"
Yuria uttered sadly to herself. Ignoring her flowing tears, she kept muttering while staring at the sword scars covering walls and ceiling.
"I didn't even know... and I hated you."
She had hated Ricardo. Wished he'd trip on every stone in his path. But never once thought he should die.
Just... she wanted him to feel her pain, to pay for his academy misdeeds. But not this kind of revenge.
She hadn't imagined him wounded by her hand. She just wanted the scales of their relationship—where she was always at the bottom—to tip slightly her way.
Not like this, lightening the balance entirely.
'I just wanted Ricardo to suffer a little...'
As her misunderstandings crumbled one by one, Yuria could only stare blankly at the ceiling.
The world looked ashen. She wished it all false, but sadly, she had to admit the past she'd seen was real.
Hans had confirmed it. Her faint lingering memories backed it up.
Yuria raised her hand toward the ceiling. Delicate white fingers, unscarred.
These had stabbed Ricardo.
"I..."
Yuria gazed at her trembling hand with teary eyes. Guilt stained her fingertips, shaking every joint.
"It wasn't on purpose."
"It... it was that black mage's doing..."
Denying it as the vile black mage's fault. Cunning lies that it wasn't her will. But the pink dagger at her waist screamed otherwise.
'...'
A crude lie. Just an excuse for peace of mind.
Yuria let out a hollow chuckle and bowed her head.
"Yeah... all excuses."
If she hadn't foolishly followed those guys that day, Ricardo wouldn't have suffered.
Her shoulders shook with rough breaths at her own incompetence, always causing trouble.
"So frustrating."
Overwhelmed by stuffiness, Yuria punched her chest. Hoping it might help, but each strike only conjured Ricardo's bitter smile, tightening her heart more.
"Yuria...!"
Ruin, who had been collapsed, ran toward her. Touched by his concern despite his injuries, but even that warmth turned to gloom recalling Ricardo's pained smile.
Ruin reached her quickly, face full of worry.
"You okay? You must've been shocked..."
Yuria grabbed Ruin and said,
"Ruin... that must've hurt, right?"
"I'm fine."
Yuria's gaze didn't meet his. Seeing the man in her memories, she spoke to Ruin.
"Ricardo... must've hurt so much..."
"Must've... hated me so much..."
"I... I must've been hated to death."
Experienced in healing others but never hurt herself, she couldn't understand Ricardo's pain. Nor the betrayal from a trusted one, she thought.
Yuria slumped forward in thought. Even forehead to the filthy floor, she felt nothing.
Just... wanted to stay like this a while. Until her tearing heart eased, even briefly...
"Yuria...!"
Yuria's vision went black.