Confession
After finishing her afternoon classes, Bella found her feet carrying her forward before she even realized it.
By the time she came to her senses, she was already near the lecture hall where the Class A students had gathered to discuss their group project.
Through the windows, the murmur of voices and the lively atmosphere of the students spilled out into the corridor.
Why am I here…?
Bella was a little startled by the fact that she had wandered all the way to Class A without meaning to. She had no particular business here. And yet her steps had drawn her toward this place as if pulled by a magnet.
Perhaps… it was because of the one child she could not stop thinking about.
Yeon Bennet.
Leaning lightly against the corridor wall, Bella peered into the classroom through the window. Amid the noisy throng of students, one black-haired girl stood out at once. Yeon was off in a corner, talking with Rina.
Or rather—Rina was doing all the talking, while Yeon looked thoroughly uninterested, either ignoring her or answering in curt, halfhearted replies.
"So, Yeon, for this assignment we should take the lead and…"
"Ugh, enough. Just handle it yourselves."
"We're in the same group! You could at least cooperate a little!"
Even as she bickered with Rina, Yeon somehow looked more at ease than before. Bella watched the scene in silence. Strangely, as she did, an unnameable feeling began to well up from a corner of her chest.
Jealousy? Or mere curiosity?
Bella could not clearly define what she felt. She only knew she could not tear her eyes away from the small girl beyond the glass.
And yet, separate from those tangled emotions, Bella found herself oddly relieved that Rina was at Yeon's side right now.
Rina.
A candidate Saintess—the purest and kindest being in all of Tera. She knew nothing of the truth, and she almost certainly believed every one of Yeon's infamous misdeeds to be real. And still she wanted, stubbornly, to stay by Yeon's side. Like a shepherd trying to tend a lost lamb.
The knowledge that there was even one person who would stand by her no matter the circumstances, no matter the misunderstandings—that alone felt to Bella like a small comfort, a quiet mercy.
At first, Bella had been suspicious of Rina too. She had wondered whether the girl was approaching Yeon with some hidden agenda, eyeing her background or something else. But now she understood.
She must feel the same way I do…
Worrying for Yeon. Wanting to protect her. Perhaps harboring something even deeper than that. Their methods might differ, but the root of the feeling could not be so different.
Realizing that, Bella felt a strange sense of defeat. She herself had only come to understand Yeon and develop these feelings after learning the terrible truth about her. Rina, knowing nothing at all, simply liked Yeon with a pure heart and wanted to stay by her side.
In all the time Bella had watched her, Rina had thought of Yeon and fretted over her with no calculation, no hidden motive whatsoever. That almost blind purity of goodwill could be frustrating at times—but it was also, in its own way, wondrous.
…If it were her.
A thought suddenly crossed Bella's mind.
As a candidate Saintess, with the power and influence she holds—couldn't she be a real help in keeping Yeon safe, given how precarious things are right now?
Three great ducal houses were simultaneously targeting Yeon's safety. With Lady Dorothy gone, the Academy's protective barrier had weakened, and the newly appointed guardian—Elaha—was someone Yeon clearly did not trust. Whether Elaha had approached Yeon with genuine intent to protect her remained uncertain.
In a situation like that, Rina—backed by the vast power of the Holy Kingdom—could become a solid shield for Yeon.
Of course, there were risks. No one could say how the Holy Kingdom would react if it learned Yeon's secret, or whether Rina herself could bear the truth. But it might still be better than leaving Yeon to face every danger alone.
…I should talk to Yeon about this first.
Because of Lady Dorothy's restrictions, Bella could not tell Rina the truth herself. In the end, it was a choice Yeon would have to make on her own.
The interminable group-project discussion was finally over.
Naturally, as I trudged toward the dormitory, drained of all will to live, Rina was still glued to my side like a shadow, chattering away as she had been all day.
"You really worked hard today, Yeon! Our group doesn't seem half bad, don't you think?"
I walked on without answering, eyes fixed ahead. Most people would have been hurt by that kind of treatment, but she just beamed and kept pace beside me as if nothing could possibly dim her mood.
After a while, we reached the fork where our dormitory buildings diverged.
"It's a shame, but I guess this is where we part ways."
Rina looked genuinely disappointed as she said it.
"See you tomorrow, Yeon! We'll have to meet often for the group project anyway!"
She waved and started off toward her own dorm. I watched her back for a moment.
I had always wondered about this. Even back when I played Tales of Aethesia, before the transmigration, the candidate Saintess Rina had been abnormally fixated on the villainess Yeon Bennet. Her dogged insistence on reforming the original Yeon despite all that cruelty had never made sense to me.
And even now, after I had taken over this body, that obsession was still very much ongoing. The way she refused to leave my side all day. The way she sought me out and talked to me at every opportunity.
Of course, last time she had told me that the original Yeon Bennet had once saved her. That could be why she was so kindly disposed toward me. But was that really all?
Even someone as socially dense as me could vaguely sense what kind of feelings she held for me. Which meant…
I needed to check. I had to confirm it.
"Rina!"
I called out before I could stop myself, stopping her as she walked toward the dorm. She turned back with a puzzled look.
"You… why do you…"
I fumbled for a moment. Now that I was actually trying to ask, the words stuck in my throat.
"I mean… why don't you… like everyone else… why don't you…"
Rina didn't even wait for me to finish. She smiled brightly and completed the sentence for me.
"…hate me?"
I gave a short nod. She smiled that sunny smile again and said,
"As I told you before, you saved me—"
"No. Not that."
I cut her off firmly.
"Not that. Tell me the real reason. The real reason you go this far for me."
At my blunt question, Rina fell silent. The smile faded from her face, and an unreadable, deep look settled in her eyes as she regarded me.
"……."
Then, a moment later, she let out a soft little laugh and slowly stepped closer. With every step, the sweet scent rising from her teased at my nose. At last she stopped right in front of me.
"I don't defend the terrible things you've done, Yeon."
We were close enough that our faces nearly touched.
"To some people, you may be an unforgivable sinner…"
Her voice trembled slightly. But her gaze did not waver in the slightest.
"Just as you once pulled me out of the darkness… I want to walk in the light with you, too."
Her large eyes looked straight into mine. In them was an intense emotion she no longer bothered to hide.
"As a Saintess—and as one human being living in Tera—it may be an improper feeling. Even so…"
"…I like you, Yeon."
She whispered it, then smiled once more and turned lightly away.
"You don't have to answer. I already know you'll reject me."
Still facing away, she continued.
"I won't give up. Never. I will make sure you atone for every wrong you've done and walk into the light."
With that, Rina walked off toward her dorm without a backward glance. I stood frozen in place for a long time, staring until she had completely vanished from sight.
Honestly—she had no shame at all, just saying something like that so easily…
It was impressive, in a way. And also very much like Rina.
Her confession kept echoing in my ears. Honestly, I was happy.
But…
…The person she likes—is it the original Yeon Bennet, or is it the me who exists now?
Rina said she had been saved by Yeon Bennet in the past. But that wasn't me. That was something the original owner of this body had done, before I transmigrated into it.
If she ever learned that I was not that Yeon who once saved her—that I was an entirely different soul wearing this shell—would she still like me the way she does now?
The original Yeon Bennet had been nothing more than a hollow puppet, a vessel without a self, created to seal the Evil God. If Rina ever learned that she had been nothing but an empty husk… what expression would she make?
And…
Someday, when I inevitably betray her…
I might have to destroy with my own hands the very things she holds most precious.
When that day comes—will she still look at me with those same eyes?