Chapter 38
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Chapter 38 – A Perfectly Sad Ending
The resentment she was holding back eventually burst out after Kaligo’s words.
She had cried many rivers of tears when she was still living as Renna Cornelli that she thought her tear glands had dried up while living as Ashia. But it wasn’t like that at all. It was only today that she realized she could still cry like this.
She cried like a child, just like that, abandoning everything and just crying. Through the sudden burst of her tears, Kaligo’s figure approached her.
“A-Ashia.” He hurriedly took out his handkerchief and wiped her tears and her runny nose without any hesitation. He was confident and sincere as he told her that he would help her with a reliable expression, but he was now struggling with his lack of knowledge on how to comfort a crying woman.
Sob
Ashia’s cries of pent-up resentment were so loud that her face turned blue.
“Ashia… Ashia.” Getting up from his chair and jumping beside her, Kaligo was trembling and unable to even touch her, though he had easily reached out to her at the Fairy Forest.
Ashia wiped her tears and grabbed his other hand that was hesitantly reaching out.
“!”
It was quite interesting to see his red eyes shook in surprise.
“If you want to comfort me, do it right.” She snickered and pulled his hand up, placing it over her shoulder.
“You must have the memories of the original owner of that body. Take those out and soothe a woman.”
“That,” Kaligo hesitated for a moment and closed his eyes. “He wasn’t the kind enough to do that.”
“Ah…”
In the original story, Kaligo changed after he met Aileen. He was the kind of man only she had.
‘Aileen…’
Her beating heart seemed to calm down slowly as she thought of her. She was someone she had to tell him about. Sadly, it happened that she had to confide in him about Aileen just when she had finally realized her feelings for him.
The heroine Aileen was one of the beings that created anxiety in Ashia’s heart. Ashia had no intention of confessing to Kaligo unless his relationship with Aileen was resolved. Of course, she couldn’t also accept his heart.
Ashia took a deep breath. Her breathing slowly stabilized. Meanwhile, Kaligo’s hand was patting her small shoulder. A faint smile was drawn on her lips at his clumsy yet unfamiliar touch.
“Kaligo…” she said calmly.
He retracted his hand. “Yes, tell me.” He sat down again with one knee next to her, meeting her gaze.
“Do you believe in fate?”
Kaligo answered honestly and seriously even with her unexpected question, “I don’t believe it.”
Expecting his answer, Ashia nodded and continued their conversation, “I believe in fate.” She then turned her head and cast her gaze towards the table. “Renna Cornelli’s fate was to be born in such a family, meet you, and die that way.”
“…” Kaligo wordlessly waited for her next words.
“I told you that this place is inside a book.”
“Yes.”
“The ending has been decided. As with most books, there is only one ending.”
“…”
“It’s a story that has a set path.”
“Ashia.”
“There was something I couldn’t tell you about a few days ago.”
“Please speak.”
Ashia wiped her tears with his handkerchief and set it down on the table. She continued to speak to hide her trembling voice as much as possible, “The male protagonist in this book is Kaligo Etous.”
“…”
“It’s you…”
“I see.”
“And, the female protagonist.”
Kaligo’s voice came out a little faster than hers. “Is not you.”
“…That’s right.”
Neither the exhausted Ashia nor Kaligo could continue to speak. Even the sound of their breathing couldn’t be heard inside that quiet space. It was Kaligo who spoke first and broke the silence.
“Ah.”
“Yes.”
“Were you going to tell me about the identity of the heroine?”
“Yes.”
Kaligo stood up without a word. Meanwhile, she found a glass and poured water into it He sat down in front of her and placed his hands over hers.
“Ashia. I don’t need to hear about her.”
“…”
Looking at the glass of water on the table, Ashia turned her head to look at him.
“I’ll just listen if there’s a reason I need to know about who she is.”
“…”
“If that’s not the case, you don’t have to tell me.”
He wasn’t curious as to who was the female lead. The fact that he was the male lead didn’t seem very exciting. From the first day Ashia met Kaligo at the Grand Duke’s mansion, she knew that his gaze and voice were always directed at her.
She was very anxious even from merely looking at his strong appearance, and the cause of that anxiety was none other than the heroine Aileen. She was anxious about how the relationship the book had set would work out between Aileen and Kaligo.
The reason she had closed her eyes and couldn’t accept him was no different. She was afraid that just like fate or some magic, the two main characters would fall in love; she was afraid that she would see him turn away from her in an instant.
‘Will I be able to act calmly when I see Kaligo like that… Can I live like I didn’t know him in the first place? Will I be able to clap at the set happy ending for the two main characters as I initially planned?’
Ashia decided to confide in him her anxiety as well in order to give those questions a definite answer—together with the reason why she couldn’t accept him…
“Aileen Encherances.”
Kaligo’s eyes narrowed when the imperial princess’ name came out from Ashia’s mouth. He remembered that her complexion changed when he mentioned that name a few days ago.
“She is… the female protagonist of this book.” And immediately, Ashia continued to speak. “She’s the woman destined to be with you.”
Bang!
“Lisa?” Aileen got up from her chair.
Coming into the dormitory while hurriedly opening the door, Lisa leaned on the door, slipped, and fell.
“Pant… pant.”
Aileen approached Lisa, who was breathing heavily. “Are you okay? …My goodness.”
As she pulled her hood back, Lisa’s hair, soaked in a cold sweat, was glued to her face and neck.
“Lisa?!” When Aileen grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her lightly, Lisa was startled and slapped her hand away.
“Ack.”
“…M-Miss A-Aileen, my apologies.”
“…What happened?”
“No… it’s… nothing.” Lisa tried to get up several times before falling down again.
“I’m going to call you a physician.”
“No!” She even yelled at Aileen.
“…”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll get better with a little rest.”
“…Okay.” Aileen supported Lisa and moved her to the bed
She had stopped sweating, but her body still trembled, her face was still pale, and her lips were blue.
– Are you going to use attack magic again? This is the Imperial Palace.
– What do you know?
At that time, there was nothing in her eyes, whether it was the Imperial Palace. Being the Magic Tower’s master was the place she worked hard to climb. The anger that was swelling on her face as Ashia refuted that and laughed at her, exploded. She didn’t even know who was walking behind Ashia she blindly gathered her magic power. She didn’t feel his presence until her attack magic failed. Exactly beyond that red shield barrier, she saw his eyes redden with anger and killing intent.
Thump. Thump.
The pain in her heart was choking her. She had managed to maintain her balance after she injected magic power into her staggering legs. Her power was already maintaining the continuously-used barrier in the Magic Tower. Her magical power was immediately consumed due to her sudden use of attack magic.
The shock would have been transmitted throughout the whole body when the magic power reached its limit. She had to quickly put on her hood and get out of that place. As she ran to her dormitory without a break, the memories she had forgotten resurfaced in her mind.
-Renna!!
That man who ran in the forest like a madman calling that name.
Why was that madman there!
She knew those eyes. She already knew that face, that gaze, and the life contained inside it. Her body was trembling helplessly as she remembered the fear she felt at that time.
– Give it to me… Why do you have it? Tell me, what did Renna do.
It was the same guy she met seven years ago in that forest.
Kaligo who had been silent for a while let out a soft sigh as he listened to her words. “Who decided that?”
“…”
“This book? The original author?” As soon as Kaligo heard it all, he started to spit out the words he had been holding back, “Ashia, do you… want it to go the way it was?”
“…That.”
“Is it alright with you if I stick with the original story and end up together with the heroine? What does it mean to continue?”
Kaligo didn’t give her a chance to answer—no, Ashia couldn’t answer. She didn’t know how to answer his question.
“…”
“Does it make sense? Mixing our bodies together?”
“Kaligo…”
“Sigh… Ashia.” Kaligo buried his face in the palm of his hand.
Ashia’s expression became gentle as he slowly said her name. Kaligo raised his head again and looked at her silently. Their gazes met for a moment. At some point, there was a faint smile on Kaligo’s lips.
“Ashia.”
“Yes.”
“Whatever it is… I think it was wrong.”
“Yes?” she asked, round-eyed.
Kaligo gently held Ashia’s cheeks in his hands, “I have no intention of having intercourse with any other woman.”
“Kaligo…”
His voice soon grew stern, “So give up. This book will never – ever end with the intended happy ending of the author.”
“Kaligo, what are you…?”
He didn’t care about Ashia’s face full of confusion as words like a cry of war poured nonstop from the male lead’s mouth, “It would be a perfect sad ending.”Besides that, he added the last words with a smile, “Because the male lead is not going to fall in love with the heroine, but will love another woman.”
(T/N: Ayo, what a wonderful declaration of love [hops in bunny mode]
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Chapter 38 – A Perfectly Sad Ending
The resentment she was holding back eventually burst out after Kaligo’s words.
She had cried many rivers of tears when she was still living as Renna Cornelli that she thought her tear glands had dried up while living as Ashia. But it wasn’t like that at all. It was only today that she realized she could still cry like this.
She cried like a child, just like that, abandoning everything and just crying. Through the sudden burst of her tears, Kaligo’s figure approached her.
“A-Ashia.” He hurriedly took out his handkerchief and wiped her tears and her runny nose without any hesitation. He was confident and sincere as he told her that he would help her with a reliable expression, but he was now struggling with his lack of knowledge on how to comfort a crying woman.
Sob
Ashia’s cries of pent-up resentment were so loud that her face turned blue.
“Ashia… Ashia.” Getting up from his chair and jumping beside her, Kaligo was trembling and unable to even touch her, though he had easily reached out to her at the Fairy Forest.
Ashia wiped her tears and grabbed his other hand that was hesitantly reaching out.
“!”
It was quite interesting to see his red eyes shook in surprise.
“If you want to comfort me, do it right.” She snickered and pulled his hand up, placing it over her shoulder.
“You must have the memories of the original owner of that body. Take those out and soothe a woman.”
“That,” Kaligo hesitated for a moment and closed his eyes. “He wasn’t the kind enough to do that.”
“Ah…”
In the original story, Kaligo changed after he met Aileen. He was the kind of man only she had.
‘Aileen…’
Her beating heart seemed to calm down slowly as she thought of her. She was someone she had to tell him about. Sadly, it happened that she had to confide in him about Aileen just when she had finally realized her feelings for him.
The heroine Aileen was one of the beings that created anxiety in Ashia’s heart. Ashia had no intention of confessing to Kaligo unless his relationship with Aileen was resolved. Of course, she couldn’t also accept his heart.
Ashia took a deep breath. Her breathing slowly stabilized. Meanwhile, Kaligo’s hand was patting her small shoulder. A faint smile was drawn on her lips at his clumsy yet unfamiliar touch.
“Kaligo…” she said calmly.
He retracted his hand. “Yes, tell me.” He sat down again with one knee next to her, meeting her gaze.
“Do you believe in fate?”
Kaligo answered honestly and seriously even with her unexpected question, “I don’t believe it.”
Expecting his answer, Ashia nodded and continued their conversation, “I believe in fate.” She then turned her head and cast her gaze towards the table. “Renna Cornelli’s fate was to be born in such a family, meet you, and die that way.”
“…” Kaligo wordlessly waited for her next words.
“I told you that this place is inside a book.”
“Yes.”
“The ending has been decided. As with most books, there is only one ending.”
“…”
“It’s a story that has a set path.”
“Ashia.”
“There was something I couldn’t tell you about a few days ago.”
“Please speak.”
Ashia wiped her tears with his handkerchief and set it down on the table. She continued to speak to hide her trembling voice as much as possible, “The male protagonist in this book is Kaligo Etous.”
“…”
“It’s you…”
“I see.”
“And, the female protagonist.”
Kaligo’s voice came out a little faster than hers. “Is not you.”
“…That’s right.”
Neither the exhausted Ashia nor Kaligo could continue to speak. Even the sound of their breathing couldn’t be heard inside that quiet space. It was Kaligo who spoke first and broke the silence.
“Ah.”
“Yes.”
“Were you going to tell me about the identity of the heroine?”
“Yes.”
Kaligo stood up without a word. Meanwhile, she found a glass and poured water into it He sat down in front of her and placed his hands over hers.
“Ashia. I don’t need to hear about her.”
“…”
Looking at the glass of water on the table, Ashia turned her head to look at him.
“I’ll just listen if there’s a reason I need to know about who she is.”
“…”
“If that’s not the case, you don’t have to tell me.”
He wasn’t curious as to who was the female lead. The fact that he was the male lead didn’t seem very exciting. From the first day Ashia met Kaligo at the Grand Duke’s mansion, she knew that his gaze and voice were always directed at her.
She was very anxious even from merely looking at his strong appearance, and the cause of that anxiety was none other than the heroine Aileen. She was anxious about how the relationship the book had set would work out between Aileen and Kaligo.
The reason she had closed her eyes and couldn’t accept him was no different. She was afraid that just like fate or some magic, the two main characters would fall in love; she was afraid that she would see him turn away from her in an instant.
‘Will I be able to act calmly when I see Kaligo like that… Can I live like I didn’t know him in the first place? Will I be able to clap at the set happy ending for the two main characters as I initially planned?’
Ashia decided to confide in him her anxiety as well in order to give those questions a definite answer—together with the reason why she couldn’t accept him…
“Aileen Encherances.”
Kaligo’s eyes narrowed when the imperial princess’ name came out from Ashia’s mouth. He remembered that her complexion changed when he mentioned that name a few days ago.
“She is… the female protagonist of this book.” And immediately, Ashia continued to speak. “She’s the woman destined to be with you.”
Bang!
“Lisa?” Aileen got up from her chair.
Coming into the dormitory while hurriedly opening the door, Lisa leaned on the door, slipped, and fell.
“Pant… pant.”
Aileen approached Lisa, who was breathing heavily. “Are you okay? …My goodness.”
As she pulled her hood back, Lisa’s hair, soaked in a cold sweat, was glued to her face and neck.
“Lisa?!” When Aileen grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her lightly, Lisa was startled and slapped her hand away.
“Ack.”
“…M-Miss A-Aileen, my apologies.”
“…What happened?”
“No… it’s… nothing.” Lisa tried to get up several times before falling down again.
“I’m going to call you a physician.”
“No!” She even yelled at Aileen.
“…”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll get better with a little rest.”
“…Okay.” Aileen supported Lisa and moved her to the bed
She had stopped sweating, but her body still trembled, her face was still pale, and her lips were blue.
– Are you going to use attack magic again? This is the Imperial Palace.
– What do you know?
At that time, there was nothing in her eyes, whether it was the Imperial Palace. Being the Magic Tower’s master was the place she worked hard to climb. The anger that was swelling on her face as Ashia refuted that and laughed at her, exploded. She didn’t even know who was walking behind Ashia she blindly gathered her magic power. She didn’t feel his presence until her attack magic failed. Exactly beyond that red shield barrier, she saw his eyes redden with anger and killing intent.
Thump. Thump.
The pain in her heart was choking her. She had managed to maintain her balance after she injected magic power into her staggering legs. Her power was already maintaining the continuously-used barrier in the Magic Tower. Her magical power was immediately consumed due to her sudden use of attack magic.
The shock would have been transmitted throughout the whole body when the magic power reached its limit. She had to quickly put on her hood and get out of that place. As she ran to her dormitory without a break, the memories she had forgotten resurfaced in her mind.
-Renna!!
That man who ran in the forest like a madman calling that name.
Why was that madman there!
She knew those eyes. She already knew that face, that gaze, and the life contained inside it. Her body was trembling helplessly as she remembered the fear she felt at that time.
– Give it to me… Why do you have it? Tell me, what did Renna do.
It was the same guy she met seven years ago in that forest.
Kaligo who had been silent for a while let out a soft sigh as he listened to her words. “Who decided that?”
“…”
“This book? The original author?” As soon as Kaligo heard it all, he started to spit out the words he had been holding back, “Ashia, do you… want it to go the way it was?”
“…That.”
“Is it alright with you if I stick with the original story and end up together with the heroine? What does it mean to continue?”
Kaligo didn’t give her a chance to answer—no, Ashia couldn’t answer. She didn’t know how to answer his question.
“…”
“Does it make sense? Mixing our bodies together?”
“Kaligo…”
“Sigh… Ashia.” Kaligo buried his face in the palm of his hand.
Ashia’s expression became gentle as he slowly said her name. Kaligo raised his head again and looked at her silently. Their gazes met for a moment. At some point, there was a faint smile on Kaligo’s lips.
“Ashia.”
“Yes.”
“Whatever it is… I think it was wrong.”
“Yes?” she asked, round-eyed.
Kaligo gently held Ashia’s cheeks in his hands, “I have no intention of having intercourse with any other woman.”
“Kaligo…”
His voice soon grew stern, “So give up. This book will never – ever end with the intended happy ending of the author.”
“Kaligo, what are you…?”
He didn’t care about Ashia’s face full of confusion as words like a cry of war poured nonstop from the male lead’s mouth, “It would be a perfect sad ending.”Besides that, he added the last words with a smile, “Because the male lead is not going to fall in love with the heroine, but will love another woman.”
(T/N: Ayo, what a wonderful declaration of love [hops in bunny mode]
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