*
When people lie, there’s something different about them.
Gasping breaths.
Shifty eyes,
and changes in voice tone, all create subtle differences.
“Don’t lie. Licht.”
Pina Grancia glared at the man standing before her, desperately searching for proof that he had lied.
She didn’t want to admit she was wrong.
“…Pina, it’s not a lie.”
“No. No. No!”
She was denying reality, even tearing at her own hair.
Her eyes were cursed.
Eyes that could tell if someone was lying.
Those eyes that had tormented her since childhood forced Pina Grancia to confront reality once more.
‘Pure white truth.’
She knew better than anyone that what Lee Soo-hyun was saying wasn’t a lie.
“Pina, even if you hold onto me, those who’ve left won’t come back.”
The calm voice of the man.
Lee Soo-hyun, looking at the now-black-haired Pina, spoke with a steady gaze.
That gaze was solely focused on her.
“Licht. Why are you saying such harsh things..?”
She was sure it was the face of the man she remembered.
The image she longed for even in dreams.
Before her stood the Black Knight, who vanished like a mirage when she reached out, never to return.
So why was he saying such cruel things?
Why was he trying to push her away?
If that’s the case, why did he have such sad eyes?
“…….”
“…As sad as it is, I have to admit it.”
As he wiped the tears from Pina’s eyes, Lee Soo-hyun tried to calm her down, now turned into a Demon God.
‘This part is the same too.’
Ironically, his kindness only fueled her obsession.
Pina Grancia stared intently at his face.
Her hands felt cold.
The burns she wanted to heal were the same.
Her pretty eyes appeared black, but with a closer look, you could see hints of brown mixed in.
She felt like she might hurt her, so he spoke coldly, just like before.
“…Ah!”
With a gentle smile, she drew a sword from around her.
“Guess it’s my fault again?”
Without hesitation, Pina cut her wrist.
Her wrists were etched with countless scars.
A defense mechanism she had adopted after losing Licht.
Overwhelmed by guilt, she had lost her sanity and formed this habit.
Plop, plop— crimson droplets fell.
“Pina!! What are you doing right now!!”
Lee Soo-hyun grabbed her arm, stopping her actions.
He was in a state of shock, sweating profusely as he spoke urgently.
“Hoho.”
Seeing him, Pina chuckled.
It was as if she had predicted all this, as she quickly attended to her wounds.
“See? You’re still the Licht I remember.”
“…….”
Pina Grancia smiled smugly as she observed the astonished Lee Soo-hyun.
She didn’t mind if this Licht wasn’t the one she knew.
Even in a different world, his kindness remained unchanged.
Despite knowing how pathetic this was, Pina relentlessly threatened him.
Just a bit more agitation and she would have him.
Even if everything was a lie, she needed him.
‘I’m sorry for this threat. But… I never want to lose you again..’
She bit her lips hard against the rising guilt.
The Inrang Tribe would do anything for love.
But minor misunderstandings trampled that love before it could blossom.
“Feel sad for me, and even if I became a Demon God, I need someone who thinks only of me.”
In the past, Pina had turned away from love, as the emotion hurt too much.
If this cold sensation was love, she regretted not feeling it.
It was as if she were desperately trying to piece together shattered glass.
“Next, it’s the neck. Licht.”
Pina was genuinely trying to turn her lies into truth.
*
Pina’s condition was worse than I expected.
Her tears had dried up, replaced by blood.
To keep me by her side, she didn’t hesitate to harm herself.
“…Pina. Let go of me.”
“No way. I’ll never let go now.”
From where the drops fell, black roses sprouted, curling around my ankles.
They tightened into a heart shape, pulling me in.
‘Magic is a reflection of the mind,’ I thought.
Without her using glass magic, she seemed like someone who had already been broken beyond repair.
How could I help her overcome the past?
Could she accept that I was dead and return to her former self?
“Licht. Now I understand.”
She said, as if she had figured something out just by looking at my expression.
Playing with her chin, she flashed a seductive smile that could tempt any man.
“Seeing that you know my name, something different must have happened over there.”
Her red eyes reflected my face.
Blushing cheeks and wolf ears slightly flopping back.
“Will you call me Mardol again..?”
Her wagging wolf tail was visible behind her.
Mardol.
The name she used at the Academy.
Originally, she should have learned my name through battling the Apostle of Gluttony.
“I thought you were the enemy targeting the Imperial family…”
She claimed she never told me her name, but she knew everything about the Hero Church.
It was to prepare for the Magic Hat, but she transformed into a Demon King in front of her.
Though she had rescued Schartines with Nex at that time.
“I’m just the same Pina. Love me…”
Because she hadn’t taken the Grand Route, she said she couldn’t trust me.
“…Could it be that everything went wrong because your helmet fell off during the midterm exam?”
The trust between us had already shattered.
This was the only difference that sounded reasonable in my mind.
“Yep, from that moment, I avoided you. I was so foolish..”
“…….”
If I had recognized her earlier, I would have definitely protected her, knowing she was the Saintess.
But that apparently became a burden for her.
“I’m sorry for not understanding your true feelings..”
She started apologizing while looking at me, now restrained completely.
“It’s quite late, but… I’ve been taking good care of the gift you gave me as the ‘Nameless Saintess’.”
She pointed to the blue rose blooming behind the throne.
‘Mana Rose.’
The fresh greenery of the rose was apparent.
It surely should have been used to save her.
So why was it there?
“I did well, right? I kept my promise to you.”
As if wanting my praise, the black-haired Pina grabbed my hand and made me pet her head.
Normally, after the midterm exam, that rose should have belonged to me.
“Pina, did I give that to you…?”
“Yeah. You gave it to me right after the midterm exam.”
Originally, after defeating the Head, she would have worn it as a hair accessory.
The rose, with the flower language of miracles, now lost that meaning.
“How did you know I liked blue roses? I got chills when you gave it to me.”
She was trapped in her past painted in darkness.
“But now that you’ve returned, isn’t it all great?”
“……..”
Seeing that, a realization struck me, something I had been missing all along.
‘Then that girl…’
The black-haired girl who suddenly called me daddy when she saw me.
The little girl named Lyn had told me to take good care of the Mana Rose.
‘Did she really come from the future?’
Both Pina and my hair color were black.
I had crossed the world line, and with Pina’s power as a Demon God, it shouldn’t be impossible.
So the only difference was one thing.
“Could it be that here, I didn’t use the Mana Rose to save you..?”
“……”
“Pina, please answer me..!!”
When I had given her that rose, I couldn’t immediately heal her from the bullet.
She said the rose had been at the Imperial Palace all this time.
Even if I used it for timing, I couldn’t abandon her on the battlefield.
“…Yeah. Licht.”
That trivial difference separated joy from sorrow.
A happy ending twisted by just one step.
“Oh my god…”
I was left speechless.
Because of the Masterpiece, she hadn’t died, but once she regained her senses, she sought me out.
“I’m sorry for being weak…”
I couldn’t resurrect someone who was already dead.
“The reason I awakened as a Demon God was to save you…”
Whether I rewound time to kill the Demon King in advance.
Even if I used any means to resurrect myself.
“They said it had to be the Grand Route to succeed..”
Everything converged to that point: the Grand Route was the only way.
“While crying tears, I eventually found you,” she said.
She tenderly continued to stroke my cheek.
“I can’t believe that dream back then…”
“Probably. I was so happy to see you.”
After realizing I was alive in another world line, she had been striving to find me.
“…Pina, then please help me.”
“Why would I..? You’re right here! And…”
Upon hearing that, I asked for her help, only to see her shake her head.
“You helped ensure the Magic Hat couldn’t take my Magic Sword Horizon, right?”
No matter how I searched for the sword, it never appeared.
She preemptively hid it so the Magic Hat couldn’t use it.
To assist in defeating that being, she had split her power and added it in as an extra.
“I thought I couldn’t cross the world line due to interference. But why are you here…?”
She had tried to possess me while breaching the barrier made by the Gods.
“This could be destiny.”
—Smooch.
Pina pressed her lips against my cheek with a sultry voice.
“I’m about to declare you an outlaw of the Empire. Just wait a bit longer.”
“……”
Love is heavy.
Even if she runs away from me, she marks me so that I can’t return.
She can imprison me so no other woman can take me away.
“I won’t use violence. I never want to see you get hurt.”
Clang—.
With those words, she brought out chains from somewhere and secured my arms.
“It’ll be a bit uncomfortable, but bear with it.”
“Pina, you can’t do this..”
“The underground prison might be cold, but we’ll stay warm together.”
It seemed like my words didn’t reach her.
Her radiant smile was beautifully mesmerizing.
“I love you. Licht..”
She looked truly happy.
[Pray to the Demon God Pina Grancia to save you.]
At that moment, the status window appeared before my eyes.
Pray for your life.
Not long ago, Pantoze had talked about it.
[A benevolent being may show mercy towards Lee Soo-hyun.]
What should I do to make things better?
If I help Pina, as a Demon God, I can’t go back to my original world.
But if I drew my sword to fight, she’d be sad.
Should I really just beg for my life here?
“…..No way.”
At the very least, I wouldn’t beg for my life.
As I tightened my eyes, thinking about the upcoming future.
Boom—!!
“Did I take too long, Licht?”
“…Kainel?”
An explosive sound roared, and the back wall of the throne she was sitting on crumbled.
“No matter where you are, I said I’d chase you to the ends of hell.”
The familiar face of the Demon King appeared.
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