It was a time when everyone had gone to sleep.
I was still awake, staring out the window throughout the night.
The beautiful full moon floating in the sky cast a gentle light on the night, creating a nice view.
After gently stroking Mari’s head, who was sleeping soundly beside me, I turned to her and spoke.
“…Are we leaving?”
Saphir nodded calmly at my words.
“It’s torturous being here.”
“….”
It’s not an incorrect statement.
This place was hell for me.
The place where I had fallen apart.
A place filled only with unhappy memories.
I had been enduring by thinking of the love I shared with Athena till now.
But cruelly enough,
Believing in her love had only led me deeper into the abyss of hell.
As Saphir said, it was painful to be here.
Surely leaving would be better for me.
But I shook my head, signaling my denial to her.
Then Saphir looked at me with a face that seemed to say she didn’t understand.
“Hey! If you keep going like this, you might really die!!”
Just as she said, I could feel my health deteriorating day by day.
It wouldn’t even be weird if I suddenly collapsed one day.
Of course, it’s not that I wanted to stay here.
I wanted to escape.
I wanted to run away from this hellish mansion and cultivate peace of mind in a place where no one was around.
The reason I declined Saphir’s proposal was simple.
“…Athena won’t let me go.”
I looked down at my body.
Though covered by clothes, the clear pink shackles would surely still remain beneath.
That wasn’t all.
I had no strength left to move my body properly.
Could I really escape from here while avoiding Athena?
“…..Ugh.”
Saphir, unable to refute my words, pondered for a while before beginning to stomp her feet on the floor in frustration.
“This is all that monstrous girl’s fault!! That demon! How could—”
Knock knock—
– Hera. It’s me.
“What the—?!”
Saphir’s eyes widened in shock at that unexpected voice.
Her body started to tremble like a squirrel struck by lightning.
And I was the same.
I suppressed my increasingly ragged breath and spoke in a cold voice to her outside the door.
“I have nothing to say to you, Athena.”
– I’m not coming in. I just wanted to hear your voice.
“……”
– If you’re having a hard time… you don’t have to force yourself.
…What?
Athena’s voice was different from usual.
Her once empowering voice now seemed weak and deeply sunken.
I didn’t want to converse with her, but her changed demeanor kept bothering me.
In the end, I closed my eyes tightly and tried to calm my trembling body before speaking to her.
“…What do you want to say?”
– I want that arrogant succubus beside you to get out.
“Yiiik?!”
At Athena’s words, Saphir jumped like a frog and began to tremble, biting her nails.
“Are you okay, Saphir? Could you give us some space for a bit?”
As I held her hand, she blushed and huffed.
“Hmph. If you’re asking me like that, I guess I have no choice.”
– Are you not leaving yet?
“Yikes?! A-alright, I’m going now…!!”
Urged by Athena, Saphir hurriedly flew out of the window like she was running away.
Once she disappeared, silence swiftly filled the room.
After a moment of upheld silence, it was Athena who finally broke it.
– …Are you struggling a lot?
Anger surged in me at Athena’s words.
How could she, of all people, say something like that?
I couldn’t believe I was hearing this from her, the one who had hurt me.
“Are you seriously saying that…?”
– Yeah. I’m sorry.
Hearing Athena’s straightforward apology made my body tremble.
She had been acting strangely all along. It was not the Athena I knew at all.
It felt like she had become a completely different person.
Worry crept into my mind about this sudden change in her demeanor.
‘Is something happening to her…?’
But that thought didn’t last long.
I slapped my own cheek to scold myself.
Get a grip, Hera.
What are you doing still caring for her?
“….You tricked me.”
– That’s right.
“You played me thoroughly.”
– I did.
“You laughed, mocked me, and completely shattered me.”
– Yeah.
Athena admitted everything without any emotion.
Her attitude made my feelings burst, and I broke down into tears.
“Why…!! Why did you do that? You said you loved me… How could you do this?!”
Once the floodgates opened, no matter how hard I tried to wipe away my tears, they kept flowing, scorching my cheeks.
“I hate you so much, Athena…… But do you know what makes me the angriest…?”
– …What is it?
“No matter how hard I try, I can’t forget you, and that makes me angriest and resentful.”
– …….
“Ugh… I truly…. hate you….. Hic… Ugh…”
No longer able to hold back, I began to cry sorrowfully, and Athena said nothing.
Frustrated and filled with rage, I shouted at her.
“Respond to me at least..!!!”
– Get out of the mansion, Hera.
The unexpected reply left me stunned.
“…What?”
– Sleep well.
“Wa-wa-wait a minute…”
Flustered, I jumped out of bed and opened the door.
But Athena had vanished without a trace, leaving me staring blankly at the empty hallway.
I felt like I couldn’t suppress the emotions trying to spill out from my neck anymore.
So I fled from Hera. I didn’t want to show her my true self.
Dragging my weighty, sunk body, I threw myself back on the bed.
Covering my eyes with one hand, the emotions I had been holding back finally erupted.
In all my life, I had never cried once.
Not when my father abandoned me.
Not when my mother wept blood while cursing me.
I had been able to endure it all.
But now, I felt I could no longer hold out.
“Hah…”
A single glistening tear rolled down my cheek.
The sensation was so unfamiliar that I frowned.
I hated the heavy feeling weighing down on my chest too much.
“Haah… damn it… Hic…”
Yet deep within my heart, a sorrowful and intense emotion kept rising.
Like a child who just let out their first cry, I couldn’t stop weeping.
“I’m sorry… Hera… I’m sorry…”
I was known as invincible but here I was, acting so pitifully.
*
Looking at her face, I couldn’t help but be shocked.
“….You…”
As if the sun hadn’t risen yet, the darkness enveloped the outside.
It was still far too early in the morning to wake up.
Athena had quietly woken me and brought me outside while I was sleeping next to Mom.
At first, I was irritated, but once I sensed something was amiss, I had no choice but to follow her.
“Tomorrow morning, take Hera and leave the mansion.”
Saying that, she handed me a heavy pouch made of brown cloth.
Dazed, I looked at the pouch in my hand, filled with shining golden coins.
“All of this is platinum coins. It’s enough to buy a small kingdom, so it shouldn’t be lacking.”
For an average person, that amount would be shocking enough for their eyes to pop out.
But I just stared blankly at her instead of looking at the shining purse.
“You… are you okay…?”
I had disliked her from the start.
I had felt an urge to kill her when Mom had suffered to the point of death because of her.
But the reason I asked in concern was certainly not because of her oddly deep voice.
It was because her soul’s color had changed,
Not to black, but to transparent and colorless.
And that meant only one thing.
“Ha! You’re worried about me?”
She shot a mocking smile at me, similar to a jeer.
But that only heavy-hearted me even more.
I could see it clearly.
Her face, sending me scorn, was one trying desperately to hide her true feelings.
“……”
I shook my head to dispel those thoughts.
‘It’s all her own doing.’
All of this was the result of her own actions.
How much had Mom suffered because of that woman?
How many tears had she shed, tossing and turning in anguish?
Thinking of my dying mother made any worry I had for her fade, leaving behind only a stone-cold exterior.
Right.
There was no reason for me to be concerned for her whatsoever.
“…..I won’t say goodbye.”
“Indeed.”
Seemingly with that as all, she turned away coldly, moving away.
I too turned my back on her and walked towards my still-sleeping mom.
With each step, my mood sank lower.
Just like the heavy pouch of coins in my hand.
My heart felt so painfully heavy.
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