Chapter 191: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 191
“Scarlet, what happened?!”
“Why are you crying all of a sudden...? What happened?! Calm down for now...!”
As soon as the closet door opened, Scarlet started sobbing uncontrollably.
Sylvia couldn’t hide her distress at the sight of Scarlet like this.
She had never seen Scarlet cry like that before.
She could only guess that something must have happened to her.
Seeing Yoon Si-woo, who had been living with Scarlet, looking so flustered, she could tell that it was likely due to something that had happened recently.
As she was making these assumptions, Scarlet, looking as if she herself didn’t know why she was crying, frantically wiped her eyes, but the tears didn’t stop. She hiccupped in confusion.
At that sight, Sylvia decided to set aside her thoughts on what might have happened for now.
With Scarlet crying like this right in front of her, what did it matter what had made her cry?
“...Scarlet.”
Thinking she should calm her down first, Sylvia called her name. Scarlet flinched and looked over at her.
Her eyes were filled with fear.
She looked like a wounded pet, abandoned and deeply hurt, ready to run away at the slightest touch.
But beyond that terrified gaze, Sylvia could sense a desperate longing for someone to reach out to her.
Sylvia carefully extended her hand towards Scarlet, who was curled up in the closet.
“I don’t know what happened to you, but we’ll help you. So please, don’t stay in such a cramped place, crying alone. Come out.”
Even with the offered hand, Scarlet didn’t take it right away.
Sylvia gave a bitter smile inwardly at this sight.
Perhaps it was just her nature to be so reluctant to accept others’ help.
But if Scarlet needed help, Sylvia was always willing to extend a hand to her.
“It must be uncomfortable in there. Come on.”
With that thought, Sylvia reached out to Scarlet, hoping she wouldn’t refuse her help.
Maybe her sincerity got through, as it wasn’t long before she felt Scarlet’s hand holding hers.
That alone made Sylvia truly happy.
The once confident girl’s hand was trembling like a wet baby bird.
Overcome with sympathy, Sylvia gently pulled Scarlet into a hug. Without resistance, Scarlet buried her face in her arms.
Sylvia slowly patted her back as she sobbed.
Then, as if she had been holding back all this time, Scarlet began to cry even harder.
Seeing that Scarlet couldn’t stop crying so easily, Sylvia considered casting a calming spell, but then thought that, for her to cry this much, she must have been holding a lot inside. So, she decided to wait until Scarlet’s emotions were fully released.
After some time, Scarlet finally stopped crying.
Seeing that she seemed a bit calmer, Sylvia let out a bitter smile and spoke.
“Really... Are you feeling better now? I was so worried. When I heard you were sick, I came to check on you, but you weren’t in the room, and then I found you in the closet. And when I opened the door, you just started sobbing... It was the first time I’ve seen you cry like that.”
“...I was surprised too. Scarlet, if something happened, please tell us. We’ll figure it out, no matter what.”
Sylvia, feigning a scolding tone to match Scarlet’s sullen look, said she had been so worried, and Yoon Si-woo, seemingly feeling the same, chimed in.
He said if something had happened, they would do whatever it took to solve it, and Sylvia wholeheartedly agreed.
She was ready to use all her power if necessary. With that resolve, she listened to Scarlet, but she found it hard to speak.
Fearing that if they left her alone, it would become even harder for her to open up, Sylvia glanced at Yoon Si-woo and teased him to lighten the mood.
“You didn’t do anything bad to her, did you, Yoon Si-woo? If you did, I won’t forgive you.”
“B-bad? What are you talking about?! I’d never do something like that to Scarlet...!”
“I was joking. Despite everything, I trust that you wouldn’t do something like that to Scarlet. Although, seeing you overreact like that makes me a bit suspicious.”
Sylvia smirked at Yoon Si-woo, who was flustered as if he had something to hide.
She had said she was suspicious, but seeing the concern in his eyes, she wasn’t really worried.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely a joke.
If Scarlet was crying because of Yoon Si-woo, she would destroy him, no matter what.
No matter how good Yoon Si-woo’s image was, the power of the Astra family could easily ruin the reputation of just one person.
So, he’d better behave himself with Scarlet.
With that thought in mind, she gave Yoon Si-woo a warning glance before turning her attention back to Scarlet.
“So, Scarlet, could you tell us why you were crying like that?”
She asked because she thought it would be better to know what had happened to her.
Depending on the situation, she might need to use her power.
At the question, Scarlet struggled to speak for a long time.
Then, finally, she muttered in a breathy voice.
“...I almost did something really terrible. And I hate myself for the guilt and for almost doing such a thing...”
At her words, Sylvia couldn’t help but tilt her head in confusion.
She cried like that because of guilt over something she almost did, not even something she did?
To her, it must have been a serious matter, but Sylvia couldn’t hold back a small laugh.
How adorable this creature was.
If a person had to suffer so much over something they almost did wrong, someone like herself probably wouldn't even be able to live due to guilt.
“Wait a moment. So you were crying like that not because you did something wrong, but just because you almost did? Oh my, how can someone be so kind... It’s okay, Scarlet. Everyone makes mistakes. And it wasn’t even something you actually did, so you don’t need to feel so guilty.”
Sylvia spoke, trying to comfort her, while thinking that whatever mistake Scarlet had almost made probably wasn’t that serious.
After all, a kind-hearted person like Scarlet wouldn’t have intended to do anything severe.
Trying to lighten the mood, she continued with a playful tone.
“It’s not like you almost killed someone or anything like that... right?”
But as she was speaking, she couldn’t help but notice Scarlet’s face turning deathly pale.
Sylvia realized at that moment that she had just struck a nerve, deeply wounding her with what she’d said.
“...Scarlet, is that really what happened?”
Seeing the self-reproach coloring Scarlet’s face, Sylvia understood that this topic was incredibly painful for her. But she had to ask.
Murder, even attempted, was a serious crime, something that couldn’t be easily overlooked.
She needed to know the details to decide what needed to be done, even if it meant making Scarlet suffer.
After hesitating for a moment, Scarlet finally began to speak in a voice full of despair.
Everything she said was shocking.
To replenish her mana, she had been consuming the corpses of monsters. And when she was almost caught, she had tried to kill Jessie, a classmate, to cover it up.
It was a shocking story.
But what shocked Sylvia the most was something Scarlet said herself.
“I’ve become a monster who could lose control and do something terrible at any moment. I could burn my precious people to ashes with my own hands...”
Only then did Sylvia understand what had terrified Scarlet so much.
And why she had been crying so heartbreakingly.
What Scarlet feared most was herself.
She was terrified and disgusted by her own monstrous nature, which could harm the people around her at any moment.
How painful and sorrowful it must be to be forced to deny one’s own existence.
Just imagining it made it hard to breathe, and the more Sylvia tried to understand Scarlet’s pain, the more she felt her heart ache.
Because it was the sins of the Astra family, the family she belonged to, that had created this person who had no choice but to loathe herself.
Because of their sins, Scarlet had to deny her very existence.
Then, how could she atone for that, even a little?
Sylvia pondered intensely for a brief moment.
And then, realizing what she had to do, she turned to look at Scarlet.
Scarlet’s eyes, filled with self-loathing and denial, were fixed on her.
It was as if she was blaming Sylvia, asking why she had been made this way. That gaze made Sylvia’s throat tighten with anguish, but she forced herself to speak.
Because there was something she needed to say to Scarlet.
“...It’s okay.”
When she said that, Scarlet looked at her, stunned, as if she hadn’t expected to hear those words.
Looking at her, Sylvia thought to herself.
“...Scarlet, you haven’t done anything wrong yet. You’re not a monster. So, it’s okay.”
Even if Scarlet denied her own existence, Sylvia would affirm it.
That was the role she had to play as an Astra.
Sylvia hugged the suffering girl tightly.
At that, Scarlet made a small, stifled sound, and then, as if she could no longer hold back, she began to cry bitterly in Sylvia’s arms.
As if the words “It’s okay” were what she desperately needed, because she had no choice but to deny herself.
It’s okay.
You didn’t do anything wrong, Scarlet.
If there’s any fault, it lies with Astra.
So please, don’t suffer.
All the faults and all the pain—
I, as an Astra, will bear them all.
Holding the weeping Scarlet in her arms, Sylvia silently repeated these words to herself.
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:P I am both smiling and in pain.
ReplyDeleteI feel like she should have clarified that she did nothing to Jessie
ReplyDeleteFrankly? I flat refuse to blame her for her minor misteps here. She's so completely out of it I can't hold her responsible for a darn thing. So you might be right but who cares?
ReplyDeleteAgree
ReplyDelete👍
ReplyDelete