I Became Close to the Villain - Chapter 13

“… Hmm.”

When I opened my eyes, I was at the terrace. And next to me, Liliel sat with a determined look on her face.

I remembered Idris taking out my mana. But why am I on the terrace, not in the study?

“What happened?”

I asked a question because I was clueless. But Liliel got up and held my hand without saying anything.

“Liliel?”

“Listen, Vianne.”

Liliel bit her lips. After that, she continued to speak.

“We have to run away. There’s a mage nearby. Let’s get out of here and blend with the crowd.”

“Liliel, wait a minute…”

“Hurry, Vianne.”

“What about Idris?”

“…….”

“Where did Idris go?”

“He’s… I don’t know. He dropped you off and left. I don’t know where he went either.”

Hearing that, I frowned.

Where did he go? Did he leave first? If it’s like that, that’s a relief…….

“I understand, let’s go. There’s a mage here, so we have to evacuate.….”

Boom!

“Ahh!”

At that moment, a tremendous sound rang out.

Liliel was startled and screamed. Because of the violent vibration, I fell down.

‘Is it a bomb?’

“Oh my goodness. What should I do? Idris didn’t say this would happen!”

I clenched Liliel’s trembling hand. The birthday party explosion did not appear in the novel as well.

I managed to pull myself together and took Liliel out of the terrace.

It was really chaotic outside.

I thought the sound really loud, and as expected, one side of the lobby entirely collapsed and was utterly destroyed.

My mind went blank.

This was a complete mess.

In the lobby, I could see people squeezing together and some being crushed by the rubble. In addition, I could hear a lot of cries and groans.

“Mom! Dad!”

Liliel wandered around in search for her parents. When I followed behind her to look for my parents, I saw some familiar faces.

‘Ah…’

I turned my head away. Due to my weak body, I should have passed out by this point, but I didn’t. Is it because of the mana?

Boom!

Once again the building was shaken. It was beginning to show signs of collapsing completely.

Who is destroying the building? What is Idris up to, and where has he gone?

I wanted to ask, but it was not the time. Because the entrance was blocked by the rubbles, survivors were forced to exit through the windows.

Liliel and I had no choice but to do that. Just as soon as we managed to get out of the building, there was a massive dust storm behind us.

The building completely collapsed.

Me and Liliel managed to escape.

However, our family and Idris weren’t with us.

***

What happened that day was said to be done by the strongest mage in the empire.

His name is Oscar Ferdinand.

He was disguised as Count Lamberg. The real Count Lamberg was found dead at his own home, his head and body seperated.

Although it was claimed that the reason for him doing this was unclear, I was well aware of it. It was because of me.

But I didn’t know why he destroyed the building.

Is he angry because he didn’t get me? And why did he have to kill so many innocent people?

Because the entire building collapsed, there were more deaths than survivors. Liliel and I both lost our families at the same time.

It was a terrible incident.

That day, as soon as we succeeded in escaping, I fainted again.

It was not because of the shock, rather, it was the side effects of the mana.

That made me remember Idris and made me feel more awful.

When I woke up after a week, I heard two shocking news.

The death of Lesha was one of them. Lesha wanted to meet us for the party, but was murdered by a mage in the back alley.

The other was Idris’ death.

By the time they started cleaning the scene, there was a body beyond recognition and damaged.

It was a boy in his early teens who had white hair.

It was only then that I realized Idris was no longer alive. What exactly did he have to do on his own? We never knew.

Even if he didn’t expect the building to collapse, he would have been alive if he had been with us. Otherwise, if the unfamiliar knowledge had not yet disappeared, he could have used some magic to escape. He didn’t choose either way for some reason.

Liliel made some assumptions.

“Maybe he was attacked by that mage… I think he might have gotten caught…”

It made sense, because Idris’ body had signs of magic.

“Vianne. Let’s take care of Idris and Lesha. They have no family.”

Liliel burst into tears at the end of her words.

Despite the fact that she had lost both of her parents and siblings, Liliel regained her composure and took care of them.

Rather, I was the one distracted.

I nodded at her.

Following the completion of funeral arrangements for each family, we paid a visit to the appropriate institutions.

First of all, we testified that the young boy was Idris Schneider, who secretly attended the party without an invitation. Fortunately, our testimony was not late, and he escaped being labeled as unidentifiable and abandoned.

After that, we took Lesha’s body. The delivery process was carried out quickly. Fortunately, a kind-hearted relative of Liliel provided a small cemetery to bury them.

We sent Lesha and Idris to eternal rest.

I took the wreath I found in Idris’ house. It was something I asked for and forgot about, but he didn’t forget to make them.

I sobbed uncontrollably while holding that in my hand. This was because there was nothing else I could do but cry.

10 years passed just like that.

We left Idris behind and became an adult.

It was a mess.

Everything was a mess.

***

“Ugh it’s annoying.”

I took a quick sip of the wine and said that. Spring had just arrived, and I was now 21 years old. The weather was beautiful, and everyone seemed to be having a good time, but I wasn’t.

“Vianne, why don’t you stop drinking? If you fall asleep here like last time, I’ll scold you again.”

Liliel sat across me and nagged.

Liliel was now 22 years old. She was now also the owner of a cafe on the main street, near the imperial palace. It was inherited from her parents.

After the tragedy, we were left in the care of our relatives. Liliel’s relatives were nice, but my relatives were not.

In any case, we both moved to the capital city, where we stayed with them until we become adults, after which we were able to live on our own.

I inherited the mercenary guild from my parents. However, as described above, my relatives were not very nice, so they did not properly hand over management rights to me. That’s why I have them, but they were the one who controlled everything in reality.

I just gave up and lived my life. We usually drink together at Liliel’s house and lament about our life.

“You know, Liliel.”

“Yes, Vianne?”

“I miss Idris…”

I cried and said so. Liliel licked her lips.

“She’s drunk again. Goodness, she only drank two glasses.”

“I really want to see him…”

“Yes, Vianne. I hope you can see him in your next life.”

Liliel had the talent of saying the harsh reality while pretending to comfort me.

“Next life, it’s too long!”

I have reincarnated once. I know from experience that the distance between my next life and my current one is very very long.

I felt empty. Even though it has been 10 years since we parted, I still miss him terribly.

Idris, who didn’t become a villain, was a really good friend of mine. I became too attached to him.

If he had been by our side, he would be a normal citizen, not an master of evil mage nor a villain.

“Idris…”

I cried a little because I was drunk.

“He, really…”

My last memory before I blacked out was Liliel snorting at me. Our drinking session always end like this.

***

We woke up next to each other the next morning and we overslept.

Liliel didn’t scold me because I wasn’t the only one who had fallen asleep here.

Even though I didn’t get scolded, I had received the repercussions.

As soon as I woke up in the morning, my body felt so heavy and I had a headache.

A hangover? I drank just two glasses yesterday though. What’s wrong with me?

“Ah, maybe this…”

After the incident 10 years ago, I suddenly became healthy.

It was because Idris pulled out my mana and covered the traces. But now, my health was deteriorating. I guess the spell he did cannot last forever.

I went back to my house and then met Liliel again.

Today was a national holiday. Liliel’s cafe is closed, and my mercenary guild was closed everyday.

That’s right. I lived so recklessly without any aim in life.

“When I was young, I said I wanted to be rich and free. Even though I didn’t have much money, I’m free to do anything I like.”

I walked down the street in a blue dress and a white parasol over my shoulders. Liliel was next to me in a red dress.

“I’m glad that even half of your wish came true, Vianne.”

“What did you wish for back then?”

“The same as you.”

“Then we’ve achieved only different halves. You’re a cafe owner, so you have a lot of money, but you’re not very free.”

“Yes. Living is not easy.”