I’ll Make It A Bad Ending Like A Villain - Chapter 37

***

Filina couldn’t answer any of the words Carmen spat out, so she just ran out.

It was only the first class. She resented Carmen for talking recklessly, even though he didn’t know her very well.

Did she have it easy all this time?

Was she being too easy-going when she proudly proclaimed that she would learn swordsmanship to avoid death?

Was there no sense of urgency?

Filina’s steps slowed as she walked back to the practice field. Class was probably over anyway, and Carmen probably wouldn’t be back.

She clenched her fists quietly. Her heart beat wildly. Her chest throbbed.

She didn’t know why it was so hard when all she wanted to do was live an ordinary life like the rest of the people.

It was then that she felt someone approaching where she was. She raised her head to see who it was.

His black hair was neatly arranged, reflecting the sunlight. The mask that hid his white face well and the expressionless lips that made it hard to tell what he was thinking stood out.

“The class is over.”

Leon studied her condition and spoke with an elaborate voice.

“…… Are you okay?

A vain smile crossed Filina’s lips at his cautious question.

‘Am I okay?’

‘No, I’m not okay at all.’

How can she be okay, someone who didn’t know her well had ignored all her previous efforts at once.

Filina lowered her head, biting her lower lip.

Frustratingly, she felt like she was going to burst into tears at his every question.

She was fine before Leon came.

She didn’t want to be a weak person.

It was a life that had been repeated as many as five times. Every time she died, she had only one thought.

“I want to be strong.”

These were the last words she spat out when she chose to commit suicide in her fourth life.

It was just a faded will, fluttering in the air. It was a foolish wish that looked at hope in the face of death right in front of her.

“Did the Vice Commander scold you a lot?”

Leon took another step closer to her, trying to make out Filina’s face. However, she only backed away as Leon approached.

“When I was young….”

Filina spoke with a pained expression.

“I had a friend who was very close to me.”

“…A friend?

“Yes. He was the only friend I could open up to. He was like a ray of light that made me forget this bloody reality, even if only for a moment.”

She regretted having held hands with the rebels in her past life. But if she didn’t shake their hands, would she still be alive today?

She could say with confidence that if she didn’t meet Leon in her third life, she wouldn’t have the confidence she had now.

Maybe shewould be living a life that was uprooted and broken, committing suicide countless times.

From time to time, Filina would live with the memories of the Guild as her support.

She endured her life with the memories of laughing and talking with Leon.

A nameless, unknown guild.

The Imperial Palace called them “very vicious and evil bugs,” but inside, they were all people living with painful memories.

Filina sought them out, hiding her noble status to somehow prevent Henry’s abduction.

She was able to open up to the people of the guild members because they accepted Filina without hesitation before she did.

Leon’s help played a big role in this. More precisely, it was the heart of the guild members who trusted her. When he accepted Filina first, the other guild members’ hearts opened easily as well.

The place was always full of noisy sounds. Whenever something good happened, the people would uniformly get drunk, dance and sing. There was always a lot of goofy laughter.

When she was with the people of the Guild, she too forgot about reality. She couldn’t even remember the fear of death.

Filina looked up and stared at Leon.

She smiled and opened her mouth.

“You’re a lot like my friend.”

Leon’s jet black eyes stared at Filina.

“So when your sword broke, it made me feel even worse. My friend also had a very old sword.”

“You must have missed his sword very much.”

Filina nodded at the sound of his voice.

“Yes . It was a very precious sword to my friend. No matter how old and worn out the sword was…. To him, it meant far more precious than any other swords.”

She mumbled as she looked at the sky, then raised her gaze again and looked at Leon.

“I think I’m being nosy. It’s just my greed. So……I don’t want you to return the sword.”

After saying that, Filina tried to pass Leon. However, she stopped walking because he grabbed her hand carefully.

“I wasn’t waiting for you to give you back the sword.”

Filina could feel the hot heat from the wrist Leon was holding.

“On the contrary…………I would say the opposite.”

Filina looked at him in surprise.

Leon was staring at her hand. A light breeze ruffled his hair.

“Why did you come to me when there was a demon scare?”

It didn’t seem to be a question that needed an answer. Filina stared at his face in silence.

“When I wrote the report, I said this sword was mine.”

“….”

“Perhaps the young lady will be harmed if they know it was yours.”

Leon looked up and made eye contact with Filina’s red eyes.

“If the young lady carries this sword on her person, she would be caught up in an unnecessary misunderstanding.”

Filina suddenly had this thought.

Maybe it took Leon a lot of trouble to get these words out.

‘”I don’t want to cause you any trouble because you helped me.”

“….”

“So…. If it’s okay with the Lady………Can I keep this sword?”

An empty smile escaped her lips.

What is the point of saying so cautiously?

She had already told him to take the longsword countless times. His cautious and gentle nature had not changed one bit.

Filina replied, smiling gently.

“Of course. That longsword has been yours from the beginning.”

With that, Filina walked away and Leon’s hand loosened itself.

Leon’s gaze at her back has long been in place.

***

Filina strode over to the lecture hall in the annex for her theory class.

She saw Bessie, who had arrived before her, waving at her, and she moved her feet in that direction.

“It’s Debussy, right?”

As Filina sat down, one of the seniors approached and talked to her. Even if they belong to the same Order, classes vary depending on the rankings, and most of the freshmen also trained with their seniors.

This was because the classes were held for a sort of modeling effect.

That said, she never talked to them or greeted them.

She wasn’t sure about the others, but at least the second Order didn’t seem to be committed to a rank and file order.

People were different, and groups were formed. They didn’t ignore or hate each other, they were indifferent.

So she didn’t expect they would talk to her. Ans she couldn’t believe that he even knew her name.

The senior asked, scratching his neck.

“Oh, are you surprised?”

“…Yes?”

“Were you surprised when I suddenly spoke to you?”

The way he looked at her didn’t seem like he was a bad person. Filina shook her head and replied.

“No, it’s just that you know your name………..”

Actually, she was surprised when he suddenly approached her, but she felt like she shouldn’t say that to him, so she made up her answer.

Then the senior smiled brightly and said,

“Of course I know your name, I think most of the people here do.”

“My name?”

“Yes, and Sir Bessie.”

His eyes glanced at Bessie, who was sitting next to Filina. Then Bessie, who was quietly eavesdropping on their conversation, asked, distorting her eyebrows.

“Do you remember us because we are women?”

Her words hit the mark, and the senior only gave an awkward laugh. Filina, who had been staring at him, asked.

“Is there anything you want to say to me?”

“No, nothing much……….”

He opened his mouth with a pale face, his eyes black and white as he slurred his words.

“You went to meet with Vice Commander Carmen during your sword training. From what I heard, you went to where the breeding grounds are.”

“…”

She finally felt it now. All the cadets in the lecture hall were looking at her. They looked eagerly waiting for Filina’s reply.

She looked around, wrinkled her brow, and asked.

“Why do you ask that?”

The senior’s mouth lifted smoothly as he looked down at Filina.

“It was always there when the new students came in. They’d just take them to the breeding ground and scare them away.”

“….”

“There are many cadets who have already left the Academy because of him. If he doesn’t like someone, he tries to kick them out of school at all costs. He hates commoners the most.”

His voice, which had been calm, became a little dry.

“But you know what’s more interesting?”

He spoke in a chilling voice for a moment.

“None of the cadets was kicked out by Vice Commander Carmen so far have been members of the First Order. And the one who suffered the most is the 2nd Knight Order.”

So, it meant that Carmen wouldn’t kick out the members of his Order. And the members who were sacrificed were the 2nd Order.

The senior tapped Filina on the shoulder and returned to his seat. Bessie also showered Carmen with snide remarks and fell silent when the instructor walked in.

The time flew by quickly.

Filina was dazed throughout the period. She knew the class was over when she noticed the pious instructor’s voice disappear and all the students stood up.

Bessie hurried to follow the instructor, saying she didn’t understand the theory.

Before long, Filina was the only one left in the deserted lecture hall.

Sitting alone in the quiet space, she slowly got up from her seat and moved her feet. As soon as she stepped out of the lecture hall, a large annex followed.

All those who took the class with her seemed to have disappeared, and there was only silence in the vast space.

Filina took a step toward the door to go outside. However, she saw a familiar figure standing in the corner of the annex. She frowned and opened her mouth.

“What are you doing there?”