Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 67: Xia Ya—I’m Emotionless

The wind scattered the bloodstained petals.

Dyeing the tranquil night in red.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Sylvia struggled to turn her body, forcing herself to endure the searing pain as she widened her eyes and looked at Xia Ya behind her.

"Why?"

Her dry lips moved slightly, whispering words that carried no sound.

The soft murmur transformed into ancient word magic, from which pitch-black shadows seeped and coiled.

In her violet eyes, there was nothing but incomprehension, confusion—

Shock, and helplessness.

Half a year ago.

On that frigid winter night, Sylvia had contemplated ending her own life.

It was this black-haired, dark-eyed boy who pulled her from the icy, bone-chilling waters of the Grandet Sea.

He was the one who told her—

A person's sins were not determined by their birth, but by the choices they made.

He was the one who, amid boundless malice and darkness, gave her the courage to continue living.

He was the one who made a promise with her—

That when she could finally control the monster lurking within her soul, he would take her to the edge of the sea, beyond the capital, to see the vast rivers and mountains, the endless, brilliant starry skies.

…

A flood of memories surged into Sylvia's mind in an instant.

The past six months had been the happiest time she had known since her mother’s death.

On countless nights devoid of stars, it was these memories that allowed her to endure the torment and temptation of the Bronze Cross, keeping her heart steadfast and unshaken.

She had believed that such happiness would last forever.

She had believed that she could stay by Xia Ya’s side and grow old with him.

That one day, when they were too frail to walk anymore, they could sit on a rocking chair in a small house in the mountains, basking in the sun, reminiscing about their first encounter with a knowing smile.

Simple, yet enduring.

But at this very moment—

Those beautiful, sweet, and timeless dreams shattered like illusions, crumbling into dust.

Behind the fragments of her collapsed world stood the black-haired boy, withdrawing the crimson blade from her back.

This familiar figure had once given her an unmatched sense of security, yet now, it felt so cold, so unfamiliar.

The weakness brought on by excessive blood loss blurred her vision, and her legs buckled beneath her as she collapsed to the ground.

Yet, even as she knelt in the blood-drenched field of flowers, Sylvia continued to stare into Xia Ya’s eyes, waiting for his answer.

She hoped for an explanation—any explanation.

Even if it was a lie, something hastily fabricated, something that wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny—

Perhaps he had been blackmailed, forced into this against his will.

Perhaps he had a reason so compelling that he had no other choice.

Perhaps, in that moment, he had been placed under an illusion spell, manipulated into driving the blade into her back.

But—

As if seeing through her thoughts, Xia Ya let out a soft sigh, his dark eyes still cold and indifferent.

"Sylvia," he said.

"You really are foolish and naïve to the point of making me laugh."

"The truth is right before your eyes, yet you still want me to give you an explanation."

"Very well—"

Xia Ya paused slightly, feeling the guilt within him rise.

Women were creatures like this—once they gave their hearts away, love would strip them of all reason.

Sylvia had been sheltered her whole life, never interacting with outsiders. She had no experience with emotions, no understanding of relationships.

So when she fell for him, she gave him everything.

She trusted him completely.

No matter what nonsense he fed her, she would believe it.

Even after he had just driven a blade through her, Xia Ya was certain—

If he spun a few convenient lies, Sylvia would still forgive him unconditionally.

She would even try to rationalize it for herself, filling in the logical gaps on her own.

Just like now, she didn't fight back, didn't resist.

There wasn’t even a trace of anger at his betrayal.

She simply stared at him, bewildered, lost, with faint traces of hope lingering in her violet eyes.

Like a stray kitten abandoned in the wild, desperately chasing after a car that had already driven away, praying that its owner would change their mind, stop, and take it back into their arms.

But Xia Ya steeled his heart.

Right now, he would only do what needed to be done.

For Sylvia.

For himself.

He would not allow guilt to cloud his judgment.

"If you're so insistent, then I'll give you an explanation."

Looking down at the girl kneeling in the sea of bloodstained flowers, Xia Ya spoke each word clearly—

"Sylvia, there is no such thing as love without reason, just as there is no hatred without cause."

"My parents died because of you. That is an unchangeable, undeniable fact. Perhaps there are saints in this world who can repay evil with kindness, but I am not one of them."

"The only reason I saved you when you jumped into the sea—was because it was Lord Norton’s order."

"A living you was more valuable to us than a dead one."

"That was all."

"Then… the things you told me, the promise that you'd take me beyond the Grandet Sea…"

Sylvia's voice was barely a whisper, but Xia Ya cut her off without hesitation.

"Yes, all of it was just to deceive you for the sake of the mission."

"Sylvia, you're even more foolish than I imagined. A few cheap, overused sweet words were enough to make you fall completely under my control."

"You really made things easy for me. I should thank you for that."

…

His indifferent words cut through Sylvia’s heart like the sharpest blade.

A blade without form—yet it wounded far deeper than the steel that had pierced her chest.

So it was all a lie.

The words he spoke by the winter campfire, the ones that gave her the will to live—false.

The promise to show her the world beyond—empty.

From the moment she was born, Sylvia had lived trapped within a tower devoid of light.

Once, someone had opened a window in that tower for her.

Sunlight had streamed in, illuminating the darkness, and for the first time, she had longed for the warmth of that light.

But now, that window had been slammed shut.

Heavy, unyielding chains sealed the tower once more, colder and more impenetrable than ever before.

The last thread of hope anchoring Sylvia to life snapped.

She could no longer support herself.

She collapsed into the vast expanse of night orchids, her body sinking into the sea of flowers.

Her consciousness faded away, swallowed by an abyss of endless darkness—

Deep and boundless, with no path to return.