I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines-Chapter 124

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 124 - What Winter Left Behind (6)

That was a story often told.

A girl who had spent her entire life in darkness finally saw the light—Only to be overwhelmed by its warmth, fleeing back to the shadows.

A paradox of misfortune.

Even as she wept, swearing she did not want to suffer anymore, she inevitably returned to the suffering she knew best.

For in a life of wandering, sorrow was the only home she had ever known.

And so, she remained within it.

The girl before me was no different.

"So this is where you were, Miss Neria."

"You…?"

Silver hair whipped by the fierce wind.

A faint, wavering starlight illuminating the space around her.

Tears and blood trickling down her cheeks, ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

A deep wound slashed across the right side of her face.

Her glassy eyes stared at me in a daze.

"I made it in time."

I answered her gaze with those words.

When I realized she had vanished, I chased after her. At the very least, I had reached her before it was too late.

The dagger, which had nearly brought an end to her life, was now clutched in my burned hand.

The searing heat of metal, imbued with starlight, sank into my skin, the scent of scorched flesh mixing with the cold.

Yet, I held her gaze, showing no sign of pain.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

A lighthearted scolding.

The girl’s expression twisted, complicated emotions flickering across her face.

She held her silence for a moment—Then, in a hoarse whisper, she murmured,

"…You really chased after me. Even through this terrible storm."

"I made a promise to take responsibility."

"…That’s just like you."

A strange smile formed on her lips.

Her voice was calm—But in it, I heard resignation.

"That’s why I left."

Because you were too kind.

Because the warmth you so carelessly offered, the kindness you showered upon me, the devotion with which you tried to turn misfortune into a home—it was too much.

Too much for a wretched monster like me to bear.

Because this cursed fate would surely end up hurting you as well.

That’s why I chose to leave you on my own.

"This is my choice."

"Miss Neria."

Her voice trembled, like she had come to realize something while wandering through the blizzard.

"Still… the time I spent with you was… nice. I didn’t mean to, but… I started craving it. But now, it’s over."

Her fragile dream had shattered into pieces.

Even now, there was a faint smile on her lips.

It was as if she had already made her decision.

And now, she was delivering her final farewell.

"One last request."

Her silver eyes, devoid of life, glimmered with the last remnants of resolve.

Like a flower on the verge of wilting.

"Kill me."

A prayer for death.

There was no fear in her expression.

If anything, she seemed relieved.

The starlight surrounding her shimmered ever more vividly.

"I’m tired."

She did not want to become a monster.

She did not want to hurt anyone else.

Nor did she want to keep trembling in the dark, alone.

And so, the choice she made was to run away once more—Back to the suffering she knew.

"Please, before I become a monster… kill me with your own hands."

"……"

"If it’s you, I don’t think I’ll regret it."

I could not answer.

Tears slipped down her wounded cheek, the weight of her presence pressing down on me.

Perhaps taking my silence as agreement, she gently pressed the dagger into her own throat.

But she did not apply force.

It was as if…

She was leaving that choice to me.

How cruel.

"My body is about to lose control. I tried to suppress it, but I can feel my mind slipping away."

—Fwoosh…!

As if on cue, the air around us twisted.

The situation took a turn for the worse.

The light surrounding her flared, spewing forth raw power from the stars.

The once-frigid landscape turned unbearably hot.

Even the storm began to wane, as if surrendering to her heat.

She closed her eyes.

"If you don’t kill me… this entire area will be engulfed in starlight."

A warning.

If I did not take her life here, many more would die.

The evidence was already before me.

The starlight lashed out like thousands of spears, piercing my flesh.

The agony of my burning skin was far from pleasant.

I bowed my head slightly.

"Please."

Her whisper trembled in my ears.

I traced the weight of her words, and reflected upon them.

The time I had spent with her.

– Why… do you do all this for me?

I remembered that question.

Back then, I had avoided giving a real answer.

But now, I had to give one.

Even as my body grew bloodied, I continued to ponder.

As if I were looking back on myself.

‘Why?’

Why had I done so much for her?

She was just a minor character.

A side figure in this world.

A girl who, in the future, would set fire to a tenth of the continent.

Why did I show kindness to a monster like her?

‘…I wonder.’

Maybe—

Maybe it was because it had been so long since I cared for someone.

Maybe it was because that faint warmth felt especially precious.

She did not resemble my sister in the slightest.

And yet, whenever I looked at her, I remembered the grief I had buried long ago.

A single withering flower, carrying a sorrow I could never burn away.

I let out a faint smile.

‘I suppose…’

Perhaps I saw something of myself in her.

Perhaps I saw a glimpse of the girl I had once failed to protect.

Abandoned by the world, crushed under the weight of misfortune, struggling to survive— Yet finding that survival alone was not enough.

In a world so mercilessly unfair,where love was easily lost, where there was no place to rest—

We had been left with nothing but the shattered remnants of ourselves.

And that winter—

The one that had left me alone—

Had once been filled with children who trembled in the cold, just as she did now.

That was why I could not leave her behind.

Why I could not bring myself to kill her, even knowing she was a seed of catastrophe.

Because her scars—were too much like ours.

And in some part of me, I wished for us—For all of us—To find happiness, even now.

‘A selfish desire.’

My kindness had been born from my own self-interest.

Because I could not ignore the reflection I saw in her.

It was hypocrisy, but I did not regret it.

I simply wanted to give her a reason to hold on.

To stop her from hating the reflection in her own mirror.

To make sure she did not give up on this fragile life.

It was selfish, and perhaps foolish—

But that was why I…

"Miss Neria."

I wanted her to live.

"I told you everything would be fine, didn’t I?"

I released the dagger from her trembling hands.

It fell to the snow with a soft clatter.

And before she could react—

I pulled her into an embrace.

The furious starlight raged against my skin.

But I did not let go.

‘Just as I tamed you… you have tamed me as well.’

Taming is never a one-sided thing.

It is a bond formed between two people.

And so, I refused to let her run away.

If I had taken responsibility for saving her from misfortune,

Then she, too, had a responsibility—

To save me from loneliness.

Holding her trembling frame, I whispered a quiet lie—

A lie meant to save a life.

"You don’t have to suffer anymore."

Cut, stabbed, burned.

Responsibility is pain.

And yet, if there was a reason I couldn’t turn my back on this pitiful girl—

It was simply because.

"Let’s go home together."

To the one who was hurting,

I just wanted to offer comfort.

***

"Please."

The girl was waiting for death.

She had finally reached the end of her life.

And she held no regrets about the choice she had made.

Because this was the best outcome for everyone.

A story where even a monster could find happiness—Such a thing could never exist, no matter what fate she searched for.

Her trembling eyelids slowly shut, cutting off her tear-blurred vision.

'So, this is the end.'

A painful life.

But—

At least, in the end, she felt she could close her eyes in peace.

Because someone was there to bring closure.

—I’ve come to take you home.

The boy who had been the first to show her warmth.

This was already more than she deserved.

The heat lingering near her throat was proof of the dagger’s presence.

Once that sharp edge fully pierced through her breath, even a wretched life like hers would finally find rest.

Tears streamed down.

'And yet… I’m still a little scared.'

Her shoulders tensed instinctively.

She tried to steady herself.

Even as countless emotions churned inside her, the stars above shone ever brighter.

Fear, freedom, resentment, silence, release—As she cycled through the words that defined her fate, waiting for the final moment—

Something enveloped her.

A sudden embrace.

—Whump!

"Didn’t I tell you everything would be fine?"

The warmth of another’s body.

Her startled eyes flew open, and she saw the boy holding her tightly.

He was bathed in the burning glow of starlight.

"Let’s go home together."

His voice pulled her back to reality.

The swirling starlight illuminated everything around them.

Panic surged within her as she realized what was happening.

The monster inside her thrashed, desperate to push him away.

At this rate, they would both be consumed.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me—!"

She had asked for death.

She had never asked for him to die with her.

She had left him behind to keep him from getting hurt—so what meaning was there in him throwing himself into the flames?

She struggled with all her strength, trying to break free from the warmth that held her.

But it was no use.

"You’ll get caught in this! Do you have a death wish?!"

"Shh."

Despite her desperate cries,

The boy only smiled.

Though the pain should have been unbearable, his expression remained calm.

A flick of his fingers sent shadows rippling through the air.

—Snap!

"Focus."

Darkness crept around them.

Like curtains being drawn, the pitch-black void began to swallow the dazzling starlight.

The raging power gradually settled.

And then, for the first time—

She felt something was off.

"…Ah."

Her struggles ceased.

This was different from the healing she had known.

The violent energy within her wasn’t simply being suppressed.

It was being refined—quickly, efficiently, as if something were distilling it into its purest form.

The boy was interpreting her starlight in real time.

—Srrrk…

His magic wove into the glow, neutralizing it.

With a hoarse voice, he murmured:

"I finally… found it. A way to seal away your starlight."

It had taken three months.

But at least, he wasn’t too late.

A warm radiance flickered one last time before fading entirely.

The storm of power that had been surging within her—

No, saying it had "calmed" wasn’t enough.

It had vanished.

The force that had been with her all her life was gone.

Sealed away.

"T-This is… impossible… How did you…?"

She stood in shock, unable to comprehend what had happened.

It was absurd.

Impossible.

And yet, the boy only gave her that familiar, teasing smile.

Their bodies were still pressed close, sharing warmth.

"Because I’m here with you."

It was a promise.

One he had made just days ago.

That he would protect her.

Leaning in, he whispered softly,

Releasing her from the curse she had carried all her life.

"From now on, you won’t have to endure loneliness, pain, or misfortune."

"……"

"I won’t let you."

His voice held an unshakable vow.

Like a lie.

Like a miracle.

He had come for her.

"So… won’t you come back?"

To hold the lonely monster close.

"To our home?"

"……Ah."

The words she had longed to hear.

She had wanted someone—anyone—to say it.

To tell her that even with this cursed fate, she had the right to exist in this world.

That she had a place to call home.

"Hk…!"

She couldn’t stop the sobs from spilling out.

Tears, warm and overflowing, scattered like falling petals.

But this time—

They were not tears of despair.

They carried only the purest, most fragile joy.

—Why was I even born?

For nearly twenty years, she had known only winter.

And yet now, for the first time, spring had come.

Even the blizzard that seemed like it would last forever had finally stilled.

Crystal-clear tears dripped onto the snow.

And with them, she reached out—

To wrap her arms around the boy.

"It’s warm… Hic… It’s so… warm…"

Warmth.

Comfort.

A place to belong.

She had longed for those things more than anything.

She had thirsted for them like a wanderer in a desert.

And now, she buried her face in his chest, drinking them in like a long-awaited oasis.

Her cries, so small and childlike, filled the empty, snow-covered world.

"Hk… Huu…"

"You’ve endured so much."

On the ground, the dagger lay forgotten.

The blade that had once held her past.

Beside it—

A single flower bloomed.

A sign that winter had finally ended.

What winter left behind—

Was spring.

A single flower, blooming with the promise of a new beginning.

Even a withered heart could sprout anew.

And by embracing all their scars, like petals unfurling in the sun—

They could live through the seasons to come.

With the promise of pure white hope,

They turned forward.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]