The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 184

The classroom of the Department of Magic Studies, where I arrived with Eve and Seron.

Perhaps because the students had all left for lunch, the room was eerily quiet.

Deep inside that quiet classroom.

A lone girl sat by herself.

A girl with long indigo hair, skipping lunch as she napped.

Sharin Sazaris, the top student of the second-year Magic Studies Department.

It was her.

"Sharin."

As I called her name, Sharin’s shoulders flinched.

Then, slowly, she lifted her body and gave a drowsy smile.

"Hubby."

Had her sulking passed?

Just as I thought that, Sharin froze.

Mid-smile, her cheeks puffed up as if she had just remembered something.

Ah, she must have forgotten and only now recalled.

Seeing my face must have briefly made her happy.

"I brought the cream bread you like. Let’s eat together."

"What about them?"

Sharin pointed at Seron and Eve, who had followed me in.

Seron and Eve exchanged glances.

"If you’re uncomfortable, we can leave."

"I don’t want to, though?"

As Eve moved to step away, Seron boldly placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her small chest.

In response, Eve slipped her hands under Seron’s arms and lifted her up.

"Let’s go."

"Wah! Put me down!"

Since Eve was handling Seron, I decided not to worry about it.

While Seron flailed and was dragged away, I approached Sharin and sat down in front of her.

Sharin’s face was still sullen.

But at least she didn’t storm off.

I fumbled through the bread bag and pulled out the cream bread.

Then, I tore off a piece and held it out to Sharin.

Sharin stared at the bread for a moment before opening her tiny mouth.

When I placed the bread in her mouth, she chewed quietly.

"Something to drink?"

"Give."

Even when sulking, she doesn’t skip a beat.

Sharin gulped down the drink I handed her with a straw.

Then, she opened her mouth again.

I fed her another piece of bread.

It felt like feeding a baby bird.

Sharin finished the entire cream bread.

Seeing some white cream smeared at the corner of her lips, I reached to wipe it, but she licked it off herself.

"Good?"

"Mhm, sweet."

"How do you feel?"

"Baaad."

Looks like sweetness wasn’t enough to fix this.

"Everyone knew about hubby’s identity except me."

Sharin tapped my knee with her bare foot, having kicked off her slippers.

Her black stockings kept catching my eye, so I wished she’d stop.

"My identity wasn’t that important anyway."

"It was. Because I waited for hubby to tell me."

I had promised Sharin I’d reveal my identity after we graduated from the academy.

Because of that, she never pressed me about it—she trusted I’d tell her when the time came.

But that didn’t mean she was okay with being the only one left in the dark.

I do feel guilty about this.

Somehow, I never found the right moment to tell her.

It’s an unfortunate truth, but there just wasn’t a good opportunity.

"Hubby, I’m your fiancée."

"Yeah."

"The others are just friends."

"Hani is an ex..."

Sharin’s eyebrows twitched, so I decided to drop the joke there.

"I should be the most important."

Sharin proudly asserted her pride as a fiancée.

Tap!

"Ghk—hah, hah, I can’t agree with that!"

Just then, Seron—who had somehow shaken off Eve—reappeared.

Panting heavily, she flashed a smug grin.

"Prince Sweet Potato and Magic Fox, you two aren’t even engaged right now."

Huh, now that I think about it, she’s right.

My engagement with Sharin was announced as Hanon, not Vikarm.

Not Vikarm, but Hanon.

Sharin and I weren’t engaged.

Sharin’s eyes widened as if she’d just remembered this fact.

Seron, triumphant, strode over and plopped down beside me.

Then, she snatched a red bean bread from the bag and stuffed it into her mouth.

Hey, that was mine.

After chewing and swallowing, Seron crossed her arms and lifted her chin.

"Magic Fox, the fiancée act ends here! You and Prince Sweet Potato have no official relationship!"

"......"

Sharin stared at me blankly.

She looked utterly devastated by Seron’s blow.

"Tch."

Meanwhile, Eve returned, looking exhausted.

Seron must have struggled fiercely—Eve’s uniform was disheveled.

"Now you see the truth! No more pretending to be his fiancée!"

Despite Seron’s taunts, Sharin remained silent.

Her face was frozen in shock.

"Uh, um, well—"

Seeing this, Seron hesitated, as if unsure whether to push further.

Even she faltered at Sharin’s uncharacteristic quietness.

I quickly grabbed Seron’s wrist.

"Eek!"

Seron let out a high-pitched squeal, her face turning bright red.

She still wasn’t fully used to Vikarm’s appearance.

"Seron, step outside for a bit."

"O-Okay, sure."

With just a word from me, Seron obediently shuffled out of the classroom without protest.

I turned back to Sharin.

She was still dazed.

"Sharin, the engagement isn’t that important—"

"...It is."

Sharin cut me off as I tried to console her.

She pressed her lips together and looked up at me.

"It’s the most important thing in the world to me."

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

I hadn’t expected Sharin to get teary-eyed over something like this.

The engagement was just something the Blue Tower Lord pushed to tie me down.

But to Sharin, it was more precious than any treasure.

I’d underestimated how much it meant to her.

I never realized she cherished it this deeply.

Tears rolled down Sharin’s cheeks.

The girl who didn’t cry even as her mother died was now weeping so easily in front of me.

How do you comfort a crying girl again?

I wracked my brain before realizing something.

Right now, I couldn’t even empathize with Sharin’s sadness.

‘...Is sadness fading too, nearing its end?’

The bandages of the Veil, stealing love, anger, and now sorrow.

Unknowingly, I had become someone who couldn’t console a girl who loved me as she cried.

Sharin’s teary eyes met mine.

Showing my face now wouldn’t help.

I quickly reached out and pulled her into my arms.

Sharin buried her face against my chest.

"Sharin, it’s okay. Our relationship isn’t defined by just one promise. I know I’m your fiancée."

Sharin’s sniffles gradually subsided.

Seems I said the right thing.

"Would your feelings change just because I’m not Hanon?"

"...No. The person I love is hubby."

"Right. Our relationship stays the same."

If it could change just because of my appearance, it would’ve ended long ago.

Sharin’s love wasn’t so fickle.

"So it’s okay."

I patted her back as I held her.

Sharin seemed to like it, pressing her face deeper into me.

As I watched her, my reflection appeared in the window of my eyes.

The face of a man who could no longer feel sorrow.

The disconnect was worse than when I’d suffered facial paralysis.

The loss of three emotions.

Even if I didn’t know where this would end, the fact that I felt no concern about it was terrifying.

After that, Sharin calmed down.

She realized she didn’t need to fixate on the engagement, just as I’d said.

But for some reason, she showed no intention of leaving my embrace.

Instead, she wriggled closer, nestling deeper.

This fox just won’t quit hunting.

"Sharin, you seem better now."

"Nuh-uh, not yet. Sharin’s still crying."

Her playful whining made me want to hug her even more.

But it was about time to leave.

The magic students would return from lunch soon.

"Sharin."

When I called her name again, she finally lifted her head.

She still looked a little sulky, but better.

"Then, I’ll get going now."

As I moved to stand, Sharin tightly gripped my sleeve.

I turned to her, and she wore a deeply thoughtful expression.

"Hubby, I thought of something."

Seems she still had more to say.

Curious, I waited as Sharin spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Let’s have a baby."

What kind of insane nonsense is this girl spouting?

"...Sharin, what did you say?"

Thinking I misheard, I asked again. Sharin puffed out her chest proudly.

"Let’s make a baby."

So I hadn’t misheard.

"If we’re not engaged, we can just get married. Then, having a baby will fix it."

"Sharin, you’re still not over it."

"It’s fine. I’d love hubby’s baby."

As she said this, Sharin placed both hands tenderly on her lower abdomen.

"I’ll give birth to the prettiest baby in the world."

Someone stop her.

Then, Sharin looked up at me.

Her starry eyes shimmered beautifully under the sunlight streaming through the window.

If I still had my full capacity for love, I might’ve been enchanted enough to sweep her away right then.

"Hubby, don’t you want to make a baby with me?"

Don’t say that with such a pretty, pouty face.

I never imagined I’d hear something like this in my life. It was absurd.

"...Sharin, let’s talk about that after I get my love back."

Sharin knew well that my emotions were fading due to the Veil’s bandages.

So she wouldn’t push me recklessly until then.

I’ll leave this to future me.

Future me will handle it somehow.

At that, Sharin’s lips curled slightly.

"So you’re not refusing."

Wait, was this her plan all along?

My eyes widened at Sharin’s grand scheme.

A fox.

There’s a fox right here.

Sharin leaned her forehead against my chest with a soft thud.

"Hubby just promised to make a baby with me next time."

A promise beyond engagement—a promise to make a baby.

Faced with such absurdity, the fact that I’d lost my sadness suddenly didn’t seem so bad.