The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 195

Isabelle’s declaration of war.

Faced with this, Sharon remained silent for a long while.

Then, before she knew it, a languid smile had settled on her lips.

“I didn’t expect to be declared war on~.”

But Sharon seemed to be in a good mood.

Isabelle, who had been suppressing her emotions all this time, had now declared she would no longer hold back.

Though they were rivals fighting over the same lover, they were friends before that.

To Sharon, Isabelle’s declaration—her announcement of change—was a joyous occasion.

“But I don’t plan on losing either~.”

However, even as friends, there were things neither would concede.

Sharon had already taken a liking to Vicarion.

The heart of a capricious woman, once set on something, would never let it go.

Isabelle and Sharon locked eyes.

Neither showed the slightest intention of backing down.

But before that, there was something they needed to discuss.

“Of course, before anything else, we have to restore that person’s emotions first. Someone who doesn’t even care for their own well-being has ended up like this—it’s genuinely dangerous now.”

“I have to agree with that.”

Suddenly, Vicarion was being treated like a headbutting dinosaur with no regard for its own life.

And honestly, it was a fair assessment.

“Given his personality, he’s definitely still agonizing over our problems.

Even so, the way he neglects himself is frustrating.

But that’s part of why I like him, so I can’t complain.”

Perhaps because she had already admitted it once in front of Sharon,

Isabelle’s words had become remarkably unrestrained.

Now, she no longer cared about anyone’s judgment.

Maybe Sharon had unwittingly unleashed a beast that should never have been set free.

“So, Rin, for his sake—to protect him—we need to join forces until he regains his emotions.”

Their feelings were undoubtedly important.

But even more crucial was Vicarion’s safety.

That was what Isabelle was saying.

Sharon didn’t disagree.

“Specifically?”

“Rather than acting impulsively, we should first cooperate to help him recover his emotions. A mutual effort.”

Isabelle shifted her gaze behind her.

“The same goes for Seron.”

“Hmph, so that’s why you called me here.”

This was the reason Seron had been included in this meeting.

Because her feelings for Vicarion were the same as theirs.

“If we push forward recklessly in this situation, we’ll only make his mind even more chaotic.

If he keeps worrying about us, it’ll only slow down his emotional recovery.

He’s the type to fret endlessly until he finds the most reasonable conclusion for all of us.”

They couldn’t let their love for him fall behind because of that.

That was what Isabelle meant.

“So, I’m proposing cooperation between the three of you.”

Three women who held feelings for Vicarion.

At her request for cooperation, Seron and Sharon glanced toward Vicarion.

He was sneakily peeking in their direction, curious about what they were discussing.

Seeing those worried eyes, they were all in agreement.

Just as Isabelle said, he was probably tormenting himself alone.

In this state, recovering his emotions wouldn’t be easy.

“I’ve also looked into it myself. Not long ago, I managed to get in touch with Lady Baekmokgong.”

Baekmokgong knew much about matters related to mysticism.

So, Isabelle had discreetly sought her advice.

After observing Vicarion’s condition, Baekmokgong had also conducted her own investigation.

Thus, she had passed that information on to Isabelle.

“The first thing he needs to recover his emotions is his own will. He has to feel that he needs these emotions.”

He had to want them for himself.

Isabelle considered this the most crucial point.

“Guess I’ll have to love him a lot more then~.”

Sharon puffed out her chest, looking smug.

Isabelle didn’t particularly deny it.

“That’s fine, but the opposite must also be avoided—he can’t feel like recovering his emotions would be a burden.”

“Ah.”

Seron understood Isabelle’s meaning.

“So, we shouldn’t make him agonize over our problems anymore.”

“Right. He should imagine being happy when he regains those emotions, not imagine them causing him trouble.”

That was why Isabelle had proposed cooperation between the three of them.

Even now, Vicarion was tormented by the problems in his relationships with them.

Especially the distress he felt over them fighting because of him.

He didn’t want their relationships to worsen.

So, his thoughts were focused on reconciling them, not on love.

In fact, he might even hesitate to recover his emotions.

“And it’s not just love he needs to regain.”

Anger and sorrow.

Those two emotions had also completely vanished from Vicarion.

“Honestly, those two might be even harder than love.”

When Seron voiced her thoughts, Isabelle agreed.

Anger and sorrow were complex emotions.

A situation where anger was necessary—one that would make him feel he needed to be angry.

A situation where sorrow was necessary—one that would make him feel he needed to grieve.

Could they really create such circumstances?

“Tch, let’s put our heads together. For now, recovering even one is what matters.”

Both Sharon and Seron agreed with Isabelle’s opinion.

“So, no fighting in front of hubby~?”

“That too, but I think it’d be better to set an order.”

“An order?”

Seron looked baffled, as if asking why they needed to go that far.

But Isabelle was serious.

“Like taking turns for dates. An order where we don’t interfere with each other within reason.”

“Ugh, that’s kinda…”

“If you don’t like it, fine. But can you both honestly say you won’t interfere when he’s on a date with someone else?”

Seron’s eyes flicked toward Sharon.

Before, Sharon had tried to intrude on Seron’s date.

It had already happened once.

Would it not happen again?

“This order is to prevent that. It’s not a big deal.”

“Grr… I don’t like it, but fine. I get it.

Anyway, the goal is to make Prince Sweet Potato super happy so he wants to feel love again, right?”

“Exactly. The smoother things are between us, the less he’ll worry.”

“Then, the one who makes him crave love the most will have the higher chance of winning~.”

Cooperation—and war.

But in this situation, there was one more thing even more important.

“There’s one more critical thing.”

Isabelle clenched her fists tightly.

“On Christmas Day, Senior Nikita confessed to him.”

Nikita’s appearance had instilled a sense of crisis in Isabelle.

Because Vicarion had once had feelings for Nikita in the past.

And the same applied to Sharon and Seron.

Sharon’s brows furrowed slightly, and Seron clicked her tongue.

Nikita was a formidable opponent.

Just look at how he had always stuck by Vicarion’s side, even when he had lost his emotions.

To Vicarion, Nikita was something precious—and more.

“I have no intention of watching Senior Nikita manipulate him one-sidedly.”

Seron and Sharon felt the same.

“This is part of our cooperation.”

Isabelle extended her hand forward.

She absolutely did not want to lose to Nikita.

That was Isabelle’s true resolve.

Whether to take this hand or not was up to Sharon and Seron.

Seron and Sharon exchanged glances.

Then, they each raised their hands and clasped hers.

“There’s one thing I want to say.”

At that moment, Seron raised a point.

Isabelle nodded readily.

“What do you two think about Lady Iris?”

At the mention of Iris’s name, Isabelle and Sharon’s eyes met.

Iris Highsillion.

Originally, she had played the role of a cousin sister, with no romantic involvement.

But now, the situation had changed drastically.

Vicarion had revealed his true identity to her, and since then, they had maintained a close relationship.

Sharon’s eyes sharpened slightly.

“A dangerous element.”

It might not be appropriate to speak of the imperial princess that way, but neither could deny it.

Especially since Iris shared a room alone with Vicarion at night.

If she ever decided to act, the situation could explode at any moment.

“…We’ll have to keep a close eye on her.”

With so many rivals already,

they couldn’t afford to add more.

So, they couldn’t let their guard down around Iris either.

“This is all hubby’s fault~.”

At Sharon’s words, the other two nodded.

In the end, Vicarion had brought this upon himself.

“Let’s cooperate on this too.”

Both agreed to Isabelle’s proposal.

Before entering the Winter Demon Palace,

that was the day the three of them joined forces.

Unbeknownst to the very person at the center of it all.

＊＊＊

What in the world are they talking about?

I watched the three of them with growing concern.

I could understand Sharon and Isabelle making up.

But why had they included Seron in their conversation?

Given how often the three of them had clashed recently, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

As I kept my eyes on them, they finally seemed to finish their discussion and returned to me.

“Isabelle, Sharon, Seron.”

When I called their names, the three exchanged glances.

Then, nodding, they stood firmly before me.

“Don’t worry, we’ve made up. Rin and I are good now.”

“Made up~.”

Sharon waved her hand, hidden beneath her long sleeve, in agreement.

Both of their faces were bright.

In many ways, it was a relief.

“Prince Sweet Potato, once this Demon Palace is over, you’re going on a date with Isabelle and Sharon, one at a time.”

At Seron’s words, my eyes widened.

What kind of nonsense was this now?

Seron wore a deeply displeased expression but gave off the air of someone who had conceded.

“The sooner we get this over with, the sooner it’s my turn.”

What on earth did the three of them talk about?

“You’ll go, right?”

“Let’s go~.”

When Isabelle and Sharon also urged me, I had no choice but to nod.

I had no idea what they had discussed, but I could sense the three of them had united.

‘Is this… a bad thing?’

Given that we were about to enter the Demon Palace,

this was better than them hating each other and fighting.

“Are you all done now?”

Just then, Hania called out to us.

“Yeah, it seems everything’s settled.”

“That’s a relief. So, could you introduce who’ll be replacing Lady Iris in the lineup?”

The first-year she had mentioned earlier.

Hania was asking about them.

“Ah, there they are.”

As I looked ahead, I saw a group of first-years approaching in the distance.

Three first-years would be participating this time.

The top combat scholar, Aisha Bizbel.

The spirit lord contractor, Foara Silin.

And finally,

The second-ranked combat scholar, Midra Fenin.