The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 77

A Nameless Boy.
A boy, more physically developed than others his age, exuded a mature charm despite his youth.
Under the moonlight, the boy’s radiant appearance had an enchanting quality, capable of captivating even Seron, who knew nothing of love.

“Yes, y-yes, you’re beautiful.”
It was Seron’s first debut in society, and she had never dealt with boys her age before.
Her usual personality disappeared, leaving only a bashful version of herself.
Watching Seron struggle with conversation, the boy gave a gentle smile.

“Why aren’t you inside the party?”
The boy naturally steered the conversation towards a shared topic.
At his question, Seron’s face suddenly crumpled, and tears began to well up.

Though slightly taken aback, the boy pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.
He used it to gently wipe the tears of the still-young Seron.
Having a younger sibling two years his junior who often cried, he was accustomed to such moments.
Perhaps because of his kindness, Seron began to cry even harder, overwhelmed by emotion.

The boy patiently waited for Seron to finish crying.
After some time, Seron finally calmed down.

“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes… yes, thank you.”
Embarrassed by the fact that she had cried in front of someone, Seron bowed her head deeply.
She had unintentionally shown her vulnerability in response to the boy’s kindness.

“So, why were you crying? Did someone bother you?”
Seron shook her head.
Instead, she began to share what had happened to her that day.
Confiding in someone eased her heart a little, though she still felt a lingering sense of injustice.

“I think the heavens hate me. Things like this always happen to me.”
Looking at each incident individually, none were major misfortunes.
But when small troubles pile up, they can become overwhelming.
It’s especially easy to develop feelings of inadequacy, believing nothing will ever go your way.

“And looking like this, if I go into the party, everyone will just laugh at me.”
Seron showed him the faint mud stains still visible, even though the maid had cleaned her up.
Unless she changed into a new dress, there was no way to hide them completely.

“Is that so? I think that dress looks quite nice, though.”
The boy turned his gaze towards the party hall.
“Everyone in there is dressed in shiny clothes, but none of them show their true selves.”
He loosened his necktie slightly, as if it were choking him.
“Whether their insides are pure white or pitch black, no one knows. Isn’t it funny how they all keep smiling like that?”

As the boy sought her agreement, Seron blinked, caught off guard.
The boy chuckled softly.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all philosophical.”

The slightly more mature boy glanced at Seron’s dress, still marred with mud stains.
“Honestly, I think you, with your honesty, look much prettier than any of those kids in there.”

Though his words carried layers of meaning, Seron, still young, was straightforward.
Hearing that she appeared prettier than the elegant young ladies inside was enough to make her heart pound.

“Well, even so, looking like this, I can’t even dance. I worked so hard to learn.”
Seron mumbled, clutching the hem of her dress.

Watching her hesitation, the boy silently extended his hand toward her.
“Then, if you don’t mind, will you dance with me?”

Seron’s eyes widened in surprise.

“There may not be any music…”
Instead of beautiful melodies, the rustic sounds of insects filled the night air.
“…nor dazzling lights…”
In place of radiant lighting, the gentle moonlight illuminated the night’s veil.

“But we can still dance, can’t we?”

And Above All, the Boy Was There
The boy, glowing in the moonlight, looked like a painting.
The sound of the crickets suddenly felt more beautiful than any music she had ever heard.
Seron instinctively extended her hand toward the boy.
The boy took her hand, his kind smile lingering on his face.

“Milady, would you care to dance with me?”
“A-ah, y-yes!”
Seron, trying to respond as she had been taught, ended up stumbling over her words.
But the boy patiently waited for her.
Taking a deep breath, Seron gathered herself and finally spoke.
“With pleasure.”

And so, the boy and girl began their dance.
Beneath the moonlit veil of the night, Seron experienced the most beautiful moment of her life.

Seron Parmia, age 12.
The day she realized her first love.

And now, in the present…
Seron once again faced the person who had been her first love.
Her heart burned with anticipation as she clenched her eyes shut.

“That day, I couldn’t even ask for your name.”
She had been too young, relying solely on the boy’s kindness, unable to muster the courage to ask his name.
It was a regret that lingered with her ever since.

“I attended many social gatherings after that, but I never saw you again.”
Seron had been unlucky.
No matter how hard she tried to meet him again, they always seemed to miss each other.
Her misfortune was almost cruel.

Yet now, Seron had finally reunited with her first love.
And in the most unexpected of places.

But…
Let me repeat.
Seron was unfortunate.

I looked at her with an unmoving expression.
Seron had reunited with her first love.
But her first love was no longer here.

The boy who had shown her her first love—Vikarmern—was no longer of this world.
What stood before her now was me, someone who had taken Vikarmern’s place.

I was not her first love.
I was merely the wretched thief who had stolen it.

It dawned on me again.
I was an outsider, an intruder in the story of the Blazing Butterfly arc.
The truth, which I had long delayed and avoided, now reared its head.

Seron slowly opened her eyes.
Her love-struck gaze fell upon me.

No.
That gaze was not meant for me.
But Vikarmern was no longer here.
And I had no way of knowing how he would have treated Seron.
I wasn’t there on that fateful night.

“Could you tell me your name?”
Seron asked the question she hadn’t been able to ask that day.

My name.
Hearing her question, my lips began to move.
Who am I?
Am I Airei?
Am I Vikarmern Niflheim?
Or…

My feet instinctively stepped back.
The abrupt movement was too forceful, and my clothes became disheveled.
At that moment, a sword-shaped pendant slipped out from my attire.

Seron’s eyes widened slightly when she saw it.
“That…”

Damn it.
A mistake, born out of my panic.
As I hastily tried to hide the pendant, Seron stared at it for a moment before letting out a helpless laugh.

“…Sweet Potato, that fool must have told you to come here.”
It seemed Seron had drawn her own conclusion.
She assumed that Vikarmern had come here because I had handed him the pendant and asked him to do so.

Fortunately, there was no need for me to clarify the misunderstanding.
In the meantime, I struggled to gather my scattered thoughts.

“…I’m sorry, but the boy you once knew is no longer here.”
And then, I saw Seron’s face.
Her expression was one of deep hurt.

My words just now were no different from rejecting her, breaking her heart.
As I tried to say something to correct myself, Seron bit her lip gently and then smiled, her eyes glistening with tears.

“It’s okay. The girl from that day is still here.”

Her words stirred an indescribable emotion within me.

“…I’m sorry.”
Unable to say anything more to Seron, I turned and ran away.

As I rushed down the corridor, I quickly tightened the Veil Bandages around my neck.
My appearance began to slowly transform into Hanon’s.
In the reflection of the window, my image came into view.

But it wasn’t really me.
I barely stopped my hand from reaching toward the window.

‘Calm down.’
I hadn’t expected myself to falter like this.
Unknowingly, my mind was beginning to crumble.

The pressure and tension of preventing a bad ending.
And the constant reminder that I was nothing more than an outsider.
These two weights pressed down on me, suffocating me bit by bit.

“Hey! You!”

At that moment, a familiar voice called out to me.
Golden honey-colored hair came into view.

She ran toward me, her face filled with concern, and examined my pale complexion.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

My face, now drenched in cold sweat, must have alarmed her.
Isabel reached out, trying to wipe the sweat off my face.

Smack!
I instinctively slapped her hand away.

Isabel, too, was a character from the Blazing Butterfly arc.
What’s more, she saw me as an overlap with Lucas.
I didn’t want her hand to touch me.

Hesitation—
Only after the fact did I realize how sharp my reaction had been.
But the damage was already done.

Isabel slowly lowered her rejected hand, then quietly stood beside me.
She said nothing further.

“…I’m just feeling a little unwell. Leave me alone.”
“Okay. I’ll stay here until you feel better.”
“There’s no need to—”
“You did the same for me.”

Isabel interrupted me.
“You followed me that day, too, didn’t you?”

The day Isabel went to the walls of Zeryon Academy,
I had recklessly followed her.

“And before that as well…”
Isabel murmured words she hadn’t yet found an answer to.
Then she shook her head and spoke firmly to me.
“So, I think I have the right to do as I please, too.”

No more words came to mind.
But one thing became clear to me.
Isabel, looking at me through the window, was undeniably seeing ‘me’.
The sunflower was gazing at the moon instead of the sun.

And for some reason, that realization…
Made me feel as if I had regained a small piece of the warmth I had lost.

* * *

Thanks to my time with Isabel, I managed to collect myself a bit.
I realized today how dangerous it is to be alone when your mental state is unstable.

When I told Isabel I was feeling better, she smiled brightly and walked with me.
Her smile looked genuinely happy.

By now, summer had mostly passed, and the season of autumn was gradually approaching.
As I looked at the leaves, turning vibrant shades of red and gold,
I couldn’t help but think they reminded me of myself.

I, too, was slowly becoming colored by this world.

“Isabel.”
“Hm?”

At the sound of her name, Isabel turned to look at me.

“Thank you.”

Even though I had been cold to her, it was because she stayed by my side that I could recover.
When I expressed my gratitude honestly, Isabel’s face lit up with a gentle smile.
She suddenly leaned her head toward me.

“Then you’re not going to boycott anymore, right?”
“No, that’s a separate matter.”

I responded with a serious expression.
This main heroine—trying to take the easy way out of the scenario, was she?

“But you just said you’re grateful!”
“Gratitude is gratitude. What I have to do is still what I have to do.”

“Wow, so petty!”

Isabel huffed and grumbled next to me, throwing playful jabs, but I merely snorted.
Such trivial teasing wouldn’t faze me.
Compared to the scorn I’d endured from other women, her complaints were endearing.

My gaze drifted back to the window.
At last, the season of the boycott was nearly upon us.

‘Now, all that remains is…’
To have Iris join in on the boycott.

The table is set—now, just pick up the spoon.
I’ll turn the student council upside down for good.