Chapter 60

Swish―

Listening to the sound of rain tapping against the window, the two girls faced each other in the dim darkness.

Flash!

Occasional flashes of lightning illuminated the room, casting deep shadows on their faces.

Now, they were in a relationship that could no longer be called friends.

The girls gazed at the face of someone they once cherished, caught up in a whirlwind of complicated emotions.

“Tell me, Tirisia.”

The first to speak was Rusika Rafisle.

Leaning against the wall, she crossed her arms and glared at Tirisia, shooting a question at her like a laser.

“Why did you betray Erto?”

“Uh…”

As if she’d expected the question, Tirisia nodded and began to explain.

“It was because of Kelg Durakal’s curse of enchantment…”

“…”

“I can’t just leave it at that, can I?”

“Yeah, if that was the only reason, I wouldn’t even be asking this question.”

“Right.”

Tirisia’s soft pink eyes glinted in the darkness as she glared back at Rusika with intensity.

“The important thing isn’t the enchantment but your attitude after you started loving someone more than Erto.”

“…”

“Tirisia, do you really think you were the same person just because you found someone you loved more? Did that curse erase your guilt? Or did it merely bring out your hidden nature? What do you think?”

“Well…”

Tirisia dropped her gaze, falling into deep thought.

After a moment, her answer came out.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not sure where my true feelings were… whether I was out of my mind because of the enchantment… whether my emotions overtook my reason, or if that was just the true me intoxicated with happiness… the lines are blurry. I can’t tell.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Nodding, Rusika stepped a little closer and tossed a new question into the air.

“How about this scenario? What if you weren’t enchanted but were just in a normal relationship with Erto when you fell in love with another guy? And what if that guy ordered you to betray Erto like Durakal did? Do you think you would have acted the same way?”

“Rusika, that’s…”

Tirisia closed her eyes briefly, deep in thought.

Her bright azure eyes now shone with determination as she faced Rusika.

“It might sound shameless, but… if not for the enchantment, I would have never, ever fallen in love with someone else. That I can confidently say. You don’t have to believe me, but I want to state that with my pride and conscience intact.”

At Tirisia’s bold declaration, Rusika’s expression softened a bit, and she nodded.

“…Yeah, I can honestly understand that. I’ve been watching you and Erto for a long time… and I knew your relationship was one that couldn’t easily be broken by ordinary means. That’s why I gave up on Erto.”

“…Thank you for believing me, Rusika.”

Tirisia managed a bittersweet smile, but Rusika scoffed and continued.

“But applying that scenario to our current situation is a bit difficult. Saying that if the enchantment didn’t exist, this wouldn’t have happened, seems meaningless. The reality we face now is that impossible scenario turned real. We have a deeply hurt victim right here. So discussing hypothetical possibilities doesn’t help us resolve the current situation.”

Tirisia nodded in agreement.

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

“In the end, regardless of how the cause came about, it’s true that you willingly betrayed that guy because you found someone you loved more than Erto.”

“Uh-huh…”

“While watching Erto fall apart miserably in front of you, you didn’t even pretend to be heartbroken.”

“Uh-huh…”

“Erto is now just a past love for you, so you didn’t resist the idea of burning him to use as firewood for the one you love more.”

“Uh-huh…”

“I know well what kind of person you are, Tirisia. You’re the type who would think, if you truly loved him, you’d willingly offer your heart just like that. Kind, devoted, self-sacrificial, and with a heart of compassion that accepts anything for someone you love. That’s Tirisia Bruerd for you. I know it too well.”

“…”

Each time Rusika repeated her words, Tirisia’s gaze fell more and more into the ground.

“But even so, you shouldn’t have done that to Erto. He was the guy you genuinely loved.”

“…”

“If your love for Erto was real, you should have at least ended it right. You shouldn’t have hurt him. You should have broken up with Erto first before you went to that guy. Why did you stab your own long-held feelings and leave? You should have refused such nonsensical commands, as long as your brain wasn’t paralyzed.”

Tirisia bowed her head and quietly replied with a tiny voice.

“…I’m sorry. I have nothing to say. I was just… too foolish.”

“Haa… so you know, huh.”

Rusika uncrossed her arms and pointed a finger at Tirisia.

“The worst is Durakal, but after that, the next worst is you. Tirisia.”

“…”

“You are certainly a victim, but you are also a perpetrator. And the perpetrator who hurt Erto… must take responsibility. Just because you’re also a victim doesn’t give you the right to wish to wash your sins away. Do you agree, Tirisia?”

“…I agree.”

“Okay, so how to repay that sin is up to you, and I won’t nag you about it anymore. Personally, I think it’s impossible though.”

“I’m… looking for a way.”

“Hmph―”

With that, Rusika stretched her arms overhead and then sat on the bed, bringing up a new topic.

“Up to here, you’ve probably shared this talk with Erto too… but don’t we have other things to discuss?”

“…Yeah.”

Tirisia, sensing what was about to come from Rusika, silently awaited her question.

“On the day you got expelled from the Academy… the day we fought. I got completely beaten by you and utterly toyed with by your words.”

“I’m really sorry… Rusika.”

Tirisia immediately bowed her head in apology, but Rusika held out her palm to stop her.

“Before I hear your apology, I need to confirm something. Tirisia.”

“What is it…?”

As her pink eyes pierced through her face, Rusika wore a faint smile.

“Of the things you said back then, how much was Durakal’s trickery and how much was your true feelings?”

She was asking about the insults her friend hurled at her without hesitation, the ones that left deep wounds.

Tirisia, who had not only knocked her down but also left a deep dagger in her heart, was someone Rusika needed to understand better.

“Durakal forced you into a game to love him more than Erto. In other words… it probably doesn’t concern me, right?”

“…”

Tirisia quietly listened to Rusika’s words.

“Durakal wouldn’t have ordered you to say that… So can I assume the words you threw at me were purely your own thoughts? Tirisia.”

“Rusika… back then… I really…”

“You said it was too early to apologize. Just answer.”

“Ugh…”

Under Rusika’s urging, Tirisia felt like she was being struck and nodded with her eyes tightly shut.

“Yeah… you’re right, Rusika. Back then, I was willing to do anything for Durakal, but… that didn’t mean I had to hurt you in that way. Getting mad at you, hitting you, saying those harsh words… that was just me being a trashy person. There’s no excuse.”

Watching Tirisia admit her sins, Rusika let out a deep sigh.

“Haa… honestly I didn’t want to admit it, but I can’t deny it. Because we’ve built up a bond as longtime friends, I wanted to believe what you said was just some trick of hypnotism or something.”

“Rusika…”

“But such a pleasant reality doesn’t exist, does it? ‘Ahaha! So it was all manipulation? Then I did nothing wrong! Let’s be friends again, Tiriting!’… It would be nice if forgiveness came that easily, but our story won’t end with such a convenient conclusion, will it?”

Tirisia pressed her hand against her chest, feeling the pain there, and appealed to Rusika.

“What I did to you is thoroughly my fault, with not a single excuse… I did it because I’m selfish and a mean person…”

“Huh―”

Rusika quietly watched Tirisia as she hugged one of her knees on the bed.

“I shouldn’t have done that. I really… was incredibly foolish.”

“So you’re admitting it was all your true feelings? You pretended to get along well, but behind the scenes, you belittled me and treated me like a coward who couldn’t even express her love properly?”

“…Back then, I thought I was just swept up in my anger and said some excessive things. I never meant to look down on you, Rusika; I don’t know if you’ll believe me…”

Rusika rested her cheek on her knee and chuckled mockingly at Tirisia.

“Well, believing what you say is kind of hard. Regardless, it was your judgment to say that, and once you say something, you can’t take it back. That’s how I’ll always remember your true feelings, Tirisia.”

“…I see.”

Tirisia let out a sigh as she hung her head.

“At the very least… it’s late, but will you accept my apology now…? Rusika.”

“Just wait a bit, we’re not done talking yet.”

“…?”

Tirisia suddenly stood up, watching as Rusika approached her.

Rusika’s face was filled with a playful smile as she looked up at Tirisia, coming within arm’s reach.

“You know, after all the time we’ve spent together, a little fight like this can actually be brushed off, right?”

“Um…?”

“I don’t completely fail to understand your position, either. In some respects, I actually feel pity for you. I mean it.”

“So…?”

Tirisia’s expression brightened slightly, filled with a flicker of hope from Rusika’s words.

But,

“But you know, Tirisia, do you understand why I can never forgive you or accept you back?”

“―”

The flicker of hope was abruptly extinguished, and Tirisia swallowed in shock as she listened to Rusika.

With a mischievous smile, she looked up at Tirisia.

“The chance I never thought would arrive came to me, Tirisia.”

“Oh.”

“The rival I had no means to defeat blew herself up, leaving the field wide open.”

“Lu, Rusika…”

There was no blame, no playful jab in her voice at all.

“After all these years of waiting, the hope of finally achieving the love I’ve long cherished is here, and you seriously think I’m going to forgive you and bring you back near Erto? Huh? Tirisia.”

What Rusika was doing now was,

A declaration of victory.

“I don’t want to hear your apology. If anything, I’d rather thank you! You leaving Erto so foolishly opened up the possibility for me to be loved.”

“Thank you so much, Tiriring, for having Erto, who doesn’t hate people, genuinely lose feelings for you. I’m genuinely happy that you two, who could never be broken easily, shattered so miserably. Now I’ll fill Erto’s heart. You just stay in a faraway place and watch quietly, you loser♡ Ahaha♡”

“Ah… Rusika… aaah…”

As Tirisia looked at Rusika, who covered her mouth and laughed at her, she felt an overwhelming sense of despair and deprivation.

She felt no anger towards the girl giggling before her.

All that swirled in her heart was just an endless regret.

Every bit of this situation was a result of her own making.

Rusika had done nothing wrong.

She was simply being honest with her heart now.

It was her who had sinned.

Thus, the only one to blame was her past self for making the wrong judgments.

“Why have you turned into a mute with honey in your mouth? Tirisia, don’t you have anything to say? Huh?”

Rusika looked down at Tirisia, coaxing her to respond with her hands on her hips.

“…I’m going back.”

Tirisia turned her back to Rusika, her face dazed.

From behind her, the sound of Rusika’s scoff and farewell reached her ears.

“Yeah, actually, what I wanted to tell you the most was this. I’m done with my business here too.”

“…Rusika.”

Tirisia placed her hand on the window frame and turned to the precious friend she had lost.

Drip―

A single tear slid down her white cheek.

“Even if you don’t forgive me… I’ll still apologize. I’m truly sorry.”

“…”

For a moment, Rusika’s expression hardened as she looked at her, then,

“Yeah, we might not see each other again, but I hope you take care. Tirisia.”

With a bitter smile, she truly bid farewell to Tirisia.

“Goodbye, Rusika.”

Whoosh―

Tirisia ran out the window, dropping shimmering droplets beneath her chin, and vanished silently into the air.

The end of a long friendship.

With deep wounds inflicted on each other, their relationship ended in a twisted manner.

The pain of that miserable conclusion deeply bruised Tirisia’s heart.

“Huh… ugh!”

She swallowed her endless tears as she rushed towards the dawning sky.

At last,

the very last place she wanted to spend her final moments was already determined.

She hadn’t yet delivered the heartfelt apology she owed him.

Even if it meant rolling in the sludge of filth, she had to struggle until the very end.

She hastily set off towards the person she once loved, and still loved.

To Erto.

That was all that filled her mind.

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