The Villain’s Ending

Sunset (24)

The weekend came sooner than expected.

At an unfamiliar hour, I woke up before the sun had even risen.

I blankly stared at the faint dawn light seeping through the curtains, then thought it was hopeless to fall back asleep and got up from bed.

I washed my face with cold water and changed my clothes.

Not knowing what to do, I just sat on a chair and opened a book, but the letters wouldn't register.

When you've seen something over 10 times, the content unfolds in your mind even without reading.

Anyway, how much time had passed.

Knock, knock.

I shuffled to the entrance and opened the door to find Lineta waiting, dressed in plain clothes.

It was a dress that somehow didn't fit her, looking a little big.

Upon closer inspection, it was a dress Seraphina used to wear when she was young.

If my memory was correct, it was the clothes she often wore at small banquets held occasionally, or when she came to visit me.

"…Where did you get the clothes?"

Lineta hesitated slightly, then averted her gaze a little and spoke.

"Lady Seraphina helped me find them. …Does it not suit me?"

Her voice trembled slightly.

Since our first meeting wasn't exactly pleasant, it seemed she was still a bit apprehensive about meeting my eyes and speaking.

"No, it suits you well."

It was a dress Seraphina used to wear often when she was around thirteen or fourteen.

It seemed Lineta was a little smaller than Seraphina from back then.

Since she always wore a maid's uniform or clothes that seemed hand-woven in that village, I didn't expect Seraphina's old dress to look a bit big on her.

Still, it suited her well enough.

"Kyle will be waiting in front of the fountain in the square."

"......Yes."

Kyle is the kind of person who, when he makes an appointment, always shows up much earlier than the scheduled time and waits.

These days, even on training days, he always shows up 30 minutes to an hour early, which is somewhat burdensome.

Whenever I waited in my room for Kyle to come, I would sense his presence pacing outside the door.

As soon as I stepped out of the Academy's main gate, the noise brushing against my ears was filled with different sounds.

The sound of carriage wheels rolling, the shouts of merchants, the murmuring of people.

Walking side by side with me down the bustling street, I spoke in a low voice.

"There are a lot of people."

"There sure are. I guess so."

Lineta looked around with curiosity.

Her eyes moved busily, trying to capture the sights she was seeing for the first time.

She must have seen them before, last time.

But since everything had been reset to nothing.

Even the way she had helped me lean on her at the mansion had become nothing.

We walked in silence.

Neither I nor Lineta had anything to say first.

It's not like I could ask her if she remembered that her arms and legs broke more easily than I thought back when we first met, and if she made sure to drink milk regularly.

The square with the fountain came into view.

Droplets of water sparkled and scattered in the sunlight.

Kyle was already there.

She was just wearing a plain shirt and pants, but somehow she seemed to have dressed up neatly.

Her hair also seemed to be combed back more neatly than usual.

When I called her name, she turned her head, and her face, which had been happy, suddenly changed to a baffled expression.

Her gaze was fixed on Lineta standing beside me.

"……Lineta?"

Her voice sounded dumbfounded.

"Why are you surprised? You said you wanted to meet on the weekend."

"Ah, no. I thought we were going to the café first, just the two of us, and then meet up on the way back."

Kyle said, shrinking back slightly.

"Long time no see, brother. How have you been managing at the Academy? We used to exchange letters, didn't we."

Lineta spoke first.

Her voice was a little higher and somehow more awkward than usual.

"Uh, yeah. Like I wrote in the letters, there are a lot of people… and the buildings are splendid, right?"

Kyle answered unsteadily.

She tried to smile, but the corners of her mouth seemed to twitch.

Lineta stared blankly at the people passing by and said.

"Yeah. Incredibly so."

After saying that, the two didn't exchange any more words, as if it were awkward.

I recall they used to be so close that they would stroll through the bustling streets alone, and when I approached, they would try to chase me away.

Feeling uncomfortable with the tense awkwardness, I led the two of them to the café.

Crossing the square, I opened the door of the shop with a fancy sign.

Jingle.

The small bell attached to the top of the door made a clear sound.

As we stepped inside, the smell of coffee and sweet bread wafted over us.

After entering the shop, Kyle and Lineta, as soon as they saw the cake display case, tried to pretend they weren't interested but their eyes sparkled as they looked at it.

The colorful cakes visible through the glass.

A shortcake with bright red strawberries, a rich chocolate mousse cake, a bright yellow lemon tart, a layered crepe.

Whether it's the cake I ate at the mansion or the cake I eat here, the only difference is the appearance; the taste is similar.

Sprinkling gold dust doesn't make it taste any better.

I placed a few gold coins I'd taken from Levina's drawer on the counter and just nodded at the employee without saying much.

Since this was a café Seraphina and I visited so often, the employee began to plate the cakes on dishes.

I took the two of them and sat at a table by the window, next to the terrace.

Outside the window, the bustling scene of people coming and going was visible.

A small vase was placed on the table.

After a moment, the employee came carrying a tray full with coffee, a sweet-looking drink, and a full variety of cakes.

The table was instantly filled with colorful desserts.

A sweet scent tickled the tip of my nose.

Kyle and Lineta both stared blankly at the cakes.

"Can I really eat this?"

"Can I really eat this?"

Without answering, I handed them forks.

After that, we ate the cake in silence for a while.

The only thing breaking the awkward silence was the sound of forks and plates clinking.

Lineta cut small pieces and carefully brought them to her mouth, while Kyle hesitated at first but soon didn't stop his fork.

They both seemed to be enjoying it.

"…I've never eaten something like this before."

Kyle muttered.

"Is it good?"

"Yeah. Really."

Ordinary conversation continued for a while.

Trivial talk about how Academy life was, how the cake tasted pretty good, whether he was managing well here.

Strangely, stories about their hometown or village never came up.

Considering how close they were, and that they were childhood friends.

"Brother, speaking of which, what happened with that fight with the ill-tempered noble?"

"......Ah, that."

Kyle glanced at me briefly, then just smiled.

"It was resolved well enough."

"......Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"That's a relief.

Lineta answered indifferently, lightly dividing the cheesecake she was eating with her fork, and said quietly.

"So, how does it taste?"

Kyle was chewing the Mont Blanc stuffed in his mouth and answered.

She had shoved so much into her mouth that it looked like the Mont Blanc would pop out if he pressed his cheek.

If it were just the two of us, I would have told her not to shove it all in his mouth at once, that I'd buy her plenty so eat slowly, but since Lineta was here, it was hard to scold her.

The words uncultured might apply not just to Kyle but to Lineta as well.

Kyle swallowed what she was eating and spoke with a happy face.

"This? It's delicious. It tastes like chestnut, and the cream is smooth."

"Yeah, it looks like it. You used to eat like that happily back then too, didn't you."

Lineta's eyes narrowed.

For a moment, her pupils seemed to split vertically.

The noise outside the window felt distant.

"The stew I made for you, you used to stuff it full in your mouth like that too, eating it deliciously with the bread I baked.

Don't you miss those days? I don't know about the villagers, but I took good care of you, brother."

Lineta tried to pick up the divided cheesecake with her fork, but instead of picking it up, she pressed down and crushed it.

"So I kind of thought that even if you were a bit of an oddball, if we lived together in the village you'd get better, and eventually you'd even marry me.

I don't really know about love, but I thought it would be okay to live together."

Kyle poked at the half-eaten cake with her fork.

But she didn't crush it.

"That day, you were so happy. You said the villagers who always ignored and pushed you away had invited you to a feast and treated you kindly."

"Yeah, I was happy. The stew was delicious too. Incredibly so. A taste I could never forget."

At that, Lineta wore a faint smile.

It was a somehow strange smile.

"Then why did you leave the village?"

"Just, I felt like I had to leave whenever I got the chance.

As soon as I heard about the Academy from my teacher, I felt like I had to go."

Kyle, holding the fork she was gripping, stared intently at Lineta.

"When I wrote letters to you, brother, I wondered if you might come back someday, but you don't seem like you will.

The clothes you wore were shabby, you're always cowering and couldn't even properly meet people's eyes, and you used to only play on the outskirts of the village for fear of getting into trouble with passing villagers, I can't even believe you're that brother."

"You've become a real city person, haven't you?"

"Yeah, totally."

"Lineta, you should live like me from now on. There won't be a village to go back to anymore."

"......Thanks to you, I suppose. As expected, brother, you told the young master everything, right?"

Upon hearing that, Kyle didn't say much, just poked at the cream of the Mont Blanc cake, put it in her mouth, chewed, and then answered.

"If it wasn't that, then suddenly, you came to the annex, which you never visited before, and..."

"I was planning to go back to the village later, but then Lavin had already burned it down."

"......."

"I have something to ask."

"Go ahead, brother. I'll listen."

Lineta said, smiling as if talking to a subordinate.

"You, where did you go? What about my parents?"

Lineta looked at Kyle as if she really had no idea what she was talking about, like she was a strange person.

Then she snickered and laughed, holding her stomach for a long time.

She laughed so hard she seemed tired, continuing to chuckle even as she lay face down on the table.

Wiping away the tears that came from laughing, Lineta spoke quietly.

"I'm right here, and the rest... brother, you ate them deliciously, didn't you?"

As soon as Kyle heard Lineta's words, she gripped his fork tightly and lunged at her, trying to stab her in the throat.

I barely managed to block her with my hand, though.

She stabbed with such force that my palm was pierced clean through.

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