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Amidst Gilles’s rage, a slight look of fear permeates his expression.
Did no one catch that on film just now…..? If it had been recorded, I’m sure it would have gone viral in moments showing the whole world what a villain I can be. Such a shame.
I suck in a small breath.
“But, on the off chance that you do actually want to live, then I’ll do my utmost to keep you alive. If you find yourself in need of assistance, I’ll come running. And so long as you don’t give up on living, I’ll continue to support you to the best of my abilities. However, that doesn’t mean you can let yourself be spoiled. Interacting with other people is a fact of life that you won’t be able to get away from for as long as you live. And I’m not the one who can fight that battle. You need to stand up and fight for yourself, Gilles.”
“There’s no way that you can understand how I feel!” he cries, his eyes turning slightly red.
“I already admitted that I have no idea what you are feeling. I’m living a blessed life.”
“Then don’t try to tell me things that you know nothing about!”
Whether out of anger or bitterness I’m not sure, but tears start to brim in Gilles’s eyes.
“Hey, weren’t you supposed to be smart?”
“What?”
“I thought talented people were the ones who usually end up on top.”
“Isn’t that a place reserved for nobles like you? There’s no way I could climb up there.”
Has he been listening to a word that I’ve said? I’m getting a bit angry here.
“So in the end, what is it, Gilles? Do you want to live? Or do you want to die?”
At my question, Gilles falls silent.
“Answer me.”
I glare at him, demanding a response with my eyes.
I’ve been practicing this look in the mirror daily as preparation for becoming a villainess. Looks like my hard work is finally paying off.
“Who’d wanna die!? But who cares? How am I supposed to get out of here? What’s the point in being better than any other b*stard out there when I’m stuck in this h*llhole!?”
In frustration, the tears that he’d held at bay until now finally overflow.
“You have the means! You have this huge pair of wings ready to take you anywhere you want to go. Just take a leap! You can fly any time! So what are you even angry about?”
“If I jump, the only thing that’s sure to happen is that I’ll fall,” Gilles retorts, looking at me scornfully.
“Didn’t I already say that I’d oh-so-kindly lend you a hand? If you want to see the light, then go! I’ll let you stand on that sunny stage even if it means putting my life on the line! I’ll make it so that no one dares try to trample on those wings of yours!”
Without realizing, I ended up raising my voice a little too much in the heat of the moment. Not a very villainessy reaction, unfortunately. It’s too bad really. I had been doing such a great job of maintaining a calm, rational tone up until just now.
Gilles looks at me with huge, wide eyes. And from those eyes, huge rain-drop sized tears stream onto his cheeks like a waterfall.
“Why…. are you going this far for me?”
“I’ve already told you. I kept you alive so now I’m responsible for you.”
And at this, for the first time, Gilles smiles at me.
Aw. When he’s smiling, he’s unexpectedly cute. I wonder if this means that he’s already opened up his heart to me.
Looks like I won the battle.
And just to note, I definitely didn’t save him out of compassion or pity. A villainess won’t act upon such flimsy feelings as those.
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T/N: Translation Note: For those of you that read the last chapter on one of the first days it came out, I changed my translation a bit. Originally, I thought Alicia said that Gilles owes her for saving his life, but actually Alicia was saying that she now shares responsibility for Gilles since she saved his life. It was just a single line fix, but if you want, you can see that here. It’s the third to last line.
