Chapter 52

Gene stood by the door of his room, took a deep breath, and tightly held the letter containing the secret his mother had given him.

---

Gene questioned himself.

Why must I, of all people, buy flowers for someone else?

Gene questioned himself.

Why did I, this great person, even go to the trouble of getting a new robe for someone else?

Gene questioned himself.

Why am I, this great genius, fussing over my hairstyle in front of the mirror just because someone is coming to my room?

"Ridiculous to be nervous."

Even as he said this, he busily walked around his room.

He would take out a book on magic theory from the bookshelf, only to put it back after a glance at the cover.

He would pick up a pen from the desk, observe it meaninglessly, and then return it to its place.

He would straighten the chair, check his appearance in front of the mirror, sit down to calm himself, but then stand up and start walking again.

"...Ridiculous."

He had always thought it was something that had no place in his life.

If asked what it was, Gene could only say it was everything he was feeling now.

Knock, knock.

When the knocking sound was heard, Gene's movements came to an abrupt stop.

He swallowed hard, his throat moving.

"Y-You can come in."

His voice wavered at the beginning.

To cover it up, he coughed awkwardly and then made a determined face to greet the person entering the room.

The doorknob turned, and the shiny wooden door opened.

The person who appeared was not Kiril, whom he had been waiting for, but Linus.

"What are you doing here, Linus? If you have something to say, can't you come back later? I have an appointment with someone else—gah!?"

Before Gene could finish speaking, Linus's fist struck his cheek.

With not just strength but also his full weight and a twist, the blow shook and distorted Gene's face.

Spittle flew from his open mouth, his neck twisted, and when it reached its limit, the remaining impact sent his body flying.

He hit the desk with his back and collapsed.

He touched his cheek, which had been hit, and glared at Linus.

"What the hell are you doing all of a sudden!?"

"What do you mean, 'what the hell'!?"

Linus grabbed Gene by the collar and brought his face close enough to touch foreheads.

With a demonic look of anger, he vented his passion.

"What did you do to Flammie!?"

Hearing this, Gene laughed through his nose.

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean, 'is that all'!?"

"What's there to get so angry about? You, who are useless, act like a friend and get too familiar with Kiril, the hero. That alone is a crime worthy of death! And yet, I, who gave you a suitable status, should not be criticized but praised!"

"You have no right to say that after using illegal means!"

"Hmph, I can say it with pride. Sometimes, my thoughts are more correct than the law."

There was no trace of remorse in his expression.

He genuinely, from the bottom of his heart, believed that what he had done was right.

That was the kind of man Gene Intage was.

Selfish to the core, and self-centered to the extreme—because of that, he was a genius, but he couldn't understand people's hearts.

"Don't joke around! Do you understand how hard it is for a weak girl like her to live as a slave in this capital!?"

"I understand, it's the price she has to pay for living a sheltered life until now."

"Are you saying that after all the times others have covered for you!?"

"What...?"

Gene's eyebrows twitched.

He couldn't let that pass.

Because he had no idea what Linus was talking about.

However, Linus had covered for him many times based on his own experiences.

Mainly in interpersonal relationships, without Linus's help, how many people would have attacked Gene?

There was a huge gap in perception between the two.

Gene's anger was unjustified, but as long as he believed in his own righteousness, it was inevitable that he would be angry.

"When, where! Who did I ever get help from!?"

"From anyone! You cause too much trouble for those around you in your relationships! Your magic skills are solid, and you might be smart, but—"

Linus pounded his chest with his fist and said with emphasis.

"You lack the ability to care for others!"

That was the root of the problem.

He couldn't understand others' feelings and didn't try to.

If he could correct that, Gene could truly become a "sage."

Linus's words were the truth, the absolute truth, and no one could refute them—except Gene himself.

"Hah, hah, hahaha!"

"What's so funny!?"

"Listen, Linus, I'm a genius. The man with the world's greatest intellect. I should stand at the pinnacle of humanity! Why should I, of all people, waste the most precious brain cells on others! That's the biggest loss! I should prioritize using my brain for myself, do you understand!?"

"How can you be so confident! There's not a single person in this world who can understand why you can be so confident!"

Their argument went in circles, with no sign of resolution.

Linus's words wouldn't make Gene reflect, and without hearing Gene's words of reflection, Linus's anger wouldn't subside.

The argument continued, gradually escalating.

---

Kiril held the note that had been stuck to her door and headed towards Gene's room.

"Come to my room whenever you're free today."

Reading this bold message, her stomach tightened.

To be honest, Kiril was not comfortable with Gene.

At first, she relied on him as someone who would listen to her when she felt overwhelmed by her responsibilities.

Following his advice made her feel relieved and at ease.

But as a result, she lost Flammie.

Since then, she had been reluctant to even look at Gene's face.

Indeed, she herself had done terrible things to Flammie.

But he was also the one who created the cause.

However, this idea of pushing the blame onto others gnawed at Kiril's sense of guilt.

She was the one at fault, she was the one who spoke the words, yet why did she refuse to bear the blame alone?

Flammie was a dear friend, without whom she would have retired long ago.

Why did she betray such a friend?

"I'm sorry, Flammie..."

Words she had repeated countless times.

Using them as a scapegoat, she tried to believe that saying them would absolve her.

Hating herself for this convenient thinking, Kiril squeezed the crumpled note from Gene.

"Ha..."

She sighed deeply and looked ahead.

Gene's room was just a little further.

She didn't know what he wanted to talk about, but she wanted to finish quickly and return to her room to be alone.

Just as she was thinking this—

"What the hell is that outfit!?"

A noisy voice came from inside the room, and she stopped in her tracks.

"I'm going to welcome Kiril, so it's only natural to dress appropriately!"

"I've been thinking this for a while, but you're really in love with Kiril, aren't you?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"It's bad, the worst, the absolute worst! How can you say that after taking Flammie from her? And what's with that bouquet on the desk? Are you planning to confess today!?"

"…Yeah, that's right. That's why I called her! She was supposed to come, not you!"

"Of course not, you virgin bastard!"

"There was no one else suitable for me except Kiril!"

One of them was Gene, and the other was... Linus, probably.

It was hard to be sure because his tone was so different from his usual gentle one.

"Anyway, can you even talk about others! That Maria, her insides are as murky as organs boiled in blood!"

"What did you say!?"

"You have no discernment. In my opinion, her mind is a full course of plots, schemes, and evil plans! She pretends to do good to others but looks down on even a solitary genius like Gene Intage, a rotten and twisted woman!"

"Hah... Do you think I don't know?"

"What?"

"I know, I fell for her knowing what she was. I fell for her, including her dark side! I'm different from you, who sold Flammie into slavery just because it was inconvenient for you!"

Kiril's mind went blank, and she forgot to breathe.

Her eyes widened, and she stood there speechless.

The crumpled note from Gene fell to the carpeted floor.

While the other contents were shocking, one word hit her the hardest.

—Flammie... a slave?

She had always thought Flammie had returned to her hometown because of her.

Just that thought had made her blame herself to the point of wanting to die.

But if Flammie hadn't even returned home and had been sold into slavery—she couldn't bear it.

Her blood drained from her body as if she were anemic.

She finally managed to breathe, but her lungs trembled, and she couldn't take in enough oxygen.

Her body went limp, and she fell to her knees.

She hugged herself, and her head shook back and forth in small, rapid movements.

"Th-This... It's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault..."

Her teeth chattered, and her vision blurred with tears.

"Flammie... Ah, Flammie, ah... Ahhhh..."

If she didn't let out her voice, she felt she might kill herself right there.

No, maybe she should have died.

She had no right to live.

What kind of hero was she, what kind of friend? In the end, she had only pretended to be a friend, betrayed her, and ruined her life.

"Ahhh... I, I, ahhh!"

Her wails grew louder and louder—reaching Linus and Gene, who were having a physical altercation in the room.

They stopped their raised fists and looked towards the door.

"Hey, Gene. You said you were going to welcome Kiril, right?"

"Yeah."

"Was that supposed to be now?"

"That's what I said."

Linus released Gene and hurriedly peeked out the open door.

There, he saw Kiril, collapsed in tears.

He had planned to tell her at a better time.

He thought it would be too much of a shock for her, who was already mentally unstable.

"Hey, Kiril... Can you, talk to me for a bit?"

Linus approached her slowly.

"A... Ah..."

Kiril looked up at him fearfully and backed away.

"About what you just heard... It's... It's not true, right?"

"...No, it's the truth, but—"

"Then, Flammie really is... a slave... because of me...?"

"Don't blame yourself, the responsibility is—"

"I... I don't... have the right... to be with anyone..."

"Please, Kiril, listen to me!"

Linus spoke as gently as possible, but with urgency.

But no matter how he phrased it, the fact remained.

Flammie had become a slave.

Kiril had some responsibility for it.

That was enough.

"Uu... Uwaaaaaahhh!"

She crawled away from him, stood up, and ran off, screaming.

He thought about chasing her, but he couldn't find the right words, and her figure had already disappeared down the corridor.

Linus held his head and stood there, unable to do anything.

Then, Gene, who had been hiding in the room, cautiously peeked out.

"Linus, why is she crying?"

Gene asked in his usual tone.

Linus clenched his fist and turned back to him, his anger flaring up again.

"That's the result of what you did!"

"Me? I don't understand. Why would she be sad just because someone like Flammie is gone? With all her talent and power, why would she be so affected by a minor existence?"

"Ha..."

Realizing that arguing was futile, Linus let out a sigh and dropped his shoulders.

It was pointless to try to explain common sense to Gene.

That was the price he paid for being a genius, losing the ability to understand others.

"Never mind, it's no use talking to you, Gene."

Linus said this and turned his back on Gene.

Seeing his lonely figure, Gene finally arrived at a possibility.

"Could it be that I... did something wrong?"

His feigned innocent mutter went unheard.

---

Kiril, having nowhere to go, ran through the castle and locked herself in her room.

She jumped onto the bed, pulled the covers over herself, and squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to see anything.

She had to believe that her existence wasn't there, or her heart would be crushed.

"It's my fault... It's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault..."

Even so, guilt penetrated her unconsciousness and attacked her.

If only she could disappear.

If only she had the power to erase herself with her hero's magic.

She wished for it from the bottom of her heart.

She lamented, suffered, and sobbed—then the Holy Maiden whispered to her.

"Kiril, there's a good way to be freed from this suffering."

Hearing the voice, she hastily pulled the covers off her face and saw Maria standing by the bed, smiling gently.

She must have entered without locking the door.

"I knocked several times, but there was no answer, so I came in. I'm sorry."

Maria bowed deeply.

Kiril felt she didn't deserve an apology.

"By the way, where is the core I gave you the other day?"

"Core? Ah, that pearl is in the drawer under the desk."

"You didn't use it? What a waste. With its power, all of Kiril's worries could be solved."

As she spoke, Maria opened the drawer, took out the core, and gazed at the swirling black mass with a dreamy expression.

"Did you see the battle in the demon territory? That was the power of this core."

"That's... right."

"If you use this, you can fight as you used to... and your worries will... disappear..."

Maria approached again, trying to hand the core to Kiril, but her words became increasingly broken.

"Anyway, it's a wonderful power... Kiril, you should... use it..."

"Maria?"

Maria swayed and stumbled, and Kiril looked at her worriedly.

"A, ah...? What is this? This... shouldn't... happen..."

"Are you okay? Should I call someone who can use healing magic?"

Normally, Maria would be the one to do that, but since she was the one feeling unwell, they needed to call another priest.

Kiril got off the bed and touched Maria's body to support her.

Squish.

At that moment, a wet sound came from somewhere.

"Impossible... Why... me..."

Kiril's words went unheard, and there was no response.

"Maria, I'll go get someone—"

Unable to wait, Kiril decided to leave the room.

Squish, squelch.

Then, a similar sound came from behind her.

Turning around, Kiril saw blood splattered on the floor.

It might have come from Maria's mouth.

This could be more serious than she thought—Kiril's face turned pale.

Squish, squelch. Squish, squelch.

But she noticed something was clearly wrong.

The amount of blood, could a person really vomit this much blood from their mouth?

"Maria?"

Cautiously looking at her face, she saw something red and fleshy, like intestines, peeking out from between her hands.

"...Maria..."

Not only her hands, but the collar of her robe was also drenched in blood, and more blood continued to pour out.

It wasn't Maria's gentle smile.

It was a swirling mass of flesh, reminiscent of an opened abdomen.

"This... can't be..."

"A... Ah, monster... How could... Maria...?"

Already distressed over Flammie, seeing this pushed Kiril to her limit.

Her fear overwhelmed her, exceeding her capacity.

Reaching her breaking point, her emotions exploded like a burst balloon.

"No... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this... I don't want this...