84

The time when everyone had already fallen asleep.

I still couldn't sleep. I stayed up all night, gazing out the window.

The beautiful full moon hanging in the sky gently illuminated the night, and the scenery wasn't too bad.

After gently patting Mari's head as she slept beside me, I turned my head.

"…Shall we leave?"

At my words, Sephir calmly nodded.

"It's tormenting. Being here."

"…."

That wasn't wrong.

This place was hell to me.

The place where I had fallen apart.

A place filled only with unhappy memories.

I had endured so far, thinking about the love I shared with Athena here.

But cruelly.

Believing in her love had only dragged me deeper into the pit of hell.

As Sephir said, staying here was tormenting.

Surely, leaving would be better for me.

But I shook my head to show my rejection.

Then Sephir looked at me with an expression that said she didn't understand.

"Hey! If you keep this up, you really might die!!"

As she said, I could feel it myself. My health was deteriorating more and more each day.

It wouldn't be surprising if I suddenly collapsed one day.

Of course, it wasn't that I didn't want to leave this place.

I wanted to escape too.

I wanted to run away from this hellish mansion and live peacefully in a place with no one, where I could let go of my mind.

The reason I rejected Sephir's suggestion was simple.

"…Athena won't let me leave."

I looked down at my body.

Though hidden under my clothes, the clear pink shackles would still be there beneath.

That wasn't all.

I no longer had the strength to move my body properly.

Could someone like me escape this place, avoiding Athena?

"Ughh.."

Sephir, unable to refute my words, groaned for a while before stomping on the floor as though she was throwing a tantrum.

"This is all because of that monster of a woman!! That devil! How could she-"

Knock, knock-

…Hera. It's me.

"A person can't… Hiiiii!!"

Startled by an unexpected voice, Sephir's eyes grew wide in shock.

Her body started trembling violently, like a squirrel struck by lightning.

And that was the same for me.

I tried to suppress my rapidly increasing breath as much as possible and spoke to her outside the door in a cold voice.

"I have nothing to say to you, Athena."

-I won't go in. I just wanted to hear your voice.

"..."

-If you're really struggling… you don't have to push yourself.

…What?

Athena's voice was different than usual.

Her voice, which had always been full of strength in any situation, was now weak and deeply sunk.

I didn't want to talk to her, but the change in her atmosphere kept bothering me.

In the end, I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to calm my trembling body, and said to her.

"…What do you want to say?"

I really wish that arrogant succubus would just leave.

"Hyah?!"

At Athena's words, Sephir jumped like a frog, then started shivering and biting her nails.

"It's okay, Sephir. Could you go outside for a moment?"

As I grabbed her hand and spoke, she puffed her cheeks, snorted, and said.

"Hmph… If you're asking like that, I guess I can't help it."

Won't she leave already?

"Eek?! A…Alright, I'll go now…!!"

At Athena's urging, Sephir hurriedly flew out of the window like she was running away.

As soon as she disappeared, the silence filled the room, and the stillness remained until Athena finally broke it.

-…Are you really struggling?

"…"

At Athena's words, anger suddenly surged up inside me.

For her, of all people, to say something like that.

In my disbelief, the words that boiled inside me came spilling out.

"Is that what you're calling saying something…?"

-Yeah. Sorry.

Hearing Athena's sincere apology made my body tremble a bit.

Something felt off since earlier. Her tone was nothing like her usual self.

It was like she had become an entirely different person.

The completely changed atmosphere around her made me worry for a moment.

'Is something happening to her…?'

But that thought quickly passed.

I slapped myself on the cheek and scolded myself.

Get a grip, Hera.

What are you doing, still giving your heart to her?

"…You lied to me."

-I did.

"You played with me, completely."

-That's right.

"You mocked me. Ridiculed me. Thoroughly shattered me."

-Yeah.

Athena calmly acknowledged everything.

At her appearance, my emotions exploded, and tears came rushing out.

"Why…!! Why did you do this… you said you loved me… how could you do something like that?"

Once the dam of my tears broke, no matter how much I wiped them away, they just kept flowing, burning my face.

"I hate you so much, Athena… but do you know what's the most frustrating thing?"

-…What's that?

"No matter how much I try, I can't forget you. And that's what makes me the most angry and resentful."

-….

"Ugh… I really… hate you… sniff… h-hic…"

Unable to hold back anymore, I began to sob bitterly, and Athena didn't say a word.

I kept the structure and tone as close to the original as possible! Let me know if you'd like any adjustments or have specific preferences for the translation.

In a moment of overwhelming frustration and anger, I shouted at her.

"Say something! Anything…!!!"

-Leave the mansion, Hera.

The response I got was completely unexpected.

"…What?"

-Well then, goodnight.

"W-wait…!"

Startled, I leapt out of bed and rushed to open the door. But Athena was nowhere to be seen. The empty hallway stood eerily silent, leaving only my bewildered self standing there.

I could no longer suppress the emotions welling up inside me.

So, I ran away from Hera. I didn't want her to see me like this.

Dragging my heavy body back to the bed, I threw myself onto it.

As I covered my eyes with one hand, the feelings I had been holding back finally burst out.

In all my life, I had never once shed a tear.

Not when the man who was my father abandoned me and left. Not even when the woman who was my mother wept bitterly and screamed her resentment at me. I had always endured.

But now, it felt utterly unbearable.

"Ha…"

A single, transparent tear slid down my cheek.

The unfamiliar sensation made me frown.

I hated this suffocating weight pressing down on my chest.

"Ha… damn it… hng… sob…"

Yet, from deep within, the sorrow and intense emotions continued to surge. Like a child crying out for the first time, I couldn't stop myself from sobbing.

-'m sorry… Hera… I'm so sorry…

It was a moment of vulnerability unbefitting someone who was once called invincible.

***

When I looked at her face, I was utterly shocked.

"…You…"

The sun hadn't yet risen, and the darkness outside enveloped everything.

It was still far too early to wake.

Athena had quietly woken me from my place beside my mother and called me out.

At first, I was annoyed, but realizing the gravity of the situation, I reluctantly followed her.

"Take Hera and leave the mansion tomorrow morning."

As she said this, she handed me a heavy pouch wrapped in brown cloth.

Looking at the pouch in my hand, I saw it was filled with glittering gold coins.

"These are all platinum coins. Enough to buy a small kingdom. It should be more than sufficient."

For an ordinary person, the enormous sum would have been shocking.

But I didn't even glance at the dazzling pouch of money. My gaze remained fixed on her.

"Are… you okay?"

From the very beginning, I had disliked her.

When my mother suffered immensely because of her, I had even wished to kill her.

But even so, the reason I asked her out of concern was not because of her deeply sunken voice.

It was certainly not because of her red, swollen eyes or her pale, trembling lips.

It was because the color of her soul had changed.

From black to a clear, colorless transparency.

And that could mean only one thing.

"Pfft. Are you worried about me?"

She let out a mocking laugh, almost as if ridiculing me.

But her words only made the weight in my chest grow heavier.

I could see it all too clearly.

The face of someone who was sneering at me.

It was the sight of someone who wanted to hide their own feelings and was trying to force a smile, no matter what.

"…."

She shook her head, trying to shake off her thoughts.

'It's all my own doing.'

All of this was something she had brought upon herself.

How much had her mother suffered because of that woman?

How much had she cried, retched, and agonized?

When she thought of her dying mother, the concern she once felt for that woman vanished without a trace, replaced by a cold, bitter emptiness.

Right.

There was no reason for her to worry about that woman at all.

"…I won't be saying goodbye."

"Okay."

As if this was all there was to say, she turned her back coldly and walked away.

She too turned away from the woman, heading toward her mother, who was still asleep.

With every step she took, her mood sank lower.

It felt as heavy as the purse full of money in her hand.

Her heart felt unbearably heavy.