I Don't Want To Do a Romantic Comedy With a Villain! - Chapter 30

Episode 30

Min-joo withdrew her hand from Permette, as she couldn’t figure out why Permette would start to like her. 

She tilted her head slightly and smiled.

Min-joo still had to find the whereabouts of the sorcerer. It would be much more helpful for Permette to help than Neriant, who was unfamiliar with the world while possessed. 

“That’s right. I might be able to meet Neriant even if I go there.”

“What help is that? I’ll help, sister.”

Neriant, who was listening to their conversation, suddenly intervened. Min-joo felt a subtle urgency in Neriant’s slightly desperate smile.

When Permette tried to remain silent and feigned ignorance, Min-joo lightly shrugged and leaned on the backrest.

“I’m looking for a sorcerer. I have to go home.”

“Go home?”

The voice became strangely high. Min-joo’s subtle impression was gradually turning into discomfort.

Neriant’s wrinkled forehead and lips that were forced to smile without lowering the corners looked unnatural. Min-joo nodded her head with a sense of unease.

Permette also seemed to sense Neriant’s strange attitude and extended his shoulder forward to protect Min-joo. He didn’t want to incur Min-joo’s blame by intervening in their conversation. 

“Why?”

From Neriant’s inquisitive smile, there was an uncomfortable persistence.

Min-joo grabbed the hem of Permette’s clothes and forced a smile.

“Well, I’m not a person here, so naturally, I have to go back.”

“Stay with me. Sister, stay here with me.”

“I couldn’t even take a leave of absence. I’ll probably have to apply for a student loan and work part-time…”

“You don’t have to worry about that if you stay here. Sister, I’m a Count’s daughter. I’ll soon marry the crown prince. I’ll make sure you live without financial worries.”

Oh, a proposal? The atmosphere seemed very dangerous to call it that. It felt like she might kidnap and imprison her, saying they must live together forever.

Neriant wasn’t that kind of person.

Min-joo, beyond discomfort, became fearful. Permette, sensing the strange atmosphere, reached out and covered Min-joo with his arm. Min-joo, whose face was only slightly visible behind his large frame, held onto his clothes without any intention of leaving his embrace. 

Last time it was Vehen, and now again, what is this?

Neriant awkwardly smiled.

“It’s good not to worry about money, but I have to go home. I have family and friends there. There are things I need to do.”

“You can live happily here. Remember how difficult it was before? Job hunting, wondering if you can get a scholarship, no savings. You don’t have to think about those things here.”

While listening, a strange sense of discomfort arises. Permette turned to Min-joo and spoke in a very soft voice.

“Does Lady Velirian know that you came from another dimension?”

“She’s possessed. My dear sister is in that body.”

“Is making strange connections a common thing for acquaintances?”

“That’s what I want to say.”

So, Min-joo’s dear sister possessed Lady Velirian’s body, and Min-joo tried to go with her, but their opinions clashed. 

She is preventing Min-joo from going home.

Here, Permette had one question in mind. Why is Neriant holding Min-joo back from going?

Permette shot a glance at Neriant. 

“I apologize for interfering, but whether Min-joo stays or leaves, what concern is it of yours? I don’t think it’s a matter for you to decide.”

“If she goes, she won’t come back. I’ll be left alone here, and I’ll have to live here alone.”

Permette asked the question, but Min-joo heard the answer. The smile disappears, and Neriant, distorted by poignant loneliness, reaches out her hand toward Min-joo.

Permette, who was trying to protect Min-joo, stiffens her face when Neriant’s approaching hand is blocked.

“If you come any closer, I will restrain you.”

“I can’t go back anyway. I’m dead. Do you think I don’t want to go home? I miss my family and friends too.”

Tears fall from Neriant’s blue eyes. The droplets on her pale skin looked like jewels.

Min-joo instinctively reached out to comfort her. Although Permette urgently intervened, Neriant pushed away Permette’s arm. The pushed arm tensed with remarkable force.

Neriant embraced Min-joo, trapping her in her arms.

“In this unfamiliar world, I’m the only one left all alone. Sister, I’m too scared. It’s too frightening to live here alone.”

Neriant’s fingers delicately tousled Min-joo’s hair. Leaning against her shoulder with her cheek on her black hair, Neriant sighed sadly.

“It’s infuriating to have to live as that person without knowing who the host is, what kind of person they are. It would have been better if it was you who possessed. You’re good at acting, right? Without you, I’m alone. Here, alone, living as a person from another world.”

The loneliness must have been overwhelming for Neriant. Min-joo knew that this was a world she created, knew the future, and knew who the main character was. Yet, there was a looming loneliness that surged like waves.

How burdensome it must have been for Neriant. Min-joo couldn’t fathom the enormity of the solitude and fear she experienced being left alone.

But that doesn’t mean Min-joo has a reason not to go back. Therefore, despite the heartache, Min-joo decided to reject Neriant.

“Don’t cry, Se-yeon. I’ll still go back. Even if I’m happy here, escaping reality is not the solution, right? My reality is somewhere else.”

“What if this becomes your reality?”

“How can that be? Everything I have is over there.”

“Then what about me?”

Pressure increased in the arms that wrapped around her shoulders. In an instant, her breath hitched, and the tightly held shoulders ached.

Min-joo furrowed her brows lightly and pushed Neriant away. The thick force held her in place.

Overflowing sorrow, the cruelty of a different situation, and fear. The terror covered Neriant’s face and suffocated Min-joo.

“I’m also over there, why just me? If you’re leaving, take me with you. Don’t leave me alone.”

“What…?”

It was strange. While understanding Neriant’s feelings, she still wanted to escape. Was it because it was too overwhelming?

Min-joo struggled to push Neriant away, but the grip tightened like a noose.

She couldn’t breathe.

“Stop it, stop! What’s the point? Am I supposed to give up on everything and live like you, trapped here? Do you want me to lament being lonely and ruined like you?”

“…”

No response.

Neriant’s face turned pale as if she secretly hoped for exactly that. It was only then that Min-joo realized something had gone wrong.

“You… How could…”

“There seems to be no need for further discussion. Please go back, Lady Velirian.”

Permette, finding Neriant’s gaze towards Min-joo repulsive, forcibly pulled Neriant’s arm away. When Min-joo remained motionless, Permette cautiously touched her to check for any reaction.

Normally, Min-joo would have been disgusted, but she showed no response this time.

Anxious thoughts seized Min-joo.

Even from an outsider’s perspective, Neriant seemed a bit strange. Permette had encountered people with this attitude before. Hopeless losers who cling desperately even when they know there’s no hope, and they possess tremendous strength. 

Not wanting to be taken away, not wanting to lose the only person on their side.

Permette felt the need to protect Min-joo, and he hastily opened the carriage door. The carriage, still parked at the crossroads, shook.

“I told you to go back, Lady Velirian.”

“…Sister, that’s not what I meant.”

Neriant belatedly regained her senses and grasped the situation. Seeing Min-joo, who had stiffened in surprise and fear, she realized she had made a mistake.

She couldn’t fathom why she acted that way, why she had pushed Min-joo so much. It was just because she was too lonely.

Neriant, finally coming to her senses, grabbed the sofa. As Neriant moved, Min-joo, startled, tried to avoid eye contact and pressed against the backrest.

“I really can’t tell you it’s okay. I understand your feelings. You must be sad and unjustly treated. But your desperate plea for us to fail together is frankly disappointing.”

Min-joo’s hand clenched the skirt. The creases in the skirt and the veins on her hand trembled slightly.

“I no longer know why I should be with you. Let’s just… see each other occasionally. Congratulations on your marriage.”

“Sister. That’s not what I meant. Really. I think I was just too overwhelmed. Suddenly having to pretend to be someone else in someone else’s body… So, I…”

“I have no intention of proclaiming your misery. I had a hard time too. But I never wished for you to be unhappy. I don’t understand the reason I should understand.”

Permette thumped the carriage wall with determination.

Under the pressure to leave, Neriant looked at Min-joo desperately, but Min-joo avoided his gaze. Neriant, tears streaming down her face, stood up.

“I’m sorry for hurting you. But you’re still my sister. I won’t force you to stay. Please forgive me just this once; there won’t be such an incident again.”

“Later. I don’t know for now.”

Drawing a clear line, Min-joo couldn’t muster the courage to cross it forcibly. Neriant, her head hanging low, got off the carriage. As Permette tried to close the door, Neriant grabbed her, pleading with tear-filled eyes.

Feeling a hint of a struggle, Permette clenched his fist. As he did, Neriant seemed torn and began crying even harder, tears mixing with nasal mucus.

Her crying became so pathetic that Permette felt awkward. When he tightened his fist, Neriant, still sobbing, mumbled in a voice broken by tears.

“Please give me the carriage. I don’t have any means to go home.”

It seemed she had no way to return home. Permette sighed, then, still holding Min-joo, he pulled Neriant into the carriage. Since it was the carriage of the Duke DeVirté’s family, Permette handed Neriant some money, unsure where rumors might spread.

“I will drop you off in the city, and then you can take another carriage back. Consider this settled.”

With tearful eyes, Neriant nodded, still holding onto the money. Permette gave instructions to the coachman and set the carriage off.

Watching the carriage move away felt like a storm had just passed. Min-joo sighed and sat on the ground, feeling overwhelmed.

“Are you okay?”

“No. It’s really disturbing.”

“It seems so.”

Permette grabbed Min-joo’s shoulders, lifted her, and looked at her face. Seeing Min-joo’s shaky legs, Permette supported her as she slumped.

She looked quite disturbed.

“It’s good to walk when things get complicated.”

“Oh, Permette can make sensible remarks too.”

“Oh, that’s a very unpleasant comment.”

Stably setting Min-joo down and offering his arm, Min-joo lightly tapped it and took the lead in walking. Despite the complexities she had faced while riding in carriages, she hadn’t realized how charming the lush trees on either side could be.

No matter how complicated one’s feelings were, the world continued to spin, and beautiful things remained beautiful. Just like Permette’s face under the sunlight.

“You’re annoyingly pretty and chaotic.”

“That’s a very joyful comment.”

Permette smiled with narrowed eyes. Perhaps knowing that a smiling face was more beautiful than a stern one.

“Your face is much prettier when you smile.”

“That’s quite a bold statement.”

Min-joo gently poked Permette’s cheek with her index finger, causing his face to turn.

“Was I a bit harsh?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Don’t turn your face away.”

Permette, who was about to turn his head towards Min-joo, stopped in his tracks. Min-joo looked at Permette’s paused movement and let out a dry laugh, revealing a rather composed appearance.

“She entered someone else’s body and had to live another person’s life. Imagine how difficult that must have been. With no one to rely on, even I might feel like turning away, thinking the world is falling apart. I might be the same.”

“Why are you concerned about that?”

Permette, who had been looking straight ahead, rolled his eyes to glance down at Min-joo.

It was an attitude of not understanding pure and simple. 

Beneath his curly ash-colored hair, his emotionless and somewhat blunt face looked remarkably flawless, like that of a perfect stranger.