I Have No Intention Of Training The Male Leads - Chapter 19 Part 6

“Damn it, let go! Let go of me!”

As the ringing in her ears subsided, the sounds around her became clearer. Eve turned around, her face cold and expressionless.

Edward, upon seeing the eruption of light, had dashed through the battlefield, pushing past his knights who were engaged in combat, and lunged towards Eve. William intercepted him, blocking his path. Edward was screaming like a madman, while Castel rushed over, intervening and restraining William.

“What a mess.”

Eve muttered, observing the chaotic scene unfolding in the main hall. She turned away without hesitation. Roughly wiping away the tears with her sleeve, she reached out towards the beautiful cascade of light pouring down from the ceiling.

Just as her fingertips were about to touch the light, someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her back into a tight embrace. Eve looked down at the arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She knew exactly who it was. She tried to pry his arms off, struggling against his hold.

“Don’t go. Please, don’t go.”

“Let go of me.”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please, Eve…! Don’t leave me alone, please.”

“Cut the crap and let go of me before you get your ass kicked.”

“What about me if you leave like this again? How am I supposed to live in a world without you?”

“I don’t give a damn if you live a shitty life in a shitty world.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll turn back time as many times as it takes. Even if I have to repeat this hell a hundred, a thousand times! I will get you back!”

Eve, who had been contemplating breaking his arm due to his persistent clinging, suddenly lost all expression on her face. Her voice dropped to a chillingly low tone. 

“…So, you’ve been turning back time ever since I disappeared.”

“Yes. Replicating the power of God was difficult, but not impossible. I sacrificed hundreds of magicians. Until you were a young girl again, until the time before you escaped from this world…!”

Eve stopped struggling and stood still. Edward, sensing her sudden stillness, tightened his grip on her waist, burying his face in the crook of her neck. 

“Did you desire to disrupt my slumber so much?”

Eve’s voice echoed through the hall, almost melodic. Her tone and manner of speaking had completely changed, reverting back to the Eve from Edward’s memories. She was back. She had returned to him. 

Hadn’t he acted out of character, showing her kindness and providing her with books related to her origins, all to regain this version of her? It was finally over. As Edward had wished, Eve had regained her true self before leaving this world. Driven by the desire to keep her by his side, he tightened his grip on her waist.

“Didn’t you say you loved me?”

“What value does Your Highness’ love hold for me?”

“You pitied me! You dared to pity me!”

“I should have hated you to the very end, then.”

Eve whispered softly, gently caressing the back of his hand. Edward felt a surge of heat welling up inside him. His grip on her waist loosened.

“How can I forget the solace you offered me? Please, take pity on me. Even if it’s just sympathy, stay with me. Please, Eve.”

“Pitying you is the biggest regret of my life.”

Eve gracefully slipped out of his embrace. She slowly turned around to face him, her expression gentle and compassionate, an expression she had never shown him before, and softly caressed his cheek.

Edward’s knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the dusty, dirty floor. He reached out, clutching the hem of her pants, tears streaming down his face. Hot tears splattered onto the dust, leaving dark stains.

“I’ve found a way now. If you turn back time dozens of times, I will leave this world hundreds of times. If you turn it back hundreds of times, I will leave thousands of times.”

“Eve, Eve… Ah, ahh… Don’t go. Don’t go. Please.”

“Even if Your Highness promises me freedom, how can I possibly trust you? After all these years, you’ve lived solely to destroy my life.” 

“I… I…”

“If I were to stay here, what can you, the son of man, offer me?”

“Anything you desire.”

As if waiting for those words, Eve smiled and placed her hand on his head, gently stroking his hair. In a posture resembling a priest delivering a blessing, she whispered, “Die right here. Then I will believe you.” 

“…Ahh…”

“Time will surely turn back. We will eventually meet again. So, die now.”

Eve tossed the bloodstained dagger, the one she had used to cut her palm, towards Edward, who was staring at her with a dazed expression. His teary, clouded eyes suddenly sparkled with a hint of ecstasy.

“Can you bind me to this world with your life?”

“I don’t know when we will meet again, but I will be here.”

A bright smile gradually spread across his face, which, despite being stained with tears and dust, remained as beautiful as a sculpted statue. His lips stretched into a wide grin, like a flower blooming in full glory. He then reached for the dagger, picking it up from the floor.

It was now their world, their moment alone. The others, who had been cautiously observing them, their eyes darting between Eve and Edward, gasped in shock as the Crown Prince raised the dagger to his throat.

The first to react was Castel, the prince’s confidant and sparring partner. The inflexible swordsman, having tossed his own weapon aside, shot towards Edward like an arrow, grabbing his wrist from behind and restraining him.

A thin red line appeared on Edward’s neck where the blade had grazed his skin. Castel shouted at Eve, “Young Lady, what are you doing?!”

“The end. I’m giving everyone the ending they deserve.”

The woman standing before him was not the Eve he knew. It wasn’t simply because of her short, boyish haircut.

Her detached gaze, as if looking down upon worthless minerals or insignificant insects, was filled with layers of profound fatigue and faint anger. To Castel, she no longer seemed human.

“Let go, Castel. Let go. I… I have to die. I have to…”

Edward, who had dropped the dagger due to Castel’s intervention, desperately clawed at his own neck with his fingernails, trying to bypass Castel’s restraint. Crimson blood welled up from the long, deep scratch, staining his collar. He was behaving like a man possessed.

Callisto, who had been preparing a large-scale spell to incapacitate everyone in the hall, froze in shock upon witnessing the sudden turn of events. He then rushed towards Edward, his face contorted in horror and tried to heal his wounds. However, the prince thrashed like a wild animal, rejecting his help.

Eve, staring at the blood-stained white collar with an indifferent gaze, muttered, “You should have stopped him sooner. You’re all accomplices. You all dragged Eve’s life through the mud.”

No one heard her words. Eve crouched down, meeting Edward’s gaze. Staring into his dilated pupils, she chuckled brightly. Her tone shifted once again, adopting the rough, casual speech patterns of the laborers she had been imitating.

“Fine, let’s change the deal.”

“Ahh, Eve, Eve…”

“Be my footstool for the rest of your life. Atone for your sins against me until your dying breath, as my slave. Do whatever I command. Can you do that?”

“Anything. Anything, as long as you stay by my side.”

Eve scoffed, a cruel smirk twisting her lips. She placed her hand on his messy, golden hair.

“Thus, our contract is sealed. Oh, merciful mother, Manus Regina. Grant that this man’s life be bound to mine.”

Eve wasn’t a magician. She couldn’t manipulate mana or create a space within herself to generate it.

However, magic, in its essence, was a fragment of divine power bestowed upon weak, vulnerable humans who lacked sharp claws and fangs. Magic spells were prayers offered to the Goddess, and the wonders they produced were miracles granted by her.

The prayer she instinctively uttered became the activation word, and a miracle unfolded beneath her hand.

“You… What are you doing…!”

“So, the Archmage’s reputation isn’t just for show.”

Only Callisto, in this entire hall, realized what she had done and cried out in horror. A faint, geometric pattern, resembling a healed scar, appeared on Edward’s smooth forehead, beneath his messy blond hair. But it quickly faded away, as if absorbed into his skin. 

Eve stood up, straightening her back. She turned around and placed her hand on the pillar of light, making a ?wish?.

A wish that would bring true happiness to Eve. She recalled the conditions for the hidden route. Although it was a false memory, deliberately implanted and distorted, it was a clue Eve had left for herself, a reminder that she had to make the right wish to achieve true happiness.

“Please, make it so time no longer repeats itself in this land.”

Finally, after much deliberation, Eve voiced the wish she had longed for in the past, the wish she would continue to desire in the future.

As if responding to her wish, the pillar of light swelled in size. A blindingly bright light engulfed the entire main hall. Everyone squeezed their eyes shut, turning their heads away. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the light vanished without a trace.

Night had fallen outside. The main hall, now devoid of light, was shrouded in darkness. Their eyes, unable to adjust to the sudden darkness, blinked rapidly.

Only Eve remained, staring up at the circular opening in the dome.

As the others gradually began to discern shapes in the shadows, Eve turned to face them.

“Ah, I’m starving.”

Even though their eyes had adjusted to the darkness, no one dared to move. They were all stunned, trying to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

Eve, the only one who seemed unfazed, headed towards the exit, then paused and turned back.

“What are you all waiting for? The game is over.”

It was the moment of the ending she had yearned for. Eve smiled, a genuine smile of relief.