The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind - Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Citrina fingered the smooth surface of the crystal ball.
She thought for quite a while. About what the uncanny star meant, about Elaina and the others’ purpose, and about how they would approach her if not for the curse.
One by one, she went through everything.
She closed her eyes and focused, and the stars seemed to sing to her.
‘An uncanny star, along with a meteor shower one night. And it happened about four or five years ago.’
She wondered what the connection was between those things.
‘If it’s an unknown existence from another world….’
Citrina thought long and hard.
Until she couldn’t feel Aaron or Gemma’s breath or even their gazes upon her.
And then,
In a moment, the warmth of her fingertips was gone. And Citrina felt an unpleasant rush of air against her cheek.

‘What’s this?’
It was damp, dank, and cold.
Earlier she had been sitting, and now she was standing in the center of some space.
She was locked in position, unable to move her body.
‘…is it Elaina?’
In that hardened state, Citrina came upon the correct answer. Clearly, Elaina had chosen something other than a curse.
It seemed like Elaina had chosen a different path to alter the future.
‘I think Gemma is blocked, and I don’t see any other people either-‘
Neither Citrina’s pendant nor the communication tool from Desian which she always wore on her arm made any sound.
A different sound came from elsewhere.
-clack, clack- [T.L. Note: It’s the sound of heels clicking on the floor.]
Someone was walking in front of her.

“Hi, Older Sister.”
Citrina tried to stay alert. Steadily, her eyes adjusted to the darkness. And two silhouettes grew clear in front of Citrina,
One was Elaina, and the other…who was this?
But the man spoke to her without introducing himself.
“You’d better not exert yourself unnecessarily, since other species can’t invade this space.”
“……”
“Which means there are no spirits to save you.”
“I don’t care.”
Citrina shrugged off his comment. Then she stared at the short silhouette that looked like Elaina.
“I’m so sick of this, Elaina.”
Should she feel lucky that they at least let her speak?
“Don’t worry. Because this is the last time.”
“The last time?”
“That’s right. I will kill you and use you as a sacrifice, and go back to the old times.”
There was a hint of pride in Elaina’s voice as she revealed her plan.
‘….You’re really selfish, aren’t you?’
Citrina chewed her lips.
She could only see the outline of Elaina’s face.
But she could tell; she was smiling.
Citrina spoke calmly.

“Does that mean you’re going to turn back time?”
“That’s right. Those days were good for you too. So you should die for me.”
“You want me to die?”
“Yeah. Die and go back to being the stupid Citrina who lived for my sake, okay?”
Elaina let out her true feelings.
Before Citrina had time to answer, Elaina tightened her grip on the dagger. Citrina calmly watched her clumsy behavior.
‘That…what is it?’
Turning to face Elaina, Citrina felt confused for a second.
The reason for Citrina’s surprise was simple.
It’s because Elaina’s grip on the dagger was strangely awkward.
She wasn’t worried, just curious as to why it was so.
Citrina asked in a low voice.
“…What in the world did you do to yourself? Your arm looks weird.”
“What does my arm have to do with you?”
Elaina’s voice was vicious and high-pitched. Maybe it felt that way since she couldn’t read Elaina’s expression.

“Leave it. Do you understand?”
Citrina didn’t respond to Elaina. Instead, she observed her sister’s attitude.
‘You’re moving so unnaturally. You look like someone who’s been injured somewhere…..’
Elaina was holding the dagger.
The tip of the dagger looked quite sharp.
‘Don’t be scared, Citrina. You’ll make it out alive.’
Desian and Aaron would be looking for her.
She just had to hold on a little more.
But she couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering. The tip of that knife scared her.
So it really felt like she was going to die.
Elaina struck out with poisonous intent. It seemed that she hadn’t adjusted to the darkness yet, either. Her blade sliced by the nape of Citrina’s neck.
It seemed like it was bleeding slightly.

“Is it okay to kill her like this?”
“No, Elaina-nim. Not yet.”
However, it was the man next to Elaina who stopped Citrina’s death.
“Please wait.”
The man at Elaina’s side stopped her in her tracks. He pushed past Elaina and stood directly in front of Citrina.
Citrina couldn’t help but stare at him. The man spoke directly to Citrina.
It was clear he intended to kill her. But there was a hint of laughter in his voice.
“Do you know why I summoned you?”
“…Elaina told you to kill me. Is it to help her get revenge?”
“No. It’s not that petty of a reason. Citrina-nim.”
The man shook his head, his demeanor natural even in this creeping darkness.
As if he had been conceived in this darkness.
“Citrina-nim, you must have known the future of this world.”
“…..”
“That’s why I’ve been looking for you all this time. I never thought I’d find you so close.”
The words that came out of his mouth were something Citrina hadn’t expected.
He was referring to the fact that she was aware of the “beginning and end” of this world.
Elaina, who wasn’t aware, looked around and whispered.

“What does that mean? Does that mean she’s special?”
Without answering Elaina’s question, the man looked at Citrina and said.
“On the night of the meteor shower, you were given a vision of the future. You came back to life as the one who knows everything about the future of this world.”
Citrina didn’t answer. After a long theatrical pause, the man continued.
“And…. if that’s true, your very existence is sinful, so you should be killed.”
“No one’s existence is inherently sinful.”
She spoke calmly.
“That’s not right. Because the very foundation of the world is crumbling because of you.
That’s your sin. So… if I get rid of you, the world will find its balance.”
It was a bad statement.
Did she really have to die?
Citrina disagreed. She hadn’t made her own destiny by harming other people.
Citrina just…wanted to live happily ever after.

“Why don’t you have an answer, Citrina?”
“Those words sound so empty.”
“Empty?”
“They lack anything to back them up.”
The man cut off Citrina.
“I’m sorry, but stalling for time won’t work.”
The man circled around her lazily. His unpleasant gaze made the hairs on the back of Citrina’s neck stand up.
“Still, since you’re curious, shall I let you in on the secret? You’re a sacrifice. To turn back the hands of time in this world, I’m going to sacrifice you.”
“No need to explain, just kill her.”
As he spoke, Elaina cut in, sounding nervous.
“That’s how she stalled for time with Genfiros-nim. It’s better to kill her now.”
Elaina urged, but he didn’t move. In the darkness, his eyes studied Citrina intently.

“I suppose that could happen. If you let your guard down.”
“Yes.”
The man said, cupping his chin.
“Elaina, give me the dagger.”
Elaina, still clutching her arm, handed over the dagger. The man took the dagger.
Citrina could see the razor-sharp blade.
A moment later, the man grabbed Citrina’s hand.
She felt a sharp, stinging sensation on her wrist. The blade was cutting into her delicate flesh.
And…blood began to trickle down her fingertips.

‘…It stings…”
When the blood dripped from her hand to the floor where the magic script was written,
light slowly began to germinate beneath Citrina’s feet.
White and yellow light intertwined beneath her feet.
The light slowly grew larger. A fist-sized ball of light began to float across the floor.
Finally,
The summoning circle that surrounded Citrina began to spin rapidly.
“The ritual of sacrifice is about to begin….”
The man’s voice sounded ecstatic.
‘My head hurts.’
And then, in the pitch blackness, Citrina’s head began to fill with a constant stream of voices.
She felt a pounding headache.
Sometimes it was Lady Foluin’s voice, sometimes it was Desian’s voice, and sometimes the spirit’s voice.
‘It’s too loud. No, I need to wake up.’
Citrina squeezed her eyes shut and opened them. The light beneath her feet swelled to bursting.

The magic circle on the floor began to vibrate, sending a slight shiver through her body.
“What a beautiful sight. Should we wait any longer?”
She knew the question wasn’t directed at her, so Citrina didn’t answer.
The man was staring at her, or rather, at the cluster of lights surrounding her, as if in ecstasy. His eyes were squeezed tight in delight.
Elaina frowned at the light, as did Citrina. Trapped between the blinding lights, it was too hard to see.
Elaina whispered to the man.
“I can’t see in front of me! Is this how it’s supposed to be?”
Anxiety could be heard in Elaina’s voice.
“If Genfiros-nim were here, you would be certain, but this is how it should be. Now, if you will offer a sacrifice from this world…”
The man handed Elaina the dagger.
“Can you do this at last?”
“Yes, let’s try it now. Let’s see about our…sacrifice.”
Elaina chuckled.
‘If this continues…I’m going to die.’
Hearing herself being called a sacrifice, it sounded like that was true. She felt sick.
‘I don’t want to die.’
Citrina clenched and unclenched her fists to loosen the bindings.
‘I can move my body again’
The cluster of light followed her fingertips.
It was not immediately clear what level of connection there was between the light and the release of the bindings around her body.
However…..

The light was blazing so she was somewhat distracted.
This was her only chance to escape.
She looked around without making it obvious. While the room was dark, there seemed to be a door to the outside.
‘For now…let’s take a gamble.’
Elaina wanted to kill Citrina, regardless of how she acted.
So she wasn’t going to stand still, obediently, and become a sacrifice.