The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind - Chapter 109

Chapter 109

Elaina wanted to kill Citrina, regardless of how she acted.
So she wasn’t going to stand still, obediently, and become a sacrifice.
‘On one, two, three…I’ll be out the door..’
Citrina took a deep breath. This was it, this was her chance.
Crouching down as low as she could, she had to find a way around Elaina and the man’s reach.

‘I can run that way!’
Her heart tightened with anxiety, nevertheless, Citrina made a break for it.
“You broke free from the restraints, Citrina-nim?”
The man grabbed Citrina by the hair.
Despite his elegant tone, he sounded panicked, and his grip was quite rough. Citrina squeezed her eyes shut as her scalp ached.
“How the hell did you get unbound? Tell me!”
Elaina shouted in a raspy voice.
“That’s why we should have killed her quickly!”
Elaina stamped her foot.
“Alright then. Let’s quickly kill the sacrifice.”
The man winked at Elaina. Elaina approached, smiling sweetly.
‘What the hell did I do wrong for you to try and kill me?’
But she hated the idea of saying it out loud. It hurt her pride to beg for her life.
Instead, Citrina began to struggle.
She absolutely didn’t want to die easily like they wanted her to. However, her body stopped moving.

The man bound her body again.
And then, just like that, it was over.
A steady stream of light began to emanate from between the magic runes on the floor. A slight wind, a bit stronger than a breeze, blew through the space, even though the area was closed off from everything else.
-Bam!-
The sound of the explosion reverberated in her ears. A firm arm wrapped gently around her from behind.

“Rina.”
The voice was so familiar it brought tears to her eyes. The restraints eased off her body.
Citrina knew instinctively.
That at this very moment, her lover had arrived.
After reassuring Citrina, Desian looked at the man.

“Who are you trying to kill?”
His voice was menacing.
The man across from her stiffened, his hand still on Citrina’s. Desian grabbed the man by the nape of the neck. With a gurgling sound, the man was dragged back into the summoning circle.
She looked at him with disdain, then looked away.
Elaina was the one who tried to kill Citrina.
Elaina dropped her dagger to the ground and stood stunned. Her expression looked distressed.

Seeing as how she didn’t even open her mouth, she must be restrained with magic.
But the man beside Elaina could still move his body. He made a gurgling sound.
“Get out of the way, I need to sacrifice a foreign object… I’m almost there.”
The man sputtered and struggled.
His eyes rolled impatiently from side to side as if searching for a way out.
Desian grabbed him by the nape of the neck and threw him against the summoning circle. Even as he fell to the floor, the man spoke in a rush.

“To restore the source of this world, we must kill her and sacrifice her to God! You, too, if you want to take away the pain you suffered at the hands of Toloji…..”
“What did you say?”
“Toloji! I said Toloji. You can erase all of your memories of Toloji and start over! If you just turn back time…”
Desian interrupted calmly.
“I’m not at all interested.”
He didn’t say another word, didn’t move a muscle.
In that instant,
The man stiffened as if under a freezing spell. Citrina watched the spectacle with bewilderment.
Desian said, not even paying attention to what Tanin said.
“You can be the sacrifice.”
Desian took Citrina’s hand and moved to the outside of the summoning circle.
Light quickly gathered and dissipated within the circle.
And then-

Tanin vanished completely, along with the geometric markings on the floor.
It was impossible to tell where Tanin had gone. It was supposed to be a sacrificial offering, but to who and to where was unknown.
‘I wonder if Desian knows what that is.’
Citrina glanced in Desian’s direction. He was silent. He must have felt Citrina’s gaze, but he didn’t look at her.
“…Don’t worry, Rina”
But there was still one more thing to address.
Citrina tore her gaze away from Desian and looked to her side. Elaina gasped, watching the scene.
Citrina lifted her foot and kicked the dagger away from Elaina’s side.

“It’s not over yet.”
All the bad blood with Elaina was over.
At this moment Elaina is not dead, but she would live a life worse than death.
Everything she had and could have had is gone.
“Del, I need a favor.”
Citrina looked up at Desian, her face pale.
“Huh?”
“…I need to talk to Elaina for a moment.”
Desian’s expression hardened.
She could read the changes in his expression. It seemed like Desian wanted to say it was dangerous.
But Elaina was already bound.
She was in no condition to harm her anymore.

Looking at Citrina, Desian spoke quietly.
“…Can I lock her up?”
“Yeah.”
With a bloodless face, the girl who was around Citrina’s age had no choice but to look her in the face.
Citrina stepped in front of Elaina.
“What did you want to do?”
“…What?”
The victor and the loser were on contrasting sides.

“What was it you wanted to do all of this time?”
Citrina looked at Elaina.
A shabby expression covered her face.
Her clothes were plain. Stripped of her powers, Elaina looked ordinary.
In the hazy darkness, she could see the dark cut from the knife on Elaina’s wrist.
Yes, even that was a disaster of her own making.
“What was it I wanted to do?”
That’s what Citrina had asked, about what she wanted to achieve by going back in time.
Elaina mumbled a response to Citrina’s words.
“Nothing much.”
In Elaina’s life, she was the star of her own show. The rest of the world was just a supporting cast that made her shine.
And she seemed to still be thinking that way.
When Citrina didn’t respond, Elaina spoke up.
“I just don’t understand. How dare you?”.
She stammered, but it sounded pathetic.

Citrina remembered the way Elaina looked in <Elaina’s Flower Garden>. She had looked so pretty in the novel.
She had been beautiful, until the very end, when she had forgotten all about Citrina and survived happily ever after.
But now she was covered in ash and lay in front of Citrina.
She wondered why.
‘…I have nothing more to say.’
Citrina was silent for a moment. She felt the weight of the world she had changed, but she did not regret it. If she hadn’t changed the future, she would have died.
By changing the future, Citrina survived. And she’d gotten a glimpse into Elaina’s raw mind.

Citrina whispered in a thin voice.
“I always told you. You’re not the protagonist of this world. I also told you that I don’t owe it to you to bear the weight of your choices.”
“I…I’m not the same as you.”
Elaina’s words rang hollow. Genfiros’s control had lost its effectiveness. Her honor, the thing that kept Elaina alive, would soon be gone.
Citrina blinked a few times.
“If you still want to believe that, so be it, but I want you to know something.”
Elaina’s mouth twisted into a sneer. Citrina didn’t expect Elaina to understand her feelings.
“That arrogant feeling, it’s what ruined you.”
Citrina looked at the sword in Elaina’s hand, now far away. It would be destroyed, its blade corroded beyond use.
Tanin had disappeared, and the factions that had followed Genfiros, including Elaina, had been scattered, disintegrated, and then completely annihilated.

“I am not your accessory, nor am I inferior to you.”
“….”
“If it’s that hard to admit, then you are still that sort of person.”
Citrina wanted nothing more to do with Elaina.
Elaina had paid the price. She looked dazed and staggered a little.
And at this moment, Elaina didn’t respond to Citrina’s words anymore.
‘I guess you’ll figure it out someday.’
She’d been dealing with the grudge she’d harbored for so long.
That would be difficult for Elaina.
Citrina looked at Elaina with an expressionless face. Elaina spoke in a quiet, sullen voice.
“…Do you want me to die?”
“No. I just want you to disappear from my life.”
Citrina replied dryly. Elaina smirked.

“…I already told you, right? About what kind of person Duke Pietro is?”
“Yeah.”
“So you’re ignoring his vicious behavior even though you know everything?”
“That is a matter for me to decide.”
She replied tersely. Elaina snorted.
“So… Do you think you could be happy?”
The question seemed to have an obvious answer. Citrina gave her a response.
“Yes, I think I can be happy enough.”
Citrina answered briefly, then added one more thing.
“A little bit more than you will ever be.”
She smiled beautifully.

Elaina wanted to put a curse on Citrina, but she’d already lost her divine power thanks to her actions. She had lost everything and was left broken.
“That’s enough, Rina”
At the word Rina, Elaina looked at Desian. Her eyes were full of vigor.
Elaina seemed to understand.
That there was someone who loved her and called her by the nickname Elaina had stolen from her.

As soon as Desian had finished speaking, the door opened. A steady stream of knights poured in from outside the door. The dimness of the room was replaced by a steady stream of light. Citrina rubbed her dry eyes.
At last, Elaina and Citrina’s relationship was over.
The knights arrested Elaina.
The sight of Elaina’s back seemed forlorn. Looking at the back of Elaina’s head, Citrina realized she would never see her again.
When she was very young, she used to braid Elaina’s hair. There were times when her hair felt soft in her hands, but those days were long gone.
Citrina watched Elaina’s back as she left, her steps looking heavy.
Elaina had become a perfectly normal human being, devoid of any powers. She would spend the rest of her life being watched by the Duke’s shadow knights.
All of which, for Elaina, would be the greatest punishment of all.

Citrina’s heart did not break for her.
Despite the fact that she would never see Elaina again, she was at peace.
It felt good to finally be out of her shadow.
Citrina turned her back on Elaina as she was escorted away. Now there was only Desian in front of her.
Her family, her lover, her ever-silent shoulder to lean on.
Citrina looked at him in silence.
“Shall we go now?”
“Yeah.”
Desian squeezed her hand.
He listened to Citrina and Elaina’s conversation.

‘I get it. You’ve noticed that I know who you really are.’
Was that why?
Somehow, his grip felt stronger than usual. Citrina tightened her expression.
Perhaps this was all a new beginning.
And she was right.
The following week, Citrina heard more news.