TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 220
A cold breeze blows.
Yuria, heading toward the hospital balcony, followed Olivia while listening to the wheel noise of the rolling wheelchair.
“…”
Olivia said nothing.
A typical Apostle.
Not even a casual “How have you been?” to catch up.
Without saying a word, she moved the chair with wheels with a stern expression.
-Clatter…
I didn’t feel glad. I didn’t feel fear either. Instead, the first thought that came to mind was how unpleasant it was to meet someone I didn’t want to see.
Since we weren’t in a relationship to exchange pleasantries, I didn’t bother to start a conversation.
There was only one thing on my mind—why Olivia had called me separately. Olivia probably thought there was nothing to discuss with me either.
-Screech.
Arriving at the balcony, Olivia stopped the wheelchair and slowly turned her body.
“Ahem.”
Clearing her throat once and tying her hair back, Olivia faced the cold wind of the North and cautiously opened her mouth.
“First, I want to apologize for calling you at such a late hour.”
“…”
“I didn’t want to call you separately either, but I thought there wouldn’t be another chance if not today….”
With a stern expression, Olivia, still seated in the wheelchair, lowered her head.
“Honestly, you and I aren’t in a relationship where we’d sit face-to-face and talk. Especially you.”
Why would she, knowing that?
She’s someone I don’t even want to see.
Yuria clenched her fist as she looked at Olivia, who wore a calm expression. Even if Ricardo was tolerable, Olivia was not.
Perhaps aware of Yuria’s feelings, Olivia bowed her head and apologized again, saying she was truly sorry and that this wouldn’t happen again.
“I’ll apologize later.”
“…”
“I’ll do it properly later, so don’t feel too uncomfortable about it.”
Reluctantly, Yuria nodded at Olivia’s words. Olivia let out a sigh and began to speak.
“…I’ll say just one thing. Just one thing.”
-Nod.
After letting out a deep sigh, Olivia spoke heavily.
“Why do you hate Ricardo?”
Olivia clenched her fist and spoke with difficulty, cautiously gauging Yuria’s reaction.
“No matter how much I think about it, I just don’t understand.”
“Me…?”
At Olivia’s question, Yuria raised her tone, expressing doubt. She didn’t hate Ricardo.
It was an unexpected question.
‘Hate him?’
‘Do I hate Ricardo…?’
Under Olivia’s gaze, waiting for an answer, Yuria shook her head, signaling that Olivia was mistaken.
“No. Why would I hate Ricardo? If anything, I….”
Without listening to Yuria’s response, Olivia spoke with conviction. From Olivia’s perspective, Yuria clearly hated Ricardo.
“No. You hate Ricardo.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
Olivia looked Yuria straight in the eye. Though their relationship made it uncomfortable to face each other, Olivia spoke with determination, clenching her fist tightly.
“If you didn’t hate Ricardo, that kind fool wouldn’t have any reason to be so wary of you.”
“That’s just your misunderstanding.”
“No, my eyes are accurate.”
Shaking her head, Olivia replied.
“Whenever Ricardo sees you, he lowers his head. He fidgets, trying to do something for you.”
“…”
“He worries about whether you’re hurt or if something bad has happened to you.”
“That’s…”
Yuria’s mood began to lighten at the pleasant words. She hadn’t expected Ricardo to think that way. Hearing it from the mouth of a villainess, for some reason, made her feel like smiling. It was delightful and fascinating to know that someone she liked thought about her.
With a stern expression, Olivia spoke to Yuria. Her voice carried slight emotion, as if to clarify that what she had just said wasn’t praise.
“But you’re not like that.”
“Huh?”
“Whenever you see Ricardo, you get angry. You resent him. You yell at him.”
“…”
“You misunderstand him for things he didn’t even do. If that’s not hating him, then what is?”
Yuria couldn’t deny Olivia’s words. They weren’t wrong. She had no excuse for her actions.
Olivia continued pointing out Yuria’s flaws. As a villainess, she spoke without regard for the other person’s feelings, but as a perpetrator burdened with guilt for leaving an indelible nightmare, she placed a hand on her chest and spoke with all the consideration she could muster.
“Even if I can hate him, you shouldn’t. Do you know what Ricardo means to you? Why do you hate him?”
Saying she couldn’t understand, Olivia continued.
“No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t understand you.”
Setting aside her past emotions, Olivia spoke while thinking about Ricardo, who lay bedridden. Her tone might have been a bit uncomfortable for Yuria to accept.
“What more does Ricardo have to do for you?”
“…”
“When you were expelled from the academy, Ricardo apologized, didn’t he?”
As she listened quietly to Olivia, Yuria clenched her fist. Olivia had brought up memories Yuria didn’t want to revisit.
Yuria hated Ricardo.
Recalling memories that made her unable to help but hate him, Yuria’s emotions began to rise.
-Clench.
Watching Yuria’s reaction, Olivia continued speaking, her voice timid as if prepared to endure Yuria’s anger but determined to get a response.
“Ricardo clearly apologized to you. He said he was sorry for the bad things you went through, that he wouldn’t appear before you again.”
“Ha.”
Overcome with emotions welling up to her chin tip, Yuria finally opened her mouth. To her, the memories with Ricardo were unforgettable yet a reverse scale.
“If he apologized…”
“…Huh?”
“If he apologized, does that make everything okay?”
“No, that’s not…”
“I also apologized to you. I didn’t even know what I did wrong, but I said I was sorry.”
“…”
“I admitted I was at fault and asked you to forgive me. But how did you treat me? You said it was fine and acted nice to me? Compare it properly.”
Biting her lip, Yuria spoke with muffled pronunciation.
“Do you know how much I suffered because of you…?”
“…That’s.”
“Don’t make excuses. I don’t want to hear them.”
“…”
Olivia tightly shut her eyes. Shaking her head, she calmed her trembling shoulders. Ricardo had told her not to get angry. Taking deep breaths, she suppressed her temper.
-Sigh…
“Yeah, you’re right. You can treat me like that. But you can’t treat Ricardo like that.”
“…”
“Ricardo isn’t a punching bag. He’s not someone you meet just to bow your head to.”
Shaking her head, Olivia spoke, clenching her fist tightly and looking at Yuria with a timid voice.
“He’s my punching bag, the one only I’m allowed to hit, and no one else can touch without my permission….”
At Olivia’s whiny complaints, Yuria had so much she wanted to say.
Yes, I know.
I know that being overly sensitive and angry at Ricardo is wrong.
But, I feel wronged too.
The person I trusted and liked… When I think about that time, being ostracized by someone I still like and grow to like even more, I feel wronged and angry.
I know. I do.
But.
What can I do about feeling wronged?
Yuria couldn’t understand why she had to be criticized for being hurt more because she liked Ricardo.
Yuria clenched her fist and spoke to Olivia. She told her not to act so shamelessly.
“A punching bag just for you?”
“Yes.”
“Ricardo can’t do anything because of you.”
“I know.”
“Don’t you feel guilty?”
“Of course, I do.”
Olivia lowered her head and stammered as she spoke. She said she wasn’t someone oblivious to her position, nor an ungrateful fool.
And once again, she repeated the same words to Yuria.
“But, you can’t do that.”
Olivia looked straight into Yuria’s eyes as she spoke.
“You don’t know.”
“Know what?”
“You don’t know how much Ricardo suffered because of you.”
“No, I do.”
“If you know, then why do you only think about how hard it was for you?”
Olivia was aware of her own situation.
She knew she was a burden holding Ricardo back, and that she was a bad villainess who only caused trouble. She also knew that it couldn’t be fixed overnight and that it would take time.
That’s why she always felt sorry and grateful to Ricardo. Because he seemed to dislike it, she didn’t bring up the Academy and was trying in her own way.
At least.
Olivia knew, to some extent, about the hardships Ricardo endured.
“At least I’m grateful to Ricardo. But you’re not.”
Yuria clenched her fist and lowered her head. Her trembling fist tightened, and her lips quivered.
‘I have to endure it.’
Because she didn’t want to bring up the Academy again.
‘I shouldn’t say it’s unfair.’
Because Ricardo almost died because of her, stabbed by the sword she swung. She had to realize how awful and bad she was for hating Ricardo, who didn’t even boast about it.
‘I know. Olivia is right.’
But.
But still.
What can I do about being scared?
Yuria shouted.
“Do you know?”
“…”
“Do you know what it feels like to be betrayed by someone you trusted? To see someone who promised to always be on your side turn their back on you overnight and scribble graffiti on your desk?”
Yuria began to vent her pent-up emotions, expressing her resentment about what she had gone through.
“You think I don’t understand gratitude? I do! I know how much Ricardo suffered because of me! I know he got hurt because of me!”
“Hurt…?”
“But you don’t know! You don’t know about being locked in a wardrobe for three hours during the ball!”
Yuria continued to speak, ignoring Olivia’s changed expression. She told her she knew nothing about her.
“I trusted him, I really did! Do you know what it feels like when that trust hits rock bottom?”
Yuria shouted about the dual nature of Ricardo that she had seen in the past.
“It’s scary… Honestly, it’s terrifying.”
“I want to stop too, but I’m scared of being betrayed again.”
Olivia let out an empty laugh as she spoke. She was starting to get angry at a certain keyword.
“You really don’t know anything, do you?”
Olivia glanced around and muttered quietly. “Ricardo told me not to say this…” she murmured before sighing and speaking.
One word at a time, clearly.
“Ricardo.”
She told Yuria clearly, right in her ear.
“Because of you, Ricardo was ostracized at the Academy.”
“You really don’t know anything, do you?”