Prologue
“You said you loved me.”
The man, gritting his teeth, grabbed Katrina’s body.
“Why did you do this to me?”
His bright yellow eyes looked as though they could consume her in flames.
“You betrayed me, and this is how you end up?”
Silas Rockpenheim.
He was the male protagonist in the game.
Katrina had possessed the body of a character from an otome game she had played a long time ago. Not just any character, but the villainess.
She wanted to return, so she acted as the villainess with even more thoroughness.
The system had told her that if she completed the villainess ending, she would be sent back.
This was the final moment she had been waiting for.
Katrina stared at the system window floating in the air.
[Game Progress 99%]
Only 1% left.
She could go back.
“Silas.”
Katrina turned her head and looked at the man in the prison cell.
“I never loved you.”
The man’s hand, gripping the bars, trembled.
“…Actually, it’s the opposite. I hated you.”
So, so hated him.
She repeated the words like someone who only knew one expression. The man’s eyelashes trembled terribly.
“…Why?”
“Don’t ask if you don’t know.”
She exhaled heavily.
How much longer can I live?
She wanted to die. If that meant she could return, she would die a hundred times over.
So even when a burning pain flared up in her throat, she silently endured it and spoke.
“You know. I love the Crown Prince.”
“…”
“I only used you because you were his trouble.”
Silas’s lips twisted.
“Don’t be ridiculous. That bastard Raymond doesn’t even love you!”
“It’s fine. I love him.”
Love? It was never love. She only wanted to go back.
She was the villainess. A villainess who was envious of the female protagonist and loved the Crown Prince.
“That bastard’s love…”
The iron bars in Silas’s hands looked like they might bend.
It didn’t matter anymore. She just needed that last 1%…
Why isn’t it going up?
Katrina grew anxious. What did she have to do to make it rise? That percentage needed to go up…
That was the only way she could go back.
“Then, what about me?”
Suddenly, the man clenched his teeth and asked.
“Then, didn’t you love me?”
Those words made Katrina momentarily lose her words.
She had never loved him.
…She just felt sorry for him.
“I told you. The person I love is…”
“Hold my hand, Katrina.”
“What?”
At his sudden words, Katrina looked at Silas.
He had the most serious expression she had ever seen.
“You’re going to be abandoned by Raymond anyway.”
“…”
“Your family will abandon you too.”
As Silas said, Katrina had no place to go anymore.
The Duke of Abiche, who had taken her in when she was a child, would soon abandon her, thinking she was no longer useful.
Because my magical power has disappeared.
For the same reason, the Crown Prince would also abandon her.
In this world, everyone was like that.
Even her own family had taken her in for their own purposes, and now that she had outlived her usefulness, they would turn their backs on her without hesitation.
But it didn’t matter.
She was going back now.
“Are you saying you’ll take responsibility for me?”
Maybe that’s why.
Katrina felt a lump in her throat at his foolish words.
“Yes.”
“…”
Who was going to help whom now?
He was the one locked in a cage. He should be worried about his own situation.
“If you grab me now, I’ll help you…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Silas.”
Katrina firmly slapped his hand away.
Did this foolish man not even realize how things were going?
“I’ve already used you and discarded you.”
“…”
“Why would I hold your hand?”
The one who should be reaching out was not Katrina.
Maybe if it were the female protagonist.
“And I’m not going to be abandoned.”
Even if she was abandoned, it didn’t matter.
That was the original goal anyway.
She was tired. She just wanted to return to her original world.
“Wow. You’re really…”
Silas paused, as though taking a deep breath.
Then, with great difficulty, he spat out his words.
“…Do you really hate me that much?”
She did.
She hated Silas, and she hated all the other protagonists.
She hated everything in this world.
“I…”
Katrina gritted her teeth.
At that moment,
[Quest]
This might be your final quest.
You are facing death. Your breath will likely stop soon.
Act as the villainess one last time.
If successful, you will earn the right to return.
[Game Progress 100%]
A familiar system window appeared.
The content was unkind, but Katrina realized what she had to do.
It had been ten years of this.
What more bitter words did they want her to say…?
Katrina chuckled and looked at Silas.
“Are you really curious about that?”
Katrina, who had been indifferent all this time, suddenly smiled brightly. Silas’s pupils shook.
However, Katrina didn’t say the sweet words he wanted to hear.
“I hated you so much.”
“…”
“I hated you terribly.”
His expression contorted in agony.
“I’ve always hated you, Silas.”
This was the story of someone locked in a prison, unable to sympathize with anyone.
“I felt sorry for you.”
Katrina mocked Silas, who was grinding his teeth.
She didn’t feel an ounce of pity.
You were the one who betrayed me first.
And your friends, too.
Why should I feel sorry?
You tried to kill me.
I had to fight desperately to survive and return.
So, this is all your fault.
But since a little while ago, something in her chest felt uncomfortable.
Each word she spit out felt suffocating.
“Ha…”
Silas let out a sigh, as if exhausted.
But she couldn’t stop here.
…There was one last thing she had to do.
“Katrina.”
At that moment, Silas called out to her again.
“If you’re so confident…”
Silas raised his head, which had been lowered.
His bright yellow eyes shone intensely.
“Let’s see if it really happens the way you said.”
“…”
“I won’t be here for long.”
Silas gripped the prison bars with determination.
“We’ll see each other again soon, Katrina.”
“…”
“And…”
His yellow eyes relentlessly followed her.
“You will pay the price for locking me up.”
He bared his white teeth and smiled cruelly.
“You’ll experience what I did.”
What a ridiculous thing to say.
Katrina laughed at him.
There would be no second meeting.
She was leaving today.
[System]
Congratulations on completing the ending, Han Seoryeong player.
You have now…
The system window appeared before her eyes.
Katrina silently smiled.
Finally, she could return home.
…And that was three years ago.
Blink, blink.
Katrina blinked her eyes absentmindedly.
[System]
Welcome, Han Seoryeong player.
You have been chosen once again as ‘Katrina Abiche.’
The familiar system window.
The familiar ceiling, the familiar decorations, the familiar furniture.
Everything was familiar.
And…
“Katrina Abiche.”
A familiar face.
A man with dark hair and handsome features looked down at her.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
…Why am I here?
She had clearly seen the ending and returned to ‘Korea,’ but now she had been reincarnated again.
