Chapter 141: Never Hate You
***
Elizabeth's eyes opened with a snap.
She found herself in a white room with the curtains draped over the windows.
It was then that she realized what the place was.
It was the Infirmary.
She tried to sit up while weakly grabbing her head.
'What...am I doing here?' She looked around and saw Charlotte, Lilianna, and Alya in nearby beds.
'What happened?' She tried to concentrate hard on her hazy memories.
And it was then that the lock opened.
A flood of memories assaulted her brain.
Of all that happened on the trip.
The mission.
The time with Amon in his room.
The conversation on the balcony.
The next day.
Amon getting jailed.
Everything overwhelmed her brain all at once.
It took several minutes for her to calm down and finally understand what happened.
'So it was all an illusion...' She realized.
She looked at her pale white hands and her mind drifted to Amon.
It seemed to be that he had known that it was all an illusion from the start.
From all the planning that he did and how he was killing them...
He was doing it all on his own.
Yet again, Elizabeth not only failed to hold her promise to Katherine but also her responsibility as a friend.
And also as...
Someone whom she...
She ignored such thoughts for the moment.
The fact was that she was useless.
Useless to do anything.
Ah.
It was then that she realized.
Her mind drifted back to the conversation she had with Amon that night.
Alone on the balcony.
Where he insulted her by calling her useless, trash, and everything.
But insulted?
Thinking back on it, she found herself admitting that maybe what he said was true.
Despite how harsh they were.
They carried a certain truth to it.
She looked at her hands.
Even though she was the strongest first year, she was incapable of doing anything useful.
Meanwhile, Amon, the weakest first year, was always doing everything by himself.
She clenched her hands into fists.
No.
It irked her.
She wouldn't let him do everything by himself.
She needed to get stronger.
Strong enough to help him with these types of problems rather than just standing idly by.
She was the second daughter of the Snowcrest Matriarch and the strongest first year.
She was Elizabeth Snowcrest.
With a newfound resolve, Elizabeth hurried out of bed.
She was quickly discharged by the doctors after a quick checkup.
They asked her about the memories which made her realize that not everyone got them.
Regardless, she denied their question and got out of the infirmary.
It was then that she realized that she had yet to clear it up with Amon after that incident.
She didn't want him to hate her.
It was too painful for her heart who considered him the closest friend she had in the academy.
Despite her having spent a lot more time with the girls, he was still the first person she held a normal conversation with.
And also a person who helped her learn a lot of things.
So she couldn't bear him hating her.
It was a bright day and the breeze made Amon's hair flutter.
After some walking, he finally saw Elizabeth.
She was sitting elegantly on a bench with her head hung low.
Despite just waking up, she was wearing beautiful white clothes that provided a pleasant
boost to her beauty.
As he arrived close to her, she finally noticed his presence and looked up.
And instantly, her lustrous silver gaze met his black eyes.
She didn't say anything and gestured for him to sit beside her which he did.
"Hey." Amon greeted first.
Instantly, Elizabeth greeted as well.
"Hey."
But before he could say anything further, she followed up with another question.
"Are you hurt?"
Amon chuckled.
"Nope. I'm good as you can see."
She finally turned to look at him and her gaze traveled over his bandages.
"But your bandages tell that you badly-"
Amon put a finger to her lips, instantly shutting her.
"When I say I'm good, you should trust me you know."
A faint shade of red spread on her cheeks as she nodded.
He took the finger back and she struggled to form her next words.
But Amon quickly completed it for them.
"Is it about the trip?" He asked.
She looked at him with a surprised gaze, not expecting that he would remember as well.
But she nodded.
"Yeah..."
Amon sighed and leaned back into his chair.
"About that night..." Elizabeth looked down, not meeting his gaze.
"I understand."
"Elizabeth. I'm sorry for everything I said to you that night-" He was about to apologize
sincerely when Elizabeth interrupted.
"Yeah, I know that. I know you did that to lure the entity out." She still looked down and
clenched her fists.
"I know that even in the vision you killed the guide for me and solved everything by
yourself..." She said, her voice trailing off at the end.
"Yes. I'm sorry for that." He answered.
Elizabeth nodded.
"It's okay. I know you didn't do it intentionally but..."
She struggled to articulate her next words.
"Can you answer one question for me?" Elizabeth fidgeted with her fingers.
Amon tilted his head.
Without meeting his gaze, she finally said it.
"That night, on the balcony, the words you said..."
"I know it wasn't intentional but do you truthfully hate me?" She poured it all out.
"Do you think I'm someone useless?" She asked, still looking down.
Amon looked at her with a soft gaze.
He almost stifled a chuckle.
Despite being 18, she could act a little immaturish sometimes because of all the stories she
read.
Looking at her flushed face looking down, Amon thought she even looked cute.
But on a serious note, Amon knew that whatever he did or said next would determine if he
could bring Elizabeth back.
And for that, he was ready to do whatever it took.
Even...
"Elizabeth." He said, raising his hand.
His cold fingers touched her warm chin and lifted her face, making his gaze meet hers again.
"Like I said..."
His face inched closer to her as he cupped her cheeks in both hands.
And in the next moment, he closed his eyes and brushed past her hair.
And two warm lips touched her forehead.
"I could never hate you."