[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
w
Chapter 60: Nikita’s Side Story
At another exit of the Demon Dungeon.
A silver-haired woman stumbled out, almost rolling.
“Nikita!”
A man who rushed out quickly supported her.
The man, who looked exactly like Nikita, was her older brother, Nia Cynthia.
“N-Nia, brother.”
Nikita clenched her fist tightly.
Then, without warning, she struck Nia in the side.
“Ugh!”
“Why... Why didn’t you tell me sooner?! You could’ve just let me know you were alive!”
“S-Sorry, Nikita. If I had contacted you, someone would surely have become suspicious.”
Nia looked at the furious Nikita, not knowing how to handle her.
He had never seen Nikita so emotional before.
She, too, couldn’t control her emotions at that moment.
The surge of feelings within her was overwhelming.
Her mind kept drifting to one man.
The man who had stopped her and sent her here against her will.
When he left the academy, she hadn’t even seen him off.
And yet, he had returned to the academy and stayed by her side, steadfastly protecting her.
“If I had known, none of this would’ve happened...”
Nikita bit her lip tightly.
“Did... Did Vikamon keep it from me because you silenced him, brother?”
“No, that was his decision. In fact, he was the one who saved me.”
Nikita’s eyes widened.
“Vikamon... Perhaps...”
She realized he might have known for a long time that Nia was going to be assassinated.
Perhaps that was why he returned to Zerion Academy.
But for whose sake?
‘It was me.’
Nikita had always known Vikamon’s feelings for her.
After all, she was destined to be used as a pawn in a political marriage by the Marquis Cynthia family.
She couldn’t accept his feelings, and Vikamon understood this.
So, he never confessed his love to her.
‘He...’
Vikamon had left the academy after becoming entangled with Lucas.
At the time, the group he attacked had included the third princess.
As a result, he was exiled from both the academy and his family.
‘Could there have been... another reason?’
Perhaps there had been some reason he had to return as Hannon.
And if that reason was connected to her?
If, as a third-year, Vikamon couldn’t protect the second-year third princess...
And if he stayed by the princess’s side to prevent Nia’s assassination?
‘Did he really sacrifice everything, even being cast out by his family, just for me?’
Nikita’s lips trembled.
Surely, such thoughts were far-fetched.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
But when she recalled Vikamon’s face as he looked at her in his final moments,
She couldn’t entirely dismiss the idea.
Vikamon, in his guise as Hannon, had always stayed by Nikita’s side.
He supported her so she wouldn’t struggle, knowing how much she overexerted herself.
His actions mirrored how Vikamon had been in the past.
‘The reason he didn’t tell me about Nia’s death immediately...’
Was likely to avoid any chance that the third princess’s faction might notice something.
And in case Nikita lost control, he must have been preparing to stop her by revealing the truth.
Nikita recalled Vikamon’s bittersweet smile as he looked at her in his guise as Hannon.
‘You knew... all along, didn’t you?’
After hearing of Nia’s death, Nikita had turned to the magic of ancient dragons.
Once one dabbled in dragon magic, there was no turning back.
Vikamon knew this and smiled that way because of it.
‘And today...’
To completely erase the dragon magic that had been etched into Nikita,
Vikamon had prepared everything on his own and ultimately saved her.
‘Why...’
Nikita wanted to ask again.
She could live.
She absolutely could live.
Vikamon had abandoned his family and shone brilliantly.
Because she had seen him, she believed she, too, could live that way.
Nikita was a hard worker.
She knew how to pick herself up even after falling.
And this time, she wasn’t doing it alone.
"Truly, how foolish."
She could no longer hold back her tears.
She wanted to meet him immediately and tell him everything.
She wanted to confront him about each and every one of his actions.
More than anything—
She wanted to tell him about the emotions welling up inside her right now.
"...Nikita, a real Hannon was discovered recently."
At that moment, Nia’s voice reached Nikita’s ears.
"He’s not Hannon Irey, is he?"
Even those in the First Prince’s faction at the academy had confirmed that he wasn’t Hannon.
Hearing Nia’s question, Nikita bit her lip.
"...I cannot tell you who he is."
Nikita kept the secret.
For his sake, this truth could not be revealed.
Nia nodded.
"I’m telling you this just so you know what tool he used."
"A tool?"
"A tool that perfectly mimics Hannon’s appearance."
Nikita recalled that he had also disguised himself as Hania.
"That tool is called the Bandages of Veil. Classified purely, it’s a type of divine artifact."
Nia’s face darkened as he spoke.
Divine artifacts always carried inherent risks.
It wasn’t uncommon for people to die because of them.
"Brother, could it be... there are side effects?"
"...Yes. The Bandages of Veil cause one of the three elements of emotion to disappear with continued use."
Nikita’s eyes widened gradually.
"Emotion...?"
"Sadness, anger, or love—the three universal emotions humans feel. One of them vanishes. And further research suggests it might not stop at just one, depending on the length of use."
Nikita froze, her eyes wide open.
Sadness, anger, love.
It had already been six months since Vikamon began using the Bandages of Veil.
If he had lost his emotions—
She already knew the most likely first candidate.
"No..."
Nikita denied it.
"No. No way..."
She had only just begun to prepare herself to face his true feelings.
To think that they might disappear—
Nikita couldn’t accept it.
And knowing that it was because of her made it all the more unbearable.
‘The “Be happy” Vikamon told me...’
Perhaps it was his farewell to the emotions fading away within him.
"I have to go back immediately!"
"Nikita, if you return now, you’ll only put yourself in danger!"
Nia urgently tried to stop her.
"And wasn’t this his choice, to protect you?"
If Nikita returned now, all of Vikamon’s actions would lose their meaning.
Knowing this, Nikita suppressed her emotions and clenched her fists tightly.
"...I understand."
Nikita accepted it.
"But someday..."
When she met him again—
‘Even if he has lost his emotions,’
She would bring them back to him.
‘I’ve received so much from him.’
So, she would surely return it to him.
Nikita’s blue eyes settled on the demon dungeon.
Those eyes were now filled with a single person.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
w