Chapter 132: Chapter 20 - Three Days Before The King's Game, Day 1 (4)

Since it was already almost night when I returned to the orphanage, we went straight to dinner after Alice healed me with her magic. While eating, I shared my adventures at the academy with the children. It wasn't anything grand, just tales of my experiences, duels, and sparring sessions. Though not particularly thrilling, the children found my stories quite exciting.

It wasn't every day they heard tales from beyond our little village of Flui, after all.

While eating, I discreetly glanced at Sister Lily's and Alice's domination requirements.

--

You've captured the interest of Lily. You can now proceed to dominate her.

Name: Lily

Race: Human

Requirements to dominate Lily:

1. Donate anonymously to the orphanage (Completed!)

2. Visit the orphanage once a week for eight times (1/8)

3. Unlock

4. Unlock

....

--

--

You've captured the interest of Alice. You can now proceed to dominate her.

Name: Alice

Race: Human-Vampire Hybrid

Requirements to dominate Alice:

1. Make Alice say her true feelings three times (0/3)

2. Unlock

3. Unlock

As a kid, she'd been a tomboy through and through, and it seemed not much had changed. Now, she was a stunning beauty with curves in all the right places, like an hourglass. Her ample bosom and shapely thighs were hard to ignore, even though her personality remained the same.

But I didn't mind. There was something refreshing about her, in my opinion.

As she nestled closer, I caught a whiff of soap on her skin. Had she showered before coming here?

"Hey," she spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"Do you already... have a lover?" she asked, sounding somewhat nervous.

Honestly, I could have just lied and told her I didn't have a lover. But then, I couldn't shake the feeling that it would only lead to trouble down the line. What if she found out I was lying? She'd feel betrayed, just like I did back then.

I also asked the same thing from my childhood friend back on Earth. By that time, I had already spilled my guts to her, confessing my feelings and making it crystal clear that if she was already hooked up with someone else, I'd step aside without any fuss. But then, she fed me a line, claiming she and the guy she was into weren't an item yet. It was a load of crap.

The very next day, I found out the truth: she and her crush were already an item, keeping it a secret from everyone at school, including me. The only reason they finally came clean was because my childhood friend couldn't bear to keep lying to me. The betrayal hit me like a ton of bricks, filling me with seething anger. All I could do was stand there and watch her cozy up to the guy she'd fallen for.

She picked him, and I got left in the dust.

But it still cuts deep that she had to lie to my face like that.

After feeling betrayed, it was like the world around me started spinning faster and faster. Before I knew it, I had transformed into someone unrecognizable. I became the kind of guy who picked fights on the streets, got into brawls left and right. I even picked up smoking cigarettes. I started dating women, having sex with them, then ditching them once I got what I wanted.

I had numerous flings with women who were only interested in a good time in bed and nothing more. The betrayal had changed me so much that everyone could see it.

Despite my childhood friend's attempts to reach out to me, her words fell on deaf ears. To me, everything she said felt like a lie, so I chose to shut her out.

The only person who had any chance of turning me back was my sister. She saw the drastic change in me and tried to steer me back on track. But before she could succeed, she tragically took her own life by hanging. Her death shattered me to my core. After her funeral, I sought vengeance on those who had wronged her, but before I could finish, I met my end in a fatal traffic accident.

I got reincarnated here, then...

If I told Alice that I don't have someone yet, it could lead to complications down the line. I didn't want that. So, I decided to be honest with her.

"I have," I finally admitted after a long silence.

She withdrew her head from my shoulder and muttered, "I see..." She then got up from the bed. "Well, that's to be expected. I mean, you're very handsome, Leon..." she began to walk towards the door. But I grabbed her hand, pulling her back to me, and embraced her from behind.

At that moment, she finally broke into loud sobs. It was the first time I had heard her cry like that.

"It's so unfair, Leon..." she choked out between sobs. "You're so unfair... Without me even realizing it, you've grown into an adult... so unfair..."

I could only hold her tightly from behind and listen to her crying.