I Don't Know The Playthroughs Of The Returned Villainesses - Chapter 29

“…”

“…”

Several minutes passed with Modred and me staring at the floor in silence. I still couldn’t bring myself to speak.

I cautiously glanced to the side…

“Hmm?”

“Nothing.”

Rioness’s soft voice reached me from beside me.

‘Could you please just yell at me or something…?’

This silence was terrifying.

*

Moments ago, Rioness had appeared before Modred and me without a sound. The moment she arrived, the atmosphere around Modred shifted.

“Uh… Sister. This is…”

Rioness’s small, delicate hand, which had been resting on Modred’s shoulder, tightened its grip.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Sister! Sister!”

Modred’s cries were genuine, devoid of any playfulness or exaggeration. His eyes were even slightly teary.

‘Penalty window. She used the power of a spirit, right?’

[I sense the presence of at least a Greater Spirit.]

I saw it too. A faint, greenish… or perhaps teal-colored smoke rising from Rioness’s seemingly powerless hand. That was supposedly the power of a spirit, something only elves could sense and utilize.

And according to the penalty window, it was the power of at least a Greater Spirit.

And Rioness was using it to…

“Sister, that really hurts! You’re going to break my shoulder!”

“It’s fine, you won’t die. There’s a Saintess in this class, so ask her to heal you later.”

She was torturing Modred, but not enough to kill him.

‘Wasn’t it said that the power of a spirit causes an unusual kind of pain that you wouldn’t normally experience?’

There had been descriptions of spirit power causing a strange pain, different from burns or cuts. It seemed to be true.

“Owwww!”

“You’re not going to die. Stop being a drama queen.”

Judging by the fact that Modred was only screaming and not passing out, the pain was probably just enough to make him cry out.

‘Hang in there.’

He had been badmouthing his sister behind her back, so he had only himself to blame. I, who hadn’t said anything, was innocent.

Leaving Modred to his sister’s discipline, I turned to his retainers.

‘Aren’t you going to stop her?’

I gave them a questioning look.

They shook their heads slowly, their expressions calm, eyes closed.

‘Resignation.’

‘Isn’t he your boss?’

I pointed at Modred, widening my eyes.

Their gazes shifted briefly to Rioness, conveying the message, The person standing next to him is our boss.

Even though their master, Modred, was shedding tears of pain, his retainers remained calm, showing no signs of guilt.

‘This must be a regular occurrence.’

They had probably tried to intervene countless times, judging by their resigned expressions.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

Modred was now practically frothing at the mouth, while Rioness wore a satisfied smile.

‘Is this considered normal sibling behavior in a fantasy world?’

I wished someone would call them out on it.

“Aaron.”

Rioness turned to me, stretching with a smile.

“Yes.”

“So, what were you about to say earlier?”

“…”

*

And so, back to the present.

“Aaron.”

“Yes.”

“If you don’t answer me before class starts, I’ll follow you to every single class.”

“I apologize.”

Was she getting angry because I kept avoiding her gaze and refusing to answer? Rioness’s face was getting redder.

“Let me ask again. What were you about to say?”

She finally gave up waiting and asked directly. If I didn’t answer Rioness, the Elven princess, I didn’t want to know what her retainers would do to me.

I swallowed hard and spoke.

“…I was so captivated by your beauty, enhanced by the aura of a spirit, something I’ve never experienced before, that I unconsciously called out your name.”

It might not work on a human-hater, but it was the most flattering response I could come up with.

“…”

Rioness stared at me, her expression unchanged.

‘Did that not work?’

I was about to give up when she turned her head and replied,

“Then you should have just said so…”

It seemed I had given the correct answer. Her voice trailed off, the last part mumbled almost inaudibly.

“…”

Silence returned.

While Rioness was looking away, I glanced at Modred, who was standing behind her.

“Ugh…”

His expression was contorted, his mouth slightly open, as if he didn’t know what to say.

‘Is this a typical sibling reaction?’

I wouldn’t know, since I didn’t have any siblings.

Modred’s expression continued to crumple.

“Sister. Please stop. It’s unsightly.”

He spoke with annoyance, as if he couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

‘What kind of face was she making?’

Rioness turned to Modred at his annoyed remark, flinched slightly, then turned back with a neutral expression.

“He’s useless…”

She clicked her tongue and muttered something under her breath. Her lips had moved, so she had definitely said something, but I couldn’t hear it.

At that moment…

The classroom door opened, and a man walked in, his footsteps heavy with fatigue. It was Aslan.

‘He must have been doing his morning training.’

Judging by the sword at his hip, he had probably been practicing with different weapons.

“Oh. This is an unexpected gathering. Nice to…”

Aslan, who had been walking towards his seat, noticed us and turned, waving and greeting us cheerfully… before abruptly stopping.

“…Ahem.”

He cleared his throat, closing his mouth quickly, then gave me a warning look. He slightly tilted his head to the side, his eyes following the movement, urging me to look.

‘Ah.’

I had forgotten in the midst of our conversation.

Rioness. The elf who hated humans.

“What’s wrong with him?”

Rioness tilted her head in confusion, wondering why Aslan had stopped mid-sentence and started coughing.

‘Doesn’t she realize it’s because of her?’

Modred gave Rioness a knowing look.

Seeing his continued warning signals, I discreetly slid my chair back a bit.

“Aaron?”

“I apologize.”

I apologized, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

She genuinely seemed confused.

After a moment of hesitation, I decided to tell her.

“I… just remembered that you… dislike humans.”

“Ah.”

“I apologize for making you uncomfortable.”

I bowed my head again. But Rioness’s reaction was strange.

“Um… Aaron.”

“Yes.”

She fidgeted, looking at me like a child trying to hide something they had broken.

“You can forget about the human-hating thing.”

“Huh?”

What was she talking about? Telling me to forget about her human-hating tendencies in front of the human-hating villainess herself? It was like asking her to abandon her identity.

“It’s… gone.”

‘?’

“What’s gone?”

“My hatred for humans.”

“???”

What?

Who said it was gone?

Her hatred for humans, a trauma stemming from witnessing her mother’s death at the hands of elven hunters…

“Gone?”

My mind went blank, the question slipping out before I could stop it, forgetting even to use formal language.

“Yes.”

As if mocking my disbelief, Rioness confirmed it casually, as if it were nothing.

‘Does trauma-induced psychosis just… disappear like that?’

I could answer that without hesitation.

Absolutely not.

Mental illnesses weren’t cured by simply taking medication, especially when they were linked to traumatic events.

‘Something’s not right.’

Considering her past, it wasn’t something she could joke about.

“Aaron. Did I just hear that correctly?”

“No. I think you heard correctly.”

Aslan, who had walked over to me, also looked dumbfounded, glancing between Rioness and me, seeking confirmation.

I felt the same.

“Are you… Rioness Glinair?”

Aslan couldn’t hold back any longer and asked directly.

“I am.”

Her tone was now sharp and cold, her expression hardened, a stark contrast to her previous gentle demeanor.

“You are aware that you are known among elves for your hatred of humans… right?”

Aslan spoke bluntly, despite knowing it was disrespectful to the Elven princess. He might be a duke, at the pinnacle of the human nobility, but that didn’t make him Rioness’s equal. She was the equivalent of an Elven princess.

To the elves, Aslan’s actions could be interpreted as openly insulting their princess in front of her retainers. And indeed, the elves who had been observing from afar were now approaching us, their gazes sharp.

“Everyone. I’m watching.”

Modred’s command echoed through the room. It was a message to his retainers, implying that if he, another heir, was tolerating this behavior, then they should too. The elves stopped, their sharp gazes still fixed on Aslan.

Modred had stopped them, but his expression showed his displeasure.

Silence fell. All eyes were on Rioness, who had lowered her head.

“I am aware.”

A confident reply.

“And yet you claim your hatred for humans is gone?”

Aslan’s voice was sharp, almost laced with anger. He was testing Rioness, observing how she would react to such a disrespectful question.

Rioness’s response was simple.

“Is there… a problem with that?”

It was essentially a “So what?”

“Hmm… Are you sure it’s gone?”

Aslan redirected the question to me. All eyes turned to me.

I swallowed hard and asked Rioness, despite the risk,

“Rioness, I know this is off-topic, but would you allow me to ask a rather impertinent question?”

“Ask anything.”

Rioness answered without hesitation, despite not knowing what I was about to ask. She was clearly eager to prove that her hatred for humans had disappeared.

“Then, Rioness, what are your thoughts on humans?”

The best way to understand someone’s true feelings was to ask them directly. No matter how carefully they crafted their words, their true feelings would always seep through, especially when those feelings were negative, like hatred.

After a moment of thought, she responded, as if wondering why I would even ask such a question.

“Humans… are just humans.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Even if I were to describe humans, their characteristics are common traits shared by other races as well. Though I hate to admit it, just as humans have hunted elves, elves have also hunted humans in the past.”

Her response was unexpected, coming from an elf, a race known for their arrogance. Most elves would look down on humans or demand respect, emphasizing their own superiority. And yet Rioness, the pinnacle of their race, had just equated her entire species with humans.

“It seems… her hatred for humans really is gone.”

“…Indeed.”

Aslan and I could only nod, listening to her answer. Modred, standing behind her, was so shocked that he couldn’t even speak, simply staring at his sister.