“Huh?” I asked. “What in the world are you saying? And who the hell do you think you are? You’re not the only heroine. Everyone is a hero or heroine in their own right. Why do you think you’re the only special one?”
“Because!” Celette shouted, stamping on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. “This world exists for my sake! It was designed to make me happy!”
“Um, are you all right in the head?”
“Are you calling me stupid?!” Celette shrieked, steam practically rising from her ears. “I’ve lived multiple lives in this world! Lauris, Oreste, Rosario, and even Severin… All of them fell head over heels for me when I bewitched them! I cleared all their routes one by one. Only Embert’s hidden route was left. I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to reach the true ending with him.”
I was the one who started fuming this time. Specifically, the words “fighting tooth and nail” triggered my anger.
“Are you for real?!” I shouted. “How many people have been sacrificed for your fragile little ego?! After bewitching everyone, you stole the past Alexandra’s fiancé and isolated her. In the end, you even had her exiled for some bogus crime. I’ve had it up to here with you!”
“Ally,” Embert interrupted, attempting to quell my fury. That said, I had no intention of stopping.
“Would you please not butt in here, Em?” I asked.
After gazing at me in wonderment for a brief moment, Embert’s expression softened into a warm smile. “Yes, of course,” he replied. “I won’t get in your way.” Thus, he fell silent, a smile still playing on his lips.
Meanwhile, I turned back to Celette. “Do you understand how Alexandra must have felt after being devastated five times? Her heart was on the verge of being destroyed. She fell in love with Lauris as a young girl, and everyone knew them as a loving couple until they started school. Then, their relationship crumbled in an instant because of your absurd bewitchment. Have you ever considered how she must have felt? Her beloved fiancé was stolen five times by the woman who bewitched him. Worse, this happened before her very eyes. She suffered countless cruelties, and in the end, you even isolated her. Can you imagine how painful that must have been?”
Before I realized it, tears were spilling down my cheeks.
“You know what happened to Alexandra following her exile, right?” I asked. “After being thrown inside a rickety carriage, she was killed by bandits before reaching the border. Then, her remains were devoured by wild animals in the forest. You know all this, right?!” I shouted through tears as I thought about myself who wasn’t myself. “Despite knowing all this, you killed Alexandra multiple times! All for your petty desires!”
“Ally!” Embert and Janus cried out in unison.
“Lady Alexandra!” Mary wailed.
“The Goddess told me that Alexandra wouldn’t be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation if her heart broke,” I said. “Do you know what happens to souls that don’t enter the cycle of reincarnation? They cease to exist. You understand what that means, right? Alexandra’s soul was in that precarious of a situation. I… I couldn’t tolerate that happening to a girl who’d done nothing wrong.”
My tears fell onto the floor one drop at a time.
“That’s why I beat everyone to a pulp in the fifth timeline,” I continued. “I did it for Alexandra. Honestly, I wanted to thrash them even more, but the Goddess stopped me. And you know what? I heard Alexandra laughing back then. She thanked me too, even though I did so little for her. She was a truly kind girl. When I heard that she was enjoying a completely different life, my heart leapt with joy.”
Mary began crying even harder. Tears spilled down my brother’s cheeks as well.
“Honestly, I forgave everyone when I heard Alexandra’s voice,” I said. “The boys weren’t at fault for going crazy due to bewitchment. I even decided to forgive you, so long as you didn’t do anything stupid.” Here, I glared at Celette, seething with rage again. “But you’re beyond redemption. I continued suppressing my anger even when you tried to bewitch my friends in this timeline. We’d still avoided the worst-case scenario, after all. I never felt actual rage until you tried to plunge me into that icy lake. That’s when my fury got the best of me.”
Celette snorted. “I never did anything of the sort.”
“How can you say that?” I asked, balling my hands into fists. “You bewitched that boy into doing your bidding, and then you abandoned him. Same goes for the girl who tried to stop you from murdering me. Were they nothing more than pawns to you? Did the possibility of their deaths never bother you? How can you throw away the lives of people who adore you?” At that moment, I had a sudden flash of insight. “Not too long ago, you asked me if I was familiar with the term akuyaku reijo. Have you ever wondered if you’re the true villainess?”
“What?!” Celette shrieked, her face reddening with fury. “Don’t be ridiculous! I’m the heroine, remember?! You’re the villainess!”
I couldn’t help but laugh as the vein in her temple throbbed. “Oh, really? If this were a play, no one would mistake you for the heroine. Everything you’ve done is so villainous, after all.”
Celette glowered at me while trembling with fury. “What did you say?!”
“Why did you never try finding love on your own?” I asked while approaching her. “You’re beautiful enough that you don’t need bewitchment. Deep down, you know the truth, right? None of us exists to be characters in your dating simulator. Not your sycophants, not the boy you framed, and not even the past Alexandra. You’re a failure of a person who couldn’t build a genuine, loving relationship. Maybe you should start over from the beginning. But don’t worry. This world won’t collapse without you.”
I truly felt like the demon queen as I spoke these words with a smile.
“Sh-Shut up!” Celette cried. “This is my world. It’s all a game. Why would I care if anyone else dies? If worse comes to worst, I can just reset it!”
With a resounding thwack, Celette went rolling across the floor. Needless to say, I’d hit her. With the back of my fist too.
“Want to try resetting it now?” I asked with a chuckle.
“That hurt!” Celette shouted. “All right then, you asked for it! I’ll prove this world belongs to me! Reset! Let me do everything over from the beginning! Reset now!”
As Celette screamed at the empty ceiling, her words echoed hollowly throughout the classroom.
Incredible. How is she not embarrassed?
The entire class cringed while looking at her. A few people who I’d subdued woke up and looked at her with astonishment.
“What’s wrong?” I asked with feigned puzzlement. “Nothing’s happening.”
“Hey, is anyone there?!” Celette cried. “There must be someone in charge around here! You can see me, right?! Hurry up and reset the game!”
Of course, nothing happened.
“Well, that’s curtains for you,” I said with a laugh. “See? It looks like everything will be fine without you. Now you can rest easy and atone for your crimes.”
When I grinned, Celette snorted again. “What are you talking about?” she asked. “I’m a holy woman. No one will accuse me of any crime.”
“Heh, this is too much. What are you talking about? You’re obviously no holy woman.”
At this point, no one would defend Celette. In fact, many people were glaring at her furiously. None of them were pleased with having been bewitched. Even so, Celette still didn’t back down.
“Again, what are you talking about?” she asked, her nostrils flared. “I’m the protagonist of this game. The setting itself dictates that everyone adores me—the holy woman. No one can change that!”
“You’re hilariously stupid,” I said with a chuckle. “Do you see anyone that adores you right now?”
“Of course,” Celette replied with a smug grin. “Everyone here loves me. You’re the only one who doesn’t.”
Whoa, she’s still clinging to that delusion? In a certain sense, that’s pretty impressive.
“Well then, why don’t we ask everyone?” I suggested.
After shooting me a mocking glance, Celette looked around the classroom. “Listen closely, everyone. I’m going to become this world’s one and only holy woman. I’ll heal everyone with the magic that only I possess. You all adore me for this, don’t you?”
Everyone gaped at her, unable to respond. Where did the audacity to spew that nonsense come from? I’d never encountered anyone so delusional in my life. When this thought occurred to me, the entire situation seemed utterly ridiculous.
“Have you calmed down, Ally?” Embert asked.
Apparently, he’d picked up on my mental state.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I replied. “Thank you.”
“Think of nothing of it. I’m thrilled to see you again.”
I cocked my head. We saw each other all the time, didn’t we?
“Haven’t put it together yet, have you?” Embert asked with a chuckle. “We’ll save that conversation for later. First things first, we need to have Lady Celette escorted to the dungeons.”
When Embert snapped his fingers, the door swung open again, and several knights entered the room.
“Why?!” Celette cried. “I didn’t do anything wrong!”
Despite her shrill protest, the knights forced her onto her knees. Afterwards, they placed magic-sealing handcuffs around her wrists.
“This can’t be happening!” Celette continued shouting. “I’m the heroine!”
As she continued to struggle, I knelt before her and donned the smile of a demon queen. “You’re no heroine or holy woman. Heh, welcome to the world of the villainess.”
Her vigor from moments ago had completely disappeared. The knights carried her away without resistance as my words left her dumbstruck.
“That was brutal,” Cita said with a mixture of exasperation and amazement.
Julietta threw her arms around me. “That was so cool, Ally.” When I hugged her back, she continued, “I never doubted you for a second.
“So, everyone enjoyed the show?” I asked.
Cia threw her arms around me as well. “Very much so,” she responded with a giggle. “You really are amazing, my beloved Ally.”