Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 196

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Side Story Episode 13
“When I walked alone through the department because of those terrible rumors, Senior Do-yeon was the only one who looked at me without prejudice and took care of me.”
“She was truly an angel without wings. When my family faced a crisis and I was considering taking a leave of absence, Do-yeon dropped her part-time job and helped me with practical training until dawn, which is how I managed to prevent dropping out.”
“She was such a senior with impeccable character, but she always looked so busy that I never managed to have a proper conversation with her…”
“Everyone liked Do-yeon, and it’s really such a shame.”
“Did you know? When the custodian collapsed while cleaning the hallway, Senior Do-yeon administered first aid and called an ambulance, which allowed them to receive treatment just before things got serious.”
“That senior was so kind that several people around me had feelings for her. But Kim Han-jun blocked it so aggressively that we couldn’t even talk to her.”
“Ugh, that absolute jerk.”
I felt secretly grateful that someone had voiced what I wanted to say.
“Ah, but that crazy bastard Kim Han-jun is hilarious.”
“Why?”
“He suddenly started drinking and calling out Do-yeon’s name while wailing and vomiting—it was a complete mess. He was putting on such a dramatic one-man show that it was painful to watch.”
“I haven’t seen that guy’s face lately. What’s he been up to?”
“No idea. He’s been drowning himself in alcohol and lost his mind, so he couldn’t even complete his thesis. I heard he took a leave of absence before his final semester. The rumor is he’s still soaked in booze these days.”
He didn’t fail to graduate because he lost his mind—that bastard never had any real talent to begin with. The professor would never have passed his thesis anyway, and even if he’d graduated, there would be no point, so he took an indefinite leave of absence to save face. What you might call an honorable exit.
“Oh, but does anyone here have contact with Do-yeon’s family?”
“Why?”
“Letters keep arriving at the Department Office. I’m not sure if the family moved, but it seems Senior listed this as a secondary address.”
“What kind of letters?”
“They’re from a child at the facility where Senior Do-yeon used to donate. So it’s awkward to call and ask them to stop sending them…”
“Wow, no matter how much you dig, only good deeds keep coming up.”
“Exactly.”
As I listened to their conversation, I quickly walked toward the Department Office where the child’s letter was kept. As I moved silently, the Thought Entity spoke to me.
-There were actually quite a lot of people here who cared for you, whether you knew it or not.
-…I see. I didn’t realize.
I scratched the bridge of my nose for no particular reason. Though being in a semi-transparent state meant I couldn’t scratch it properly.
-Perhaps that’s why Lucifer’s curse that shrouded your soul was purified in an instant, and when the Lord sensed your lost soul, an anomaly occurred.
-What kind of anomaly?
-You weren’t originally supposed to be born in Korea, yet you were born there.
-That’s right.
-Two completely unrelated dimensions intersected, and as a crack formed at the point of intersection, you were able to glimpse the future of this place, even if only briefly. The future of Asteia without you.
-Ah! That adult-rated depressing novel.
-Yes. It’s no different from reading a prophecy.
-While you’re at it, show me the ending too.
The Thought Entity created another large ripple as if in agreement.
-If the crack had been larger, you could have seen much more of the future.
-So the author wasn’t being lazy after all. In any case, thanks to reading that novel, I managed to prevent the predicted catastrophe quite well. I really was fortunate.
I felt a strange sensation. It seemed that misfortune doesn’t follow continuously throughout a life—there’s always a silver lining.
My previous life had seemed to be nothing but layered unhappiness, but even within it there were good connections, and because I hadn’t abandoned my goodwill, I was able to escape the Demon Lord’s curse quickly.
‘And the knowledge I accumulated here has been quite helpful too.’
Thanks to the unique experience and information about the future, I found it far easier to confront the Demon.
—Perhaps there truly is no moment without meaning.
Whoosh—!
As I murmured this softly and stepped into the Department Office, a sharp wind swept through the open window, sending the white letter on my desk fluttering like a butterfly. It was a reply from the child I had been sending monthly donations and letters to.
The pages scattered one by one in the breeze, and I slowly read through the contents as sunlight shattered like jewels across my skin.
I took in the four characters inscribed at the end of the letter with my entire being.
Perhaps this was the one phrase I had most wanted to hear in my previous life. And in that moment, I felt that my true farewell to this world had arrived.
—I’m grateful too.
I murmured with a sense of release. It was time to return to where I truly belonged.
* * *
…Or so I thought.
—Hey, Thought Entity?
It seemed like the right time to leave, but at some point, he stopped responding.
—Thought Entity?
So I called out respectfully.
—Please respond. I want to go home! You dragged me all the way here, so you need to take me back now.
Where on earth did he go? Don’t tell me I’m going to end up wandering this University Campus as a lost spirit?
—This isn’t funny. If you don’t show up in three seconds, I’m grinding your bones into powder the moment I leave! You think I can’t do it with a dragon’s skeleton? I-I mean, it would be a waste, but you know I’m incredibly wealthy, right?
I even threatened to pulverize his original form outright, but he showed no sign of responding.
—Ugh, what is this even about.
After searching the University Campus thoroughly for the Thought Entity for a while, I grew exhausted and collapsed face-down on the desk in the Undergraduate Office where I always sat.
—Where could he possibly have gone.
‘Could something have happened in the Sanctuary where the rosary was kept?’
But if that were the case, the Thought Entity surely would have sensed it first and taken action—the silence was strange.
—Maybe if I sleep like this, I’ll wake up in my own bed tomorrow. That kind of miracle might happen.
Sleep—the very thing I had attempted countless times in the early days of possessing Deborah Simour’s body, denying reality! I hadn’t come to this place where I slept best without reason.
—Let it work this time.
I lay there with my eyes shut tight for a while when suddenly something tapped my shoulder.
—…W-who is it?
I jolted in surprise and lifted my head sharply, then my eyes widened as I saw the figure before me.
Who on earth are you?
—Perhaps you don’t recognize me?
A gentle smile flickered across the man’s eyes. I, who had been momentarily dazed, quickly regained my composure and let out a small cough.
—…I was wondering if you were the person I know.
The reason I hadn’t recognized him at first and panicked was because Isidore was wearing unfamiliar clothes.
—I’m sure it’s me.
He wore a crisp white dress shirt that hung elegantly on his toned frame, and he even had a necktie and watch. He gripped the edge of the desk and leaned his head toward me, his rolled-up sleeves revealing firm veins running across his forearms.
Looking like he could grace the cover of an international men’s magazine, he chuckled softly and gently tidied my disheveled hair.
—Am I dreaming?
—Of course not. It’s time to go home now, Miss Deborah Simour.
—But… Knight Isidore, why are you dressed like that?
—You don’t like this outfit?
—No way. You look handsome. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Thank you!
In my spirit form, without the filter of my body, my true feelings spilled out unguarded.
—I modeled it after the clothing in a portrait that the young lady once kept so carefully in her past life. So you really do like this sort of thing. But who is that fellow? He was quite handsome.
—Huh?
—I saw him at the young lady’s home from her previous life.
Oh no! Wait a moment.
Now that I think about it, the outfit Isidore is wearing resembles what the GQ magazine cover model wore—the one I had reverently stored away in a box during my past life.
Which means…
—Isidore, have you been watching this whole time? Since when exactly?!
—Perhaps from when the young lady followed Rocke Visconti around with that delighted expression on her face?
—When did I ever—? And if you were right there, you could have at least made some sound! This is too much!
—When the Thought Entity pulled the young lady’s spirit out of her body, my spirit was dragged along as well. I could see and hear, but my voice couldn’t reach you.
—Why not?
—The Thought Entity seemed unwilling to have our conversation interrupted. I suspect it’s allowing us to meet now.
He slowly surveyed his surroundings with that characteristic inquisitive gaze of his.
—What a fascinating dimension. A highly advanced civilization with no mana at all. These objects are quite interesting too.
He spoke while shaking the wristwatch he had manifested after seeing it in the magazine.
—You’ve already adapted to this place, it seems.
Isidore truly had a talent for possession. Right now, he looked exactly like a contemporary romance novel’s male lead.
—If I could understand this world’s language, I would have learned so much more about the young lady. That’s my one regret.
Isidore hadn’t been able to understand what my family and schoolmates said due to the language barrier, but it seemed he had grasped everything else through his conversations with me and the Thought Entity.
—I would never have believed it without seeing it with my own eyes like this.
He spoke in a tender voice.
—Thank you.
—…For what?
—Until recently, the young lady thought our world was nothing but a novel. Yet you made the effort to hide that part out of consideration for me, while trying to tell only the truth and the essence of things.
—…
As always, I felt how truly kind he was.
—You make me feel like I’m actually a good person. Every time.
—But you are a good person. That’s why I fell for you at first sight. Twice, even.
Falling in love at first sight twice was a contradiction, yet for us two, it was the truth. He smiled as he loosened his necktie.
—I do wish to explore this world further, but it seems time won’t be granted to us generously…
—Do you know where the Thought Entity is?
—Yes. But before that.
—Before what?
—Shouldn’t we first clarify who that man was—the one the young lady kept so carefully, even preserving his portrait?
He was smiling as brightly as a flower, yet I could sense thorns beneath. Though there was a language barrier, there was none for images, so Isidore had mistaken the GQ magazine for a portrait of some man.
To make matters worse, in my spirit form, I couldn’t control my expression, so I couldn’t tell a proper lie. I couldn’t even pass off that magazine as belonging to Yoon Do-yeon, my blood relative from my past life!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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