Chapter 6: I’ve endured you for a long time!

Inside the room, Floria was like a mute swallowing bitter gall—suffering in silence, unable to voice her pain.

Once, when she was still the Grand Commander of the Saint Knights.

Every night, she would lock herself away, scheming up little tricks to torment those fated heroines just right.

The whole routine she used now—finding any excuse to breach the safety distance, teasing until breaths quickened and hearts pounded wildly like startled fawns—was the very first move Floria used after bringing Sophia through the door.

Such reckless physical contact, combined with ambiguous, coquettish glances and the intimate closeness of faces pressed nearly cheek to cheek, could instantly shatter the innocent heart of any inexperienced girl.

Because of this, that set of moves had been repeatedly employed against every fated heroine Floria dealt with—and it never failed. To Floria, it was nothing new.

No one could withstand such an all-out assault and maintain a calm mind—herself included.

Now, seeing Sophia growing bolder by the inch, even daring to probe the valley at her collarbone with a fingertip, Floria gritted her teeth and unleashed a surge of magic, pushing her back several steps—arm and body alike.

“Ugh…”

Though Sophia’s advances were forcibly cut off, there wasn’t a hint of resentment or anger on her face.

On the contrary, she blinked her innocent, wide eyes and met Floria’s finely shaped face flushed red with embarrassment and indignation head-on.

“Sister, could it be… this is the way you said you’d ‘kick me out’?”

She leisurely flicked her wrist, curling the fingertip that had nearly invaded the witch lady’s cleavage, then lightly swiped it over her own lips as if applying lipstick.

“…”

That small gesture made Floria realize just how serious the situation was.

Sophia’s relaxed, carefree posture clearly displayed her confidence and ease—proof she had come prepared and everything was under her control.

Coupled with the broken sword as evidence just now, Floria knew that if she still stubbornly clung to the hope that Sophia had merely “happened” to show up, she was only deceiving herself utterly.

“Hmph.”

Floria snorted coldly and straightened her back.

The gentle, housewife-like tone and demeanor she once wore vanished in an instant, replaced by a noble, icy glare filled with authority—a stern, upright presence radiating the dignity she once commanded as Grand Commander of the Saint Knights.

…Though to onlookers, the effect was somewhat diminished by the wheelchair she now sat in and her diminished figure.

For the current Floria, no matter how hard she tried to glare fiercely and summon an imposing aura, in front of Sophia she ended up looking more like a pouting child throwing a temper tantrum.

“I just want to understand more about you, Sister—your life all these years, and why you lied and ran away back then—”

Sophia’s tone softened as she spoke, taking measured steps to close the distance once more.

But Floria knew deep down how monstrous her past sins were, and how shocking her Dead Escape had been to those around her.

At this point, she dared not let Sophia come any closer.

So, though she kept her face stern to maintain dignity, she instinctively drove the wheelchair backward to escape Sophia’s slow approach.

But she hadn’t moved far before the chair’s backrest hit the corner of the wall—there was no room left to retreat.

Sophia saw all of this clearly.

A faintly inscrutable smile flickered in the girl’s deep blue eyes as she came forward and looked down at Floria.

Her tall figure and long, slender legs blocked the wheelchair’s path, forming a pincer trap against the corner, making it nearly impossible for Floria to move an inch.

“What… what exactly do you want—! I’m warning you, Sophia!”

By now, Floria no longer cared to maintain any semblance of ladylike decorum or grace.

She revealed what she believed to be her most fearsome expression, her voice sharp and severe as she scolded.

Because the Sophia before her was utterly unlike the one from the past.

Back then, the little Sophia who bore all indignities silently by her side had been just one among many pure, harmless young girls—soft and gentle.

But the Sophia who had stepped in the door now exuded a dangerous aura in every word and action, chilling Floria to the bone.

Seeing Sophia continue to appraise her figure with that ambiguous, covetous gaze, Floria bit her lip in shame, feeling her pride trampled beneath those lecherous eyes.

Damn it… if this were the past, even if you were just a little Sophia…

Back then, even the Grand Princess of the kingdom or the church’s saintess would have bowed respectfully upon meeting me—!

Forcing herself calm, Floria tensed her body, trying to summon the proud posture of a senior, lifting her swan-like neck to scare the girl away.

“Oh? ‘What I want to do’? Sister, aren’t you the one who knows best what I usually do?”

Sophia smiled faintly.

She bent slightly forward, bringing her face close to Floria’s cheek, blocking the light coming in from the window and casting her face into shadow.

At such a close distance, Floria could clearly smell the subtle scent of the girl’s youth brushing against her face.

Floria tried to brush her away with the back of her hand, but as soon as she raised it, Sophia caught her wrist, pinned it tightly against the wall, rendering her immobile.

Losing control of her dominant hand, Floria was at once ashamed, angry, and shocked.

It was then she truly realized Sophia had grown beyond her ability to resist.

“After you died, Sister, I was really depressed for a long… long time. I thought we’d never meet again… but deep down, I always believed you wouldn’t just die like that.”

Unexpectedly, as Sophia studied Floria’s face, her tone softened, and a trace of nostalgia could be heard.

“I’m just very curious… why you faked your death and hid here, why your figure looks so much smaller than before, why you’re in a wheelchair now, and why you live with a little girl who looks so much like you.”

After hearing this string of questions, Floria’s tense heart eased somewhat in skeptical disbelief.

…Is that all?

Could Sophia really have come just to satisfy some curiosity, simply checking on her?

Her calm and gentle tone truly sounded like she was catching up with an old friend after years apart.

But the more that seemed true, the harder Floria found it to believe.

Could it be that the villainous deeds she committed weren’t enough? Or that the humiliation and bullying Sophia endured were insufficiently severe? Or that the harassment wasn’t enough to shame her fully?

Floria was still puzzling over this.

But the next moment, Sophia’s words and actions wiped away all of Floria’s doubts.

“…And I want you to come back to me. I want to continue what we started back then—”

Before the sentence finished, Sophia dropped all pretense, exposing the crazed, vengeful obsession burning in her eyes as she lunged at Floria.

The girl’s long-prepared fingers slipped once again into Floria’s collar, then with a swift tug tore away the delicate fabric covering her exposed shoulder and white neck.

Sophia then expertly began undoing the buttons and ties of the dress at Floria’s waist.

“Sophia! What are you doing! Stop this at once! You’re a Saint Knight of Justice! How can you—!”

Naturally, Floria’s panicked resistance was fierce.

Now forced into a state with her bosom half-exposed, she frantically pushed against the girl straddling her thighs and tried to reason using the Code of the Saint Knight.

But her feeble struggles and words had no effect—instead, they only deepened the sadistic pleasure flashing across Sophia’s vengeful face.

“I’ve endured you for so long, Sister… there are things I’ve wanted to do for a very long time—!”