“Noi Vellrich, let’s break up.”
‘What are you saying? You must be joking, right? This isn’t funny at all!’
“I don’t agree!”
Tears streamed down Noi’s face as she lost all reason, clutching the front of his shirt like grabbing onto the last straw on dry land.
That straw was firmly rooted but was deliberately pulled out.
His bowtie fell off, and Lyte expressionlessly tore at his collar before stepping back half a pace.
“This is a notification, not a discussion. You don’t have the right to refuse the breakup.”
“N… no, that’s impossible! It can’t be like this!”
The girl howled hysterically, her subconscious outright rejecting his reason.
Her eyes trembled erratically, trying to focus on a single point.
Her body shivered, her mental pillar crumbling like shattered jade, and her spirit was swept away with the flow of air.
For the first time, she felt that breathing was such a painful thing.
“Lyte, have you been bewitched by Deta? What did she say to you? Or did you encounter some bad thing that affected your mind? Yes, that’s it, it must be the Nightmare influencing you!”
Her self-reasoning was cut off abruptly by Lyte’s harsh interruption.
“Enough! Stop, okay?!! This is a public place, so restrain yourself.”
“But—”
“But what? Do you really think the Nightmare could use its power on Heaven’s Chosen again?”
Noi’s hollow gaze dropped to the ground, her lips pale and trembling, mumbling like a madwoman.
“We promised to get married, to have a bunch of chubby kids, to live in a village like the Village of Peach Blossom Spring.”
As if those spoken promises restored some of her confidence, she cautiously lifted her head to look at the dark-haired youth’s gloomy face and said foolishly:
“If there’s anything going on, just tell me. We’ll face it together. I’m your wife. Oh, I get it now, maybe I teased you too much today, and you just couldn’t hold back, right? Let’s go home right now. If you’re in a hurry, we can find a convenient inn.”
Her clumsy mind couldn’t come up with a better plan.
She wasn’t good with words, so she tried to lure his heart back with her body.
Unfortunately, Lyte was not buying it.
“Don’t use that filthy body of yours to seduce me. I have no feelings for you.”
“… But you said this morning that you wanted me?”
“That was just a test. I’ve been acting a warm-hearted good man all this time, which is exhausting. But your recent tactics have made me feel disgusted.”
Lyte sneered: “I originally wanted to experience some unique flavor from you, but it turns out you’re just like those women in the Imperial Capital. I’m tired of them all. You don’t really think I’m a virgin, do you?”
Noi gasped in surprise, as if hearing something that overturned her entire worldview.
Lyte ignored her abnormal expression, glaring at the passersby watching the scene and releasing sword intent that drove them away.
Then he continued explaining his reasons for breaking up.
“I chatted with Deta for a while, and I’ve come to understand. You and I really aren’t compatible.”
“… This is another act testing me, right? I’m not mistaken, am I?”
Her emotions fluctuated wildly until Noi’s senses went numb.
Only the deep curiosity about the reason for the breakup kept her conscious until now.
She still couldn’t believe Lyte would say such words.
“Acting? Do you really think what I said in the Sanctuary was just acting? Haven’t you heard of ‘fake acting becomes real’? I swear! All the disgust I showed you then was real! There was no deceit!”
Noi quietly stared at the dark-haired man raising his arm to scold her.
Her deeply buried dream memories resurfaced.
No wonder… did he really have such a face?
Or was this his true self—a Hero who despised the witch, wearing a mask of kindness, torturing and humiliating through emotional torment?
“I just want to ask, where exactly are we incompatible? Didn’t you say in the Sanctuary what you admired about me?”
“Your flaws outweigh your strengths. I cannot accept that.”
“… Then why did you choose me in the Heaven’s Chosen Ceremony? Was it just because I look good?”
“Glad you have that self-awareness.”
Lyte laughed several times, stepping lightly as he walked slowly beside Noi.
“Remember what I told you on the beach? How many women do you think wanted to flatter someone like me with my status and position?”
Noi stared blankly ahead, unable to focus, her mind swirling with Lyte’s words and naturally deciphering the barbed subtext.
Words that meant:
In my eyes, you’re nothing more than a dispensable substitute.
You didn’t even doubt my romantic history when I said those sweet words in the Sanctuary.
To be honest, only a stupid woman from a small rural town like you would fall for it.
He didn’t say it aloud, but Noi could taste the contempt in his eyes.
Her heart ached… was all my effort just wishful thinking?
“I was sincere with you. You still have a chance. I don’t care about the past. We can fall in love again. Starting from now. That’s what I want to tell you. Lyte… I’ve already compromised this much. Can’t you just show a little mercy to someone so worthless as me?”
“I was sincere with every girl.”
“Yes! That’s it, keep going.”
Noi nodded repeatedly, her complexion brightening like a withered tree coming back to life.
But in the next moment, Lyte completely shattered her delusion.
“I’m sincere with every girl. I put my feelings into loving each of them.”
He rubbed his brow: “Fine, I’ll be honest. When I first met you, I had just been kicked out of the Imperial Capital. I thought I couldn’t survive there anymore, so I wanted to find a woman to pass the time and soothe my mood. That’s why I became a Guardian Knight at the church.”
Then, he shook his phone and, facing Noi, leaned down to stare at her haggard face and showed her the screen.
It was a photo of a group of elegantly dressed noble girls holding Lyte’s banner, seeing off the Imperial Princess boarding the Starship.
“Deta sent me this photo, along with some private shots taken recently. Look, which one of them isn’t naturally charming? They’re far more seductive than your forced teasing.”
She stared at the screen, Lyte’s slender fingers swiping through each photo as if savoring every beauty, whether plump or slender.
“And Deta also explained to me the real reason I was expelled from the Imperial Capital. It was just a misunderstanding! This proves I don’t need some clumsy girl from the countryside to satisfy my romantic desires. The women in the Imperial Capital play the game way better than you.”
Lyte sneered, yanking at Noi’s hair, scattering her pure white locks.
“Compared to them, you’re just a village girl with braided hair, a Cinderella in white dance shoes. Your aura reeks of insecurity and indecision. Playing with you is a bit conqueror-like, but if your personality wasn’t so fragile, like porcelain, unaware of your own fragility, I might have kept playing with you for a few more days.”
“Playing with me for a few more days?”
One blow after another shattered Noi’s sanity completely.
“Why? What do you want? Always acting weird like this, ignoring me is one thing, but switching between coldness and scorn makes me nervous.”
‘It hurt. Stop acting. I know you don’t really want this. Don’t destroy me like this. I—’
“Please, can we just end it here? Today is my birthday. Do you know what my wish was? I wish you would spend a peaceful life with me.”
Lyte remained unmoved, even finding it somewhat amusing.
“A birthday wish loses its power once spoken. Looks like it’s time for us to end this.”
“… Then what about my birthday gift? At least leave me a memento.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, her tangled white hair covering her brows.
Her voice squeezed out from a tight throat, already hoarse.
Lyte lowered his head gloomily, his amber eyes veiled by a mist of sorrow so dense it seemed to seep beyond the haze.
But that moment of weakness passed quickly.
He seized back the scattered emotion and resumed his cold expression.
“You want a gift? Fine.”
He roughly grabbed Noi’s smooth neck.
Her eyes were empty, like a broken puppet without spirit, allowing him to manipulate her at will.
Blood flowed.
The girl’s cherry-colored lips were savagely bitten by the man.
Her soft little tongue was helplessly tossed about with no resistance.
He pretended to hate her to the point of wanting her dead, but deep down, endless guilt and reluctance lingered.
She barely resisted, caught between rejection and surrender, but the heart that once loved him fervently was now shattered beyond repair.
The Brave’s Power, which should have been sweet as honey, now gushed into her body like a breached dam, overwhelming her magic power circulation and poisoning her nerves like an incurable toxin.
“Oh… lips part.”
Lyte lifted Noi’s chin with his fingers.
She looked at him numbly with dulled eyes, provoking his sneer.
“Noi, do you know? Your face is as pale as a dying ghost now, and your messy hair mimics the roadside beggar. You really look ugly and creepy.”
Noi tilted her head, her pupils dim and lifeless, her stray hair pulled aside, a silver thread of drool clinging to her cheek.
She gave no reaction he wanted.
“Annoying, such a boring country woman.”
Lyte fiercely tugged at her hair, completely ruining her princess hairstyle, then turned without looking back and left.
The maple leaves drifted down by the roadside.
The indifferent onlookers left without a word, and no one wanted to approach this disheveled, pitiful woman at such a moment.
The autumn wind was cold.
The girl in the snowy white dress and hair woke from her daze, her dark red mottled eyes swimming with panic and despair over reality.
Stiffly moving her legs, Noi walked back into the café like a baby just learning to walk, ignoring the curious gazes of customers.
She sat back down in the corner by the window.
At this moment, she was abandoned by the world once again.
The world was a dazzling bubble of colors.
She thought she had blended in, but the man had just told her—it was only an illusion.
She was still an outsider watching from the bubble’s surface.
Noi lost all her goals, sitting there blankly as if in a void.
The colorful wallpaper, delicious desserts, and noisy atmosphere were all irrelevant to her.
“Um… would you like to continue eating?”
The waiter’s voice briefly pulled her back to reality.
She looked at the cake before her.
Two cute figures, a black Plastic Cat Charm and a white Plastic Dog Charm, lay atop it.
A few pink Roses decorated the edges, and a pair of fluttering Butterflies paused there.
Two strawberry halves formed a tightly joined heart.
She smiled sadly, “Eat? Why not? It’s my birthday after all.”
She cut the black chocolate dog into pieces, then cruelly sliced through the butterflies and heart on either side.
The waiter took the hint and left.
Noi silently cut the cake, eating it directly with a fork without a plate.
Cream, bread, fruit, and chocolate—all were accepted without hesitation.
Her eating was messy, but she no longer cared.
Tears fell drop by drop, but she stifled any sound.
The cream mixed with tears, sweet and bitter.
The three-tier cake wasn’t very large.
In a daze, Noi finished it and was left with only the crumb-covered base, faintly showing a line of blessings.
Noi only saw the four characters (“A hundred years of harmony”) and quickly smeared the remaining cream over the rest to cover it.
She wiped her mouth with a tissue and grabbed a large handful of money from her wallet, throwing it onto the counter.
Noi left quickly, not wanting to stay in this sorrowful place any longer.
The sun was hidden by heavy clouds.
The sky was bright white with no sunlight.
The warmth lingering on the ground was soon swept away by the wind, first oppressive heat, then biting cold.
The wind was truly cold.
Even with her cloak, it found gaps between her clothes, prickling her skin and raising goosebumps.
Her heart pounded fiercely as if gripped tightly by a hand.
The feeling was strange, yet addictive.
The warmth left on her clothes quickly clung to her skin, returning its rightful heat.
She hoped to cleanse her throbbing mind with the flowing wind, but the wounds he left were vivid and deep; the wind alone couldn’t take them away.
Her lungs felt shrouded in haze.
Every breath was a contraction of muscles to draw it in.
She recalled when she was little, following her father to the clinic, secretly watching the doctor explain his condition.
On the printed X-ray, a large black mass covered her bones.
Her lower abdomen throbbed with rhythmic pounding.
The sensitive inner thighs tingled with the sliding blood.
The swaying skirt absorbed the sensation, sticky and heavy.
The blood vessels in her eyes gradually calmed, but the stimulus was too great.
Even restored to their proper size, they still caused a dizzy pressure in her head.
Under the gray filter of an overcast day, more black shadows appeared in her vision.
Her feet touched the ground.
She sensed people passing by, but subconsciously she labeled them as zeros and ones, dispensable codes, or NPCs with collision boxes.
Yet her legs remained stiff.
The tense muscles couldn’t relax.
She felt like a walking corpse, barely different from a zombie.
Her head hung low, reducing light intake.
She didn’t want to see any meaningless scenes.
What if she met more terrible people?
Where should she go?
That was the first question her brain posed after the gears started turning.
Should she go back to his home?
Was that even still her home?
The church’s majestic spire rose above rows of colorful houses.
Noi looked up at it, forcing her broken body and mind step by step toward it.
There was nowhere else she could go.
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