NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10
*
When Verdandi first saw Bing Yeon, the translucent screen that appeared in front of her clearly read:
– [The person in front of you is a ‘villain’.]
Not just any villain, but a super villain. Verdandi’s brain started whirling with confusion—whoosh!
She thought, “Is he a criminal? But then… something doesn’t add up.” There was a man and woman wearing bizarre outfits that you hardly see around these parts, plus a woman who looked like a mage.
No one could mistake it; they were outsiders.
Which meant they could either be criminals who committed murder outside or betrayers of humanity allying with the Demon King—or perhaps they were traitors who sold their country or enslaved people.
The label from [The Eye that Sees the Truth] had to be indisputable. There must be a good reason for being called a super villain.
‘…This atmosphere is off the charts! He must be a mega strong villain!’
If only she could take care of them and wipe out all the villagers afterward!
After all, she already thought her evil mother, Eila, was immobilized by her actions.
If it continued like this, she would definitely run out of breath. As these thoughts rang in her head, her breath trembled for a moment, and anxiety bubbled up in her chest.
“….”
Is he really a villain?
No matter how many times she thought about her mother trying to strangle her in her childhood and uttering lies like “I love you,” she had still been raised by her.
‘Let’s not get lost in thought. Remember, Verdandi, the divine Solareon has not invalidated this!’
Verdandi shook her head, watching Eila grow colder. She couldn’t imagine that her ability might have been wrong from the start.
‘I will punish the villains in this world!’
Crack, Verdandi gripped her kitchen knife tightly, adopting a battle stance. She was filled with the thought that it didn’t matter who the man in front of her really was.
– [The person in front of you is a ‘hero’.]
Because she was the Hero of Justice!
No matter what anyone said, she was an impeccable hero!
Executing justice and punishing evil, just like in the fairy tales!
She smiled at her reflection in the kitchen knife.
“Did you say you came to make me your disciple? Sounds like you’ve lost your marbles!”
“Yes, I came to lead you down the right path. If you join me, your troubles will be over. You wouldn’t be caught up in the title of Hero and could live a normal life….”
– [The words of the person in front of you are ‘truth’.]
Freeze! Verdandi was unable to hide her shock as she glimpsed the text reflected on her cornea.
‘…Is this really true?’
The super villain was speaking the truth. Right before her eyes was someone saying that she could live a normal life outside of her fixation on being a Hero.
The hope that maybe she could live without being hated by people and loved by her parents flashed through her mind.
But then,
“Hah, hahaha! You’re way too late for that!”
Verdandi thought everything was already beyond repair. After all, she had stabbed her mother and caused her to bleed!
“Even beasts love their offspring! But I almost got killed by my own mother when I was just a baby!”
Honestly, it was unfair.
Why couldn’t she have been born normally?
Why did she have powers that made it impossible to trust anyone?
“The idea of having a super villain as a master? I’d rather die!”
Verdandi shouted as she clashed with the figure trying to breach her side. She was convinced it was too late to turn back.
Even if her mother, Eila, was healed now, it was obvious she would hate and despise herself for trying to kill her.
Verdandi dreaded that cold gaze too much. Those piercing eyes felt terrifying.
“Where do you think you’re going? I’m your opponent!”
In that moment, one of Bing Yeon’s eyes glimmered golden. A steadfast will was evident without any hatred or disgust.
Boom—! A tremendous roar echoed as an ice wall sprang up between her and Eila.
“…An ice wall? Are you guys mages?”
Verdandi couldn’t believe her eyes. With powers like that, couldn’t they just kill her and save her mother in one fell swoop?
“Master, the wounded are secured.”
A black-haired girl moved at an overwhelming speed, and the blonde mage healed the gravely injured person in an instant.
“Go hold the gold tower lord’s neck wound outside. I will handle this.”
But the most menacing-looking of them all was the white-haired man who claimed to have come to save her.
“But Master…! Aren’t you unwell? The opponent is strong enough to react even to my initial attack!
With blood pouring from his nose and ears, he was clearly on guard against his every movement.
‘…One mistake, and I’ll die.’
Feeling the chill run down her spine, Verdandi realized something was off.
Why could that man kill her in an instant but chose not to? Why was he saying he wanted to save her?
“It’s a fact that a master is stronger than a disciple, isn’t it?”
– [The words of the person in front of you are ‘truth’.]
The translucent screen kept revealing reality and deceit to her. Until now, it had never shown a lie.
“I may not be the strongest of the strongest, nor have all power over the ages, but I am a master with numerous disciples, a commoner loved by many.”
Verdandi shook her head as she looked at the screens swirling before her. There was no way someone like him could be a super villain.
“So, you should do something to make your disciple proud. One day, you will step over my shadow and achieve great things.”
– [The words of the person in front of you are ‘truth’.]
What if that white-haired man really had come to save her and healed her mother?
What if he truly understood her?
Then all the things she had done, everything she believed—
…What would become of it?
“Just someone who talks a good game! But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a super villain! ”
Verdandi shouted at Bing Yeon. Thoughts of misunderstanding began to crawl into her mind, suggesting that her mother did love her after all.
“Why do you think I’m a super villain?”
“Well, that’s obviously because I’m the Hero….”
“…What if I told you you’re not a Hero? Have you ever considered the possibility that you’re just a regular person?”
Eila, who was dying after being stabbed by her daughter, kept repeating, “I’m sorry, my child.”
“You, what are you trying to say?!”
“Your abilities are [The Eye that Sees the Truth] and [The Scales of Justice]. Each has two weaknesses.”
Successfully overpowering Verdandi, Bing Yeon locked eyes with her.
“The flaw of [The Eye that Sees the Truth] is that if the speaker is unaware of their deception, lies are shown as truth.”
“……?!”
Those eyes were soft and warm—eyes that made her think, if I had a father, maybe he would look like this.
“The flaw of [The Scales of Justice] is that if an act of good or evil is dramatically magnified, the outcome can change at any time.”
Verdandi hated that gaze. It felt reminiscent of pity, making her sufferings seem invalidated.
So she tried to flee.
“Look closely once more, am I truly the super villain standing before you?”
With a single step, Bing Yeon froze her lower body and legs, rendering her motionless.
– [The target using [The Scales of Justice] has changed, attempting recalibration.]
“……This makes no sense.”
– [The person in front of you is a ‘hero’.]
Verdandi couldn’t trust her own two eyes. Wasn’t this the ultimate evil?
“So, will you not put some trust in this master instead?”
“…….”
Could it really be that her abilities were wrong? Was everything one-sided in her perception due to her powers’ flaws?
“I was commanded to come here to save you. From a divine presence.”
With blood trailing from his lips, Bing Yeon smiled at her. His gentle smile made her heart skip a beat.
– [The words of the person in front of you are ‘truth’.]
“Really… How is this possible…?”
Thump-thump, the beat of her heart sped up, and Verdandi began to realize something strange in her emotions.
“You will learn about the complexity of feelings like love and hate, sadness and joy co-existing, just like your mother did.”
“Is this, what they call love-hate…?”
Verdandi nodded, understanding Bing Yeon’s words.
“Yes, your mother was unwillingly impregnated by a robber who attacked the house. While choking you is unforgivable…”
“……”
This was unknown to her. Her abilities had mixed truth and lies into a mishmash of information, preventing her from seeing the real truth.
“But the love for her child surpassed everything else! Even while confessing such shame and remorse, it must have gotten caught in your abilities’ lies.”
– [The words of the person in front of you are ‘truth’.]
Only now did Verdandi realize Bing Yeon was correct. If he had intended to kill her, he could’ve done so long ago and wouldn’t have tried to save her mother.
The two women who had appeared earlier had scurried away from Verdandi.
“Are you a disciple of the divine…?”
Feeling completely exposed, Verdandi spoke to Bing Yeon with trembling emotion. Knowing all of this made him more like a divine envoy.
“No, I’m an ordinary human. Just like you, I fear people won’t understand me or my true feelings.”
This was something Verdandi often thought about. No matter how much she tried, the villagers always looked at her with scorn.
“Don’t worry about those who belittled you. They’re all just snakes winding up their own traps in wickedness.”
Bing Yeon spoke to Verdandi like it was as if he was saying, ‘It’s not your fault. The problem is with those people.’
“Really…? So I truly am a good girl…?”
Verdandi couldn’t help but open her heart to him more.
“Yes, you are a good girl. Although I failed to come sooner, clumsy and inexperienced—it can still be set right.”
Hug, the man’s extraordinarily cold embrace somehow felt strangely warm to her.
“Waaah…”
Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry, but the tears just kept flowing.
“I was incredibly lonely. My mother was notorious for being evil, and every time I heard ‘I love you,’ it felt like a lie….”
She didn’t understand why she was sharing these thoughts with someone she’d just met for the first time.
Was it because she believed so firmly in the divine message she received? Verdandi felt a strange sense of familiarity from Bing Yeon.
“Yeah, I get it.”
“I was terrified to sleep next to my mother, knowing she attempted to kill me as a baby…. Every day felt like I was suffocating.”
She just wanted to be comforted, by anyone.
“That must have been tough.”
She wanted someone, anyone, to hear her voice.
“The townspeople hated me, even putting bugs in my food secretly, while gossiping that I lived immorally like my mother….”
All she wanted right now was to hear someone say she wasn’t a bad person.
“Both you and I will solve everything. So don’t worry too much. No one will dare to speak ill of you beneath this sky again.”
So Verdandi cried in Bing Yeon’s embrace for a long while. It was only after some time passed that she finally managed to stop her tears.
*
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
At that moment, Bi Wol muttered to herself, glancing back at the house she had run away from.
“Huh? But the treatment of that person went well! They’ll soon regain consciousness!”
Wulfram tilted his head in confusion, wondering why she thought something bad was happening.
She had been stabbed and sustained some internal injuries, but all treatments were finished. With care, there shouldn’t be any scars left.
“What do you mean, you have a bad feeling?”
Wulfram couldn’t fathom why Bi Wol was speaking like this.
“One of the beasts seems to be pressing the Master while I’m away…”
Biting her lower lip, Bi Wol quietly recalled Verdandi’s face.
“The Master belongs solely to me!”
The blood trickled from her fiercely bitten lip, and a voice echoed in her heart like a snake’s tongue.
“Didn’t I tell you? Once you have a junior, you might just become unnecessary.”