The World After the Bad Ending

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“Uhee, hehe.”

Seron is laughing like a fool.

“Fuuu.”

Seron lets out a sigh.

“Hheung.”

Seron hums a tune.

How many times can someone’s emotions change in a single day?

I can only watch, exhausted.

But Seron doesn’t seem to tire at all.

She consistently appears happy amidst her wild emotions.

“Seron.”

“Fuu.”

“Hey.”

“Hehehe.”

“Baldy.”

And no matter how much I call her, she doesn’t respond.

“Seron, what’s with her?”

Isabel looks at Seron with a puzzled expression.

Even she sees that Seron is acting strangely.

“Who knows? You should ask her.”

I don’t even want to ask anymore.

Isabel picks up on my reluctance and sits next to Seron.

“Seron.”

Isabel gently taps Seron on the shoulder, and Seron seems to come to her senses a bit.

“What happened? Why are you like this?”

Upon hearing Isabel’s question, Seron has a blank look on her face, before staring dreamily out of the window.

“Haa.”

And once again, she sighs.

“Bel, I saw the prince.”

“…But there isn’t a prince at Jerion Academy, is there?”

“No, that’s not it. Fuu, you probably don’t understand.”

Seron seems to react as if saying, “Poor you, you don’t know love.”

Isabel glances at Seron for a moment before quietly withdrawing.

“…You tell her.”

“Just leave it be.”

It is said that there’s no cure for a lovesick heart.

I can only let Seron be until she forgets me.

“That attitude, you must know something, right?”

“Not at all.”

I don’t even want to know.

Time passes under Isabel’s suspicious gaze.

Since entering this scenario, I have several new tasks.

The first is to regularly visit the female dormitory for Iris’s peaceful sleep.

Iris’s nightmares are the most critical element.

I had to sleep beside her at least once a week without fail.

Iris hoped I would come every day, but even that is too exhausting for me.

Every time I step into the girls’ dorm, I feel a chill down my spine; the maids’ glares are terrifying.

The second task is to dodge Isabel.

Isabel has been following me around, trying to take care of me constantly.

I underestimated her persistence.

She was desperate to set me right again.

So much so that it was as if everyone around believed that Isabel and I had reconciled.

Eventually, I began to avoid her.

The more I distanced myself, the more stubborn Isabel became, trailing me like a shadow, but as a seasoned loner, I found refuge in spaces she wouldn’t look.

In-crowders simply don’t understand that loners need their alone time.

The third task is Seron.

Seron promised that we wouldn’t avoid each other.

Since it was something said by the person she has a crush on.

Seron kept this promise faithfully.

But as time went on, Seron noticeably became gaunter.

The duration of her sighs continued to grow.

Her lovesickness showed itself quite vividly.

‘The Last Leaf.’

So much so that Seron had a look full of yearning.

Her demeanor became more proper, and her words grew few.

This is starting to feel like something needs to be done.

“Lovesickness isn’t just a name; it’s a mental ailment that slowly rots the heart,” remarked Card, who possesses ample knowledge about women, shaking his head while watching Seron.

“She’s going to collapse at this rate.”

And before long.

Seron really did collapse.

The incident occurred during a routine training session.

In a mock battle with assigned opponents.

There, Seron, who had been spacing out, failed to evade a critical blow from the mock combatant.

Thud!

Seron, who had soared through the air, crashed to the ground.

“Uh, uh?”

The mock opponent looked confused, glancing between their sword and Seron.

Under normal circumstances, Seron would have definitely dodged such an attack.

Knowing this, the attack was made, yet instead of blocking, Seron simply fell.

She lay on the ground, not even able to get back up.

Everyone looked astonished, gazing at the collapsed Seron.

While I idly stood up, Professor Veganon hurriedly checked Seron’s condition.

However, the worry on her face quickly reverted to its original state.

“Hanon.”

Upon being called by Professor Veganon, I quickly approached her.

“Yes, Professor.”

She promptly tossed Seron in my direction.

“Get this idiot to the infirmary. Tell them to give her some nutrients.”

Nutrients.

Hearing that word, I looked back at Seron, bewildered.

Seron, struck by lovesickness, was malnourished from not eating properly and not sleeping enough.

‘Is this girl really that foolish?’

I couldn’t help but pick Seron up, following Professor Veganon’s orders.

Carrying her out while feeling the eyes of the children on us.

Seron was dazed, her eyes fluttering.

I sighed while glancing at her.

We’ve barely had a short conversation.

But how can someone end up like this over just that?

I couldn’t easily comprehend.

I took Seron and headed toward the infirmary.

Sunlight streamed through the corridor windows leading to the infirmary.

“Seron.”

I called out to the unconscious Seron.

“What’s so great about that guy?”

I knew that looks could be a factor.

But just because someone is good-looking doesn’t explain why she would suffer to this extent in love.

“That face means nothing.”

I didn’t know much about Seron.

I only knew one thing: she was born under an unlucky star.

She was always unfortunate.

Whenever something special happened, she’d get sick or hurt herself; any hard work she put in would come to nothing.

That’s why she earned the nickname “Unlucky Girl.”

Seron’s personality grew sharp and eccentric thanks to that persistent misfortune.

With anything going her way, it wouldn’t be easy to keep her sanity.

Creak—

As I opened the door, the unique scent of disinfection loomed in the air.

It seemed the nurse had temporarily stepped out.

‘She would be back soon.’

I laid Seron on the infirmary bed.

After hastily removing her shoes and covering her with a blanket.

“Ugh, ugh.”

Seron groaned slightly.

She was still in a daze.

“Prince.”

Right, your prince is here.

Seron’s complexion was obviously poor.

As I gazed at her quietly, I brushed her bangs gently.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue and shut the curtains tightly.

Then, I pulled the veil of the screen.

As my height grew a little, my hair began to turn white as well.

Transforming back from Hanon to Bickamon.

Now as Bickamon, I pulled a chair beside Seron and gently stroked her forehead.

Her forehead was still properly maintained and smooth.

Maybe feeling the warm touch, Seron’s expression softened slightly.

Simultaneously, her eyes began to flutter open a little.

Seron blinked.

In that moment when our eyes met, hers widened gradually.

“Wow, prince!?”

Seron exclaimed in shock.

She tried to jump up but winced as if the earlier impact had caused her pain, causing her to moan.

I looked at her silently and leaned back in my chair.

“Seron Parmia.”

As I called her name, her shoulders jolted.

She looked like she was wondering how I knew her name.

“I heard about you from an acquaintance. They said you’ve been looking quite gaunt and your condition hasn’t been great lately.”

Seron’s shoulders trembled.

She fidgeted, biting her lip.

“And they said you seem to be looking for me.”

Her head dropped low.

Seron’s ears turned bright red.

As I quietly observed her, I posed my question.

“Why were you looking for me? I don’t think we really have any connection.”

At that moment, Seron jolted again.

She clenched her hands, trembling slightly.

With a quivering face, Seron raised her head.

Her eyes were pathetically quivering.

Seeing that, I was filled with questions.

Because she looked hurt by my words.

“…I thought you might not remember.”

Seron managed a bittersweet smile.

Seeing that smile, my eyes gradually opened wide.

I unconsciously began to think that Seron was simply infatuated with my face.

But it wasn’t that simple.

‘…Could there have been a connection between Bickamon and Seron that I was unaware of?’

The third-rate villain, Bickamon Niflheim.

The unfortunate girl, Seron Parmia.

Both seemed to be minor characters from the “Fire Butterfly” side.

Of course, there isn’t much information on either of them.

As with any game, it’s impossible to unfold the settings for every additional character that appears.

So, they merely exist as passing figures.

But now.

A connection I knew nothing about was revealing itself behind these extras.

I had lived as Hanon all this time.

Thus, I had barely considered how Bickamon’s relationships might be intertwined.

And there, in the parts I failed to consider lay an unexpected mistake.

‘But…’

It seemed Seron didn’t even know my name.

So, could we really say we have any relationship?

“…I’m sorry, I’m not really good at remembering things. If something happened, could you explain it to me?”

At least if we didn’t even know each other’s names, it meant our relationship wasn’t deep.

If that’s the case, there’s a chance to slip away somehow.

As I questioned Seron, she seemed to recall some past memory and shyly dropped her gaze.

“It was on the day of a party hosted by a noble young lady.”

Nobles often hold parties for socializing.

At that time, it was Seron’s first time attending such a social party.

Her debut in the world of socialites.

For this event, Seron had dressed beautifully.

She had even prepared a gift for the young lady hosting the party and learned the party etiquette well.

But Seron was cursed with misfortune.

Arriving at the party venue that day, her carriage was involved in an accident near the bridge, causing delays.

The bridge was a narrow path, and she had to wait a long time in the carriage.

Just as the accident was resolved and she was able to cross the bridge and enter the territory where the party was held, it started to rain.

The pouring rain showed no sign of stopping, and the ground turned to mud.

Before long, her carriage wheels sank into the mud on a construction site, rendering it immobile.

Eventually, Seron had to leave the carriage and cross the muddy path with the umbrella provided by her maid.

No matter how diligently she used the umbrella, the rain still soaked through.

The fancy shoes she had so carefully worn were covered in mud, and her dress got stained with mud and rainwater.

She looked nothing like a noble lady invited to the party; her appearance was pathetic.

In that condition, Seron forced herself to hold back tears and arrived at the party venue.

However, the party was nearly over by the time she got there.

The maid tried her best to clean Seron’s dress and shoes, but there was no way to enter the party venue looking like that.

In the end, Seron found a spot sitting on the terrace of the party venue while holding a wet gift box.

Miraculously, as soon as Seron arrived, the rain stopped.

Unlucky.

Miserably unlucky.

For what was supposed to be her debut in society, she had begged her father for a new dress, done her makeup, even picked out a gift herself, and yet nothing was going her way.

That was how her life always went.

Strange sequences of bad luck that made it awkward to complain to others.

If only her misfortunes were out in the open, she could at least vent her frustrations, but only these vague misfortunes befell her.

While Seron sat sulking.

“Hello.”

Amidst the clearing clouds, moonlight streamed in.

Her white hair shone beautifully alongside the moonlight.

“Isn’t the moonlight beautiful?”

That was when she first met her prince.

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