Chapter 18 Part 7
I tried to retort with a composed face, but it wasn’t easy.
Yes, I was his contractor, but that didn’t translate directly to being his possession.
Though I suppose Caligo might have misunderstood, given his involvement throughout my entire life.
Seeing my complete disagreement, Caligo finally seemed irritated, pursing his lips.
“You really won’t come?”
“If I was going to go with you, I wouldn’t have abandoned Laté in the first place.”
“Ah, speaking of which, you sent all those beasts back to the demon realm? It’ll be troublesome if you want to summon them later… but don’t worry, I can help you with that.”
Caligo let out a gentle laugh again, saying he’d gladly endure the trouble.
He seemed to find the current situation quite amusing.
“This is going nowhere.”
Hyle, who had been silently observing our exchange, finally spoke up.
I had to agree with him.
“You there, shall I show you personally just how powerless you are?”
Caligo slowly curved his lips.
In an instant, he appeared at my side, swiftly wrapped his arm around my waist, and rose into the air.
“You cannot protect Rosiel.”
“What are you saying? Hey, let me go!”
Until just a moment ago, I hadn’t felt that my life was in danger, but now, caught in Caligo’s grasp, I started to truly sense how my fragile lifeline was gradually fading.
When I struggled in panic, Caligo demonstratively tightened his arm around me.
Hyle, who had been looking up at us with disbelief at the suddenly unfolding situation, quickly caught up to Caligo.
“I thought you’d lost all your strength, but perhaps not yet?”
“Were you watching us? What a creepy hobby.”
“Enough already, can you put me down…? I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
Having given up struggling in Caligo’s arms, I took a heavy breath while clutching my churning stomach.
I clearly felt Caligo flinch, perhaps sensing my poor condition.
After seeming to contemplate for a moment, he slowly descended to the ground and released me.
Though he still held onto my wrist.
Seeing this, he really was the same Caligo who had always been kind to me… so why was he acting so difficult now?
Could it be that he sensed I was going to break our contract?
“Caligo.”
It seemed a conversation with Caligo was necessary.
From his perspective, I was trying to break our contract without any warning, which would understandably make him angry.
After signaling to Hyle to give me a moment, I raised the wrist that Caligo was holding.
His golden eyes remained intensely fixed on me, making it impossible to read his intentions.
The very idea of persuading a demon was absurd to begin with, but… all of Caligo’s actions toward me had consistently been for my benefit.
So this was my repayment to him.
“I’m not Laté anymore. I don’t want to be Laté any longer. I’m no longer interested in being a villainess or a demon. I just want to live as myself.”
I needed to tell him that our contract must now be terminated, but…
“What is this…!”
“Rosiel!”
With Hyle’s urgent cry, the surrounding scenery vanished in an instant.
The roses glowing in the darkness, the sun hanging incongruously in the black sky—all gone.
Everything disappeared. Only complete darkness remained all around.
“Rosiel, can you see where I am?”
In that moment, Caligo’s quiet voice pierced through the darkness.
As I looked up, our eyes met as he gazed down at me.
“I’m right in front of you.”
“Yes, but if you abandon me, you’ll never see me again. In this darkness, you won’t even be able to open your eyes. Just like that human outside.”
“…Honestly, I don’t understand. I’m just one of your many contractors, aren’t I? Even without me, you’d have plenty of others. So why are you so fixated on me?”
At my words, Caligo’s golden eyes seemed to fill with a distant sadness, stretching sideways.
It was as if I’d struck a painful nerve.
“Rosiel, I’ve devoted countless years to possessing you. Yet you haven’t spared even a moment for me.”
His voice grew increasingly eerie.
My survival instinct began to rise within me, urging that I needed to escape this place immediately.
“This is the last chance. Look at me, Rosiel.”
Despite my will, my head lifted automatically at Caligo’s command.
No… How is it that once I deal with one person, another shows up to interfere with me?
A sigh escaped me involuntarily from the complexity of it all.
“With you by my side, I could change. I’ll be your moral compass. Choose me, Rosiel.”
Don’t let me kill you again…
As Caligo’s yearning words ended, a tiny afterthought quickly dissolved into the darkness.
…Wait, what did he just say? Don’t let him kill me again? What does that…
“You killed me?”
“It shouldn’t be that way this time.”
Caligo answered plainly, as if it were nothing significant. Facing him like this made me feel even more uneasy.
Wait, then what he meant earlier about devoting countless years to me…?
The truth, which had been hazy like fog, suddenly seemed to clear.
Now I understood. The reason for my repeated regressions…!
Caligo was supposed to protect me as his contractor, but instead he killed me, causing a contract error that sent me back to before my death.
No wonder! I had faithfully followed the original story, yet kept dying!
Caligo had been deliberately preventing my soul from returning to its original world!
The method was most likely his magic stone.
But in this life, I hadn’t consumed the magic stone, which seemed to have disrupted Caligo’s plans.
That’s why he appeared before me now.
To kill me himself…!
What kind of twisted obsession is this?! No, this isn’t obsession—it’s a crime!
I was disgusted by Abel’s obsession before, but this obsession is terrifyingly worse!
Why aren’t there any normal male leads in this damned novel?!
Hyle is better, I suppose, but objectively speaking, he’s also quite insane… Hmm, I should never tell Hyle that.
More importantly, if I died here once more, there might not be a next time, as the Pope had suggested.
Whether Caligo knew this or not, I couldn’t say.
Perhaps he could revive me at will, according to his own desires.
For Caligo, a great demon, nothing could be easier than interfering with a dead person’s life.
But then I wouldn’t be the same intact human I am now.
Somehow I needed to dispel this darkness, but my holy power…
Suddenly, from somewhere, I heard the sound of something breaking.
A boom followed by a crash of shattering glass continued to echo.
Soon, the pitch-black surroundings gradually began to brighten.
Raising my head at the sudden commotion, I saw a faint white light flowing from not too far away.
“Rosiel!”
“What? How did he get in here…? This is my domain—no one should be able to enter!”
Just as Caligo’s surprised voice reached me, I firmly pressed my hand against my aching heart and began running desperately toward the sound of Hyle’s voice.
“Rosiel, are you alright?”
He must have been running toward me as well, because we were quickly reunited.
At the same moment, the black space shattered completely. We were back in the rose garden.
Hyle had broken through Caligo’s barrier.
“Hyle, you… something’s different about you.”
“I’m glad you were the catalyst for my awakening.”
Hyle calmly revealed the fact of his awakening in response to my observation.
In the original story, he only awakened after Hertiana fell into terrible danger… it seemed I had taken her place.
I never imagined I would be the cause of his awakening, but I suppose it was fortunate.
“Still, you probably can’t kill that demon.”
“That’s right, demons don’t die. But I can hurt him.”
“For someone who isn’t human, you certainly covet human things.”
Hyle fixed his cold gaze directly on Caligo. Caligo flinched and slowly backed away.
“What an unpleasant holy power. Even worse than the Pope’s…”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
After speaking, Hyle immediately pressed down on Caligo with his immense holy power.
Somehow, Caligo seemed to absolutely despise Hyle’s holy power, which rivaled that of the Goddess herself.
Grinding his teeth and writhing in agony, Caligo glared at Hyle before vanishing.
For all his bold appearance, his retreat was disappointingly swift.
“Rosiel. Come here.”
After confirming Caligo’s disappearance, Hyle immediately opened his arms toward me.
Despite having driven away the demon, not a trace of joy showed on his face.
The blood staining Hyle’s lips was frighteningly severe, but that didn’t matter anymore.
As I fell into his embrace, powerful holy energy enveloped my entire body.
It was different from before—an overwhelmingly mighty force that made my mind blur.
“How does it feel? Do you sense anything?”
“Ugh, Hyle…!”
“Rosiel!!”
As I trembled and sank weakly to the ground, Hyle quickly supported me.
His beautiful face was filled with concern.
“I’m totally fine…”
“What?”
“It doesn’t hurt at all. I’m finally free…!”
“Hah… Rosiel. You scared me.”
When I shot him a playful smile, Hyle, his expression startled, ran his palm down his face.
A curved corner of his mouth peeked briefly through his fingers.
“Hyle, thank you. For saving me.”
“No, I should be the one…”
With an inscrutable expression, Hyle couldn’t finish his sentence and instead buried his face against me.
Then, a faint murmuring sound emanated from below my chin.
What… what is he saying? I can’t hear a thing.
“Hyle, what did you say?”
As I languidly stroked the nape of his neck, suggesting he lift his head, Hyle who had been nestled against me slowly looked up.
“Rosiel, marry me…”
Goodness… he looked like he might cry at any moment if rejected.
Besides, how could I possibly refuse when he says such things with that face?
“Hmm, but didn’t we already agree to that before?”
“Right now.”
“What? No, wait…!”
Thanks to Hyle suddenly collapsing into me, I fell back among the fully bloomed flowers.
As I started in surprise, something warm and moist touched my lips.
Hyle playfully nipped at my lower lip, clearly conveying his intense desire for me.
“I love you, Rosiel.”
I love you.
The endless confession was unbearably sweet.
Perhaps we had wanted each other even before we could express our feelings in words.
After all, clumsy hearts tend to manifest themselves in tender actions.
The Terminally Ill Villainess Is Going On Strike – The End
