Chapter 5
5
The work doesn't explain why Vincent kills him.
It only shows him plunging a knife into his chest as he lay there, a broken man, rejected by Celestina, uttering a single sentence.
["I have never considered you my father, not even for a moment."]
I leaned my back and head against a tree, looking down at Mercedes Manor.
'Khadien Mercedes...'
<Everyone Loves the Saintess> features three male leads.
The true male lead, Crown Prince Hysterrion Lair Lagranancia, the Holy Knight Eden Aquillium, who is loyal only to the female lead.
And another sub-male lead hidden under the guise of a villain, Khadien Mercedes.
Hysterrion, the true male lead, and Eden, the Holy Knight, were able to easily occupy the female lead's side and receive her love thanks to their positions and rights.
But the circumstances of Khadien, the villainous sub-male lead, were a little different.
'A being unloved even by the female lead.'
The inclusive and altruistic Saintess treated Khadien, whom everyone shunned as a madman, without discrimination.
When Khadien suffered from Magical Overload, she used her abilities to help him escape the pain, and when he was consumed by terrible loneliness, she whispered kind words by his side.
Khadien was inevitably forced to love Celestina.
The reason he became a 'villain' was because he quietly and secretly dealt with Celestina's obstacles from behind.
But after the story ended, all that remained for him was a terrible sense of loss that would have been better if he had never tasted it at all, and a gruesome death at the hands of his son.
'The current timeline is before he even meets Celestina.'
Khadien first sees Celestina at the Emperor's birthday banquet, which takes place after the upcoming Baptism.
Until then, Khadien doesn't have even a shred of interest in Celestina.
"...Then you must be very tired and lonely right now."
Just like me.
Suddenly, I felt similar to him.
Lonely, desolate, and in pain.
But soon after, I let out a hollow laugh, finding the thought I had just had so absurd.
"Feeling a sense of kinship with that Mercedes Duke?"
No matter how much he is a villain destined to die, there's no way he's in the same situation as a terminally ill person who has lost their home and is struggling to survive.
That was clearly an insult to Khadien.
'Okay, let's stop thinking about it.'
I shook my head to clear Khadien from my mind and looked up at the sky.
'It looks like it's going to stop soon.'
The fierce rain had weakened considerably.
'And it doesn't look like Vincent is coming either.'
It was a wasted effort, but I didn't regret it.
It's better than Vincent catching a cold from being rained on alone.
'I've also found a good place.'
I was about to get up, thinking I should come back up here on a clear day, when.
Rustle.
Suddenly, I heard a sound and turned my head, freezing in place.
'Silver hair?'
Beyond the veil of rain that had cleared somewhat, I saw silver hair soaked through.
'Khadien?'
In <Everyone Loves the Saintess>, silver hair symbolized Khadien, so I reflexively thought of Khadien.
But I immediately shook my head.
'Too small to be Khadien.'
The distance was a bit far, and I could only vaguely see the figure, but even taking that into account, it was too small to be Khadien.
'Then there's only one person left.'
I rolled my eyes and smiled slightly, pressing myself back down instead of getting up.
Then I saw the figure flinch.
Soon, the hesitant figure approached me.
His face finally became clear.
A boy with silky silver hair soaked in the rain, rosy, flushed white cheeks, and ruby-red eyes reminiscent of rubies.
As expected!
'Vincent Mercedes.'
The sole heir to the great Mercedes Ducal Family, and the one who would later kill his adoptive father, Khadien.
'I really met him.'
Of course, I had come running here intending to meet him, but when he suddenly appeared after I had given up, my mind went blank.
Oh, what should I do?
F, first...
"Ah... hello?"
So that Vincent wouldn't be startled and run away, I greeted him as carefully as possible.
Flinch.
Vincent flinched at my action and took a step back.
Seeing him like a small animal that had encountered its natural enemy, I hesitated and said slowly.
"So, I'm, uh, in the same boat as you."
"......?"
Vincent, who had been about to run away at any moment, showed a slight curiosity at my words.
Not missing the opportunity, I smiled innocently and said.
"I was trying to avoid the sudden rain, and I ended up coming all the way here."
Of course, this place, Western Hill, isn't exactly easily accessible enough to come here just because it's raining and you're lost.
'Who cares.'
That's not important.
What's important is breaking down Vincent's guard.
'If I mention a tutor or anything, he'll run away immediately, right?'
Vincent's resistance to his current tutor must be at its peak.
Being careful not to say anything unnecessary, I said to Vincent.
"Don't just stand there, come over here."
"......"
But Vincent didn't readily approach me.
His red eyes were intensely searching to see if I was a safe person or not.
'Yeah, yeah. Search to your heart's content.'
I deliberately didn't look at Vincent and supported myself on the ground with my hand, leaning my upper body back to take a comfortable posture.
But even though I only took that posture, my nerves were all focused on Vincent.
'He's not really going to run away, is he...?'
Before the lesson, I needed to get closer to Vincent.
Not as a tutor and student, but as Livia and Bin.
'Originally, that wasn't the plan.'
Originally, my plan was to use the information from the original work that I knew to get closer during the lesson.
It would take quite a while, but the goal was to slowly get closer while breaking down Vincent's trauma from lessons.
I thought that would be enough.
But...
'I can't pretend I don't know that Vincent is getting rained on alone.'
Besides, if I could use this opportunity to form a slightly more special relationship than just tutor and student, there would be no better result.
'Of course-'
I glanced at Vincent, pretending not to.
Vincent was still wary of me and hesitating.
'It might fail.'
I looked back at Vincent with my head tilted back.
Vincent flinched again when our eyes met.
I smiled and patted the spot next to me with my hand.
"You came here to avoid the rain too, right?"
"......"
"If you don't like me being here, I'll leave."
At my own strong words, Vincent's red eyes wavered.
Although he is known among the nobles as the 'little devil of the Mercedes Ducal Family', perhaps because I vaguely know his growth process.
He didn't seem that vicious to me.
"...It's okay."
Vincent, who answered sullenly, slowly approached me.
I quietly watched Vincent.
Vincent, who soon approached, hesitated and sat a little away from me.
The tip of his ear, which I glimpsed, was bright red.
Although Vincent kept his distance from me, the base of the tree was very large, so it supported our backs without any difficulty.
Vincent gathered his knees and wrapped his arms around them, curling up his body.
Vincent's gaze was directed towards Mercedes Manor.
Thanks to Vincent not looking at me, I was able to admire Vincent's profile.
'Cute.'
All children around that age are cute, but Vincent boasted a particularly outstanding cuteness.
Moreover, he had a face that was highly anticipated for the future.
I wanted to pinch his chubby cheeks as much as I wanted.
'If I did that, I wouldn't be able to approach Vincent again.'
I looked at Vincent with an intentionally calm gaze.
'Vincent Mercedes.'
In the original work, Vincent was a supporting character who didn't appear very often.
But every time he appeared, Vincent revealed a terrible sense of loneliness and isolation, and a resentment that he didn't know who it was directed at.
'And eventually, his own father...'
Vincent was 13 years old when he killed Khadien.
Three years from now, yet this small child will kill his own father with his own hands.
'What happened to Vincent?'
Because I didn't fully know the darkness inside Vincent, I was even more concerned.
Then, Vincent, who felt my gaze, turned this way.
Our eyes met unexpectedly.
Momentarily flustered by the unexpected encounter, I parted my lips to say something.
But before I could say anything, Vincent quickly averted his gaze.
At first, I thought he felt embarrassed or unpleasant that I was secretly looking at him.
So I was going to apologize.
But... that thought soon changed.
Shiver-
"Ah..."
The moment I discovered Vincent, who was pale and trembling, as if overwhelmed by fear.
I realized the fatal mistake I had made.
