I Abandoned the Male Lead Who Cheated with the Villainess - Chapter 95
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
read more chapters on luna kofi
“Father… I’m truly sorry.”
Did German not hear Celestia’s apology? Or was he deliberately pretending not to hear? Or perhaps he didn’t want to show such a pathetic sight to the daughter he cherished so dearly?
German never turned to look at his daughter.
Celestia waited for German to look at her, but part of her wanted to pretend not to notice. If she waited and he still didn’t look at her…
‘No, that’s impossible. Father gave up everything… just to save me.’
German’s love for Celestia, his paternal affection, his familial love – those things were unchanging. Unlike Blitzen, who turned and fled the moment her defeat was certain.
“Alright, the women will wait here for a while.”
One of the guards leads Celestia and the other female convicts to a quiet riverside. Among them, an old woman who had occasionally looked after Celestia since they boarded the carriage approached her kindly.
“Here, drink some water.”
While some seemed hesitant around Celestia, knowing she was a Marquis’ daughter, the old woman appeared unfazed.
“Also, eat this. It looks like you haven’t had a proper meal in days. Even if it doesn’t taste great, you need to eat.”
Celestia stared blankly at the bread the old woman pulled from her dirty pocket. Normally, she wouldn’t have even glanced at such dry, biscuit-like bread, but now it looked incredibly appetizing.
It had been days since she’d had a decent meal, unable to stomach the porridge that was barely edible and full of stones and grime from the guards’ filthy gloves.
“Here, hurry and eat before those wretched mercenaries take it away.”
“Th-thank you… Thank you so much.”
Celestia’s voice was choked with tears as she bowed her head. It was an unimaginable gesture for a Marquis’ daughter, yet it felt completely natural in that moment.
Celestia quickly stuffed the bread into her mouth, swallowing water before her mouth could dry out completely. The dry bread became somewhat moist, making it easier to eat.
Watching Celestia devour the bread, the old woman glanced towards the guards.
“Those guys are all mercenaries. Calling them temple soldiers is a joke. They’re just bandits hired cheaply by the corrupt temple.”
“……”
“You’re wondering how I know this, aren’t you? There isn’t a commoner who doesn’t know how corrupt the temple is.”
Celestia couldn’t believe it.
‘The temple is corrupt?’
Nobles in the Sortenic Empire were always expected to be devout. It was considered a noble virtue and the most beautiful value.
Commoners worked, and nobles prayed. This division of roles was deeply ingrained in the empire’s culture. The saying about noble blood being blue existed for a reason.
‘How blasphemous.’
Magic was considered the most tangible gift from God. For someone to insult the temple that supported the national religion of the Sortenic Empire, known as the land of wizards!
Yet, Celestia couldn’t outright condemn the old woman as blasphemous.
‘A frog in a well…’
The idea that the temple’s corruption was common knowledge among the commoners made Celestia think of what Ivonne had said. The enemy’s words had infiltrated her mind.
To shake off the dirty feeling, she decided to wash her body that had been unwashed for days, in the clean river.
‘But…’
She glanced back and met the eyes of one of the guards. His yellowed teeth, with remnants of some past meal, made her skin crawl. Celestia decided to only wash her face. As she moved to the riverside alone, the old woman’s words echoed in her mind.
“How pitiful.”
She heard God’s voice.
“Ah!”
Startled, Celestia fell on the uneven gravel. A sharp pain shooting up her spine, bringing tears to her eyes. Her black eyes quickly turned towards the direction of the voice.
“If you choose to live miserably rather than die gracefully, despite being a noble, you are truly corrupted. Don’t you think so?”
There stood God.
A tall man, his face concealed by a pristine white cloth, spoke in a voice that seemed out of place among the dirty prisoners.
As the clouds parted and sunlight spilled across the clear autumn sky, Celestia saw his eyes.
‘Ah…’
His eyes, a deep, dark green similar to Celestia’s hair, were kind and compassionate yet piercing as they mocked her appearance. In that moment, Celestia felt a mix of despair and joy.
She was devastated after realizing that the word from God that had once made her feel special was not truly from God. Yet, she also felt joy because the one who had given her a new perspective had appeared, potentially offering a way out.
“Corrupt, yes. I am corrupt. But it’s because of you. You saved me back then, preventing me from dying gracefully. That’s why I’m corrupted. So you must take responsibility!”
Celestia stood up abruptly, as if she hadn’t just fallen moments before. Her dignity was not visible due to her filthy prisoner’s garb, but her boldness intrigued the man.
