When I Finished Playing the Terminally-Ill Villainous Omega C33

Chapter 33

Even before the regression, I’d seen him dressed in formal attire.

But this time…

It felt completely different.

Back then, I had been terrified of him.

I’d been forced to face him until the very moment I died against my will.

Locke had been searching for something.

And he believed the answer lay with me.

I didn’t know what he was looking for.

The only thing I knew was that it had something to do with the secret of Allure’s Domain—a secret only the head of House Hestian was allowed to know.

At the time, my older sister had married into another family as an archaeologist and had long since fallen out of contact.

Mother wasn’t a Hestian by blood.

That meant I was the only one who could inherit the position of family head.

But I wasn’t the real Cedric.

I had no idea how one was supposed to access the family’s secret.

Unaware of any of that, Locke tightened the noose around my neck day by day.

Facing that forceful and violent version of him had been nothing but fear…

Nothing but despair.

There was no way someone who spent every day trembling in terror could ever bring themselves to truly look at his face.

The fear consuming my entire body had been stronger—and sharper—than any other emotion.

But now…

Things were different.

Our relationship had changed.

The feelings and attitudes we held toward each other had changed as well.

Now I could look at the Locke standing before me as an equal…

As a friend.

Only now could I truly appreciate how dazzling he was.

I stared in admiration at a man worthy of being called the story’s protagonist.

Only afterward did I realize how obvious my gaze had been.

My face heated up.

Pretending to be interested in something else, I absentmindedly rubbed the carvings on a nearby pillar.

“Is this… an orchid pattern?”

I mumbled to myself.

Still standing there in a daze as though I’d witnessed a miracle, I felt him stop beside me.

“Does it feel awkward?”

Locke asked.

“A little.”

“It feels awkward for me too.”

“I’m not used to wearing clothes like this.”

“Huh? No, that’s not what I meant.”

“It doesn’t look awkward at all.”

“It suits you.”

“You look amazing.”

“Are you saying the pillar looks amazing?”

I slowly turned my eyes back toward him.

Our gazes met.

My heart pounded loudly, but I forced myself to smile calmly.

“I’m talking about you.”

“You look great.”

“The clothes suit you perfectly.”

“Thanks to you, Young Master, I get to wear such fine clothes.”

“Thank you.”

I stood there awkwardly for another moment before trying to avoid his eyes and make my way toward the carriage.

Then Locke held out a hand.

“You don’t look well.”

“I’ll help you to the carriage.”

I wasn’t sick.

I’d simply been stunned by how handsome he looked.

But saying that out loud would have been embarrassing…

And it probably would’ve embarrassed Locke too.

So instead…

I quietly placed my hand over his.

I couldn’t tell whether it was his body temperature that was warm…

Or mine.

I only knew that every time our hands brushed together while walking, my palms became inexplicably sweaty.

If it’s my sweat… that’s a little embarrassing.

I wanted to secretly wipe my hand on my trousers.

The carriage was only about ten steps away.

Why did it feel so impossibly far?

“The sword suits you well.”

Locke’s quiet voice broke the silence.

He’d noticed the sword hanging at my right hip.

Feeling oddly pleased, I looked at him—

Only to quickly lower my gaze again when our eyes met.

“I think it’s even cooler than when I first received it.”

“Maybe it’s because of the mana stone you gave me.”

After climbing into the carriage, I leaned back against the soft velvet seat.

Locke climbed in after me.

He silently watched me from the seat opposite.

Then he lowered his eyes slightly.

“Just a moment.”

He slowly reached toward me.

My body instinctively tensed before gradually relaxing.

His fingertips lightly brushed the collar of my blouse.

Apparently one side had folded inward.

He carefully straightened it.

The movement was so slow…

So gentle…

That my breathing unconsciously became shallower.

I kept glancing sideways, wondering when his hand would finally move away.

Just then, Ciel’s voice came from outside.

“Where’s Cedric?”

“I believe the Young Master boarded the carriage first.”

As Ciel’s conversation with a servant drew closer, Locke quietly withdrew his hand after fixing my collar.

“We’ll stop at the town square for lunch on the way.”

“See you then.”

Ciel spoke through the window.

Thinking of Eclat, who would have to spend a long time alone in a carriage, she’d decided to ride in the Viscount’s carriage instead of House Hestian’s.

So she simply exchanged a brief greeting with me.

“Yes, Sister.”

Since it was a celebration, we’d decided to bring only the minimum number of knights.

One knight accompanied me.

Two others escorted Eclat and Ciel.

❖ ❖ ❖

House Hestian’s territory was so vast that reaching the Marquis’s estate required traveling through the night.

If we kept a brisk pace, we’d barely make it through the monster-infested forest before sunset.

The two carriages raced down the dirt road, maintaining a steady distance between them.

I was excited.

I’d been looking forward to chatting with Locke throughout the long journey.

Secretly, I’d even hoped he’d start the conversation first.

Instead…

His gaze never once left the book resting on his lap.

In the end, I was the one who spoke first again.

“Is that the same book you were reading before?”

“Yes.”

Locke answered shortly without looking up.

If the conversation died here, I had no idea how I’d capture his interest next.

So I tried again.

“Did you figure out the Barrier Mage’s feelings?”

Snap.

I jumped.

Locke closed the book.

Finally, he looked directly at me.

For a moment I worried he’d tell me to stop interrupting his reading.

I quickly straightened the body I’d unconsciously leaned toward him.

“I don’t know.”

“I read the rest of the book.”

“Then I read it another twenty times.”

“I’ve read it enough to memorize it.”

“And yet…”

“There isn’t a single sentence saying the Barrier Mage loved Destruction.”

“You really read it that many times…”

“And you still don’t know?”

I shook my head in disbelief.

Locke watched me with a serious, unwavering gaze.

His eyes clearly asked me to explain.

So I did.

“I told you before.”

“Novels don’t spell those feelings out.”

“The beginning of love is different for everyone.”

“So the author leaves room for each reader to imagine exactly when those feelings first began.”

“That’s part of being a reader.”

After hearing my explanation, he fell silent.

Then he slowly brushed a hand across the book’s cover…

And held it out to me.

“I thought you said there was only one copy and you wouldn’t lend it to me.”

“I want to know.”

His voice remained calm.

“I want to know every feeling the Barrier Mage had for Destruction.”

For some reason…

His voice sounded almost desperate.

Without another word, I nodded and accepted the book.

At that moment, worries about damaging it or losing it never even crossed my mind.

As our carriage crossed the endless plains, I began reading the novel Locke had lent me.

It was completely different from every book I’d read before.

Unlike sensational stories that flooded readers with excitement from the very first page, this one patiently built its emotions.

Was this what people called classic literature?

There were countless difficult words I didn’t understand.

The paragraphs were practically walls of text.

I’d barely read a few pages before my eyelids started drooping.

I’d boldly claimed I could understand the Barrier Mage’s feelings.

If I started nodding off before even finishing ten pages, Locke would surely laugh at me and take the book back.

So I bit the inside of my cheek, forcing myself to stay awake.

Then I cautiously glanced toward him.

His arms were folded.

His eyes were closed.

It was a hot summer day.

Every time the carriage picked up speed, a gentle breeze drifted through the open window.

The air inside remained warm.

The breeze was pleasantly cool.

There was no music to fight off the drowsiness.

No conversation either.

It was only natural that boredom slowly gave way to sleepiness.

I quietly studied his face.

His eyes rested peacefully behind thick black eyelashes arranged with flawless precision.

Because his head tilted slightly downward, the bridge of his nose looked even sharper.

Even with his neck bent a little…

There wasn’t the slightest trace of a double chin.

Is his skin that firm because he has so much muscle?

His face was far more interesting than the book.

The corners of my lips began curling upward without me realizing it.

Then—

THUD!

The carriage lurched violently.

“Eek!”

It had been shaking for a while already.

Apparently one of the wheels had finally struck a buried rock.

I grabbed the leather strap hanging inside the carriage.

At the same time, Locke’s head tilted toward the window frame.

He was about to hit it.

Without thinking—

I threw out my arm.

The thick book hit his head first.

His eyes flew open.

Startled, I stared back at him with wide eyes.

Fearing he’d think I’d deliberately smacked him with the book, I hurried to explain.

“Uh… so, the thing is…”

“You really do come close whenever you let your guard down.”

“Huh?”

“Did your manifestation pain come back again?”

Muttering that there were apparently humans even more lustful than monsters, Locke left me completely bewildered.

Then my face suddenly grew burning hot.

In that brief moment…

I hadn’t realized.

By extending my arm to protect his head…

I’d also moved myself much closer to him.

His warm breath brushed against my lips.

When people were truly flustered…

They apparently couldn’t even explain the truth properly.

Your head was about to hit the window.

The words circled endlessly inside my mouth without ever coming out.

Just then, the coachman unknowingly rescued me.

“I failed to notice a rock buried in the road.”

“Are you injured, Young Master?”

“I’m fine.”

“I wasn’t hurt.”

“I’m afraid one of the wheels has shifted.”

“We’ll need to repair it before we continue.”

I immediately pointed toward the coachman with my eyes as though saying, See? That’s what happened.

Then I hurried back to my seat.

Whether the misunderstanding had been cleared up or not…

Locke’s eyes remained fixed on my face.

I pressed my dry lips together, gave an awkward shrug, cleared my throat…

And quietly reopened the book.