The World After the Bad Ending

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Chapter 89: Karma

Isabel Luna.

The main heroine of Flame Butterfly.

She is neither the acting president nor the acting vice president.

Thus, under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have needed to accompany us on the way to the conference hall.

However, those holding the positions of president and vice president were allowed to bring one assistant.

Iris chose me, the acting secretary, as her assistant.

Normally, Hania would have gone, but since this was a student council matter, she gave up her spot for me.

「Lady Iris has trouble sleeping in new places, so it's better if Hannon goes with her.」

Lately, Hania seemed quite cheerful, having seen Iris sleep peacefully.

Perhaps because of that, her trust in me had significantly increased.

Thanks to her, I was the one who ended up by Iris's side.

So, who brought Isabel along?

The answer was already clear.

It was Sharin, lying with her head on Isabel’s lap.

Isabel had eagerly volunteered to come along.

When I first heard that Isabel was joining us, I didn’t pay it much mind.

Previously, Isabel had been a little sulky when I left a battle unresolved and withdrew early.

But she wasn’t the type to sulk in such a setting.

The only thing I hadn’t anticipated was that Iris would doze off in the carriage and fall asleep clinging to me.

And she did it so naturally, too.

"......"

Silence filled the space between me and Isabel.

Ever since Iris fell asleep holding onto me, Isabel had been staring at me intensely.

Iris’s strength was not of this world.

Bound firmly in place, I couldn’t escape from the cramped carriage.

Feeling awkward under Isabel’s gaze, I looked away, prompting her to finally open her mouth.

"You... sleep like that with Lady Iris every day?"

Her tone was sharper than usual.

I had been caught by Isabel sneaking into the girls' dormitory disguised as Hania.

Luckily, Isabel hadn’t blabbed about it anywhere, but it didn’t stop my heart from pounding with anxiety every day.

"…Isabel, there’s a reason for this."

"It’s because of Lady Iris’s sleep, isn’t it?"

Did Isabel already know?

"Everyone knows that Lady Iris has trouble sleeping."

Iris had severe insomnia.

Even if she didn’t show it outwardly, it was something you couldn’t help but notice while living at the academy.

"And I know how much suffering that brings, too."

After Lucas’s death, Isabel had suffered from long-term insomnia herself.

She understood that pain all too well.

"But Lady Iris has been sleeping well lately."

Thanks to my efforts, Iris had been able to sleep well recently.

So much so that even outsiders like Isabel could see how much brighter her face had become.

"And that’s because of you, isn’t it?"

Isabel had realized that I was the reason.

"Yeah, that’s right."

When I answered honestly, Isabel let out a small sigh.

"You did well. Honestly, this situation is a bit shocking, but if it’s necessary for Lady Iris’s sleep, then so be it."

She showed the magnanimity befitting the main heroine.

"Of course, if it looked like you had even the slightest ulterior motive…"

But despite her generosity, Isabel smiled with eyes devoid of light.

"…I’d be very curious to see what happens next."

"There’s no way I’d harbor such thoughts about the Third Princess."

"Yes, that much is clear."

Isabel spoke with certainty.

Why did it feel like she could read my mind completely?

I was starting to find Isabel a little scary.

"But that’s precisely why it’s puzzling."

Isabel gently stroked Sharin’s hair as it rested on her lap.

"If there’s no ulterior motive, then what’s driving you to do all this?"

Her calm gaze focused on me, filled with concern.

Isabel misunderstood why I had instigated the boycott over Nikita.

She believed that my presence near Iris was an extension of that incident.

In Isabel’s view, I was staying close to Iris as part of some revenge plot for Nikita.

She was worried that, the moment Iris fully trusted me, I might seek vengeance for Nikita.

But my recent actions didn’t align with such intentions.

Iris was a perceptive individual.

Especially when it came to detecting hostility directed at her.

And yet, I remained by Iris’s side without issue.

This meant I had shown no hostility toward her whatsoever.

Hatred and anger are emotions that cannot be easily concealed.

Isabel, having once used anger as her driving force, knew this better than anyone.

So, when Isabel looked at me, she found herself puzzled.

How could someone harboring a grudge for Nikita remain so calm by Iris’s side?

This left only two possibilities:

Either I had mastered the art of suppressing my anger to an extreme degree,

Or I had never held a grudge in the first place.

Earlier, Isabel had told me I had no ulterior motives.

This included any feelings of hatred or anger.

Her thoughts leaned toward the second possibility.

And from there, yet another question arose.

If I didn’t hold a grudge, then why had I instigated the boycott, even at the cost of being misunderstood?

Moreover, what is my true purpose?

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As the question arose, various doubts about me began to surface in her mind.

Parts she had overlooked because she was consumed by anger.

The conversations we’d had and the actions I had taken.

Isabel began to see me not through the lens of anger, but as overlapping with Lucas.

And that’s when the doubts started to become clear.

‘…This is dangerous.’

As I mentioned before, Isabel sees Lucas in me.

This stems from her resistance to letting go of Lucas.

The wound etched in her heart has not yet fully healed.

Thus, she overlaps me with Lucas, relying on me to drive away her unease.

Her recent displays of obsession stemmed from this reason.

Love and hatred.

Affection because she sees Lucas in me, and hatred because of my disparaging remarks about Lucas.

Isabel escaped death by using her anger as her driving force, so she cannot easily let go of her fury.

She fears that letting go of her anger might lead her back to the brink of death.

Thus, love and hatred coexist within her.

However, this also made Isabel observe me closely and reflect.

And in the process, it seemed she vaguely realized that I had deliberately made myself the target of her anger.

‘This is troublesome.’

I couldn’t predict what emotions Isabel might feel when she became certain of this.

Human emotions are unpredictable.

If she felt gratitude, that would be fortunate.

But if her feelings turned into betrayal and resentment, I had no idea what would happen.

Isabel silently stared at me.

Her gaze refused to leave me.

"Isabel..."

I opened my mouth, intending to cut off the string of questions forming in Isabel's mind.

“Because we’re family.”

The one who spoke was Iris.

I wasn’t sure when she had woken up, but she casually rested her chin on top of my head.

When Isabel looked at Iris in surprise, Iris hugged me even tighter.

It felt like she was declaring with unwavering determination that she wouldn’t let anyone take what was hers.

Moreover, the softness pressing against my back became even more pronounced.

I wondered if this was really okay.

“Sometimes, there are secrets only family can know.”

Iris smiled meaningfully and looked at Isabel.

Seeing that smile, Isabel widened her eyes.

She hadn’t expected Iris to take my side.

Isabel didn’t know the full story of my relationship with Iris.

That’s why the questions that had arisen couldn’t be resolved simply by Iris defending me.

When I looked up at Iris, she closed her eyes slightly and smiled faintly.

It was a smile that seemed to say, ‘You helped me with my insomnia, so I’m just returning the favor.’

As expected of the third princess.

Her instincts were sharp as ever.

“And.”

At that moment, Iris hugged me tightly.

“Hannon is my little brother, so I’m not giving him to just anyone.”

“…What?”

Isabel responded blankly.

Iris had also noticed the possessiveness and obsession Isabel had been harboring secretly.

Even if it was due to her seeing me as Lucas, it was still directed toward me.

I had stayed by Iris’s side all this time.

There was no way she wouldn’t have noticed.

And now, Iris asserted her claim over me.

Her words carried the meaning that she wouldn’t hand over her beloved doll to just anyone.

However, Isabel, who already bore a mix of love and hatred toward me, had previously been shaken by the fake girlfriend, Hania.

Iris’s declaration was like throwing fuel onto the fire burning within Isabel.

Isabel’s eyes slowly narrowed.

Her expression was anything but that of a typical heroine; it was downright menacing.

“Lady Iris, isn’t it improper to talk about your younger brother as if he’s a possession?”

“It’s fine. I’m a princess.”

Isabel was momentarily speechless.

She hadn’t expected Iris to use her status to suppress her.

“…Since you’re a princess, shouldn’t you set an example instead?”

However, Isabel showed no signs of backing down easily.

“Looking out for family is exemplary enough.”

“Overstepping boundaries in the name of care becomes harmful. Allowing everything in the name of family is no different from domestic violence.”

A strange tension swirled between Isabel and Iris.

It almost seemed like sparks were flying between their eyes.

And caught in the middle, I sat with a resigned expression.

With Iris already holding me tightly, I had no way to intervene.

At that moment, my eyes met Sharin’s, who had apparently woken up at some point.

She assessed the atmosphere in the carriage and moved her lips.

“Lover’s quarrel.”

Sharin found the situation extremely entertaining.

It was her first time seeing Isabel stand up to Iris like this, so it was natural for her to be intrigued.

Reading her lips, I closed my eyes.

At least if this were a lover’s quarrel, it might have made me feel better.

The idea of beautiful women fighting over me could have at least boosted my self-esteem.

But this was different.

One side saw me as a mix of love and hatred.

The other saw me as a beloved toy.

It was far from love.

Their claims of ownership over me didn’t consider my feelings at all.

That’s why I couldn’t step in.

Was this my karma?

All I wanted was to turn a bad ending into a happy one.

‘Lucas.’

For some reason, I missed him today.

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