CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 57: PAST [3]

Challenge No. 2.

Opening his eyes again, Kael found himself standing on a busy street.

Dozens of people were walking back and forth.

No one paid any attention to Kael’s existence.

Except for one person.

"Hey, onii-san, are you okay? Why are you standing there like a statue?"

"Hmm?"

It was a girl, about 10 years old.

No, it wasn’t a girl he didn’t know.

To be exact, that girl was Evelyn Evernight.

He stared at her face for a long time, not saying anything.

Then, a relieved smile involuntarily appeared on Kael’s face.

’So even without me, she was still able to escape from that hellish place?’

How lucky.

Kael patted the girl’s head.

"Hello, my name is Kael. Nice to meet you. And don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine."

"...Really? Good to hear."

Evelyn replied in a dubious tone.

He could feel that she was treating him like a lunatic.

"Pftt..."

How cute.

As expected of Kael’s lover.

Immersed in the joy of learning more about Evelyn’s past, he didn’t notice a plump woman approaching.

"You bitch! Where are you going? Are you planning to betray me? Go home and work for me!"

The voice was deafening.

Slap!

A loud slap, attracting the attention of most of the passersby, and Kael.

"Hey, you bitch! What do you think you’re doing!?"

Shocked and angry, he grabbed the fat woman’s wrist.

Her face twisted in pain, but she still believed she was right.

"What? I hit her! What can you do to me? Besides, that bitch didn’t say I couldn’t do that!"

"Is she right?"

Kael turned his attention to the girl.

The villainess was silent, clasping her hands together, not saying anything.

However, she nodded.

Even though her eyes and expression said otherwise.

"See!? Now let go of me!"

"..."

With nothing left to say, he had no choice but to let her go.

"Humph."

She glared at Kael, then roughly dragged Evelyn away.

That was not the way to treat a human.

That was the way to treat something worse than bacteria.

"..."

He stood there silently, unable to take his eyes off Evelyn’s back.

Only now did Kael realize how frighteningly thin her body was.

"...Haha."

He laughed self-deprecatingly.

He was such an idiot.

This was a challenge, her memory.

And it was never positive.

Then, like a thief, he carefully followed Evelyn and the fat woman.

***

Today was Christmas.

The happiest time for children was when they received presents from Santa Claus.

Evelyn knew that Santa Claus didn’t exist, but to be honest, she was still quite looking forward to it.

Looking forward to it?

That was ridiculous.

Yes, she had long since stopped feeling that way.

After escaping from that hellish place, Evelyn was fortunately adopted by a family.

She thought that from now on, her life would enter a new Chapter.

A Chapter that would only be filled with good things.

But no.

What awaited her ahead were only days of being treated like a maid, a slave.

In other words, the light she had been waiting for...

...Was just deeper darkness.

Every day was the same.

"Evelyn, go cook!"

"Evelyn, go wash the clothes!"

"Evelyn, go mop the floor!"

Honestly, she would rather stay in that hellish place and continue fighting.

Because there, at least if she won, she would have delicious food to eat.

Evelyn would also have a warm place to sleep.

And she could even keep the bugs company.

Nevertheless, the villainess knew that wasn’t an ideal choice.

Because there was no such thing as a "future" there.

"Evelyn, is the food ready? Don’t keep us waiting! Today is Christmas!"

A voice that she had heard so many times that it was annoying rang out.

Evelyn really wanted to kill that bitch if she could.

"Yes, it’s almost done."

Expressionlessly, the villainess replied.

Then, she brought each dish to the dining table.

One by one.

There were a total of 9 dishes.

All of them were cooked by Evelyn herself.

6 savory dishes, 2 soups, and 1 cake.

Giving off an irresistible aroma.

But unfortunately, this was not her food.

Her food was the leftovers after this dogshit family finished their meal.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!"

"I love you so much, Mom and Dad!"

"...How enviable."

Evelyn, standing in the corner of the room, completely obscured by darkness, thought.

The villainess felt like an outsider.

Only able to watch the happiness of others.

But never able to find her own happiness.

’... I wish Santa Claus would give me a wonderful present this year.’

God heard her prayer.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in from outside the window, extinguishing the candles on the cake - the only source of light in the room.

Everything was swallowed by darkness.

Everything.

’Didn’t I close the window?’

"Sparkle."

A small spark appeared, dancing around her index finger.

Then, it gently flew towards the oil lamp hanging in the middle of the room.

Click.

The oil lamp lit up, illuminating the whole room.

"...Wow."

And at that moment, Evelyn saw a sight that she would never forget.

The four people who were sitting at the dining table just now...

...Were dead.

The corpses all had one thing in common.

All of them had their throats cut.

Their blood flowed down, staining the entire dining table and the dishes that the villainess had painstakingly prepared.

It was a gruesome sight.

But to the girl, it was a beautiful sight.

"How is it, are you satisfied?"

A voice suddenly rang out from beside her.

Startled, Evelyn turned towards the source.

"You are?"

"Santa Claus."

"Huh? Santa Claus? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

The person nodded.

Nonsense.

No matter how she looked at it, this person couldn’t possibly be Santa Claus.

In contrast to Santa Claus, he had a perfect body, not at all obese.

Furthermore, the outfit he was wearing was just a red one.

But anyway, if he wanted to act, Evelyn would act with him to the end.

"Oh, then, dear Santa Claus, what business do you have here today?"

"To give presents, of course. Hohohoho."

The laughter couldn’t have sounded more fake.

The villainess held out both hands towards Santa Claus.

"In that case, where are my presents?"

Santa Claus pointed to the dining table, where there were four corpses.

"That’s the present."

Looking in the direction he was pointing, Evelyn didn’t reveal much of an expression.

Because honestly, she didn’t know how she should feel.

Happy?

Because those demons were killed?

’A little bit, to be frank.’

Or sad?

"Do you know why I never did it even though I really wanted to kill them?"

"Why?"

Santa tilted his head.

"Because without them, I have absolutely no idea what I should do next."

How ironic.

"Those people are the ones I hate the most, but at the same time, they are also the ones I have to rely on."