BXBX NOVEL Chapter 50 – Kyle Winfred
Chapter 50 – Kyle Winfred
After getting off the carriage, Luna was soon taken into a solitary confinement room for interrogation.
Though it was called a solitary confinement room, one could think of it as a well-appointed small room suitable for interrogating nobles.
“You can stay comfortably in this room for the time being.”
The Pope had also arranged a bedroom for me to stay in for the time being.
The same was true for Diana.
After all, both Diana and I had come here as witnesses and guests in a formal sense.
“Master, are you sure it’s alright?”
“It’s fine, go ahead.”
Diana was guided to a room quite far from mine.
It was an unavoidable measure, not discrimination against Diana, who was once a commoner, but simply because there was no other suitable room for her to stay in.
And so, days passed in a blur.
“…”
I walked through the corridor lost in thought.
Isabel is completely broken.
She was already somewhat unstable, but now it’s reached a point where one might suspect she’s taking drugs.
I have no idea why she ended up like this, or when her condition became so severe, there’s nothing certain about it.
The only thing certain is that as Isabel went mad, so did the Holy See start to deteriorate.
At Isabel’s words, the entire Holy See was shaken, and the clergy, wielding their faith as a shield, began to wield their power.
It’s astonishing.
To see those who should be cleaner and more transparent than anyone else in the Empire.
“Kyle.”
I turned at the sound of the voice.
Isabel Yustia, the person in power here, was approaching me.
“Where are you going?”
“To visit.”
“…Who?”
Who else?
Who else could be here besides Luna, who’s confined and being interrogated?
Surely she’s not asking because she genuinely doesn’t know?
I chuckled.
“Luna.”
“…Why?”
“To check on her condition. Now, excuse me.”
For a moment, Isabel’s smiling face twisted.
She sneered, her voice tinged with bitterness.
“Is that so.”
One step.
Another step.
Isabel’s face drew closer.
Her eyes, now close, glimmered like burning flames.
“Do you like her that much? Is she the one?”
And Isabel’s nonsense struck a chord with me.
“What did you just say?”
I shouldn’t have said those words.
Especially not in front of Isabel, who knows about the relationship between Luna and me.
There is no way she doesn’t know such an obvious fact.
Even if Isabel is usually foolish, she should at least have some sense.
Yes, normally she would never utter such nonsense even if she were angry.
But why?
Why is Isabel angry with me now?
“Is she really that good to you?”
Isabel’s eyes seemed to boil like lava.
She grimaced ominously, her eyes narrowed, and a twisted smirk played across her wrecked face.
“What on earth did that woman give you?”
“…You are out of your mind.”
“Why, did I say something wrong? Kyle, you hate Lady Luna. You should hate her. You should ignore her, whether she’s kidnapped, interrogated, or killed by someone. No, you should even be happy about it. But why are you showing so much interest?”
Isabel grumbled with a deeply entrenched voice.
And, finally, she crossed the line.
“Did you perhaps even sleep with that woman?”
“…What?”
“If that’s all it is, you might as well come to me instead.”
Isabel twisted her lips, her eyes unfocused.
“If I can have your forgiveness, I’ll give you my body as much as you want.”
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at her incessant barrage of madness.
How far will this nonsense go?
With my arms crossed, I watched Isabel, who was glaring fiercely.
“Why? If Luna, that vile woman, is acceptable, then there’s no reason why I wouldn’t be, right?”
“…”
“If you want, I can even pretend to be an animal for you. Just never mention Lady Luna in front of me again, no matter what happens to her.”
Ah, so it was just at this level.
Each word thrown out was low, vile, and childish.
The anger that had burned fiercely in my mind slowly began to cool down.
I spoke in a subdued voice.
“I didn’t know. I didn’t know you were sincere like that.”
Isabel’s breath was rough.
After pouring out her words haphazardly, her gaze wavered as if she regained her senses.
“Do you want forgiveness?”
That face, those eyes, that voice.
Each one, without exception, was repulsive.
“I heard Luna attacked you?”
I wished she would be more broken.
I wished she would be more miserable.
I wished she would suffer so much that death would seem better.
Just like Kyle did.
Just like me I did.
I wished that repulsive face would be tainted with agony.
My conscience began to blur.
“Then you should have died at that time.”
When I saw Isabel’s contorted face, a smile escaped her lips.
“If you had died then, I would have at least felt some sympathy, even if for a moment.”
Isabel’s eyes turned red.
It looked good.
So I couldn’t help but speak.
“What did Luna give me?”
“…”
“…Nothing.”
The more I spoke, the more cracks appeared on Isabel’s face.
Anger peeled away, revealing the resignation and despair she had hidden within.
“You said if I come to you, you’ll give me your body.”
I bent forward to look at her.
“I don’t need it.”
“…”
“So if the chance comes, just die. Or just pretend to be dead. Don’t even think about escaping the past, or changing. Got it? I might reconsider you someday.”
Crack—
Isabel’s mask shattered into pieces.
And then.
[ Scenario Progress: 72% ]
The progress went up.
Then, a completely broken voice fell.
“Don’t change…?”
Isabel laughed as she cried.
Her tear-soaked hair stuck to her face, and her laughter sounded like metal scraping against metal.
She convulsed, then shouted as if squeezing out words.
“You… you’ve changed too…”
“Me?”
“Yeah, Kyle. You. You liked me, didn’t you? You loved me. After changing on that topic, how can you say such things to me? How!”
Sizzle—
The pouring insults assaulted my reason.
“…Ha.”
Today, patience was particularly difficult.
I don’t even know what emotion this boiling lava-like feeling is.
Suddenly, enlightenment struck my mind like a thunderbolt.
Yes, this is anger.
The anger accumulated since I was transmigrated into this world.
The indescribable and simmering emotions finally erupted into a massive wave, flooding over me.
With a mocking laugh, I said to Isabel.
“If you’re curious, would you like to listen?”
Isabel stared blankly into space, her face torn between crying and laughing.
Slowly, very slowly, she nodded her head.
“One day, a boy was born.”
Kyle Winfred.
The villain in the game, and an extra who meets a miserable end.
“But due to the unfortunate circumstances of his birth, nobody welcomed the child’s arrival. Eventually, abandoned even by the parents who bore him, he soon found himself sold to a nobleman he had never met before.”
I recounted his story.
No one cared.
A story buried beneath the surface, ignored even by the world.
It wasn’t some fragmentary tale tossed into the game’s setting book.
It was all the relentless and desperate stories I experienced firsthand living in Kyle’s body.
“But what kind of treatment could he expect from the household that bought him? Constant torment became routine, and his self-esteem and personality gradually began to erode. And then he thought. ‘Oh, maybe I’ll die like this. No, maybe dying would be better. Why do I have to live like this?’ Suddenly, he felt disillusioned with simply existing. He had dreamed of a normal life, but realized that effort alone couldn’t overcome reality.”
“Kyle… just a moment…”
“Then one day, he met a girl. He fell in love with her at first sight, and thus, in a life devoid of meaning, the first feeling of hope blossomed.”
— 73%
— 74%
…
…
The progress increased.
With a face drained of color, trembling with profound fear, Isabel stumbled backward.
“But hope is bullshit.”
“Please, just listen to me…”
“He got engaged, then married, but life didn’t become happy; instead, it became terribly broken.”
I threw out whatever came to mind.
I wasn’t Kyle, but I expressed the emotions Kyle would have felt.
Each word became a heavy boulder raining down on Isabel.
Her mouth, opened to respond, shut as if it were a lie.
“Strange, right? That boy believed he had gotten used to being hated, but being scorned by the woman he truly loved hurt like it was tearing his soul apart.”
“Please… please stop…”
“Misunderstandings piled up, and then he began to fall apart. His wounded soul became so mangled that it was unrecognizable, and he only thought of wanting to die as he was.”
Tears welled up in Isabel’s eyes again.
She wrapped her arms around her neck, gasping for breath as if in pain.
“The woman who had always hated her husband ended up killing him by poisoning his teacup. She procured the most excruciating poison with her own hands, directly causing him the greatest agony.”
“Guh…!”
“That day, he felt hope for the second time in his life. Finally, a strong hope that he could be liberated from this place.”
Isabel sank to the ground.
The tears that had flowed so vigorously now fell weakly.
Her body trembled with sobs, her torso jerking several times before finally managing to raise her head.
Finally, Isabel raised her head, her eyes met mine.
“Isn’t it strange?”
The air began to freeze rapidly.
“Then where do you think the Kyle you miss so much went?”
Isabel froze in place as if she were a statue.
“Yet still.”
Crack—
Somewhere, a thunderous roar seemed to explode, piercing my eardrums.
“Do you still see me as that Kyle?”